Shakin' Stevens and the Sunsets were a Welsh rock band formed in Cardiff in 1969. They released several records and toured throughout the 1970s and their lead singer Shakin' Stevens went on to become a successful solo artist in the 1980s. A version of the Sunsets, containing original members, still tours annually in the UK, Europe and Australia.
History Early years Shakin' Stevens and the Sunsets evolved from the rock and roll scene in and around 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".
Michael Barratt, Shakin Steven's birth name, was a fan of the group, and used to approach Louie for singing and dancing tips and, soon enough, Michael was being referred to as 'Rockin' Louie II'.Barrett, Paul; Hayward, Hillary (1983). Shakin' Stevens. W. H. Allen (London). 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, Barratt formed a new group named the Rebels. It was this outfit that Paul Barrett came to see after a recommendation early in 1969. Although 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 Barratt 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, Barratt 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, became Shakin' Stevens.Heatley, Michael (2005). Shaky. Michael O'Mara Books (London).
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 Prior 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 14 December. 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.
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 1 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 the Big Al Downing and The Poe Kats Rockabilly rocker from the 1950s "Down On The Farm", which was sung by Louie and was Edmunds' preference for the A-side) the album sold 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 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 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.
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 the Netherlands 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 the Netherlands with a reasonable amount of success.