Shakin' Stevens and the Sunsets
Encyclopedia
Shakin' Stevens and the Sunsets were a rock and roll
group formed in Cardiff
, Wales in 1969. Although most notable now for their lead singer Shakin' Stevens
, who went on to become one of the UK's most popular artists of the 1980s, the band released several records and toured extensively throughout the 1970s. A version of the Sunsets, containing original members, still tours annually in the UK, Europe and Australia.
and Ely
areas just outside of Cardiff. One of its leading lights since the late 1950s was the Backbeats, a band fronted by Robert Llewellyn (who performed under the name of Rockin' Louie) and managed by Paul 'Legs' Barrett
, a local entrepreneur and "card-carrying Communist".
A keen fan of the group was a youngster named Michael Barratt who frequently used to approach Louie for singing and dancing tips and, soon enough, Michael was being referred to as 'Rockin' Louie II'. By the mid 1960s however, Michael had formed his own band. Originally named the Olympics, then the Cossacks, they finally decided to call themselves the Denims, by which point they found themselves as a support act to Michael's heroes, the Backbeats. Eventually, when the Denims fell apart, Michael wasted no time in forming a new group named the Rebels. It was this outfit that Paul Barrett reluctantly came to see after a recommendation early in 1969. Although distinctly unimpressed with the band itself, Barrett saw something in their young singer who, only a few years earlier, had been hanging around looking for ideas from the Backbeats. He offered to manage Michael on two conditions: firstly, he would have to ditch his group and, secondly, he must find himself an exciting new stage name. Agreeing to both suggestions, the ambitious young Welshman promptly left the Rebels and then, inspired either by the memory of an old school friend playing bat and ball or maybe even an eccentric local roadsweeper, Michael Barratt became Shakin' Stevens.
Deciding that the group would be named Shakin' Stevens and the Sunsets, Paul Barrett set about assembling a backing band for his new protege. Several musicians passed through the ranks of the Sunsets during these early days. There was a transitional period as the Backbeats evolved into the Sunsets which saw Dave Goddard and Sid Petherick briefly retained from the old band on bass and lead guitar respectively. Then, after two short lived guitarists by the names of Alan Langford and Mike Bibby, the band finally settled upon Carl Petersen. Early bass player Stephen Pryor was soon replaced by Steve Percy, while the original drummer Brian Williams was replaced after Paul Barrett had managed to persuade former Backbeats frontman Rockin' Louie to hammer out a rhythm for the Sunsets. On saxophone was Paul Dolan (actually a guitarist who was a veteran of the Cardiff music scene for many years) and this early line up was completed by London born Trevor Hawkins on piano, who had offered his services when the formative band played a gig at the Northcote Arms in Southall
.
As a hardcore rock and roll fan, Paul Barrett was both surprised and amused at John Lennon
's appearance at a rock and roll revival show in Toronto in September 1969 and promptly wrote a letter to the music press inviting Lennon to audition for the Sunsets. The offer may have escaped the Beatle
's attention, but it was enough for the Rolling Stones management to offer the group a support slot at their forthcoming show at the Saville Theatre
in London on December 14. The resultant gig suggested that Shakin' Stevens and the Sunsets were not quite ready for the big time. A nervous Shaky was disconcerted at having to use Mick Jagger
's PA system and, when realising he had left his drumsticks back in Cardiff, Louie had to borrow a pair from Charlie Watts
. On discovering his snare stand was also missing, he resorted to resting the drum on an upturned fire bucket.
DJ John Peel
, who wrote a generous review of the experience for his column in the weekly music paper Disc. He was so impressed with the Sunsets that he even offered the group a record deal with his Dandelion
label. With John Peel as producer, the group recorded a number of tracks which Paul Barrett, and some members of the Sunsets, felt were not quite up to scratch. Peel was keen to release the tracks on a 10" LP but the band were concerned that they were seen as nothing more than a novelty act and subsequent events were to distance the band from the radio personality.
Shortly after the Peel sessions, the band were rehearsing at a venue in Cardiff named the Drope when they happened to be overheard by local hero Dave Edmunds
as he passed in his car on the way to his bass player John Williams' nearby house. As a member of the Raiders, Edmunds had been a performer on the same Cardiff circuit as the Backbeats in the late 50s and early 60s. Since then, however, he had gone on to greater things forming Love Sculpture
who had a top 5 hit in the UK with "Sabre Dance
" in 1968. Recognising the ex-Backbeats and being suitably convinced by their performance, Dave offered to record Shakin' Stevens and the Sunsets at Rockfield Studios
in Monmouth
. With Edmunds promising to get the Sunsets signed to his current label Parlophone
, this effectively put an end to the band's association with John Peel. Although a much more successful foray into the studio than the Dandelion tapes, the sessions were not without their problems. Remembering Rockin' Louie as a frontman from the Backbeat days, Dave Edmunds insisted Louie sang lead vocals on several of the tracks, much to Shaky's annoyance. One of Louie's vocals was for the Smiley Lewis
song "I Hear You Knocking
". Although it was, at the time, an unfamiliar song to Edmunds, he was inspired to record his own version later that same year.
As promised, Dave Edmunds got the band signed to Parlophone and the album A Legend was issued in October 1970. The album received some positive reviews, particularly for the authenticity of Edmunds' production which was full of 50s style slapback echo. Preceded in August by the single "Spirit Of Woodstock" (backed by "Down On The Farm" which was sung by Louie and was Edmunds' preference for the A-side) the album sold very poorly despite both sides of the single receiving some airplay. The Sunsets' fortunes began to deteriorate further when Dave Edmunds' own version of "I Hear You Knocking" was released as a single and began storming up the charts. When Parlophone had initially declined to release the song, Edmunds offered it to MAM Records
instead. However, as soon as the record had reached number one in the UK and was on its way to selling five million copies, the EMI
label claimed a breach of contract. The resulting backlash saw Shakin' Stevens and the Sunsets removed from the Parlophone roster.
