THOUGH ITS IMPENDING DEMISE WAS PREDICTED WITHIN MONTHS OF ITS DYNAMIC EMERGENCE IN THE EARLY FIFTIES, ROCK ‘N’ ROLL HAS CERTAINLY PROVED TO HAVE STAYING POWER. THE SAME CAN WELL BE SAID OF SHAKIN’STEVENS WHO FOR MORE THAN A DECADE HAS ESCHEWED THE VERY STRONG TEMPTATIONS TO DEPART FROM THE PURIST LINE BY SINGING POP, BEAT MUSIC OR CONTEMPORARY ROCK AND HAS FINALLY BEEN REWARDED FOR HIS DEDICATION TO ROCK ‘N ‘ ROLL WITH A NUMBER ONE THANKS TO "THIS OLE HOUSE".

All those years of sticking to his guns have seen Stevens survive where other British purveyors of rock ‘n’ roll have fallen by the wayside, which says a lot for his determination, especially since many of the diehard rockers have taken a lot of convincing that authentic rock ‘n’ roll can emanate from anywhere except the USA.
Shakin’Stevens acceptance, firstly by the teddy-boy fraternity and now, at last, by the chart-record buying public at large, must largely be credited to his brave stance in venturing beyond the standard R ‘n’ R classics into the realms of both obscure American songs and original material written here in Britain.
This album, for instance, includes a nice mix of originals, like "COME ALONG WITH ME","ROCK & ROLL SINGER","SUPER STAR", and American songs like "THAT IS ROCK & ROLL" (written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, who gave so many hits to Elvis Presley), the Carl Perkins composition "HONEY DON'T" and the powerful "SEA OF HEARTBREAK", alongside better known items like Chuck Berry's classic "LITTLE QUEENIE","I'M NOT A JUVENILE DELINGUENT" (written by George Goldner for the late Frankie Lymon) and Huey 'Piano Smith's' "SEA CRUISE" (a million seller for Frankie Ford)

Shakin’Stevens was born in Ely, Cardiff, on 4 March 1946, one of a family of 12. It was a legendary South Wales rock ‘n’ roll band called the backbeats who inspired his fanatical devotion to the idiom. At a time when the British ‘beat’ boom was gathering momentum, the Backbeats stuck with the DA haircuts and silver drape jackets, refusing to move on from that traditional rock ‘n’ roll style. They were unique like Mad Magazine, number one in a field of one. A lot of people didn’t like them but those that did went mad for their music. In the mid-teens, Stevens worked in various groups, including the Cossacks, who based their style loosely on the Shadows, but his heart was in rock ‘n’ roll. Early in 1968, music entrepreneur Paul Barrett (it’s his voice, not Stevens’, that does the spoken bit on "SUPER STAR") came across Stevens (real name Michael Barratt) but no relation, note the slightly different spelling of surnames) working in a transport club with a Peddlars’ style backing group.
Paul Barrett liked Stevens’ voice, good looks and strong rock ‘n’ roll material but hated the band: "I suggested we get together and find a new band", recalls Barrett, I then went about trying to get the guy from the Back beat out of semi-retirement. Rhythm guitarist Carl Petersen joined us first, then the legendary Rockin’ Louie on drums and support vocals and we had Steven Percy from the Skyliners on bass, with black keyboard player Ace Skudder joining us later. Down through the years, Louie and Ace were to be the constants in the Sunsets".
Barrett recalls that the name Shakin’Stevens and the Sunsets actually came from a roadsweep in Ely, Cardiff: "It appeared that this guy used to turn his broom on end, pretend it was a mike and sing to the kids in the streets. When they asked him who he was, he said he was going to be a star and have a band called Shakin’Stevens and the Sunsets" and that’s where Michael took the name from"! Initially, in order to get them work, Barrett had to pretend the Sunsets were a country-and-western band: "We got a lot of gigs in social clubs. The boys played C & W for the first half then launched into rock ‘n’ roll when the audiences were warmed up". A booking at the Northcote Arms in Middlesex provided the first break away from the Valleys and soon the band was touring all over the country, and abroad too, being particularly popular in Holland. Records soon followed, a whole string of albums and singles having been released over the years. Dave Edmunds multi-million selling version of "I Hear You Knockin" was inspired by his having heard Shakin’Stevens and the Sunsets perform the song "he even borrowed the music and lyrics from them to learn it. Later came Steven’s role as the mid-period Elvis Presley in the musical "Elvis", which started its run in December 1977 and his regular appearances in the popular TV show "Oh Boy"! Then in 1981 came the big breakthrough with "This Ole House" which has at last made him a major recording and performing star who still stays faithful to the rock ‘n’ roll heritage.