Ian Matthews: Shake It

How many people do you know have recorded under three different names? One that comes to mind to me is Iain Matthews or is it Ian Matthews or Ian McDonald. Confused? Not really, but the story goes that Iain Matthew McDonald dropped the Scottish spelling of his birth name for the more conventional English version of the same as Ian.

He recorded under the name Ian McDonald with the Pyramids and on Fairport Convention’s debut album; however, he later dropped McDonald as it caused some confusion with Ian MacDonald of King Crimson, MacDonald and Giles, and Foreigner.

At that time, he pluralized his middle name as Matthews and used this surname starting with Fairport’s second LP. In 1990, he returned to the original spelling of his first name and has been known as Iain Matthews ever since.

Not counting Matthew’s Southern Comfort’s one hit wonder of “Woodstock” in 1971, the 1979 single “Shake It” from his album “Stealin’ Home” was his only solo hit in the US. This pure pop-single, which departed from his folk-rock past, charted at #13. The song was released under the Ian Matthews moniker.

1977 Original

The song was originally recorded by its author Terence Boylan on his self-titled second album in 1977. His original recording starts as a nice slow version of the song that moves to a medium-fast tempo. Enjoy this alternative to Ian Matthew’s hit recording.