Shakatak

Shakatak
Background information
OriginLondon, England
GenresPost-disco,[1] funk, jazz-funk, R&B,[2] smooth jazz, jazz fusion
Years active1980–present
LabelsPolydor Records, Secret Records
MembersJill Saward
Bill Sharpe
Roger Odell
George Anderson
Past membersKeith Winter
Jackie Rawe
Nigel Wright
Steve Underwood
Norma Lewis
Friðrik Karlsson
WebsiteShakatak.com
Shakatak performing at Knebworth Park as part of the Capital Radio Jazz Festival, 1982.
Shakatak performing at Wuppertal, Germany, 2014

Shakatak is an English jazz-funk band founded in 1980[3] by Bill Sharpe, Nigel Wright, Roger Odell and Keith Winter. Following an initial white label release, "Steppin", the band's name was derived from a record store in Soho, London Record Shack with the name created by Les McCutcheon, Passion records label owner and Northern Soul DJ Kev Roberts, It was they who first showed interest in the initial single.

Shakatak scored a number of chart entries, including two Top 10 hits in the UK Singles Chart, "Night Birds" (1982) and "Down on the Street" (1984), plus a further 12 entries in the Guinness Book of British Hit Singles.[4] The group is still active and popular throughout the world, particularly in Japan and the Far East, and generally produce a new album every two years on JVC Records.

From their first release in August 1980 (the Bill Sharpe composition "Steppin'" on the Polydor record label), and their first 1981 album, Drivin' Hard, the band's singles and albums have entered the charts regularly.

  1. ^ Shapiro, Peter (1999). Drum 'n' Bass: The Rough Guide – Jimpster: "Odell [Jamie] combines Down Tempo and sorta-Junglist rhythms with flutes and jazzy atmospheres in the same way his father's band [Roger Odell, Shakatak] combined post-disco beats with flutes and jazzy atmospheres." Publisher: Rough Guides, p. 293. ISBN 1-85828-433-3
  2. ^ "Shakatak". Open.spotify.com.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Larkin was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference British Hit Singles & Albums was invoked but never defined (see the help page).