Following the Parlophone disappointment, the band experienced a few personnel changes. After a drunken episode which saw him smash a full bottle of whisky over Shaky's head, bassist Steven Percy was asked to leave the Sunsets. Also, unhappy with being based in Cardiff, Trevor Hawkins decided to leave the group and return to London. Their replacements were bass player George Chick, who offered an exciting visual element with his wild stage performance, and Bristolian rock and roll pianist Mike 'Ace' Skudder, who was also no slouch when it came to entertaining an audience.
With the new line-up the band recorded a cover of Fats Domino
's "All By Myself" for a compilation album called Battle Of The Bands. The producer on the session was Donny Marchand, an American now resident in the UK. Marchand promised the Sunsets that, with his connections in the music business, he could get them a contract with CBS Records
. True to his word, CBS did indeed offer the band a deal and Marchand took the Sunsets into Morgan Studios
in Willesden
to record their second album, I'm No J.D., which was issued in the autumn of 1971. Halfway through the sessions, Carl Petersen left and the album was completed with the ace Welsh rock and roll guitarist Mickey Gee
. Although he remained with the Sunsets to play a few gigs after the sessions had finished, his stay with the band was short lived. However, Mickey Gee was to perform a major role in Shakin' Stevens' success of the early 80s, adding his distinctive lead guitar to many of Shaky's biggest hit records. With CBS reportedly ignoring Donny Marchand's advice to release the album as a budget price record, I'm No J.D. sold, in Marchand's own words, "1,000 copies". Unsurprisingly, CBS dropped the band shortly after the album was released.
Early in 1972, the band were offered the chance to record another album with Donny Marchand for the budget label Contour, a subsidiary of Polydor. The Sunsets were reluctant to agree at first having yet to receive royalties from Marchand for I'm No J.D.. However, with the promise that the financial issues would soon be resolved, the band (with new guitarist Willie Blackmore) went into Majestic Studios in Clapham
and rush recorded the album (along with the single "Sweet Little Rock And Roller") in one day. The Sunsets were hugely disappointed with the results and yet again the record, named Rockin' And Shakin' , failed to sell.
Despite their lack of chart success, Shakin' Stevens and the Sunsets were still a hugely popular live act enjoying regular and well attended gigs across the UK. They had developed a loyal and enthusiastic following, so much so that they were voted the 'Top British Rock And Roll Group (Of The Old School)' in NME
's 1972 poll. Their reputation as a live act soon spread to Europe and the group embarked on a tour of Sweden in August 1972. By this point, the line up had changed again with Ian Lawrence replacing Blackmore on guitar and Tony Britnall (previously with the Fortunes
and Jigsaw) becoming the new sax player. Britnall was another showman to complement George Chick and Ace Skudder, not to mention the actual frontman Shakin' Stevens. The Sunsets had now grown into a formidable live act which was being lapped up by the Europeans who, unlike British audiences, had yet to tire of rock and roll music.
A record deal was struck with Dureco Records which resulted in the release (via the Pink Elephant label) of the album Shakin Stevens & Sunsets [sic] and the singles "Honey Honey" and "Spirit Of Woodstock" (a re-recording of their debut single). The Sunsets were considered successful enough in Holland for them to be placed above Argent
on the bill at that August's Emmen Festival, much to the disgust of the prog rock
giants who were something of a big deal in the UK at the time. The band were also beginning to enjoy some exposure on European TV
, most notably a typically raucous performance on the German show Hits A Go Go. The album and "Honey Honey" single were eventually licensed to the Emerald Gem label for release in the UK but, perhaps predictably, both sunk without trace. It would be well over two years before Shakin' Stevens and the Sunsets were to release anymore records in Britain. Not that the Sunsets were short of gigs in the UK. One notable appearance around this time was at the 21st birthday party for Kenneth Tynan
's daughter at the Young Vic theatre in London. Amongst the star studded crowd were Peter Sellers
and Liza Minnelli
as well as the Irish
novelist Edna O'Brien
who apparently took a very keen interest in Shakin' Stevens, inviting him back to her Chelsea
flat
. The happily married Shaky only agreed on the proviso that he could bring the rest of the band with him.
Early 1974 saw yet more upheavals in the band's line-up as both Ian Lawrence and George Chick left the group to be replaced by Mike Lloyd Jones and Malcolm Priest on lead guitar and bass respectively. The irrepressible Tony Britnall also decided it was time to move on and chose to remain in Holland, where he later become involved in the team behind the Stars on 45
phenomenon of the early 80s. In spite of the many British and European touring commitments, Shaky still found time to record a cover of Ricky Nelson
's "Lonesome Town
", although this time backed by Dureco session musicians rather than the Sunsets. Thanks in part to a prominent TV appearance, the single (still credited to Shakin' Stevens and the Sunsets) actually managed to reach the Dutch Top 20. Later during 1974, the Sunsets took advantage of a friend's offer to knock up some demos in his Dutch recording studio. Ironically, these rough recordings, including versions of "Tiger", "Silver Wings" and "Sugaree", were later licensed to numerous labels throughout the 1980s and would end up as probably the most widely distributed of all the music made by Shakin' Stevens and the Sunsets.
With Dureco requesting a new LP from the Sunsets, 1975 found Paul Barrett attempting to create a concept album exploring the relationship between the gangsters of the 1930s with the 'outlaw' music created by the rock and roll stars of the 1950s. Taking his lead from the notorious bank robber John Dilinger, Barrett named the album Manhattan Melodrama (a reference to the film Dillinger watched shortly before he was shot dead). However, yet again, the band felt they were not given the time to create the record they wanted and, once producer Schell Shelvekins had spent months overdubbing synthesizers and remixing the album to his satisfaction, the Sunsets had just about disowned the project. When the record was finally released later in 1975 (only in Holland), even the sleeve failed to gain the band's appreciation: "I wouldn't have packaged potatoes in that cover", complained Paul Barrett.
