Sheikh Abdullah Ahmad

Datuk Sheikh Abdullah Ahmad Bakhbereh (born in 1950), known as Datuk Shake, is a popular Malaysian singer in the local Malay music scene.^[1] A Hadrami by descent (Hadramout, Yemen), Sheikh is from Johor, Malaysia but is now based in Beverly Hills, California with his wife and the younger two of their four children.He also ex-collegian of English College Johore Bahru

Background

Sheikh came from a big musical family of five brothers and seven sisters (including shop owner Sheik Abu Bakar), in which he was the third youngest. As a small boy Sheikh 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 Tom Jones, Stevie Wonder, Elvis Presley and The Beatles. European artists in Malaysia encouraged him to try this luck in Europe, so he went there in the mid-1970s and London, England was his first stop, where he studied for a year with classical vocal coach John Dolby.

Career

He went to Paris, France in 1976 and within months 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.

Recorded music sales have surpassed 10,000 units worldwide in all French speaking countries, including Canada, Pacific Islands, North Africa and Asia. Albums have been recorded in Malay, French, Italian and English. Performing at many prestigious festivals: including the Paris World Music Festival; Tokyo songs festival; Festival de Venice, Festival de Cortina and Verona in Italy;Festival of Artist in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, Indonesia and Malaysia Songs Festival.

In Hollywood, Shake worked on his album with producer/artist Michael Sembello, the guitarist / producer from the group Cars Elliot Easton and Dayrell Ross producer / song writer. He's working on his own unique sound and style, which comes from his music experienced in Europe and Asia mixed with American pop rock. Shake has recorded his album with sound engineers and studios in Los Angeles and Paris for his recent English album.

Awards

Sheikh was conferred a Datukship in 1979 by the late Sultan Ismail Sultan Ibrahim of Johor. Sheikh is the maternal uncle of Datuk Azalina Othman Said, the Malaysian Minister for Youth and Sports, whose mother Salmah Ahmad is Sheikh's sister. The King of Malaysia(sultan of johore) called him home and bestowed the title of "[Dato]" or Sir on the singer, in grateful appreciation for "bringing Malaysia to the attention of the world".

France gave Shake the medal Chevalier des Art and Lettre "In the Honor of Art and Letter" as he has promoted the French language and Culture in Asia, where English is the main language. Shake has performed on more than 30 television shows, variety appearances in Europe, Canada and Asia.

Personal

Shake turned his attention to the United States, and has chosen Beverly Hills and Hollywood as his base and home. He's the father of actor Nicolas Shake and director Amaro Shake.

References