Shakin' Stevens & the Sunsets - The Rock Garden, Covent Garden, London

SHAKIN' STEVENS & THE SUNSETS
THE ROCK GARDEN
Covent Garden, London - 28th May 1977

Shaky on stage Covent Garden's Rock Garden - 28th May 1977		Known Songs Performed
		Never
		Rebound
		Sweet Little Sixteen
		Honey Hush
		Lights Out
		Tear It Up
		Wasted Days And Wasted Nights
		It Hurts Me
		Great Balls Of Fire
		Johnny B.Goode

Musicians

Shakin' Stevens - Lead Vocal

Mike "Ace" Scudder - Piano

Cyril "Sid" Pertherick - Guitar

Johnny "Choppo" Hopkins - Bass

Robert "Rockin' Louie" Llewwllyn - Drums

HAVING RECENTLY made a passing derogatory comment about British rockers being mainly sub standard Eddie Cochran imitators draped in irrelevant clobber. I thought I ought to check the action and see if things have improved any since I got that impression a few years back.
Looks Like they have. Mind you, I don't think I'd ever seen Shakin' Stevens & the Sunsets before - perhaps they've always been pretty good.

Ironically, Shaky does look a bit like Eddie Cochran, a touch of the Billy Fury's about him too, and he does wear some things approaching a drape. A trim stage version of one though, not one of yer actual fully-rigged, box 'n'cox jobs. The rest of the guys are more casual, togged out in an assortment of sweat shirts and Levis.

More to the point, Shaky's a good singer and the four musicians - Ace (piano), Sid (guitar), Choppo (bass) and Louie (drums) - know what they're about. And that, along with a love for the music, is all it takes to rock'n'roll.

It's difficult to be objective when you're swilling down pints of tepid ale in a sauna cellar
and looking for nothing more elaborate than an hour of rock favourites to crash around to, but if I was forced to sort their act into good, bad and indifferent I'd say they were roughest on the really well known classics like "Johnny B.Goode", "Sweet Little Sixteen" and "Great Balls Of Fire". No one should bother with those except Berry and Lewis.

A dozen or more equally virile ravers went down much better with the beer and peanuts, especially "Tear It Up" and "Honey Hush" (Johnny Burnette style), Charlie Rich's "Rebound" and a remarkably faithful attempt at "Lights Out", possibly the fastest song known to man or beast until the new wave raised its speeding body from the gutter.

As proof of his vocal ability, Shaky cut the cake with some steely ballads too, notably "Wasted Days And Wasted Nights" (if indeed that southern stumble of a heartache can be classed as a ballad), Presley's "It Hurts Me" and his, Shaky's, latest 45, "Never".