Shake (singer)

Dato' Sheikh Abdullah bin Ahmad, also known as SHAKE and Dato Shake, was a very popular Malaysian singer in the 1980s Malay music scene. He was born in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, but is now based in Beverly Hills, California, and Paris, France, with his wife. He is an ex-collegian of English College Johore Bahru.

Shake came from a big family of four brothers and five sisters, in which he was the third youngest. As a small boy Shake dreamed of making music and distant shores. He spent his teenage years singing at his hometown's nightclub where he performed cover versions of songs by Rolling Stone, Tom Jones, Stevie Wonder, Elvis Presley and The Beatles. European artists in Malaysia encouraged him to try his luck in Europe, so he went there in the mid-1970s and Paris, France and then London, England was his first stop, where he studied for a year with classical vocal coach John Dolby.

He went to Paris, France in 1973. In 1976 he had secured a label and his first single was released, entitled, "Tu sais je t'aime" (You know I love you). Shake's new single climbed the charts, followed by half a dozen other gold and platinum singles and albums in France. This made him the first notable Asian singer to sing in French, concert appearances and television specials followed and Shake became known in many French speaking countries.

He wanted to bring others to his homeland and the forefront of the music business, and started campaigns to fight against uncontrolled music piracy in South East Asia which he found disappointing.

For five consecutive years, Shake toured France and Belgium for 70 days each summer. He also performed concerts in Switzerland, Greece, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Brunei. Shake was invited to do Royal Performances for the King of Malaysia and The Sultan of Brunei, and performed at the Shrine Auditorium Los Angeles USA for Valentine's Day for an audience of 6,000.

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