A number of guest hosts including Shirley Strachan, John Paul Young and Daryl Braithwaite compered the show in its early years on an ad hoc basis. In November 1974 Shakespeare released his debut album, Can't Stop Myself from Loving You, produced by Vanda & Young for Albert Productions. All but one track was co-written by Vanda & Young. One track, "Time", was co-written by Shakespeare with Chris Gilbey, A&R manager at Alberts. The album peaked in the top 30 on the Kent Music Report albums chart. His second single, "My Little Angel", followed in December and peaked at No. 1 on the Kent Music Report for three weeks in February of the next year and he became a national pop star. Shakespeare appeared on the teen-oriented musical program, Countdown, in his glam rock costume numerous times. The two singles and album were followed by two more singles, "Just the Way You Are" in April 1975 and "Last Night" in May 1976, but he had no further top 50 successes. Criminal conviction and spell in Chelmsford In 1975 John Cave was convicted of carnal knowledge of a 15-year-old girl from his Melbourne fan club, and he received two years probation. He left Albert Productions in 1977 and had no further recordings — his pop music career was over due to his criminal conviction and changes in music styles. In 1978 Shakespeare, who had an alcohol addiction and clinical depression, was treated with Deep Sleep Therapy (in combination with electroconvulsive therapy and other therapies) by Dr Harry Bailey at the Chelmsford Private Hospital for three weeks. From 1979 until the mid 1990s, Shakespeare sometimes performed as Billy Shake in Sydney clubs as a 1970s revival act. A temporary revival of his singing career occurred in 1990 when listeners of Triple M Melbourne voted "My Little Angel" as the daggiest song of their generation and a cover version was provided by the Melody Lords. For his day job, Shakespeare was a car detailer at a Holden dealership in Arncliffe, New South Wales for most of his working life. In late 1992 he appeared as a guest on the "Countdown" segment in series 1 episode 12 of the ABC comedy show The Late Show and performed "My Little Angel" live. Decline and death Mental illness and alcoholism took its toll on his personal life and by 2001, Shakespeare was homeless and lived in a