joanne
12-17-2005, 04:51 PM
Anybody who lives in Britain will remember Shakin Stevens as he was a 80`s chart topper.
He modelled himself on Elvis quite a lot and his hits included Marie, Marie, Green Door, Cry Just A Little Bit, This Ole House, Oh Julie, Shirley etc.
He enjoyed a slight revival a while ago when he won a show called Hit Me Baby One More Time which was an eighties nostalgia show.
I went to see a concert of his which was at St Georges Hall in Bradford and I have to say he was a fantastic live performer singing all the hits and some rarities.
He had a fantastic band with him and he performed with more energy than most performers half his age.
Before we had seen him though there had been a lot of talk about his behaviour on the tour in particular his attitude towards his fans.
Apparently he dislikes people taking photographs of him onstage and he got so mad during one show that he snatched someones camera off them and threw it into the aisles. The lady was later reimbursed for the £300 digital camera after complaining to the police but Shakin Stevens still refused to apologise.
We were told four times before the show not to take photographs of Shakin Stevens and if anyone was caught doing so they would be removed from the premises.
Needless to say no-one took any photographs.
I personally feel that you should be able to take photographs at every show but I understand that a lot of them ban photography perhaps due to people selling their photos on e-bay I don`t know.
Elvis The Concert however encourages the use of photography.
There had also been a lot of controversy about people standing up during the show apparently he doesn`t like that either or perhaps it could be because people who don`t want to stand can`t see anything and are complaining.
We still went to the show however with an open mind because sometimes these incidents are blown out of all proportion and I wanted to see for myself what he was like.
As I stated previously as a performer I can`t fault him but the only complaint I have is that he doesn`t have enough contact with his fans.
At the end of the show he never reached out to touch peoples hands or thanked them for coming.
After the show as we were waiting for out taxi we spotted a crowd of about 50 people outside the stage door all waiting for him to come out. We got talking to one of his fans and we asked if he acknowledges his fans when he comes out and she said sometimes but it depends what mood hes in.
It amazes me how these lovely people can be so loyal to a man who shows them so little respect. Most of them travel miles and miles following him around the country spending huge amounts of money, standing in the freezing cold for hours and this is how he repays them. Apparently when some fans were waiting at the stage door previously they said hello to him and he pulled his baseball cap down and carried on walking all the while ignoring them.
Its not as if he is a big star these days anyway he hasn`t had a top ten hit in about 20 years so you would think he would be grateful that people are still interested in him.
This story just reinforces my deepest respect, admiration and love for MR Elvis Presley a man who was the biggest star in the universe but never refused an autograph or forgot who put him where he was. He always respected his fans and never forgot where he came from. He was a true star but Shakin Stevens forget it...
This man didn`t mind flash photography-
http://www.keithflynn.com/video/Detroit%201957.wmv
He modelled himself on Elvis quite a lot and his hits included Marie, Marie, Green Door, Cry Just A Little Bit, This Ole House, Oh Julie, Shirley etc.
He enjoyed a slight revival a while ago when he won a show called Hit Me Baby One More Time which was an eighties nostalgia show.
I went to see a concert of his which was at St Georges Hall in Bradford and I have to say he was a fantastic live performer singing all the hits and some rarities.
He had a fantastic band with him and he performed with more energy than most performers half his age.
Before we had seen him though there had been a lot of talk about his behaviour on the tour in particular his attitude towards his fans.
Apparently he dislikes people taking photographs of him onstage and he got so mad during one show that he snatched someones camera off them and threw it into the aisles. The lady was later reimbursed for the £300 digital camera after complaining to the police but Shakin Stevens still refused to apologise.
We were told four times before the show not to take photographs of Shakin Stevens and if anyone was caught doing so they would be removed from the premises.
Needless to say no-one took any photographs.
I personally feel that you should be able to take photographs at every show but I understand that a lot of them ban photography perhaps due to people selling their photos on e-bay I don`t know.
Elvis The Concert however encourages the use of photography.
There had also been a lot of controversy about people standing up during the show apparently he doesn`t like that either or perhaps it could be because people who don`t want to stand can`t see anything and are complaining.
We still went to the show however with an open mind because sometimes these incidents are blown out of all proportion and I wanted to see for myself what he was like.
As I stated previously as a performer I can`t fault him but the only complaint I have is that he doesn`t have enough contact with his fans.
At the end of the show he never reached out to touch peoples hands or thanked them for coming.
After the show as we were waiting for out taxi we spotted a crowd of about 50 people outside the stage door all waiting for him to come out. We got talking to one of his fans and we asked if he acknowledges his fans when he comes out and she said sometimes but it depends what mood hes in.
It amazes me how these lovely people can be so loyal to a man who shows them so little respect. Most of them travel miles and miles following him around the country spending huge amounts of money, standing in the freezing cold for hours and this is how he repays them. Apparently when some fans were waiting at the stage door previously they said hello to him and he pulled his baseball cap down and carried on walking all the while ignoring them.
Its not as if he is a big star these days anyway he hasn`t had a top ten hit in about 20 years so you would think he would be grateful that people are still interested in him.
This story just reinforces my deepest respect, admiration and love for MR Elvis Presley a man who was the biggest star in the universe but never refused an autograph or forgot who put him where he was. He always respected his fans and never forgot where he came from. He was a true star but Shakin Stevens forget it...
This man didn`t mind flash photography-
http://www.keithflynn.com/video/Detroit%201957.wmv