Shakin’ Stevens Rocks Guildford: 30th Anniversary Tour Phase II, by Fiona Lister on 14th November 2011

Shakin’ Stevens celebrated thirty glorious years of rockin’ at Guildford’s brand new G Live entertainment venue for one day, in what was the fourth triumphant concert of his 30^th Anniversary Phase II Tour. The sixty-three year old charismatic rocker arrived in Guildford after performances in Tunbridge Wells Assembly Halls, King’s Lynn Corn Exchange and Swindon’s Oasis Leisure Centre. The audience adored him and it nearly ended in a Benny Hill style chase when a number of young women rushed to the front of the stage looking smitten and urgent.

Phase II of his concert follows the Phase I concert which toured the UK in February and March 2011 where he appeared in 19 gigs. Both concerts mark a welcome return for Stevens, since he had a near fatal heart attack in July 2010 from which he spent two months in hospital recovering. Despite this he has also made appearances in Europe and in summer festivals…and found the time last year to put together his 147 track Epic Masters Album – a box set containing 6 CDs, plus bring out another album next year. Shaky’s dedication and energy shows no sign of dissipating and his health scare has not prevented him for giving a highly polished value for money performance; fans were treated to a quality two-hour long gig (with a brief interval) and if he thought the masses of cheering women should sit down, he told them to. The crowds are certainly showing up and G Live was packed. This concert is not just a brave move on his part, spanning 26 back-to-back tour dates, but one that showcases his latest music (a mixture of early rock ‘n’ roll, blues and jazz) and sophisticated lyrics. It’s sensational and one of the best events I’ve ever been invited to. The concert pays tribute to his work over the years. Yes, there are the famous 1980s songs like ‘Green Door’, but his recent work is quite different, more rocky with country, Cajun and blues influences. The lyrics are profound. They are not just fun party songs, but ones that now have real weight. They focus on heartbreak, changes and challenges. I would love to see a musical set to his latest work with a script linking his songs together. I have no doubt it would prove a West End hit. If you have been to watch 'Dreamboats & Petticoats', you will get the jist. Cameron Mackintosh, phone this man!

Similar to Elvis and Jerry Lee Lewis, Stevens began his career by singing in schools and church halls and from there moved on to universities and clubs, by which time he had formed the band ‘Shakin’ Stevens And The Sunsets’. Although he was performing in the 1960s and 1970s his career took off when he auditioned for the role of Elvis in Jack Good’s West End production of “Elvis!” The Musical and landed the role as the young Elvis.

Welsh born Shakin’ Stevens (born Michael Barratt, 4 March 1948) was certainly the most successful male best-selling singles artist of the 1980s. Indeed, in the UK he had thirty-three top forty hit singles in the sales charts. He burst onto the scene with his first chart-topping song "This Ole House" followed with ten more songs reaching the top five, including three number 1 hits with "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 ).

Each Thursday night wide-eyed schoolchildren and teenagers all over the UK rushed home to a dinner of baked beans and Captain Birdseye’s fish fingers and switched on their television sets to see the self-styled young Elvis look-alike strut his stuff on ‘Top of The Pops’. He was sensational! The presenter, Andy Powell, a homely cable-knitted jumper wearer invariably announced his act to an expectant gathering of adoring young women dressed in sequinned frocks and big hoop earrings. Shaky sang songs about girls called Marie, Julie and Shirley – every day girls who you’d think he’d met at the local chippy or by the Woolworth’s pick ‘n’ mix. Damsels everywhere wanted to locate his grocery store and hang out there amongst the melons in order to get a peak of Shaky. Grinning wildly and gazing lovingly down at the camera, the dark haired rockin’ romeo sang lyrics such as: “I want you to be my very own”. Swoon! Teeny boppers and stalkers wanted him to sing songs dedicated to them and Maries, Julies and Shirleys were jealously regarded. Shaky favoured a denim jacket with an upturned collar, black shirt tucked into his jeans with creases down the front, topped off with white plimsolls or brogues. Shaky posed for photographs on car bonnets and knew how to seduce the camera with his winning smile and floppy dark quiff. There was and still is no doubt that Shaky is the epitome of sophisticated rock 'n' roll, something that has been achieved through years of hard graft. He has lashings of mojo and champions the forefathers of rock ‘n’ roll but still keeps his own identity. Today he looks like a dude. Shaky’s band was brilliant and the keyboardist could hammer out those notes just as well as Jerry Lee Lewis, which would undoubtedly take hours of dedicated work to perfect. Ultimately, Shaky is most successful at bringing back the rock ‘n’ roll and blues sounds of Elvis, Jerry Lee, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Chuck Berry to a new generation with fresh material and songs. He champions their great work but reaches out for his own style and way of doing things. This is something that could have failed miserably, but he made it cool by clearly loving what he does and the reason he is touring today is because people still recognise this. The songs are brilliantly written, the band is still sensational and during the 1980s, we hadn’t heard anything quite like it. At a time when pop stars were miming their acts on Top of The Pops, there was Shaky with a brilliant band who could not have faked a single note. Even our parents were dancing about to Shaky. Everyone loved him except for the anarchist punks. He was unique, talented and still is. Shaky mania is sweeping the country once again.

I decided it was high time to see the legend live on stage. I had sadly missed one of his concerts all those years ago, at the tender age of thirteen when I became stranded one evening at a Little Chef in Hindhead. Now was my chance to take a trip down memory lane or perhaps find something different. Either way, I wanted to know what was behind ‘the Green Door’; a question that has puzzled me for years.

