Country and best ‘uns
Record-breaking Shires on how Nashville and Taylor Swift inspired chart breakthrough
I used to sing old songs in care homes ...it’s had a massive effect on me
In the year since their goldselling Top 10 debut album Brave, The Shires have achieved what once seemed impossible – beating America’s best to become the UK’S biggest-selling country act.
Now duo Ben Earle and Crissie Rhodes, from Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire respectively, are set to release follow-up My Universe, also recorded in Nashville.
They are certainly seizing the moment. British record companies have been trying to make country a UK chart commodity for decades – and The Shires arrived at just the right time to make a breakthrough – with Brave making them the first country act to break into the UK Top 10 albums chart.
Ben says: “Dolly Parton playing at Glastonbury was a big marker. Also the internet, Spotify, YouTube – that’s how I discovered Lady Antebellum four years ago.
“They had 30 million views – how could they not come over here? You could argue that, for a while, in country the subject matter was so different – the trucks, the Cowboys, rhinestone, the dead dogs and divorce. But now we spend a lot of time in Nashville and it’s so cosmopolitan. That’s reflected in the music. It’s modern music, easy to find.
“All those things put together in a melting pot made it a perfect time for country in the UK.” This year has been an emotional one for the pair. Crissie, a former wedding singer, who performed country covers in pubs and clubs before meeting Ben, suffered the loss of her gran, who had introduced her to country music.
Crissie says: “She was my biggest influence. She taught me all the old country songs – we always sung together.”
She and Ben headlined Glastonbury’s acoustic stage on the day Ben’s partner gave birth to their son River. Ben says: “It was 1.30 in the morning and we had to play that evening. It was a crazy, long three days.” Crissie credits Taylor Swift’s country roots for helping make their style of music popular. “It’s brilliant – the crossover, the amount of people who know about country because of Taylor Swift.”
Although never a couple, the pair’s musical connection is almost telepathic. Ben says: “When I found I was going to be a dad, I wrote a song about my relationship with my dad and what I want to give to my child. It’s the most honest song I’ve written. What’s fascinating is that Crissie didn’t know anything about it, but she wrote a song about her dad at the same time. It’s funny how in sync we are.”
The new album was written on the road and in an intensive writing session in Nashville. Ben says: “The first time we went, it was like being children at Disneyland. This time – with the experience we’d had – we were a lot more confident in the studio.”
The Shires’ self-assurance is a natural by-product of their success and their deep musical roots. Crissie says: “I used to work in care homes. singing old songs. It’s had a massive effect on my life.
“You’d be surprised at how it can bring someone back to life. Sitting in a chair having no idea what’s going on – then you lay a song that reminds them of their good times and they’re right back there straight away. Music can do
that for everybody.”