With the Dureco agreement at an end, Paul Barrett struck a deal with Dutchman Peter Meulenbroeks who owned the small Dynamite label. Finding themselves in the most basic of studio facilities the Sunsets produced their most authentic sounding rock and roll recordings since A Legend. The first fruits of these sessions were the five track "Frantic" EP which was only released at the time in France by the Skydog label. A rare UK release occurred in 1976 when the Phil Bailey-produced single "Jungle Rock" was issued on the Mooncrest
label. Nobody was particularly surprised when the single flopped but, when Hank Mizell
's original version was reissued weeks later and effortlessly made its way to number three in the UK singles chart (in a manner reminiscent of their 'near miss' with "I Hear You Knocking"), it seemed as if the Sunsets were fated to never make the big time. The Dynamite sessions produced more Dutch-only releases in a single ("You Mostest Girl"), EP ("Sexy Ways") and 10" album (C'mon Memphis) but these were to prove the final original releases by Shakin' Stevens and the Sunsets.
with a view to them signing a band he was managing named Rock Island Line. He persuaded Track's Danny Secunda and Mike Shaw to come and see Rock Island Line perform at Warwick University in a bill which also happened to include Shakin' Stevens and the Sunsets. By this point the Sunsets had Ian Lawrence back playing steel guitar alongside Mike Lloyd Jones, while George Chick had also returned to replace Mal Priest on bass. Clearly out-performing Rock Island Line, Track's scouts ignored Bailey's group and instead Danny Secunda invited Shakin' Stevens and the Sunsets to record two songs with him at Gooseberry Studios. Those songs, "Lightning Bar Blues" and "Lend Me Your Heart", remain unreleased but, according to Paul Barrett are amongst the best recordings the Sunsets ever made.
Despite their initial interest, Track seemed unsure of their next move. Should they try and attach the Sunsets to the emerging punk rock
movement or should they just focus on making Shakin' Stevens a solo star and ditch his backing group? Track's indecision could not have been helped by the increasingly perilous financial state in which the label currently found itself. After another recording session with the Sunsets (this time produced by Charlie Gillett
) Track decided on option number two and brought in Mike Hurst
to produce a Shakin' Stevens solo single. The result, "Never" was released by Track in March 1977. Sensing which way the wind was blowing, George Chick, Ian Lawrence and Mike Lloyd Jones all left the Sunsets for good and formed a new band named Quarter Moon. Paul Barrett wasted no time in inviting ex-roadie Johnny Chop (real name Colin Hopkins) to take over bass and recruiting Danny Wild to play lead guitar. While Track offered Shaky a solo contract on the strength of "Never", Shakin' Stevens and the Sunsets were still regularly gigging as a unit, particularly in London at venues such as the Hope and Anchor, Islington
and the Greyhound pub in Fulham
.
In September, Track requested a video for Shaky's next single "Somebody Touched Me" single and it was during shooting at the Rock Garden in Covent Garden
that Paul Barrett encountered the band Fumble. Contemporaries of the Sunsets on the rock and roll circuit, they informed Barrett that they had a landed a job as the in-house band for Jack Good
's upcoming Elvis - The Musical. With three actors portraying the King
, Barrett discovered that the role of the 'middle Elvis' was still up for grabs and immediately realised that Shaky was perfect for the part. While Shaky himself was initially uninterested, he eventually accepted the part after one of Jack Good's team, Annabel Leventon, came to watch him perform at the Greyhound with the Sunsets.
Paul Barrett was especially keen for Shaky to take the role, realising it was the chance of a lifetime for the singer. Even the rest of the Sunsets were happy for Shaky to take the part, despite the fact that it would most likely leave them without their front man for at least six months. The plan was for Rockin' Louie to take over as lead singer until Shaky was ready to return, by which point the band's profile would be boosted by having a leading West End
star fronting the group. As it turned out, Shaky was never to return to the group and their gig at the Broom in Woolwich
on 25 October 1977 turned out to be Shakin' Stevens and the Sunsets' last performance together.
By the early 1980s, after signing to Epic Records
, Shakin' Stevens finally found chart success, enjoying the first of four UK number one singles in 1981 with "This Ole House
" and eventually becoming one of the most successful acts of the 1980s. This unexpected popularity led to an interest in Shaky's back catalogue. EMI had already reissued A Legend in 1979 as a result of his appearance in Elvis-The Musical and decided to re-release it again in 1981 on their budget MFP label. Both I'm No J.D. and Rockin' And Shakin' were reissued by Pickwick
in new sleeves with up to date pictures of Shaky and both were confusingly titled Shakin' Stevens and the Sunsets. The reissue of I'm No J.D. even earned a respectable placing in the album charts (although apparently without resulting in any royalty payments to the Sunsets). The Dutch recordings (many issued in the UK for the first time) were re-released by a variety of labels such as Mint and Magnum Force. The most readily available of the Sunsets recordings seemed to be those hastily recorded Dutch demos from 1974, which Phil Bailey had managed to get hold of and licence to as many budget labels in Europe as he could contact. Some of these releases included new recordings featuring Rockin' Louie and even Paul Barrett on vocals and had nothing whatsoever to do with Shakin' Stevens, despite his now immediately recognisable image being prominently displayed on the front cover.
As late as 1993, long after the rush of interest in Shaky's past history had subsided, Paul Barrett's sense of injustice at monies owed still persisted. As a result, Shakin' Stevens found himself in Cardiff High Court alongside Dave Edmunds facing charges of non-payment of royalties from former Sunsets Rockin' Louie, Carl Petersen, Steve Percy and Paul Dolan. The prosecution claimed that the former band members were due a share of royalties which Shaky and his management had received from the reissue of A Legend in the early eighties. The judge agreed and, while the unpaid royalties only amounted to around £70,000 to be divided amongst all of them, the court costs ended up costing Shaky and Dave Edmunds £500,000.
While Shaky was willing to call a truce after that court case, Paul Barrett was still seething from the non-payment of royalties from the I'm No J.D. and Rockin' And Shakin' albums. As a result, Barrett reissued both albums on a single CD in 2005 under the uncompromising title of How To Be Awarded Two Gold Records And Not Be Paid A Penny In Royalties, complete with sleeve notes inviting both Sony
and Universal
(who now officially owned the rights to the two records) to sue him if they believed their copyrights had been infringed. Neither label responded to Barrett's challenge.
