Shakatak

Shakatak
Shakatak 2014 in Wuppertal
General information
Genre (s)	Pop , jazz , funk
founding	1980
Website	www.shakatak.com
Founding members
singing	Jill Saward
guitar	Keith Winter
bass	George Anderson
Drums	Roger Odell
Keyboard	Bill Sharpe
Piano , keyboard	Nigel Wright
Current occupation
singing	Jill Saward
guitar	Alan Wormald
bass	George Anderson
Drums	Roger Odell
Keyboard	Bill Sharpe
Piano, keyboard	Nigel Wright
former members
bass	Steve Underwood album Driving Hard
singing	Jackie Rawe albums 1–4
saxophone	Dick Morrissey albums Nightbirds , Invitations

Shakatak is a British pop , jazz and funk band founded in 1980 , which had notable commercial success, especially in the 1980s. The musical spectrum ranges from catchy pop with an easy-listening character ( Night Birds , Out of This World ) to funky jazz ( Lose Myself ).

Band history

Shakatak became known in Germany in 1984 with the hit Down on the Street . The music video for the song, which was deliberately recorded in a single shoot without editing in an elaborate stage setting, set standards at the time. In 1985 the single Day by Day followed with Al Jarreau , also a commercial and media success. After this success, the band in Germany was quiet for three years, while in Japan they celebrated great success with albums produced exclusively for the Japanese market. In 1987, Europe became aware of Shakatak again when they were able to land a hit both in the charts and in the clubs with Mr. Manic & Sister Cool . After that the band was soon forgotten in Germany. In Great Britain, the Far East and especially in Japan, the band still has a large and loyal fan base who can hope for a new album every year. In the early 1990s, guitarist Keith Winter dropped out for health reasons. Since then, the guitar parts have been recorded by either Alan Wormald or the Icelander Friðrik "Frissi" Karlsson from Mezzoforte . Both are also on stage when performing.

The band members of Shakatak are all technically extremely well-versed musicians with a strong feeling for jazz and funk. With the mostly very catchy songs, however, this hardly comes to light, the musicians only show their true skills when performing live. This also explains the criticism that has sometimes been expressed that Shakatak only makes “elevator music”. In the British music scene, however, the band has always been highly valued.

Also worth mentioning are the various solo albums, such as the CDs The Blue Window and Intrigue from the Beatifik project by drummer Roger Odell with his wife Larraine and son Jamie from 2000 and 2015. Likewise, the various collaborations between band leader Bill Sharpe and Gary Numan in the 1980s as well as with Don Grusin (CDs State of the Heart from 1998 and Geography from 2006, the latter a successful example of the Jazz & Fusion style) or with Friðrik Karlsson (CD Peace of Mind from 1999). Last but not least, Jill Saward's CD Just for You , also from 1999, should be performed. Bassist George Anderson released his first solo CD Positivity in 2009 , followed by Expressions , which was released in 2012.

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  Bill Sharpe

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  Jill Saward

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  George Anderson

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  Roger Odell

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  Alan Wormald (Tour)

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  Debby Bracknell (Tour)

Discography

→ Main article : Shakatak / discography

Studio albums

year	title	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)				Remarks
		DE	CH	UK	R&B
1982	Drivin 'hard	-	-	UK35 silver (17 weeks)UK	-	First published: January 1982 Producer: Nigel Wright
	Night birds	-	-	UK4th gold (28 weeks)UK	R&B55 (5 weeks) R&B	First published: May 1982 Producer: Nigel Wright
	Invitations	-	-	UK30th gold (11 weeks)UK	-	First published: November 1982 Producer: Nigel Wright
1983	Out of This World	DE60 (1 week) DE	-	UK30 (4 weeks) UK	-	First published: October 1983 Producer: Nigel Wright
1984	Down on the street	DE18 (14 weeks) DE	CH16 (6 weeks) CH	UK17 (9 weeks) UK	-	First published: August 1984 Producer: Nigel Wright
1985	City Rhythm	-	CH25 (1 week) CH	-	-	First published: December 1985 Producer: Nigel Wright
1988	Manic & Cool	DE34 (7 weeks) DE	-	-	-	First published: March 1988 Producer: Nigel Wright

gray hatching : no chart data available for this year

swell

1. ↑ Chart sources: DE CH UK US
2. ^ Joel Whitburn : Top R&B Albums 1965–1998, ISBN 0-89820-134-9 .

Web links

Commons : Shakatak  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Official website of the band (English)
• Website by Bill Sharpe (English)
• Website of Roger Odell (English)
• Complete discography (including cover and all collaborations)