Paul Barrett - Shakin' Stevens

Shakin' Stevens

Cardiff teenager Michael Barratt (later Shakin Stevens) was a fan of the Backbeats, and sometimes performed a guest vocal with the band. He became referred to as 'Rockin' Louie II'. By the mid 1960s however, Barratt had formed his own rock band, named the Olympics, then the Cossacks, then finally the Denims, who became a support act to the Backbeats. When the Denims broke up, Barratt formed a new group named the Rebels. Paul Barrett reluctantly went to see the Rebels after a recommendation early in 1969. Although unimpressed with the band, Barrett saw something in their young singer. He offered to manage Michael Barratt on the condition that he left the Rebels and, secondly, find a new stage name. Barratt agreed, left the Rebels and renamed himself Shakin' Stevens.

Barrett would manage Shakin' Stevens and the Sunsets until 1977, even appearing on stage with them as a vocalist. When Shaky began rehearsals for Elvis!-The Musical, the Sunsets used Rockin' Louie as their frontman, until Stevens was free from his commitment to the show. This worked okay until one night at the Rock Garden, London when the audience became disappointed by the non-appearance of Shakin' Stevens and nearly rioted. The venue's management used this to negotiate a rebate from Paul Barrett, a suggestion which nearly ended in a violent confrontation.

The Sunsets persisted for a few more years with Barrett arranging tours of the Netherlands and Ireland as well as many one night gigs in the UK. Barrett negotiated Rockin' Louie’s recording of an album titled ‘It Will Stand’ for Charly records that became a minor seller in European markets and a minor hit in the Southern US states. When Louie finally left the Sunsets and reformed the Backbeats, Barrett decided the time had arrived to sever his association with the Sunsets. Several years later the Sunsets started performing again with original members, but with no further association with Barrett.

Stevens signed a new management deal with Freya Miller in 1979 and went on to national and international success. Barrett became embroiled in litigation for twenty years over unpaid royalties from several albums that had been written and produced under his guidance, but later rereleased to commercial success. In 1993 after 16 years of negotiations Shakin' Stevens found himself in Cardiff High Court alongside record producer Dave Edmunds facing charges of non-payment of royalties from former Sunsets Rockin' Louie, Carl Petersen, Steve Percy and Paul Dolan. The prosecution claimed that the former band members were due a share of royalties which Shaky and his management had received from the reissue of the album A Legend in the early 1980s. The judge agreed and, while the unpaid royalties only amounted to around £70,000 to be divided amongst all of them, the court costs ended up costing Shaky and Dave Edmunds £500,000.

Shaky was willing to call a truce after that court case, Paul Barrett was still angry about the non-payment of royalties from the I'm No J.D. and Rockin' And Shakin' albums. Barrett reissued both albums on a single CD in 2005 under the uncompromising title of How To Be Awarded Two Gold Records And Not Be Paid A Penny In Royalties, complete with sleeve notes issuing a challenge to both Sony and Universal (who now officially own the rights to the two records) to sue him if they believed their rights had been breached.