He began his career fronting the group Shakin' Stevens and the Sunsets, managed by Paul Barrett. Also known as the The Sunsets, the 50s-esque rock n roll outfit originaled from Penarth, South Glamorgan. An early break for the band arrived when they were given a support slot for The Rolling Stones in December 1969. Yet, despite landing a recording contract with the seminal label Parlophone Records the following year, the band found success hard to come by. At least in their native Great Britain, they couldn't quite break through commercially, though they had hit singles in other countries. After seven years of constant touring and recording, Shaky left the band in 1977. He gained a lead role in Jack Good's "Elvis!" musical, which brought him praise from many critics.
Regular TV appearances on the revamped TV show Oh Boy led eventually to his first chart success, a reworked version of a Buck Owens song "Hot Dog", which Owens would go on to re-record using Stevens arrangement which had been created by pedal steel guitar player B.J. Cole.
In 1979, Shaky signed what was to be his most successful management deal with Freya Miller, and in 1981, he had his first UK number 1 with "This Ole House" and would have 10 more songs reach the top 5, including three number 1 hits with "Green Door", "Oh Julie" and "Merry Christmas Everyone", while "You Drive Me Crazy" and "A Love Worth Waiting For" reached number 2 in 1981 and 1984 respectively. His 1984 hit "Teardrops" featured Hank B. Marvin on guitar and Stevens has often featured famous musicians such as Albert Lee, Roger Taylor, Bonnie Tyler and more recently Tony Joe White on his recordings. In the mid 80s, Stevens reunited with former producer Dave Edmunds to record an album Lipstick, Powder and Paint and the Christmas smash "Merry Christmas Everyone".
The hits continued throughout the 1980s, making Stevens the biggest selling artist of the decade, and into the early 1990s. Chart successes also included his album Shaky reaching number 1.
It was in the 1990s, however, that Stevens took a lengthy break from recording and was stung by a court ruling requiring a substantial payout to former bandmates The Sunsets. In 1999, Shaky returned to performing and undertook tours that year and the year following. In 2004, things started to look up for Stevens he had a further platinum CD/DVD album in Denmark and a gold album in South Africa.
In 2005, he returned once again to the charts in the United Kingdom, with his greatest hits album The Collection, which reached the UK top 5. That year, he also appeared in the video to Tony Christie's and Peter Kay's #1 hit single "Is This the Way to Amarillo", alongside many other UK stars, including Ronnie Corbett, Jim Bowen, Michael Parkinson and Geoffrey Hayes. He was the winner on the reality television show, Hit Me Baby One More Time. This was quickly followed by a re-release of his cover and his own biggest hit sung in the show, ("Trouble" covering Pink's version) / "This Ole House"), which reached #20 on the UK Singles Chart in June 2005, his 33rd Top 40 hit in the United Kingdom.
In May 2007, Stevens released a brand new album in Denmark entitled Now Listen.
It's Late
Shakin' Stevens Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We gotta get on home
It's late (It's late)
We've been gone too long
Too bad (Too bad)
We should have checked our time
Can't phone (Can't phone)
I've gone and spent every dime
It's late (It's late)
We're about to run out of gas
It's late (It's late)
We gotta get home fast
Can't speed (Can't speed)
We're in a slow down zone
Oh baby look that clock why can't it be wrong
If we could've left home by quarter to nine
We could've had fun in plenty of time
We got started just a little bit late
Hope this won't be our last date
Look up (Look up)
Is that the moon we see
Can't be (Can't be)
Looks like the sun to me
It's late (It's late)
I hate to face your dad
Too bad (Too bad)
I know he's gonna be mad
It's late (It's late)
We gotta get on home
It's late (It's late)
We've been gone too long
Yeah!
