THE SHAKE SPEARS In ska circles the Shake Spears are known particularly for their excellent ska version of the classic 'Summertime'. Surprisingly enough this beat group was originally of Northern Rhodesian (now Zambia) origin. In 1964, they finally decided to accept the sponsorship of the Belgian newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws and appeared on the popular show De Gouden Micro. After that, impresarios all over Europe were interested to book them on the spot. In 1966, they were approached to tour Australia, just at the same time that they released the single 'Summertime'. Even though they were unable to plug the single with live appearances, it went straight into the Belgian charts. They went to Australia where they stayed for nine months. During this period the album The Shake Spears was released on the Philips label. This album - their only one - was originally released in ... the Netherlands. It is typical of the strange history of the band that 'Summertime' in 1978 spent five weeks in the Dutch charts, where it reached number nineteen. Selective discography Summertime/What Happened, Philips 319763 (1966) Links http://members.lycos.nl/dph2/connection/shakespears.htm Later pressing of the hit single 'Summertime' (Ronnex 1950)