Still Shaking

SHEIKH Abdullah Sheikh Ahmad aka Datuk Shake, at 52, can still cause women to go weak at the knees - just at the mention of his name, in fact.
And with his boyish Latin American good looks barely touched by the years, the Johor-born international singing star appears fully capable of inciting a new generation of women to throw panties on-stage and bare their breasts for him to autograph (presumably with an all-surface pen).
"Those were the days... I enjoyed it (the fame)," he says, referring to his 15 years as a top 10 singer on the Hit Parade in France, and in most French- speaking countries in Africa and West Asia, in the late-1970s and `80s.
Shake's biggest fan base, however, was in Belgium and Holland. Being the Francophone answer to America's David Cassidy, his face regularly made the covers of almost all teen magazines in France.
That virtually all his fans are female is something no one seems to have faulted him on.
"I enjoyed my moments on-stage. Screaming fans are a bonus for any entertainer. I get girls stalking the house, the office and at concerts.
But some fans do become very emotional. On occasion, they can turn aggressive and punch the bodyguards even.
"It's not funny, I get scared sometimes... when they cannot contain their emotions."
But that was before. These days, Shake savours the moments he spends with his family.
"Looking back, it might have been fun, but I was also not taking good care of myself - physically and spiritually."
"When we were touring, I did not sleep much and I looked older than I do now. I had my vices... smoking, drinking. In the studio, I can kick the habit, but it comes back when we hit the road.
"About 15 years back, I got to thinking, `How am I going to teach my kids anything when I'm not prepared to practise what I preach?'"
That made him tone down his lifestyle somewhat, and focus more on the family.
As for his looks, would the reverse be true? A little tone-up? A nip and tuck here and there, maybe? After all, home is currently Los Angeles, the vanity capital of the world.
"No," he laughs, but then admits that he had considered some work around the eyes.
"Maybe I'll do it in five or six years."
Shake moved to California from Paris about 14 years ago and is currently working on an English album, while his Yugoslav wife Melina runs a fashion business there.
The address? Beverly Hills.
No, not 90210, but just next door at 90212.
Shake openly admits that Melina is to him what Posh Spice is to David Beckham. By that, he means that he owes his stylish image entirely to Melina.
"She was a model (with Christian Dior), she's now a fashion designer. I'm a walking billboard for her. These are her designs," he says, spreading his arms.
He is also well accessorised, in silver - two studded earrings in his left ear, a double chain round his neck and seven rings, three on the right hand and four on the left.
Melina and Shake have three children - Natasha, 24, who is married and lives in Paris, and twin sons, 21-year-old Amaro Igor Shake and Amiir Nicholas Shake.
His other daughter, from an earlier marriage, 32-year-old Mina, is also married and living in Paris.
Shake has three grandchildren - two granddaughters aged five and three and a two-month-old grandson.
He has been back in Malaysia since June to work on a new album, possibly his last for fans in this part of the world. His seventh Malay production, the album is expected to be wrapped up by next month.
"We always say it's the last because we don't know if we are ever going to do another," he grins. He refused to divulge the details of the album, preferring to surprise his fans when it hits the market.
Shake released his debut Kau Bungaku in 1984, which was actually a response to a challenge from one of his brothers who chided him over his "slipping" command of Bahasa Melayu.
The second youngest in a family of 12 siblings, he ended up releasing five other Malay albums in quick succession, the last of which was Destini in 1988.
But well before then, he had already established himself as a major act in France. Shake started his journey to stardom back in the early 1970s at Johor Baru's Mechinta nightclub, then famous for its raunchy entertainment.
He was short on money but long on luck, befriending - surprise, surprise - two strippers, one an English girl and the other a Maltese.
Taken in by his good looks and voice (not necessarily in that order), they encouraged him to go seek fame and fortune in Europe.
"I told them I didn't have money... we weren't paid much at that time. So they bought me an air ticket to Paris, while they headed for Tokyo to work. I was to go (to Paris) first and meet up with them after their Japan trip, and I did... they put me up with a girlfriend of theirs. Later, we toured Europe and Africa on gigs together."