It's late (It's late)
We're about to run out of gas
It's late (It's late)
We gotta get home fast
Can't speed (Can't speed)
We're in a slow down zone
Oh baby look that clock why can't it be wrong
If we could've left home by quarter to nine
Could've had fun with plenty of time
We got started just a little bit late
Hope this won't be our last date
Look up (Look up)
Is that the moon we see
Can't be (Can't be)
Look like the sun to me
It's late (It's late)
I have to face your dad
Too bad (Too bad)
I know he's gonna be mad
It's late (It's late)
We gotta get on home
It's late (It's late)
We've been gone too long
It's late (It's late)
We gotta get on home
It's late (It's late)
We've been gone too long
(It's late)
The song It's Late by Shakin' Stevens is about a couple who have been out together for too long and now it's getting late. They need to go home but they have run out of time and money. They are worried about running out of gas and not being able to speed in a slow down zone. The clock seems to be moving too fast, and if they had left home earlier, they would have had more time. They are also worried about what the girl's dad will say when they get home late. Overall, the song is about the fear of being late and the consequences that come with it.
The song, released in 1983, was written by songwriter Roy Brown, who wrote the rock and roll classic Good Rockin' Tonight. It was originally recorded by Little Richard in 1959, but it was Shakin' Stevens who gave it a new lease of life. It was a top 20 hit in the UK and Australia and reached #9 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
Line by Line Meaning
It's late (It's late)
We are running out of time and need to head back soon.
We gotta get on home
We need to return to our homes.
We've been gone too long
We have been away for too much time than we initially intended.
Too bad (Too bad)
It is unfortunate that we did not keep track of time well.
We should have checked our time
We should have been more mindful of the time we were taking.
Can't phone (Can't phone)
I cannot make a phone call as I have spent all my money.
I've gone and spent every dime
I have spent all my money and cannot make any phone calls.
We're about to run out of gas
Our vehicle is almost empty on fuel.
We gotta get home fast
We must speed our journey to reach home quickly.
Can't speed (Can't speed)
We cannot exceed the speed limit as we are passing through an area where speeding is not allowed.
We're in a slow down zone
We are driving in a reduced speed area.
Oh baby look that clock why can't it be wrong
We are hoping that the clock is showing the wrong time, allowing us to have more time for our journey.
If we could've left home by quarter to nine
If we had started our journey earlier, we would not have been so pressed for time.
We could've had fun in plenty of time
We could have enjoyed ourselves with plenty of time on our hands.
We got started just a little bit late
Our journey began later than expected, causing us to be pressed for time.
Hope this won't be our last date
We hope that our current situation does not ruin our chances of having future dates together.
Look up (Look up)
Let us look up into the sky.
Is that the moon we see
Is that celestial object that is visible to us the moon?
Can't be (Can't be)
It is probably not the moon.
Looks like the sun to me
It appears like the sun to me.
I hate to face your dad
I am dreading meeting your father under these circumstances.
We gotta get on home
We must head back to our respective homes.
Yeah!
An expression of enthusiasm or agreement.
Lyrics © Kanjian Music, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: DORSEY BURNETTE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@solangesantangelo1425
Shaky, the more I see u, the more i want u 🎉❤😅
@doloressanchez8950
I’m 72 year old and I still watch him and listen to all songs including his new album greed❤❤❤
@lenildaleach3780
Wow execellnt Very good any só beautiful congratulations 🙏🙏
@garystevens3168
take me back to the great 80s,thats when music was music.shaky is a legend
@rene-josefbraun3118
❤❤❤ meine Zeit ,mit Shakin .... 😇🥰
@rachaelharman5529
Another fab memorie of gorgeous man, sense of humour is a beautiful quality. Always love watching the videos, still able to make me swoon and gets the heart a fluttering as always. Keep rocking Shaky always my number 1🎙💋🥰💋💗
@rachelyoung5724
What a cool video, and Shaky looks fantastic.
@koraljed5312
Super 👌
@rosiecleary9659
I grow up in care in the 80s loved listening to shaky still love him 💙
@discodave3569
I also was in care homes back in the day and was listening to shaky.... You keep listening to shaky.. merry Christmas 🎉🎉