Shakin' Stevens also known as 'Shaky' (born Michael Barratt, 4 March 1948, in Ely, Cardiff, South Glamorgan, Wales) is a Welsh rock and roll singer, who has the distinction of being the top selling male UK singles artist of the 1980s. He began his career fronting Shakin' Stevens and the Sunsets, managed by Paul Barrett. The Sunsets were a 1950s influenced rock'n'roll outfit from Penarth, South Glamorgan. An early break for the band arrived when they were given a support slot for The Rolling Stones in December 1969. ...show more

Shakin' Stevens also known as 'Shaky' (born Michael Barratt, 4 March 1948, in Ely, Cardiff, South Glamorgan, Wales) is a Welsh rock and roll singer, who has the distinction of being the top selling male UK singles artist of the 1980s. He began his career fronting Shakin' Stevens and the Sunsets, managed by Paul Barrett. The Sunsets were a 1950s influenced rock'n'roll outfit from Penarth, South Glamorgan. An early break for the band arrived when they were given a support slot for The Rolling Stones in December 1969.

Despite landing a recording contract with Parlophone Records the following year, the band found success hard to come by, at least in their native Great Britain, though they had hit singles in other countries. After seven years of constant touring and recording, Shaky left the band in 1977 and gained a lead role in Jack Good's "Elvis!" musical. Regular TV appearances on the revamped TV show Oh Boy led eventually to his first chart success, a reworked version of a Buck Owens song "Hot Dog", which Owens would go on to re-record using Stevens arrangement which had been created by pedal steel guitar player B.J. Cole.

In 1979, Shaky signed what was to be his most successful management deal with Freya Miller, and in 1981, he had his first UK number 1 with "This Ole House" and would have 10 more songs reach the top 5, including three number 1 hits with "[track artist=Shakin' Stevens]Green Door", "Oh Julie" and "Merry Christmas Everyone", while "You Drive Me Crazy" and "A Love Worth Waiting For" reached number 2 in 1981 and 1984 respectively. His 1984 hit "Teardrops" featured Hank B. Marvin on guitar and Stevens has often featured famous musicians such as Albert Lee, Roger Taylor, Bonnie Tyler and more recently Tony Joe White on his recordings. In the mid 80s, Stevens reunited with former producer Dave Edmunds to record an album Lipstick, Powder And Paint and the Christmas smash "Merry Christmas Everyone". ...show less