After a period of several years away from the limelight, Shakin' Stevens enjoyed a resurgence in popularity thanks to his winning appearance in the 2005 hit UK TV show Hit Me, Baby, One More Time which led to his performance at the 2008 Glastonbury Festival
. Meanwhile, a version of the Sunsets still exists to this day featuring ex-Backbeats bassist (and original Sunset) Dave Goddard alongside guitarist Lewis Clayton, pianist Neil 'Nutrocker' and drummer Buzz Baker. In recent years the Sunsets has been fronted by Shakin' Stevens' nephew, Levi Barratt.
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
group formed in Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
, Wales in 1969. Although most notable now for their lead singer Shakin' Stevens
Shakin' Stevens
Shakin' Stevens, also known as "Shaky" is a platinum selling Welsh rock and roll singer and songwriter who holds the distinction of being the UK's biggest-selling singles artist of the 1980s . His recording and performing career began in the late 1960s, although it was not until 1980 that he saw...
, who went on to become one of the UK's most popular artists of the 1980s, the band released several records and toured extensively throughout the 1970s. A version of the Sunsets, containing original members, still tours annually in the UK, Europe and Australia.
Early years
Shakin' Stevens and the Sunsets evolved from the rock and roll scene in and around the PenarthPenarth
Penarth is a town and seaside resort in the Vale of Glamorgan , Wales, 5.2 miles south west from the city centre of the Welsh capital city of Cardiff and lying on the north shore of the Severn Estuary at the southern end of Cardiff Bay...
and Ely
Ely, Cardiff
Ely is a community primarily dominated by council housing in western Cardiff, capital of Wales.-The Roman era:In Roman times, Ely was the site of a Roman villa, near the old racecourse...
areas just outside of Cardiff. One of its leading lights since the late 1950s was the Backbeats, a band fronted by Robert Llewellyn (who performed under the name of Rockin' Louie) and managed by Paul 'Legs' Barrett
Paul Barrett
Paul Franklyn "Legs" Barrett is the UK's best known agent and manager of 1950s style Rock and Roll artistes, an author and previously a singer and film actor...
, a local entrepreneur and "card-carrying Communist".
A keen fan of the group was a youngster named Michael Barratt who frequently used to approach Louie for singing and dancing tips and, soon enough, Michael was being referred to as 'Rockin' Louie II'. By the mid 1960s however, Michael had formed his own band. Originally named the Olympics, then the Cossacks, they finally decided to call themselves the Denims, by which point they found themselves as a support act to Michael's heroes, the Backbeats. Eventually, when the Denims fell apart, Michael wasted no time in forming a new group named the Rebels. It was this outfit that Paul Barrett reluctantly came to see after a recommendation early in 1969. Although distinctly unimpressed with the band itself, Barrett saw something in their young singer who, only a few years earlier, had been hanging around looking for ideas from the Backbeats. He offered to manage Michael on two conditions: firstly, he would have to ditch his group and, secondly, he must find himself an exciting new stage name. Agreeing to both suggestions, the ambitious young Welshman promptly left the Rebels and then, inspired either by the memory of an old school friend playing bat and ball or maybe even an eccentric local roadsweeper, Michael Barratt became Shakin' Stevens.
Deciding that the group would be named Shakin' Stevens and the Sunsets, Paul Barrett set about assembling a backing band for his new protege. Several musicians passed through the ranks of the Sunsets during these early days. There was a transitional period as the Backbeats evolved into the Sunsets which saw Dave Goddard and Sid Petherick briefly retained from the old band on bass and lead guitar respectively. Then, after two short lived guitarists by the names of Alan Langford and Mike Bibby, the band finally settled upon Carl Petersen. Early bass player Stephen Pryor was soon replaced by Steve Percy, while the original drummer Brian Williams was replaced after Paul Barrett had managed to persuade former Backbeats frontman Rockin' Louie to hammer out a rhythm for the Sunsets. On saxophone was Paul Dolan (actually a guitarist who was a veteran of the Cardiff music scene for many years) and this early line up was completed by London born Trevor Hawkins on piano, who had offered his services when the formative band played a gig at the Northcote Arms in Southall
Southall
Southall is a large suburban district of west London, England, and part of the London Borough of Ealing. It is situated west of Charing Cross. Neighbouring places include Yeading, Hayes, Hanwell, Heston, Hounslow, Greenford and Northolt...
.
As a hardcore rock and roll fan, Paul Barrett was both surprised and amused at John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
's appearance at a rock and roll revival show in Toronto in September 1969 and promptly wrote a letter to the music press inviting Lennon to audition for the Sunsets. The offer may have escaped the Beatle
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
's attention, but it was enough for the Rolling Stones management to offer the group a support slot at their forthcoming show at the Saville Theatre
Saville Theatre
The Saville Theatre is a former West End theatre at 135 Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster. The theatre opened in 1931, and became a music venue during the 1960s, finally being converted to a cinema in 1970.-Theatre years:...
in London on December 14. The resultant gig suggested that Shakin' Stevens and the Sunsets were not quite ready for the big time. A nervous Shaky was disconcerted at having to use Mick Jagger
Mick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger is an English musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and a founding member of The Rolling Stones....
's PA system and, when realising he had left his drumsticks back in Cardiff, Louie had to borrow a pair from Charlie Watts
Charlie Watts
Charles Robert "Charlie" Watts is an English drummer, best known as a member of The Rolling Stones. He is also the leader of a jazz band, a record producer, commercial artist, and horse breeder.-Early life:...
. On discovering his snare stand was also missing, he resorted to resting the drum on an upturned fire bucket.
False dawns
The Rolling Stones gig soon proved to be the first of many false dawns for Shakin' Stevens and the Sunsets. After a few low key dates around Cardiff, 1970 saw the band returning to the Northcote Arms in London. Among the crowd during one of these gigs was the Radio 1BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
DJ John Peel
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
, who wrote a generous review of the experience for his column in the weekly music paper Disc. He was so impressed with the Sunsets that he even offered the group a record deal with his Dandelion
Dandelion Records
Dandelion Records was a British record label started in 1969 by the British DJ John Peel as a way to get the music he liked onto record. Peel was responsible for "artistic direction" and the commercial side was handled by Clive Selwood of Elektra Records and his wife Shurely...
label. With John Peel as producer, the group recorded a number of tracks which Paul Barrett, and some members of the Sunsets, felt were not quite up to scratch. Peel was keen to release the tracks on a 10" LP but the band were concerned that they were seen as nothing more than a novelty act and subsequent events were to distance the band from the radio personality.
