22-20s' "Shake, Shiver, And Moan" Finds a Wide Audience on U-Rock®
"Shake, Shiver, And Moan" by 22-20s logged 412 spins across 10 U-Rock® stations in the seven days ending Oct. 27, 2026. That places it at No. 2 among this week's real-music leaders on the network, and gives it one of the widest station footprints of any song in that group. (Source: U-Rock® network play data, week ending Oct 27, 2026; dashboard pull at 3:15 PM ET.)
Here is who they are and where the song comes from.
From Sleaford to Heavenly
22-20s formed as teenagers in Sleaford, a market town in Lincolnshire. They named themselves after a song by the Delta blues musician Skip James, according to Trouser Press. Their first release was a live EP on Heavenly, five originals plus a cover of Slim Harpo's "King Bee." Their self-titled debut album came out on Heavenly in 2004 and was released in the US by Astralwerks in 2005.
Trouser Press credits guitarist and vocalist Martin Trimble with the songs on that debut, with Charley Coombes on keyboards, Glen Bartup on bass and James Irving on drums. Brendan Lynch, known for his work with Paul Weller and Primal Scream, produced it. Trouser Press describes the record as echoing "the classic blues-revivalist tradition of earlier British rock generations" while relying "more on songwriting … and tight ensemble playing than instrumental flash."
A break, then a second start
Success came quickly, and so did the strain. Trouser Press says the band "felt the pressures of quick success colliding with the purist strictures of the UK-based blues scene" and broke up while working on a second album. In 2008, at Heavenly's request, the band played what was meant to be a one-off reunion show, according to The Line of Best Fit. Before long they were quietly touring new songs under the name Bitter Pills.
When 22-20s returned for good, Dan Hare (formerly of the Jubilees) had replaced Coombes. Trouser Press notes that Coombes had joined his brothers Gaz and Rob as a touring member of Supergrass. The band now wrote together as a unit.
The song
"Shake, Shiver, And Moan" is the title track of the band's second album, Shake/Shiver/Moan. The album came out in 2010 on TBD Records (Trouser Press, PopMatters; Discogs lists 2010 US and Japanese editions). Ian Davenport, who has worked with Supergrass and Badly Drawn Boy, produced it.
Critics singled out the title track. In PopMatters, Michael P. Irwin wrote that it "begins slow but gradually builds to a charging, rockabilly-inspired climax." The Line of Best Fit's Andy Johnson was cooler on the album as a whole, but wrote that the band was "probably at their best on this album's title track, which marries Martin Trimble's warm vocals with a loping, colourful riff," and called its instrumental climax "thrilling."
The wider album moved past the band's blues base. Rolling Stone heard "Sixties psych rock and Nineties Brit pop" in the new sound. Trouser Press pointed to "touches of classic Merseybeat" and found Trimble's voice "clearer and stronger than on the debut." The blues didn't disappear, though. The Line of Best Fit wrote that the band "retain the influence from old bluesmen which was a key hallmark of their origins."
Why it's on our radar
This week the story is reach. "Shake, Shiver, And Moan" was heard on 10 U-Rock® stations, one of the widest footprints among the network's current leaders. That is notable for a song released 16 years ago by a band that broke up and then came back quietly. It isn't a stranger here, either: our archived Live365 playlist shows U-Rock® added "Shake, Shiver, And Moan" to rotation on April 15, 2011, more than 15 years ago, and it had logged 18 plays by April 24, 2011. U-Rock® has a documented history with this song; it isn't simply an old track that suddenly turned up.
Sources
- U-Rock® network play data, week ending Oct 27, 2026 (dashboard pull 3:15 PM ET), internal; supplied by the Chief Editor.
- Trouser Press, "22-20s": https://trouserpress.com/reviews/22-20s/
- PopMatters, Michael P. Irwin, "22-20s: Shake/Shiver/Moan," 28 June 2010: https://www.popmatters.com/127125-22-20s-shakeshivermoan-2496177779.html
- The Line of Best Fit, Andy Johnson, "22-20s – Shake/Shiver/Moan," 8 July 2010: https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/reviews/albums/22-20s-shakeshivermoan-31971
- Rolling Stone, "Shake/Shiver/Moan" review: https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/shake-shiver-moan-200344/
- Discogs, 22-20s Shake/Shiver/Moan release listings: https://www.discogs.com/search/?q=22-20s+shake+shiver+moan&type=all
- U-Rock® Radio archived Live365 track library export, "Live365 - Tracks_playlist_as_of_04.25.2011.pdf" (detailed track ratings as of Apr 24, 2011), internal U-Rock® archive.