Michael Barratt, otherwise, and far more famously known as, Shakin' Stevens will be the grand old age of 65 next year.
Most people will remember Shaky as an incredibly charismatic performer - his string of 11 top 5 chart hits in the 1980's bearing eloquent testimony to his abilities to entertain and beguile. What many forget/do not know is, prior to 1981, and his first UK number one record, Shaky had been a performing and recording artist for 13 years - gigging up and down the country and abroad with The Sunsets - to considerable acclaim.
The Sunsets were, as contemporary articles agree, one of the great live bands, attracting the attention of NME hacks, John Peel - who attempted to sign them to his own Dandelion record label and, finally, and certainly most importantly for Stevens himself, Freya Miller who signed him to Epic Records.
The rest was history....
Thanks Michael and thanks to the mighty Shakin' Stevens and The Sunsets - one of the great British exponents, along with Billy Fury, Johnny Kidd and Bob Fish, of rrreal Rock and Roll...
Lastly, and entirely in keeping with Michael's music, Everyone here at Twat Bubble would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