This was in 1973, and he was just 22 years old. A year later, Shake went to London and enrolled in a vocal training class conducted by one John Dolby.
"I was singing other people's songs, English songs, but through Dolby's coaching, I was able to develop my own style."
After a year of vocal classes, Shake was introduced to some people in the French entertainment industry by a Frenchman in London.
They liked what they saw and heard and arranged for a proper audition.
"I went to Paris, auditioned and was signed up immediately. But the condition was that I must sing in French. I told them it was not possible, I didn't speak the language.
"So, they gave me six months to study French, especially the diction."
As it turned out, Shake didn't have too much difficulty getting the diction down pat.
"As a child, I had to mengaji (recite) the Quran. Learning French diction and enunciation is not unlike learning to recite verses from the Quran."
His first French single, Tu Sais Je T'Aime (You Know I Love You), sold a million copies in France within months and was later distributed in other French-speaking countries, as well as in Italy, Spain and Greece.
Other hit singles and albums followed. They include Je Viens De Loin (I Come From Far), La Fille Que J'Attendais (The Girl I Waited For), Io Tamero, Shake Disques d'Or (Shake's Discs of Gold), Soleil (Sun), Angel and Sorry Sandy.
To date, he has 30 French albums and singles under his belt.
The most recent of his French albums was released in 1996, a compilation called Best of Shake. It had sold only about 40,000 copies, when the producer called.
"I was already living in the US and the producer said I should come over to promote the album. I did. Sales jumped to 200,000 copies."
Shake has the distinction of being the first Malaysian entertainer to be conferred a Datukship - by the Sultan of Johor in 1979.
He was home often at the time, performing on television and doing other shows. But one incident in 1987 still haunts him.
Shake was performing in Sarawak, a gig which was being telecast "live" to the rest of the country. He inexplicably stopped midway and left the stage, watched by the entire nation.
"Nobody, not even the Press, has asked me what happened that night. The truth needs to be told. Umi (mother in Arabic) passed away that day but here's the strange thing, I wasn't told about it until after I had got off the stage.
"Everyone else knew she had died... no one told me. I didn't feel too good the entire day, I couldn't pin it down to anything, though. I didn't even attend the high-tea organised after the day's rehearsal.
"Before the start of the show, I met up with the other performers backstage but no one wanted to talk to me. I thought they were angry because I didn't go for the tea.
"When I went on-stage to sing, I couldn't hear the music. It sounded muddled. Then I heard this voice saying, `Stop!', and I did and walked off the stage.
"Datuk Jaafar Kamin, the then director-general of broadcasting for RTM, came to my room. I apologised to him but he said it wasn't any fault of mine, and then he told me about Umi.
"If I had known, I would not have gone on- stage. I would have gone home straight away. When my dad passed away in 1979, I was in Paris and couldn't return in time for the funeral.
"I took the next flight out, and arrived in Johor Baru just before they took Umi's body to the cemetery."
In 1988, he decided to move to the US from Paris, a calculated move on his part. "Having made it in France, I was keen to find out what the US entertainment scene was like.
"I was also looking into my boys' education. They had shown interest in pursuing careers in the performing arts too."
Amaro is now studying at the Los Angeles Arts School while Amiir is already an actor and writer.
Incidentally, in the US, Shake gets mistaken for a native American now and again. And while he may have left France, he is not forgotten. In 1994, the French Government bestowed upon him the Medal of Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters, an award introduced in 1957 to honour individuals who have distinguished themselves in the arts, or contributed significantly to the promotion of French arts and literature worldwide.
Any thoughts about coming home to Malaysia for good? Yes, possibly after Amaro has completed his education and become independent.
He may look into starting a business then. With his connections in the entertainment industry in France and the US, Shake feels he should be able to make a difference in the local scene.
After all, he plays tennis at the Beverly Hills Country Club where the who's who in the US entertainment industry meet, socialise, conduct business and play.
Thinking aloud, he says: "I would love to help one or more local stars go international. But first, they must believe in what they do and can do."
For now, however, Shake's time and focus is on the new Malay album.
When that is done, he'll head for France to cut a new French album - another last? - and then back to the US to complete his English album.