''Let's Boogie'' is an album by Welsh
rock and roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm an ...
singer
Shakin' Stevens
Michael Barratt (born 4 March 1948), known professionally as Shakin' Stevens, is a Welsh singer and songwriter. He was the UK's biggest-selling singles artist of the 1980s.
His recording and performing career began in the late 1960s, althoug ...
, released in October 1987 by
Epic Records. It peaked at number 59 on the
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...
.
Release and content
The album is split into a studio side and a live side. Of the five studio tracks, four were released as singles, all becoming Top-40 hits in the UK, with "
What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For
"What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For?" is a song written by Joseph McCarthy, Howard Johnson and James V. Monaco in 1916 for the Broadway production ''Follow Me'', in which it was performed by Henry Lewis.
Early recordings
Lewis' versio ...
" charting the highest at number 5, which was his last Top-10 single until the re-entry of "
Merry Christmas Everyone
"Merry Christmas Everyone" is a festive song recorded by Welsh singer-songwriter Shakin' Stevens. Written by Bob Heatlie and produced by Dave Edmunds, it is the fourth and to date last number one single for Shakin' Stevens on the UK Singles Cha ...
" in 2018.
The second side, titled 'The Hits Keep Coming...' is a medley of Stevens' previous hits, recorded live at the
London Palladium
The London Palladium () is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in the famous area of Soho. The theatre holds 2,286 seats. Of the roster of stars who have played there, many have televised performances. Between 1955 a ...
on 7 December 1986. On the original release of the album, the individual songs are chaptered. However on the 2009 re-release of the album as part of ''
The Epic Masters
''The Epic Masters'' is a box set compilation comprising ten remastered albums by Shakin' Stevens. Released on 16 November 2009, the set contains nine albums originally released by Epic Records between 1980 and 1990, plus an exclusive CD of 12 ...
'' box set, the medley is listed in its 'correct' format as one 23-minute track. Also different on the 2009 release of the album is that "What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For" is the single mix of the song; the album version "was a re-recording with a change in producer and musicians".
Upon release in October, the album charted for one week at number 66. However, with the success of "What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes At Me For", the album re-entered the charts in December for six weeks, peaking at number 59.
Track listing
2009 bonus tracks:
Personnel
Musicians
*
Shakin' Stevens
Michael Barratt (born 4 March 1948), known professionally as Shakin' Stevens, is a Welsh singer and songwriter. He was the UK's biggest-selling singles artist of the 1980s.
His recording and performing career began in the late 1960s, althoug ...
– vocals
*Ian Aitken –
lead guitar
Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the feature ...
(2, 6–21)
*Roger McKew – lead and
rhythm guitar
In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guita ...
(6–21)
*Dick Bland – bass guitar (6–21)
*Gavin Povey – piano, synthesisers (6–21)
*Chris Wyles – drums (3, 6–21)
*The Rumour Brass:
**Ray Beavis –
tenor saxophone
The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while ...
(6–21)
**
John "Irish" Earle –
baritone and tenor saxophones (6–21)
**Chris Gower –
trombone
The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrat ...
(6–21)
**Dick Hanson –
trumpet
The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standar ...
(6–21)
*
Peter Van Hooke
Peter Van Hooke (born 6 April 1950) is an English rock drummer and producer with over 350 credits to his name. He was the drummer for the English band Mike + The Mechanics (from 1984 to 1995) and also drummed for Van Morrison's band, Headstone ...
– drums (1)
*
Paul "Wix" Wickens
Paul Wickens (born 27 March 1956) is an English musician, composer, and record producer, professionally known as Wix. In a career spanning more than 40 years, Wickens has worked with artists including Nik Kershaw, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Bon ...
– synthesisers (4)
*
Frank Ricotti
Frank Ricotti (born 31 January 1949) is an English jazz vibraphonist and percussionist.
Early life and education
Ricotti was born in London, England. His father was a drummer. Bill Ashton, founder of the National Youth Jazz Orchestra (NYJ ...
– percussion (2)
*
Tony Rivers – backing vocals (3, 6–21)
*Anthony Thompson – backing vocals (3, 6–21)
*Mick Clarke – backing vocals (3, 6–21)
*Marilyn David – backing vocals (1)
*
Sonia Jones – backing vocals (1)
*Shirley Lewis – backing vocals (1)
*
London Gospel Choir members – backing vocals (5)
Technical
*
Stuart Colman
Ian Stuart Colman (19 December 1944 – 19 April 2018) was an English musician, record producer and broadcaster. Allmusic noted that he "has an impressive catalogue as a record producer and much of Shakin' Stevens success can be attributed to ...
– producer (1, 5)
* Carey Taylor – producer (2)
* Shakin' Stevens – producer (2), executive producer (all tracks)
*
Mike Leander
Michael George Farr (30 June 1941 – 18 April 1996), known professionally as Mike Leander, was a British arranger, songwriter and record producer.
He worked variously with The Beatles, David McWilliams ("Days of Pearly Spencer"), Gary Gl ...
– producer (3)
* John Springate – producer (3)
*
Christopher Neil
Christopher Neil (born 1948) is an Irish-born British record producer, songwriter, singer, and actor.
He has produced records for A-ha, Amazulu, Bonnie Tyler, Celine Dion, Cher, Dollar, Edyta Górniak, Gerry Rafferty, Jennifer Rush, José Car ...
– producer (4)
* Track 1 recorded at Master Rock Studios, London
* Track 2 recorded at Maison Rouge, London
* Tracks 3 and 4 recorded at
Mayfair Studios
Mayfair Recording Studios, earlier called Spot Studios or Ryemuse Studios, was a recording studio in London, England, located in Mayfair from the 1960s to 1981, then in Primrose Hill from 1981 until it closed in 2008.
In the early years the studio ...
, London
* Track 5 recorded at
Sarn Studios, London
* Tracks 6–21 recorded live by
Manor Mobile
References
{{Authority control
1987 albums
Epic Records albums
albums produced by Christopher Neil
Shakin' Stevens albums