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THE WELSH ELVIS: Shakin' Stevens

Having warmed-up with a blazing set at Glastonbury at the weekend, pop veteran Shakin' Stevens is heading for Dorset and another open-air concert at Lulworth Castle.

And, if Saturday's Glastonbury performance was anything to go by, his show on Friday, July 4,should be a real treat, mixing hits from Shaky's Eighties heyday with new material.

Predictably perhaps - despite a heads down, feelgood, air-punching show - the 60-year-old rocker was greeted with several sneering reviews from critics for whom the words Shakin' Stevens and Glastonbury didn't compute.

The specialist music media took a more broadminded view and the man they used to call the Welsh Elvis received warm coverage from, among others, the NME.

Catching up with Shaky himself on Monday, I discovered a man happy with a gig well received.

"It went very well," he told me. "I got one of the biggest audience reactions for an artist going on the Pyramid stage.

"The act that did the same spot the next day didn't pull nearly such a big crowd."

Much was made of the fact that he didn't play Green Door despite the fact that at least one person had lugged a full-sized door, painted green, into the middle of the audience.

Patiently, he explains that there are only so many songs you can fit into one set, and while he recognises the need to do the hits - he does perform Julie and This Ole House - there are dozens of hit singles and nine or 10 albums to choose from, plus material from his latest album Now Listen too.

He rides the criticism with practised ease. "You've got to be thick skinned," he tells me.

"Everyone gets knocked sometimes. It's like skittles - you have to learn to get back up again."

Shaky says he's looking forward to playing Lulworth. "I was invited to have a look round and it's absolutely beautiful, a phenomenal place. The views are stunning and it looks like a great location. "

Also on the bill is Ben Waters and his Big Band and the Purbeck School Jazz Orchestra.

Tonight it's the turn of tribute acts The Rollin' Clones and the FAB Beatles.

7:00pm Wednesday 2nd July 2008

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