Outside in the car park stood the Shaky tour bus by the sparkly new G Live entertainment venue. The dark night was chilly and teenage girls stood outside looking freezing cold in mini skirts and spaghetti strapped tops holding glittery handbags, cameras and Shaky paraphernalia – cds’ and box sets, programmes, t-shirts and posters, all contained like a pirate’s treasures in a Shakin’ Stevens bag. They were in big love and even today, around twenty-five years since he became the icon and dreamboat of teenagers to my young generation (I’m now a late thirty-something!), similarly, to these youngsters, Stevens clearly has a huge amount of allure. I was dying to see what he looked like now. Judging by the posters he has aged extremely well and is certainly a hot sixty-three year old. Would he still resemble Elvis Presley, swivel his hips and spin himself about in plimsolls like a fully charged Billy Joel? I rather doubted it.

Inside the glass menagerie that is the shiny, very white new G Live building, I spotted a whole lost generation from the 1980s era sipping wine and eating in the restaurant; many of them had dressed in a similar fashion from those days. Young guys in their teens and twenties had quiffed their hair and teddy boy jackets were out in full force. Fans, families, music lovers and those who just wanted to get out for the night, all joined together for a dose of vino and Shaky. There is no doubt that Shakin’ Stevens is attracting a new generation to his concerts. He has universal appeal.

The G Live auditorium filled up quickly and at 8:05 p.m. Shaky rushed onto the stage to join his ten piece strong band including: John Bishop (Guitars and Mandolin), Matt Holland (Trumpet and Backing Vocals), Andy ‘Wal’ Coughlan (Bass and Double Bass), Howard Tibble (Drums), Jools Greaves (Tenor Sax and Harmonica), Martyn Hope (MD and Lead Guitar), James Compton (Piano and Keyboards), Sarah Geary (Backing Vocals), Kirstie Roberts (Backing Vocals) and Charmain Elliott (Backing Vocals). Considering his heart attack last year, Shaky looked amazingly well. He had the same rich black hair and danced throughout most of the songs, in fact his best songs were sung sitting down. His famous denim jacket had been replaced by a dark suit and tie. Shaky has matured gracefully, like a fine wine and has become a more sophisticated version of his youthful self. The audience was quiet to begin with, but I spotted a whole string of girls in the front row swaying in their seats and waving their arms in the air. As soon as he announced the song ‘Marie Marie’ people went crazy, jumped out of their seats and ran into the aisles to dance. Similarly ‘Hot Dog’, the song that launched his career 30 years ago, was greeted with the same enthusiasm. ‘Green Door’ produced total euphoria.

‘It’s A Shame’, ‘If That’s All It Takes’ and ‘Cry Just A Little Bit’ were undoubtedly the greatest songs in this concert. ‘It’s A Shame’ reminded me of a blend of George Harrison mixed with strong country and blues influences. The lyrics are incredibly powerful. I’m greatly looking forward to his album release next year. Stevens remains the UK’s 16th highest selling artist in the history of the charts and according to the Guinness Book of British Hit Singles and Albums “shares with The Beatles (60s) and Elton John (70s) the distinction of being the most successful UK singles chart performer of a decade (the 1980s).” He has won a multitude of Gold, Platinum and Double Platinum Discs, together with global honours.

Whatever you do, don’t miss your chance to see Shakin’ Stevens on his 30^th Anniversary Phase II Tour. Don’t miss out! Shaky is travelling to twenty-two more venues. CLICK HERE for the 30^th Anniversary tour dates and venues.

Further information on Shakin’ Stevens, including his biography can be found here: http://www.shakinstevens.com/

The 1980s
1980s was a time long before mobile phones, CDs and play stations, although Walkmans had been around since the 1970s. The public spent a fortune on TDK tapes. Computers were just coming into being, with the arrival of something called an IBM 5150 that resembled a creature from a Buck Rogers space movie and which had a black screen with green type. Then the Commodore 64 burst onto the scene and we started playing computer games, although Arcade games were still considered more fun, particularly Space Invaders. Bright red phone boxes containing dial phones were dotted around the landscape (10 pence a call), records were brought from Woolworths (or “Woolies” as it became known), the Rubik’s Cube drove us nuts, writers bashed their work out on typewriters. We were children of the Thatcher years, a time when the height of fashion was ra-ra skirts, shoulder-pads, naff fluorescent jumpsuits, the Diane von Fürstenberg Wrap Dress, skin-tight acid-washed jeans, mini-skirts, batwing tops, donkey jackets, Gloria Vanderbilt jeans, pixie boots (I had a maroon pair), chinos and "Deely Boppers" or "Head Boppers (these were annoying plastic head bands with springs attached, on the top of which were glittery stars or hearts). Everyone was rushing out to get perms and mullets. Hair gel and big hair were in. We watched ‘Grange Hill’ and episodes of ‘Doctor Who’ starring Tom Baker. As mentioned before, we loved ‘Top of the Pops’ and the most popular game shows were ‘Crackerjack’ and ‘Blankety Blank’ (Les Dawson was the most hilarious game show host). Madonna and Duran Duran were just some of the other musical artists who first appeared during the 1980s. We lived in the era of the New Romantics: Ultravox, Visage, Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet, ABC and Culture Club. Adam and the Ants and Bow Wow Wow were also born at this time. Because we didn’t Tweet or have Facebook, communication was limited, meaning that most of us were out all the time – watching bands.