Shortly after the Peel sessions, the band were rehearsing at a venue in Cardiff named the Drope when they happened to be overheard by local hero Dave Edmunds
Dave Edmunds
David 'Dave' Edmunds is a Welsh singer, guitarist and record producer. Although he is primarily associated with Pub rock and New Wave, and had numerous hits in the 1970s and early 1980s, his natural leaning has always been towards 1950s style rock and roll.-Early bands:As a teenager Edmunds first...
as he passed in his car on the way to his bass player John Williams' nearby house. As a member of the Raiders, Edmunds had been a performer on the same Cardiff circuit as the Backbeats in the late 50s and early 60s. Since then, however, he had gone on to greater things forming Love Sculpture
Love Sculpture
Love Sculpture were a Welsh blues-rock band of the late 1960s, led by Dave Edmunds , plus bassist John Williams - stage name John David and drummer Rob 'Congo' Jones .-Career:Love...
who had a top 5 hit in the UK with "Sabre Dance
Sabre Dance
"The Sabre Dance" is a movement in the final act of the ballet Gayane , written by Armenian composer Aram Khachaturian's and completed in 1942. It evokes a whirling war dance in an Armenian dance, where the dancers display their skill with sabres. Its middle section incorporates an Armenian folk...
" in 1968. Recognising the ex-Backbeats and being suitably convinced by their performance, Dave offered to record Shakin' Stevens and the Sunsets at Rockfield Studios
Rockfield Studios
Rockfield Studios, near Monmouth in Wales and just outside the village of Rockfield, Monmouthshire are where many of British rock music’s most successful recordings have been made.-History:...
in Monmouth
Monmouth
Monmouth is a town in southeast Wales and traditional county town of the historic county of Monmouthshire. It is situated close to the border with England, where the River Monnow meets the River Wye with bridges over both....
. With Edmunds promising to get the Sunsets signed to his current label Parlophone
Parlophone
Parlophone is a record label that was founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch was formed in 1923 as "Parlophone" which developed a reputation in the 1920s as a leading jazz label. It was acquired in 1927 by the Columbia Graphophone Company which...
, this effectively put an end to the band's association with John Peel. Although a much more successful foray into the studio than the Dandelion tapes, the sessions were not without their problems. Remembering Rockin' Louie as a frontman from the Backbeat days, Dave Edmunds insisted Louie sang lead vocals on several of the tracks, much to Shaky's annoyance. One of Louie's vocals was for the Smiley Lewis
Smiley Lewis
Smiley Lewis was an American New Orleans rhythm and blues musician. The journalist, Tony Russell, in his book The Blues - From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray, stated "Lewis was the unluckiest man in New Orleans...
song "I Hear You Knocking
I Hear You Knocking
"I Hear You Knocking" is a popular rhythm and blues song with emphatic syncopation, written by Dave Bartholomew and Pearl King and published in 1955. The original recording was made by Smiley Lewis, reaching #2 on the Billboard R&B singles chart.The lyrics concern a former lover whose knocking at...
". Although it was, at the time, an unfamiliar song to Edmunds, he was inspired to record his own version later that same year.
As promised, Dave Edmunds got the band signed to Parlophone and the album A Legend was issued in October 1970. The album received some positive reviews, particularly for the authenticity of Edmunds' production which was full of 50s style slapback echo. Preceded in August by the single "Spirit Of Woodstock" (backed by "Down On The Farm" which was sung by Louie and was Edmunds' preference for the A-side) the album sold very poorly despite both sides of the single receiving some airplay. The Sunsets' fortunes began to deteriorate further when Dave Edmunds' own version of "I Hear You Knocking" was released as a single and began storming up the charts. When Parlophone had initially declined to release the song, Edmunds offered it to MAM Records
MAM Records
MAM Records was a British record label launched in 1970 by the management company Management Agency & Music Ltd. . It was founded by Gordon Mills and Tom Jones and distributed by London Records...
instead. However, as soon as the record had reached number one in the UK and was on its way to selling five million copies, the EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
label claimed a breach of contract. The resulting backlash saw Shakin' Stevens and the Sunsets removed from the Parlophone roster.
Following the Parlophone disappointment, the band experienced a few personnel changes. After a drunken episode which saw him smash a full bottle of whisky over Shaky's head, bassist Steven Percy was asked to leave the Sunsets. Also, unhappy with being based in Cardiff, Trevor Hawkins decided to leave the group and return to London. Their replacements were bass player George Chick, who offered an exciting visual element with his wild stage performance, and Bristolian rock and roll pianist Mike 'Ace' Skudder, who was also no slouch when it came to entertaining an audience.
With the new line-up the band recorded a cover of Fats Domino
Fats Domino
Antoine Dominique "Fats" Domino, Jr. is an American R&B and rock and roll pianist and singer-songwriter. He was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, and Creole was his first language....
's "All By Myself" for a compilation album called Battle Of The Bands. The producer on the session was Donny Marchand, an American now resident in the UK. Marchand promised the Sunsets that, with his connections in the music business, he could get them a contract with CBS Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
. True to his word, CBS did indeed offer the band a deal and Marchand took the Sunsets into Morgan Studios
Morgan Studios
Morgan Studios, also known as Morgan Sound Studios, were recording studios in Willesden, North London. The studios were notable for many recordings of the 1960s and 1970s by many British bands and artists such as Ten Years After, Yes, The Kinks, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Joan Armatrading, Cat...
in Willesden
Willesden
Willesden is an area in North West London which forms part of the London Borough of Brent. It is situated 5 miles north west of Charing Cross...
to record their second album, I'm No J.D., which was issued in the autumn of 1971. Halfway through the sessions, Carl Petersen left and the album was completed with the ace Welsh rock and roll guitarist Mickey Gee
Mickey Gee
Michael Richard 'Mickey' Gee was a rock and roll guitarist who played alongside some of the most prominent Welsh musicians of the last forty years.He died on 21 January 2009 in Cardiff from emphysema.-Career:...
