It’s around this time of year that well-worn Christmas hits are dusted down and played endlessly on the radio, in shopping centres and at office parties.

One of those familiar festive songs is Merry Christmas Everyone by Shakin’ Stevens, and I’m probably not alone in admitting that it’s a guilty pleasure. Christmas wouldn’t be the same without it.

“It was written by Bob Heatlie – I’m sure it has given him a lot of merry Christmases!” smiles Shaky.

It’s a safe bet that Merry Christmas Everyone will be on the bill when Shaky performs in Bradford next week. He’s on the road with his 30th anniversary tour, celebrating a career that has taken him from the club circuit to enduring success as an international artist.

“I’ve been doing this since I was 15. It’s in my blood and I still get a buzz from playing live. As long as that lasts, I’ll keep going,” smiles Shaky.

“I love St George’s Hall. It has great acoustics. Those old concert halls are full of character; before you even strike up a note, you’re soaking up all that history.”

Joined by a ten-piece band, Shaky will be delivering the hits that made him one of the best-selling acts of the 1980s, as well as some of the rock, country and blues numbers his music is rooted in.

“It’s not a hits show, but I’m returning to some of my old songs with a bit of a twist. I’ve brought Green Door back for an acoustic section and sing it differently to how you’d expect. It keeps it all fresh – for the fans, as well as for me,” he says.

Now 63, Shaky was born Michael Barratt near Cardiff, the youngest of 11 siblings. His father was a First World War veteran who worked in the building trade.

Shaky formed his first rock ’n’ roll band as a teenager in the mid-1960s and later toured the UK and Europe fronting Shakin’ Stevens And The Sunsets, sharing a bill with the likes of David Bowie, the Rolling Stones and Chuck Berry, before signing as a solo artist. A lead role in West End musical Elvis got him noticed.

Early hits Hot Dog and Marie Marie made an impact on the charts, then This Ole House went to No 1.

At a time when the music industry was dominated by pouting New Romantics in frilly shirts and velvet knickerbockers, Shaky was a Top Of The Pops regular in trademark faded blue jeans and denim jacket.

He was a world away from the Blitz club and the synth-pop scene, but his hip-swivelling rocking ’n’ rolling appealed to a wider mainstream crowd and he had more hit singles than any other Eighties artist.

“I’ve got punk to thank for that,” he says. “I didn’t like the three chords of the punk scene, but it opened a door for me and rockabilly acts like the Stray Cats and Matchbox.

“Suddenly there was diversity, and room for different kinds of artists. I was in the charts with Boy George, Kraftwork and Spandau Ballet – it’s mad really, but it worked.

“Kids were getting into rockabilly, while their parents remembered This Ole House from the first time around. For me, it was simply the music I’d grown up with. I didn’t know anything else.”

In the Nineties, Shaky started working with country and blues artists, then an invitation to perform at the launch of the Welsh Assembly in 1999 launched a new era of live performances.

“Doing Eighties nostalgia tours doesn’t really interest me,” he says. “I’m inspired by music that comes under the rock ’n’ roll umbrella, from cajun to blues. Artists like John Fogerty, Dinah Washington and Ruth Brown. I’ve always surrounded myself with talented musicians.”

As an artist who slogged it out on the club circuit for two decades before reaping the fruits of his labour, what does Shaky make of the current crop of X Factor hopefuls?

“We’ve always had talent shows, right back to Opportunity Knocks, so I don’t blame kids for taking that route. It’s hard out there. I think Misha has a great image and voice. Talent will out,” he says.

“It’s great that young artists can get noticed online, too; record something in their bedroom and put it out there on YouTube.

“I released a box set of 147 tracks last year. The first albums had only ever been on vinyl and now you can download them. I’m all for it.”

Shakin’ Stevens is at St George’s Hall on Friday, December 2. For tickets, ring (01274) 432000.