Michael Barratt (born 4 March 1948), known professionally as Shakin' Stevens, is a Welsh singer who was big in The '80s but whose most successful songs were nostalgia hits, evoking the sound of 1950s rock and roll. Although he started out in the late 1960s, he did not achieve commercial success until 1980, becoming one of the UK's biggest-selling singles artist of the next decade, with a total of 33 top 40 hits in the UK charts, four of which got to number one.
Ain't gonna need these tropes no longer…
- Artist and the Band: He was the frontman for Shakin' Stevens and the Sunsets in the 1970s before finding commercial success as a solo artist. This prompted interest in the Sunsets' back catalogue; thanks in part to the use of images of Shaky on the redesigned album covers even though some of the recordings did not include him, a couple of their early albums ended up selling reasonably well, which ultimately led to a court case over royalties payments (or rather, the lack thereof) which pitted Shaky against several of his old bandmates.
- As Himself: Sort of. Shaky appears as a Shakin' Stevens tribute act in the shaman episode of The Cleaner.
- Christmas Songs. One of his most enduringly popular songs is "Merry Christmas Everyone", a number one hit in 1985 which has been featured on many Christmas compilation albums and gets plenty of airplay on British radio stations every December. With the advent of digital downloads, it means Shaky usually has an annual return to the UK Singles Chart! "The Best Christmas of Them All" is another popular one if not quite in the same league. Although it's since been eclipsed by his original songs, his cover of "Blue Christmas" was also a big hit in 1982.
- Cover Version: Most of his songs. "This Ole House", his first number one hit (in 1981), had been a number one hit on both sides of the Atlantic for Rosemary Clooney back in 1954. Other examples include "Green Door" (first recorded by Jim Lowe in 1956), "I'll Be Satisfied" (first recorded by Jackie Wilson in 1959), "Lipstick, Powder and Paint" (first recorded by Big Joe Turner in 1956) and "Come See About Me" (originally a hit for The Supremes in 1964).
- Stage Name: Named after a friend of his in order to avoid confusion with his mentor, Paul "Legs" Barrett (no relation), who managed and occasionally appeared on stage with Shakin' Stevens and the Sunsets in the 1970s.