. Although he remained with the Sunsets to play a few gigs after the sessions had finished, his stay with the band was short lived. However, Mickey Gee was to perform a major role in Shakin' Stevens' success of the early 80s, adding his distinctive lead guitar to many of Shaky's biggest hit records. With CBS reportedly ignoring Donny Marchand's advice to release the album as a budget price record, I'm No J.D. sold, in Marchand's own words, "1,000 copies". Unsurprisingly, CBS dropped the band shortly after the album was released.
Early in 1972, the band were offered the chance to record another album with Donny Marchand for the budget label Contour, a subsidiary of Polydor. The Sunsets were reluctant to agree at first having yet to receive royalties from Marchand for I'm No J.D.. However, with the promise that the financial issues would soon be resolved, the band (with new guitarist Willie Blackmore) went into Majestic Studios in Clapham
Clapham
Clapham is a district in south London, England, within the London Borough of Lambeth.Clapham covers the postcodes of SW4 and parts of SW9, SW8 and SW12. Clapham Common is shared with the London Borough of Wandsworth, although Lambeth has responsibility for running the common as a whole. According...
and rush recorded the album (along with the single "Sweet Little Rock And Roller") in one day. The Sunsets were hugely disappointed with the results and yet again the record, named Rockin' And Shakin' , failed to sell.
Despite their lack of chart success, Shakin' Stevens and the Sunsets were still a hugely popular live act enjoying regular and well attended gigs across the UK. They had developed a loyal and enthusiastic following, so much so that they were voted the 'Top British Rock And Roll Group (Of The Old School)' in NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
's 1972 poll. Their reputation as a live act soon spread to Europe and the group embarked on a tour of Sweden in August 1972. By this point, the line up had changed again with Ian Lawrence replacing Blackmore on guitar and Tony Britnall (previously with the Fortunes
The Fortunes
The Fortunes are an English harmony beat group. Formed in Birmingham, The Fortunes first came to prominence and international acclaim in 1965, when "You've Got Your Troubles" broke into the US and UK Top 10s...
and Jigsaw) becoming the new sax player. Britnall was another showman to complement George Chick and Ace Skudder, not to mention the actual frontman Shakin' Stevens. The Sunsets had now grown into a formidable live act which was being lapped up by the Europeans who, unlike British audiences, had yet to tire of rock and roll music.
The Dutch years
A meeting in the autumn of 1972 with a Dutchman named Cyril Van Der Hemel convinced Paul Barrett that Shakin' Stevens and the Sunsets should forget about the unprofitable one-off record deals in Britain and should instead concentrate on the much more lucrative live circuit on the European continent. Van Der Hemel ran a production company named Tulip which focused on promoting British acts who had failed in their homeland. He promised the Sunsets professionally run tours in Holland and other parts of Europe and a Dutch record contract which the band might actually be able to make some money out of. With nothing to lose, Shakin' Stevens and the Sunsets readily accepted the Tulip deal and, as a result, spent a large part of 1973 touring Holland with a reasonable amount of success.A record deal was struck with Dureco Records which resulted in the release (via the Pink Elephant label) of the album Shakin Stevens & Sunsets [sic] and the singles "Honey Honey" and "Spirit Of Woodstock" (a re-recording of their debut single). The Sunsets were considered successful enough in Holland for them to be placed above Argent
Argent (band)
Argent are an English rock band founded in 1969 by keyboardist Rod Argent, formerly of The Zombies.-Career:The first three demos from Argent, recorded in the autumn of 1968 featured Mac MacLeod on bass guitar though he was not meant to become a member of the group.Original members of the band were...
on the bill at that August's Emmen Festival, much to the disgust of the prog rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
giants who were something of a big deal in the UK at the time. The band were also beginning to enjoy some exposure on European TV
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
, most notably a typically raucous performance on the German show Hits A Go Go. The album and "Honey Honey" single were eventually licensed to the Emerald Gem label for release in the UK but, perhaps predictably, both sunk without trace. It would be well over two years before Shakin' Stevens and the Sunsets were to release anymore records in Britain. Not that the Sunsets were short of gigs in the UK. One notable appearance around this time was at the 21st birthday party for Kenneth Tynan
Kenneth Tynan
Kenneth Peacock Tynan was an influential and often controversial English theatre critic and writer.-Early life:...
's daughter at the Young Vic theatre in London. Amongst the star studded crowd were Peter Sellers
Peter Sellers
Richard Henry Sellers, CBE , known as Peter Sellers, was a British comedian and actor. Perhaps best known as Chief Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther film series, he is also notable for playing three different characters in Dr...
and Liza Minnelli
Liza Minnelli
Liza May Minnelli is an American actress and singer. She is the daughter of singer and actress Judy Garland and film director Vincente Minnelli....
as well as the Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
novelist Edna O'Brien
Edna O'Brien
Edna O'Brien is an Irish novelist and short story writer whose works often revolve around the inner feelings of women, and their problems in relating to men and to society as a whole.-Life and career:...
who apparently took a very keen interest in Shakin' Stevens, inviting him back to her Chelsea
Chelsea, London
Chelsea is an area of West London, England, bounded to the south by the River Thames, where its frontage runs from Chelsea Bridge along the Chelsea Embankment, Cheyne Walk, Lots Road and Chelsea Harbour. Its eastern boundary was once defined by the River Westbourne, which is now in a pipe above...
flat
Apartment
An apartment or flat is a self-contained housing unit that occupies only part of a building...
. The happily married Shaky only agreed on the proviso that he could bring the rest of the band with him.
Early 1974 saw yet more upheavals in the band's line-up as both Ian Lawrence and George Chick left the group to be replaced by Mike Lloyd Jones and Malcolm Priest on lead guitar and bass respectively. The irrepressible Tony Britnall also decided it was time to move on and chose to remain in Holland, where he later become involved in the team behind the Stars on 45
Stars on 45
Stars on 45 was a Dutch novelty pop act that was briefly very popular in the United Kingdom, throughout Europe, the United States and Australia in the early 1980s. The group later shortened its name to Stars On in the U.S., while in the U.K. and Ireland it was known as Starsound...
phenomenon of the early 80s. In spite of the many British and European touring commitments, Shaky still found time to record a cover of Ricky Nelson
Ricky Nelson
Eric Hilliard Nelson , better known as Ricky Nelson or Rick Nelson, was an American singer-songwriter, instrumentalist, and actor...
