Formed in 1980, Shakatak proved to be significant trailblazers as one of the first and only UK bands to successfully embrace funk music. They did it with the Top 10 hits Night Birds and Easier Said Than Done in 1982, which provided the platform for a successful international live and recording career and growing credibility as a pure jazz act. Founder member Bill Sharpe was a BBC studio manager who initially started putting together his jazz funk fusion ideas with Trevor Horn, Keith Winter and Roger Odell. This gradually evolved into Shakatak which found a devoted audience for its sweet amalgam of rhythms, particularly in Japan, where their Night Birds album became one of the biggest-selling international albums of all time. They continued to enjoy major success throughout the 1980s, particularly after adding former Fusion Orchestra's singer Jill Saward in time for their fifth album Down On The Street, triggering a new run of success with the singles Down On The Street and Watching You. By the 1990s they'd become big on the American jazz scene and regularly appeared at jazz festivals all over the world and had a big year in 2010 celebrating their 30th anniversary, although each of the members occasionally works on other projects. Keith Winter was forced to quit the band in the 2000s after a serious illness but remains involved working on their artwork and maintaining their website.
