Shakin' Street (band)

Shakin' Street are a French rock band formed in Paris in 1975. Founded by Fabienne Shine and Eric Lévi, the band rose to prominence as a support act for varying rock bands between 1979 and 1981, before initially disbanding in 1981. The band's lineup at that time included Jean-Lou Kalinowski (drums, percussion), Ross "The Boss" Friedman (lead guitar), and Mike Winter (bass guitar). Fabienne Shine reunited Shakin' Street in 2004 and continues to tour and release albums.

History

1975–1981

Shakin' Street was formed in 1975 by French musicians Fabienne Shine and Eric Lévi (also known as Eric Lewy). Shine met Lévi at a club in Paris and Lévi offered to start a band with her. Shine accepted, and Lévi named the band Speedball. Their first manager Marc Zermati, and Shine disliked the name Speedball. They changed the name to Shakin' Street, which is derived from the rock band MC5's song "Shakin' Street". Although Fabienne Shine and Eric Lévi are French, Shine elected to sing lyrics written in English, stating that "French isn't just authentic". Lévi also claimed that he wanted Shine to sing in English. Some writers observe that the reasoning behind the choice was to be commercially presentable.

Its first lineup consisted of bass guitarist Corine Marienneau, guitarist Louis Bertignac, and drummer Jean-Lou Kalinowski. Before recording their debut album, Marienneau and Bertignac were replaced by bass guitarist Mike Winter and guitarist Armik Tigrane. In 1978, Shakin' Street recorded and released their debut album ''Vampire Rock'' at Olympic Studios, London, for Columbia Records' international imprint CBS. ''Vampire Rock'' reportedly sold over 25,000 copies in their home country. Ira Robbins, writing for ''Trouser Press'' describes ''Vampire Rock'' as "an impressive, raucous and wild rocker, with English lyrics that touch a number of bases, from sharp to silly".

In 1979, Marc Zermati took the members of Shakin' Street to a Blue Öyster Cult concert. Fabienne Shine was at an after-concert party and approached Sandy Pearlman, suggesting that he should produce Shakin' Street's next album. Pearlman thought Shakin' Street were "terrible" but agreed to produce it since he liked the materials Shakin' Street brought. Shine recalled that she gave Pearlman an LP copy of ''Vampire Rock'', which convinced him to produce their next album. Pearlman later became manager for the band, and secured an international deal with Columbia Records. That same year, Tigrane was fired after selling his guitar for heroin. Pearlman then enlisted Ross "The Boss" Friedman as lead guitarist for Shakin' Street. On August 1979, Shakin' Street performed at the Old Waldorf in San Francisco, California. The live performance was taped and was released as ''Scarlet: The Old Waldorf, August 1979'' in 2024.

Their next album, ''Shakin' Street'' (also known as ''Solid as a Rock'') was recorded in San Francisco, and was released in 1980 by Columbia Records. While ''Shakin' Street'' received some attention among the music press, reception of the album was mixed, with some writers focusing on Shakin' Street's undecided music style between punk rock and heavy metal, although some have been favourable to the overall musicianship between Shine, Lévi and Friedman. Shine would later assert that Shakin' Street are a hard rock band. Writing for ''NME'', Lynn Hanna remarked that ''Shakin' Street'' is a "record characterised by its grace, charm, and poise" and highlighted Friedman's "dizzying acrobatics" in the song "Generation X". Dave Marsh, writing for ''Rolling Stone'' magazine called the album "mediocre" and rated ''Shakin' Street'' two out of five stars. ''Shakin' Street'' charted at No. 40 in the Swedish album chart Topplistan.

The band then promoted the album by supporting several bands as opening act, including the Clash, Black Sabbath and Blue Öyster Cult among others. Shakin' Street gained prominence as the opening act for the North American tour of Black Sabbath and Blue Öyster Cult, known as the Black & Blue Tour. In 1981, Friedman left the band to join heavy metal band Manowar. Duck MacDonald briefly joined the band as guitarist. Shakin' Street disbanded the same year, partially due to strains of relationship between band members.

2004–present: Reunions

Since the initial disbandment of Shakin' Street, Fabienne Shine later collaborated with the rock band Chrome and pursued a solo music career. Eric Lévi went on to have a career as a film composer, and later as a founding member of music project Era.

Shakin' Street reunited in 2004, with Shine, Friedman, Kalinowski, and Winter assembling a new lineup. The reunited band first played at the Olympia in Paris, with guitarist Norbert Krief. Shine recalled in ''Ear Candy'' magazine that the reception was warm and the reunion attracted curiosity from the press. Shakin' Street continues to tour and release albums of original materials and their back catalogue.

Personnel

Current members
* Fabienne Shine – vocals (1975–1981, 2004–present)
* Ross "The Boss" Friedman – lead guitar, vocals (1979–1981, 2004–present)
*Jean-Lou Kalinowski – drums, percussion (1975–1981, 2004–present)

Former members
*Corine Marienneau - bass guitar (1975–1977)
*Louis Bertignac - guitars (1975–1977)
*Eric Lévi – guitars, vocals (1975–1981)
*Duck MacDonald – guitars (1981)
*Armik Tigrane – guitars (1977–1979)
*Mike Winter – bass guitar (1977–1981, 2004–2009)
* Norbert Krief – guitars (2004)

Timeline

Discography

Studio albums
*''Vampire Rock'' (1978)
*''Shakin' Street'' (''Solid as a Rock''; 1980)
*''21st Century Love Channel'' (2009)
*''Psychic'' (2014)

Live albums
*''Live'' (2004)
*''Scarlet: The Old Waldorf, August 1979'' (2024)

Notes

References

Citations

Sources

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External links

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{{Authority control

Columbia Records artists
French rock music groups
Musical groups from Paris
Musical groups established in 1975
Musical groups disestablished in 1981
Musical groups reestablished in 2004
Mixed-gender bands