's "Lonesome Town
Lonesome Town
Lonesome Town is the name of a song written by Baker Knight. A version sung by Ricky Nelson became a hit single in the United States, reaching #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1958.The song appears on the soundtrack to the film Pulp Fiction...
", although this time backed by Dureco session musicians rather than the Sunsets. Thanks in part to a prominent TV appearance, the single (still credited to Shakin' Stevens and the Sunsets) actually managed to reach the Dutch Top 20. Later during 1974, the Sunsets took advantage of a friend's offer to knock up some demos in his Dutch recording studio. Ironically, these rough recordings, including versions of "Tiger", "Silver Wings" and "Sugaree", were later licensed to numerous labels throughout the 1980s and would end up as probably the most widely distributed of all the music made by Shakin' Stevens and the Sunsets.
With Dureco requesting a new LP from the Sunsets, 1975 found Paul Barrett attempting to create a concept album exploring the relationship between the gangsters of the 1930s with the 'outlaw' music created by the rock and roll stars of the 1950s. Taking his lead from the notorious bank robber John Dilinger, Barrett named the album Manhattan Melodrama (a reference to the film Dillinger watched shortly before he was shot dead). However, yet again, the band felt they were not given the time to create the record they wanted and, once producer Schell Shelvekins had spent months overdubbing synthesizers and remixing the album to his satisfaction, the Sunsets had just about disowned the project. When the record was finally released later in 1975 (only in Holland), even the sleeve failed to gain the band's appreciation: "I wouldn't have packaged potatoes in that cover", complained Paul Barrett.
With the Dureco agreement at an end, Paul Barrett struck a deal with Dutchman Peter Meulenbroeks who owned the small Dynamite label. Finding themselves in the most basic of studio facilities the Sunsets produced their most authentic sounding rock and roll recordings since A Legend. The first fruits of these sessions were the five track "Frantic" EP which was only released at the time in France by the Skydog label. A rare UK release occurred in 1976 when the Phil Bailey-produced single "Jungle Rock" was issued on the Mooncrest
Mooncrest Records
Mooncrest Records is a British record label that was formed in 1973 as a subsidiary of Charisma Records.They issued albums by Shirley Collins , Iain Matthews , Shakin' Stevens and Alan Hull . More recently they have handled Fairport Convention and Michael Chapman...
label. Nobody was particularly surprised when the single flopped but, when Hank Mizell
Hank Mizell
Hank Mizell was an American singer, guitarist and songwriter...
's original version was reissued weeks later and effortlessly made its way to number three in the UK singles chart (in a manner reminiscent of their 'near miss' with "I Hear You Knocking"), it seemed as if the Sunsets were fated to never make the big time. The Dynamite sessions produced more Dutch-only releases in a single ("You Mostest Girl"), EP ("Sexy Ways") and 10" album (C'mon Memphis) but these were to prove the final original releases by Shakin' Stevens and the Sunsets.
Beginning of the end
In the Autumn of 1976 Phil Bailey (who had produced the "Jungle Rock" single) approached Track RecordsTrack Records
Track Records is an English record label founded in London in 1966 by Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp, then managers of hard rock band The Who. The most successful artists whose work appeared on the Track label were The Jimi Hendrix Experience, The Who, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, Thunderclap...
with a view to them signing a band he was managing named Rock Island Line. He persuaded Track's Danny Secunda and Mike Shaw to come and see Rock Island Line perform at Warwick University in a bill which also happened to include Shakin' Stevens and the Sunsets. By this point the Sunsets had Ian Lawrence back playing steel guitar alongside Mike Lloyd Jones, while George Chick had also returned to replace Mal Priest on bass. Clearly out-performing Rock Island Line, Track's scouts ignored Bailey's group and instead Danny Secunda invited Shakin' Stevens and the Sunsets to record two songs with him at Gooseberry Studios. Those songs, "Lightning Bar Blues" and "Lend Me Your Heart", remain unreleased but, according to Paul Barrett are amongst the best recordings the Sunsets ever made.
Despite their initial interest, Track seemed unsure of their next move. Should they try and attach the Sunsets to the emerging punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
movement or should they just focus on making Shakin' Stevens a solo star and ditch his backing group? Track's indecision could not have been helped by the increasingly perilous financial state in which the label currently found itself. After another recording session with the Sunsets (this time produced by Charlie Gillett
Charlie Gillett
Charlie Gillett , was a British radio presenter, musicologist and writer, mainly on rock and roll and other forms of popular music...
) Track decided on option number two and brought in Mike Hurst
Mike Hurst (producer)
Mike Hurst is an English musician and record producer.-Biography:...
to produce a Shakin' Stevens solo single. The result, "Never" was released by Track in March 1977. Sensing which way the wind was blowing, George Chick, Ian Lawrence and Mike Lloyd Jones all left the Sunsets for good and formed a new band named Quarter Moon. Paul Barrett wasted no time in inviting ex-roadie Johnny Chop (real name Colin Hopkins) to take over bass and recruiting Danny Wild to play lead guitar. While Track offered Shaky a solo contract on the strength of "Never", Shakin' Stevens and the Sunsets were still regularly gigging as a unit, particularly in London at venues such as the Hope and Anchor, Islington
Hope and Anchor, Islington
The Hope and Anchor is a public house on Upper Street, in the London Borough of Islington. During the mid-1970s it was one of the first pubs to embrace the emergent, but brief, phenomenon of pub rock...
and the Greyhound pub in Fulham
Fulham
Fulham is an area of southwest London in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, SW6 located south west of Charing Cross. It lies on the left bank of the Thames, between Putney and Chelsea. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London...
.
In September, Track requested a video for Shaky's next single "Somebody Touched Me" single and it was during shooting at the Rock Garden in Covent Garden
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as...
that Paul Barrett encountered the band Fumble. Contemporaries of the Sunsets on the rock and roll circuit, they informed Barrett that they had a landed a job as the in-house band for Jack Good
Jack Good (producer)
Jack Good is a pioneering former TV television producer, musical theatre producer, record producer, musician and painter of icons.-Career:...
