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I started playing guitar at 11years old and soon got interested in the guitar sounds that I heard on radio Luxembourg in particular

a player I learned later was Chet Atkins, This style of playing was

to become my inspiration.

It wasn’t long before I was singing along and strumming basic

chords to the pop songsof the day,

He’s got the whole world in his hands and travelling light

were the first two

I remember and soon after the Shadows were to appear in the

charts.

By the time I was twelve I was being asked to sing at local gatherings and then a girl singing group invited me to join them so three girls me and my guitar became the Cherokees.

Two years later I was solo and playing clubs parties and variety shows but wanted to play better that led me to top jazz player Frank Evans, he taught me about the guitar and how to read music. And then singing lessons from Madame Doris Mogridge but my heart was with the style of music from the southern states of America and I wanted to play a style called the thumb pick style.

There was no one around to teach it so I taught myself from what I heard and developed my own style.

I met a songwriter when I was 16 called Mick Connors that led me to EMI’s Abbey road and Pye records studio’s plus many

TV and radio dates.

Mick later went on to form a comedy band called The Carrot Crunchers, together we created the track Orphan Boy the music video is on the website.

Can you imagine many years later how I felt when I played on the same show as Chet Atkins at Bristols harbour regatta on the 29^th of July 1994 in the Lloyds amphitheatre, one of his rare gigs in the UK.

It was after that I formed Country FM realizing that line dancing was a way of getting country music out there, we put together live music and line dance teaching gigs as well as the first teaching video with our dancers Footsteps CLD this was produced by my wife Shirley and the teaching was taken over by my daughter Elizabeth.

My double CD Everybody is line Dancin was on general release the title track of which I co wrote with fellow Bristolian Roger cook, this was to lead me to Nashville four years later.

The line dance scene got ever popular; Country FM joined the British line dance championships as the live band, which included two UK tours, and network TV appearances, 1997 and 1998 finals were in the Wembley Arena.

Then off to Nashville, linking up with Roger Cook again and being amongst the players and producers I loved to hear, with writing and recording that brings up to the current day.

Whilst all this was going on Shirley and I got more and more interested in the human energy field and the consciousness and understanding that accompanies it. That took us to many places in the world to research and learn. With Shirley’s intuition and knowledge, and my understanding of frequencies and sound, all of this was incorporated into the four albums at the bottom of the my albums page and of course continues.

There is one thing I haven’t mentioned, it’s the true story of uncle Art Satherley, its about the history of country music, Art went to the USA around 1910 and ended up as vice president of Columbia records Nashville! He was a Bristolian see the Bristol Evening Post article. I have been collating the story for some years putting the story forward as an idea for a TV docudrama or and a movie coming close on both. I have co-written and recorded a song with Pete Willington another local song writer who lived in Nashville and even worked at the country music hall of fame as a guide where Art was inducted in the 70’s. To listen to a sample of the song click here. So if you or someone you know fancies a challenge to help get the story on the big or little screen please get in touch. and did you know the Stetson hat was first made in a village just outside of Bristol that’s Bristol England!…….. but that’s another story

Watch this space.

Alan Britton