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.
What Do You Want To Make Those Eyes At Me For
Shakin' Stevens Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
If they don't mean what they say
Ooh, they make me glad, they make me sad
They make me want a lot of things that I never had
You're fooling around with me now
Oh, you lead me on and then you run away
Oh, that's alright
And baby you'll find you're messing with dynamite
So what do you wanna make those eyes at me for
If they don't mean what they say
What do you wanna make those eyes at me for
If they don't mean what they say
Ooh, they make me glad, they make me sad
They make me want a lot of things that I never had
You're fooling around with me now
Oh, you lead me on and then you run away
Oh, that's alright
I'll get you a lonesome night
And baby you'll find you're messing with dynamite
So what do you wanna make those eyes at me for
If they don't mean what they say
What do you wanna make those eyes at me for
If they don't mean what they say
Ooh, they make me glad, they make me sad
They make me want a lot of things that I never had
You're fooling around with me now
Oh, you lead me on and then you run away
Oh, that's alright
I'll get you a lonesome night
And baby you'll find you're messing with dynamite
So what do you wanna make those eyes at me for
If they don't mean what they say
If they don't mean what they say
If they don't mean what they say, yeah!
In Shakin' Stevens's song "What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For," the singer is expressing his frustration and confusion at a woman who appears to be sending mixed signals with her eyes. He is unsure if she is genuinely interested in him or if she is just playing games. He acknowledges that her eyes make him feel happy and sad and inspire longing for things he has never had before. He accuses her of leading him on and then running away, but ultimately declares that he will get revenge by leaving her alone and letting her feel the loneliness she has caused him. The repetition of the chorus emphasizes the confusion and frustration that the singer is feeling, as he cannot understand why she is making eyes at him if they do not have real meaning.
Line by Line Meaning
What do you wanna make those eyes at me for
Why are you looking at me like you're interested?
If they don't mean what they say
If your eyes are lying about how you feel.
Ooh, they make me glad, they make me sad
Your eyes evoke different emotions in me.
They make me want a lot of things that I never had
Your eyes make me desire things I never thought I needed.
You're fooling around with me now
You're teasing me without any intention of being serious.
Oh, you lead me on and then you run away
You give me false hope and then disappear.
Oh, that's alright
It's okay, I don't mind.
I'll get you a lonesome night
I'll make sure you regret messing with me.
And baby you'll find you're messing with dynamite
You're playing with fire, and you'll get burned.
If they don't mean what they say
If your eyes are not being truthful.
If they don't mean what they say, yeah!
If your eyes are not being honest with me.
Contributed by Joseph L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@zekeedwards7904
How can you not love shaky, he just oozes feel good vibes
@ferrylad
Proper music,made by proper blokes,listened to by proper fellas, on proper music centres, in proper houses, located in proper towns, in proper countries, in a proper world, part of a proper universe...PROPER.
@susanross1651
Love this comment 👍
@ferrylad
@@susanross1651 Sleep tight dear ,dear Shaky 😔
@katehewitt2990
@@ferrylad….. he ain’t dead..
@ferrylad
@@katehewitt2990 I never said he was , I just wished him a nice sleep ,we all like a nice sleep ,even Shaky
@thrrobb
nice to see the leather-clad cameo of britain's soon-to-be top light entertainer AND SEAMSTRESS...vic reeves
@norawatson8916
Such an underated singer, he was handsome, and he had a brilliant voice.
@w-sfire7078
He's got little bit of that Elvis Spirit I think
@sallyjoan
handsome?