Wednesday, 2 January, 2002, 12:49 GMT

Shaky faces drink-drive charge

Shaky was a Top Of The Pops regular in the 80s

Pop singer Shakin' Stevens is facing a drink-drive charge after being arrested in the early hours of New Year's Day.

The Cardiff-born singer, who had 38 hit singles in the 80s and early 90s, was held for hours in police custody after being arrested in Gloucestershire at 0245 GMT.

The court date was set as 16 January

Shaky, who lives in Woking, Surrey, was charged under his real name of Michael Barratt and was bailed by police to appear before Forest of Dean magistrates on 16 January.

He will face a charge of driving with excess alcohol on his breath.

Gloucester police spokeswoman Kate Nelmes said: "At 2.45am on Tuesday, 1 January, a 53-year-old man from was arrested in Clearwell High Street on suspicion of drink driving.

"He was in custody at Gloucester Police station for several hours before being released."

Welsh success

Born in Cardiff's Ely area in March 1948, Shaky became one of Wales's top pop exports in the 1980s, racking up four number ones and a dozen hit albums.

One of his finest moments was the oft-repeated seasonal tune Merry Christmas Everyone.

In 1999, he resurrected his career to undertake a tour of the US and Europe before performing at a concert to mark the inception of the Welsh Assembly in May that year.

At the dawn of the new millennium, he headlined an open-air concert in his home city, performing live to an audience of over 100,000 people.

A spokesperson for his Manchester-based agents Kennedy Street Enterprises did not confirm the arrest when contacted.

"I have just come back from a holiday and have not heard anything," she said.