's upcoming Elvis - The Musical. With three actors portraying the King
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
, Barrett discovered that the role of the 'middle Elvis' was still up for grabs and immediately realised that Shaky was perfect for the part. While Shaky himself was initially uninterested, he eventually accepted the part after one of Jack Good's team, Annabel Leventon, came to watch him perform at the Greyhound with the Sunsets.
Paul Barrett was especially keen for Shaky to take the role, realising it was the chance of a lifetime for the singer. Even the rest of the Sunsets were happy for Shaky to take the part, despite the fact that it would most likely leave them without their front man for at least six months. The plan was for Rockin' Louie to take over as lead singer until Shaky was ready to return, by which point the band's profile would be boosted by having a leading West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
star fronting the group. As it turned out, Shaky was never to return to the group and their gig at the Broom in Woolwich
Woolwich
Woolwich is a district in south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.Woolwich formed part of Kent until 1889 when the County of London was created...
on 25 October 1977 turned out to be Shakin' Stevens and the Sunsets' last performance together.
Life after Shaky
As soon as Shaky began rehearsals for Elvis-The Musical, the Sunsets pressed on with their plan to have Rockin' Louie as their frontman. This worked fine until one evening at the Rock Garden (the same venue which had proved the catalyst in Shaky's change of fortune) when an audience became disappointed by the non-appearance of Shakin' Stevens as well as the crazy pianist Ace Skudder, who inexplicably failed to turn up for the gig. The venue's management apparently used this as a reason to negotiate a rebate from Paul Barrett, a suggestion which nearly ended in a violent confrontation. Barrett washed his hands of the group shortly after. While Skudder appeared on Shakin' Stevens' self titled solo album for Track (released shortly before the label went bust), The Sunsets persisted for a few more years before Louie left and reformed the Backbeats with Sid Petherick and Dave Goddard.By the early 1980s, after signing to Epic Records
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...
, Shakin' Stevens finally found chart success, enjoying the first of four UK number one singles in 1981 with "This Ole House
This Ole House
"This Ole House" is a popular song written by Stuart Hamblen, and published in 1954.-Background:Hamblen was supposedly out on a hunting expedition when he and his fellow hunter, actor John Wayne, came across a tumbledown hut in the mountains, many miles from civilization...
" and eventually becoming one of the most successful acts of the 1980s. This unexpected popularity led to an interest in Shaky's back catalogue. EMI had already reissued A Legend in 1979 as a result of his appearance in Elvis-The Musical and decided to re-release it again in 1981 on their budget MFP label. Both I'm No J.D. and Rockin' And Shakin' were reissued by Pickwick
Pickwick
Pickwick may refer to:*The Pickwick Papers, a novel by Charles Dickens, or its main character, Mr Pickwick**The Pickwick Papers , a british 1952-film**The Pickwick Papers ....
in new sleeves with up to date pictures of Shaky and both were confusingly titled Shakin' Stevens and the Sunsets. The reissue of I'm No J.D. even earned a respectable placing in the album charts (although apparently without resulting in any royalty payments to the Sunsets). The Dutch recordings (many issued in the UK for the first time) were re-released by a variety of labels such as Mint and Magnum Force. The most readily available of the Sunsets recordings seemed to be those hastily recorded Dutch demos from 1974, which Phil Bailey had managed to get hold of and licence to as many budget labels in Europe as he could contact. Some of these releases included new recordings featuring Rockin' Louie and even Paul Barrett on vocals and had nothing whatsoever to do with Shakin' Stevens, despite his now immediately recognisable image being prominently displayed on the front cover.
As late as 1993, long after the rush of interest in Shaky's past history had subsided, Paul Barrett's sense of injustice at monies owed still persisted. As a result, Shakin' Stevens found himself in Cardiff High Court alongside Dave Edmunds facing charges of non-payment of royalties from former Sunsets Rockin' Louie, Carl Petersen, Steve Percy and Paul Dolan. The prosecution claimed that the former band members were due a share of royalties which Shaky and his management had received from the reissue of A Legend in the early eighties. The judge agreed and, while the unpaid royalties only amounted to around £70,000 to be divided amongst all of them, the court costs ended up costing Shaky and Dave Edmunds £500,000.
While Shaky was willing to call a truce after that court case, Paul Barrett was still seething from the non-payment of royalties from the I'm No J.D. and Rockin' And Shakin' albums. As a result, Barrett reissued both albums on a single CD in 2005 under the uncompromising title of How To Be Awarded Two Gold Records And Not Be Paid A Penny In Royalties, complete with sleeve notes inviting both Sony
Sony Music Entertainment
Sony Music Entertainment ' is the second-largest global recorded music company of the "big four" record companies and is controlled by Sony Corporation of America, the United States subsidiary of Japan's Sony Corporation....
and Universal
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group is an American music group, the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations...
(who now officially owned the rights to the two records) to sue him if they believed their copyrights had been infringed. Neither label responded to Barrett's challenge.
After a period of several years away from the limelight, Shakin' Stevens enjoyed a resurgence in popularity thanks to his winning appearance in the 2005 hit UK TV show Hit Me, Baby, One More Time which led to his performance at the 2008 Glastonbury Festival
Glastonbury Festival 2008
The 2008 Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts was held from 25 to 29 June 2008.-New features:* The John Peel stage doubled in size and had a screen outside it to watch bands.* There was a new 'Shangri-La' area that replaced Lost Vagueness...
. Meanwhile, a version of the Sunsets still exists to this day featuring ex-Backbeats bassist (and original Sunset) Dave Goddard alongside guitarist Lewis Clayton, pianist Neil 'Nutrocker' and drummer Buzz Baker. In recent years the Sunsets has been fronted by Shakin' Stevens' nephew, Levi Barratt.
Discography
- 1970: A Legend
- 1971: I'm No J.D.
- 1972: Rockin' And Shakin'
- 1973: Shakin' Stevens & Sunsets
- 1975: Manhattan Melodrama
- 1977: C'mon Memphis