Shaikhing all over!

Perhaps the last place you would expect to see a member of the ruling family of a country in the Middle East is performing in front of a screaming crowd on a rock stage.

But that’s exactly where Bahrain’s Shaikh Hassan bin Rashid al Khalifa is most at home.
The front man of Brothermandude (BMD), known by his stage-name ‘Shake’, pictured right, is on the threshold of stardom.
The band’s recently released album of the same name with EMI Arabia has caused a media frenzy and tracks are already receiving airtime on radio stations across the globe.
The band’s unique brand of rock is putting the kingdom firmly on the musical map.
“There’s a piece of Bahrain in every song,” says Shake, 30, “the guys came to Bahrain and we wrote half the album here.”
The recording was produced by Mark Wallis and Dave Ruffy, who between them have worked with U2, Travis, Sinead O’Connor and The Smiths.
BMD is made up of lead singer Shake, Ian Markin on drums, Mark Greenwood on guitar and Russell Milton on bass guitar.
Their two US tours, supporting Starsailor and appearing on the Island Def Jam’s Under the Influence of Giants line-up, has resulted in the band being hotly-tipped to make it to the top by music critics.
Skake and the boys have already appeared on BBC2’s Newsnight programme, the Riz Khan Show on Al Jazeera International and on music channel MTV.
They also recently played alongside American rocker Tommy Lee at Dubai Bike Week, which Shake says was actually a “disappointment”. He explained: “We completely blew him off stage.”
Wearing aviator sunglasses, his long hair scraped back into a ponytail, Shake certainly looks the rock idol part.
His voice bears a slight London twang, a result of hours spent touring and recording with his three Londoner band-mates.
Shake currently splits his time between Camden in north London and Bahrain – two places which facilitate his songwriting prowess.
“In London you experience it and in Bahrian you write about it. Bahrain is where I ground myself, chill out, relax and find my lungs again,” he added.  
He cites Pearl Jam, The Red Hot Chilli Peppers, The Doors and Led Zeppelin as major influences, but also credits the music of home. “Arabic music is storytelling, and that’s influenced my music in terms of writing.” 
Shake writes all the songs for BMD and is immensely passionate about his work. His songs focus on a range of political, environmental and sociological issues.
 “I’m a news freak, usually I write about current affairs. The song ‘Souls’ is about politicians sending people to war, and putting innocent people in jeopardy. I opened up the paper one day and saw the headline ‘24 souls perish,’ but you just get so used to reading that kind of thing that you flip over the page. But that day it really hit me and I wrote the whole song in just 24 hours.”
Shake started taking music seriously in his teen years. “Music chooses you, you don’t choose it.” On his 17th birthday he was given a ‘Pearl Jam’ CD by a friend. Singing along to the tracks while driving around Bahrain he realised he had a good voice.
A few years later when he was studying in Florida he started writing songs and got involved in the local music scene. He joined a touring band called Beanstalk.
Sadly, in 2002 Shake’s father Shaikh Rashid bin Hassan Al Khalifa died and he returned to Bahrain to support his mother Shaikha Hind bint Salman Al Khalifa and help run the family business, Al Rashid Group (ARG) which operates Marina Mall, Riffa Mall and other companies.
“I was in limbo from 2002-4 so I quit music for a few years, but at the end of that time I wrote a few songs and asked the guys to come over to Bahrain and we wrote the demos for what you now hear,” he revealed.
In late 2004 Beanstalk merged into Brothermandude – a name that came out of an argument between band members about who to kick out of an apartment. “The discussion went something like; “listen brother, we love you man, but, dude, you got to go” – and the name stuck.
Then, in 2005, Simon Napier-Bell – the man who gave the world acts like the Wham! Marc Bolan and The Yardbirds - heard BMD’s demo and invited the band to London to record. BMD haven’t looked back since.
Shake added: “I know that I can rock a crowd. I’ve paid my dues and I’ve worked hard to get where I am.”
‘Automatic’, the band’s debut single, proved hugely popular and received over 20,000 spins in just one week on one online station.
Earlier this year some of the UK’s top re-mixers, including Tom Middleton, got their hands on two of the band’s songs, ‘Moving On’ and ‘Hot Damn’. The results have hit the top 10 of the UK Buzz chart and been featured on Annie Nightingale BBC Radio 1 show.
But success hasn’t come easily. Shake said: “I’ve had personal obstacles to deal with – trying to get people over here, trying to get people to take me seriously. I just want to write better and better songs.”
Shake attributes much of his success and that of his siblings – his brother Shaikh Salman is a top racing driver – to the support of his family. He said: “We were incredibly lucky to have our parents. They were a good balance. My dad had good rules. My mum was very supportive. If we were passionate about something they supported us.”
The band is currently working on a new album which is about three months from completion and they intend to record it in Bahrain.
They are all set for a London tour and Shake is excited about the exposure it will bring.
But his best stage experience so far has been playing in his home country. “We played a gig in Likwid last month,” he said. “We had people singing along and they knew the words to all the songs. That was the most nervous I’ve been and the most fun I’ve had at a gig.
“As for the future, I want to be sitting here in Bahrain in 20 years time talking about our new record which is the best thing we’ve ever done.”