One fan proposed ...I didn’t realise she had a ring and looked at venues
Nathan feeling the love from fans
Spending 10 minutes at the end of a gig chatting is my way of saying thanks
COUNTRY singer Nathan Carter has told how one adoring fan asked him to marry her – and already had a venue booked for the big day.
The Fermanagh-based crooner’s followers have had his face and signature tattooed on various parts of their body, with one devotee even proposing to him on stage. Nathan, 33, told the Irish Sunday Mirror: “Every now and again I get knickers on stage, but thank God they’re all clean. “This was huge in Tom Jones’ day, but I think they love throwing the knickers around the stage now for a bit of craic. “It gets a laugh every night.” Wagon Wheel singer Nathan added: “I’ve had one proposal while I was on stage, I thought she was joking but it turned out she was serious.
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“She had the ring, she had gone and looked at venues. At the time I thought, ‘This is mental’.” Accordian maestro Nathan moved to Ireland from his native Liverpool aged 18 and soon became a firm favourite with country and traditional music fans. He’s released an album every year since his 2007 debut Starting Out, with his latest offering Music Man already topping the Irish country charts. Of his legions of loyal fans he said: “We get a lot of the same faces, they do a lot of travelling. “A couple of daughters and mothers come to maybe 70 or 80 gigs a year, front row tickets, booking the hotel and flights, restaurants, they must spend a fortune.” Big-hearted Nathan does his best to keep ticket prices affordable and he’s known for spending time meeting and greeting fans after his gigs – with no cover charge. He added: “I know my fans by name, some of them are widowed, some of them don’t have family or some are divorced, they all have their story... “So spending 10 minutes at the end of a gig chatting to the fans and to give them a lift is my way of saying thanks for supporting me. They’re so happy, I think some of the fans enjoy this more than the gig itself.” The poster-boy singer insists being “mildly stalked” over the years has not turned him off the industry. Nathan said: “I’ve had a couple in the past but lucky enough nothing too sinister. I’ve had a good few fans getting tattoos of me on their body. “A few on legs and a few on arms. I’ve signed a few people’s arms and then they go and get it tattooed permanently, so it’s always a bit silly. “I just wonder in 40 or 50 years time what they’ll think of it.” Nathan will enjoy some family time at home in Fermanagh this Christmas before collaborating on writing new music in January with Bay City Rollers bassist Johnny Mclaughlin. He added: “I usually go to Liverpool but this year it will be different because everyone is coming to me. My nan, Ann Mccoy, is 84 and she’s still on tour with us, she’ll be over for Christmas dinner too.” ■ Nathan Carter plays INEC Killarney on January 26 and UCH Limerick on January 27 (www. nathancartermusic.com).