Shaky comeback after TV show win

Shaky is delighted with the 'warm response' from the public

Veteran 1980s pop star Shakin' Stevens has made a new bid for chart success after winning a TV nostalgia show.

The singer, among the best-selling UK artists of the 1980s, has released his 1981 number one single This Ole House along with a cover of Pink's Trouble.

The Cardiff-born singer, known as Shaky, last month won the ITV nostalgia talent show Hit Me Baby One More Time.

The programme saw the 57-year-old emerge victorious against other artists from the 1970s, 80s and 90s.

'Warm response'

Shaky defeated artists including Tiffany, Hue And Cry, Carol Decker and Chesney Hawkes following an audience vote.

The singer, whose other singles included Green Door and Oh Julie, told BBC Wales he had received a good response from the public after emerging victorious on the show, which was broadcast on Saturday evenings.

He added: "Winning it the first time out was fantastic.

"There was a warm response from the public.

One more time - Shaky performing in London in April

"I wouldn't have done the show originally - it was because I had released an album (his greatest hits) and I needed to do TV to promote it.

"The show wasn't easy, it wasn't a walkover."

Chart success

Shaky, originally Michael Barratt from Ely, Cardiff, first began his singing career in 1968 with Shakin' Stevens And The Sunsets.

After playing Elvis in an award-winning West End musical in the 1970s, Shaky's chart breakthrough came with This Ole House in 1981.

It was followed up by other successful singles in the 1980s including Green Door, Oh Julie and 1985's Merry Christmas Everyone.

Shaky back in 1981 and pop star Pink

His comeback single is a cover of Pink's Trouble, together with his own hit This Ole House, both of which were performed by Shaky on Hit Me Baby One More Time.

The singer added: "We were given a list of 200 songs (to perform on the show) and I kept going to that one (Trouble).

"A lot of people say it suits my voice.

"I was looking at other songs, but those were rejected.

"I bought the Pink CD two years ago and I listened to the song then and kept on coming back to it."