0:00:02 > 0:00:04Now, country music is usually associated with Nashville in
0:00:04 > 0:00:09Tennessee, but it's becoming increasingly popular here thanks to bands like this lot.
0:00:09 > 0:00:12This programme contains some strong language
0:00:12 > 0:00:13Hyde Park, how we doing?
0:00:14 > 0:00:16It's been a very busy year.
0:00:16 > 0:00:18It's almost too much to kind of take in.
0:00:22 > 0:00:24- The Shires!- The Shires!- The Shires!
0:00:29 > 0:00:33Who knew two years ago that all of this would happen to them?
0:00:33 > 0:00:34# It's time
0:00:34 > 0:00:39# Oh, I'm desperate... #
0:00:39 > 0:00:43It's very, very, very exciting and nerve-racking.
0:00:43 > 0:00:45# ..inside me now
0:00:45 > 0:00:49# It's a fire that never burns... #
0:00:50 > 0:00:52Just a kind of dream for us.
0:00:52 > 0:00:54Yeah, to actually make it out here would be everything.
0:00:54 > 0:00:57# I'll bet she's beautiful
0:00:57 > 0:00:59# That girl he talks about... #
0:00:59 > 0:01:02When you hear them, they don't sound like anyone else and it's such a
0:01:02 > 0:01:04great story.
0:01:05 > 0:01:11# You're the reason I'm singing
0:01:11 > 0:01:13# And the beat of my soul... #
0:01:15 > 0:01:18It's so competitive and there are people getting off the bus every day
0:01:18 > 0:01:20from every little town coming and going,
0:01:20 > 0:01:22"I think I could be the next big thing."
0:01:22 > 0:01:26# You know my heart
0:01:26 > 0:01:28# Like nobody else
0:01:28 > 0:01:31# You saved me from myself. #
0:01:52 > 0:01:55# Well, they say it's way too cold
0:01:55 > 0:01:58# For cut-off jeans... #
0:01:58 > 0:02:02It was really important for us from day one to sing about stuff that is
0:02:02 > 0:02:04real. We can't sing about drugs,
0:02:04 > 0:02:07we can't sing about drinking whisky and sitting on tailgates
0:02:07 > 0:02:09because that's not stuff that we know.
0:02:09 > 0:02:15# We can build our own Nashville underneath these grey skies... #
0:02:15 > 0:02:18The truth for us is trying to build our own Nashville over here.
0:02:18 > 0:02:24# People will come They'll come from far and wide... #
0:02:24 > 0:02:26That was what we wanted to achieve.
0:02:26 > 0:02:28We wanted to bring country music over here.
0:02:28 > 0:02:32It just so happened that there was a big sort of gap in the market for that.
0:02:32 > 0:02:37# We'll build our own Nashville It's about time. #
0:02:37 > 0:02:39Nashville Grey Skies,
0:02:39 > 0:02:40I wrote that myself just before we
0:02:40 > 0:02:42went to Nashville for the first time.
0:02:42 > 0:02:46And I had this vision of just people at Glastonbury, in their wellies,
0:02:46 > 0:02:49it was completely muddy and loads of rain and stuff, just singing,
0:02:49 > 0:02:51you know...
0:02:51 > 0:02:52# Whoa-oah... # ..that hook.
0:02:52 > 0:02:54# Whoa-oah
0:02:54 > 0:02:57# Whoa-oah... #
0:02:57 > 0:03:01That still takes me by surprise, how much people love that song.
0:03:01 > 0:03:06And you just feel the energy just go from nought to 100 in a second.
0:03:10 > 0:03:12It's going to sound arrogant to say it,
0:03:12 > 0:03:16but it's like the unofficial anthem of sort of UK country now and, yeah,
0:03:16 > 0:03:18we just got to try and write another one.
0:03:26 > 0:03:28So we're off to
0:03:28 > 0:03:31Chepstow Castle in Wales.
0:03:31 > 0:03:34- Yeah.- On a beautiful day. Not!
0:03:34 > 0:03:36It was only like two-and-a-half years ago,
0:03:36 > 0:03:39two years ago, we were driving ourselves around.
0:03:39 > 0:03:40Still it feels just like a dream.
0:03:42 > 0:03:47Like the festival season for us is good shows for us I think because it
0:03:47 > 0:03:49covers lots of age groups.
0:03:49 > 0:03:51And I think that's definitely what our music's about.
0:03:51 > 0:03:55It's either new country or country/pop.
0:03:58 > 0:03:59Cool.
0:04:02 > 0:04:05Look at this! This is way cool.
0:04:05 > 0:04:07Just casually playing in a castle.
0:04:08 > 0:04:13- What do you need, Glenn?- I think I might need mine up a little bit. My vocal.
0:04:13 > 0:04:14Just my vocal up.
0:04:14 > 0:04:21# As long as the world keeps turning and turning... #
0:04:21 > 0:04:25We remember playing to tiny little pubs and to see the amount of people
0:04:25 > 0:04:26coming down nowadays,
0:04:26 > 0:04:29there's so much excitement for country music here in the UK.
0:04:32 > 0:04:35A kind of contrasting look, isn't it?
0:04:35 > 0:04:37That we've got between us, I think.
0:04:37 > 0:04:38You know, stereotypically,
0:04:38 > 0:04:42you wouldn't expect Ben maybe to enjoy country music.
0:04:42 > 0:04:45I think that's what we've kind of had in the past.
0:04:45 > 0:04:48But you know what? I think it just really works.
0:04:48 > 0:04:50Our voices seem to really work
0:04:50 > 0:04:52together and our looks being, you know,
0:04:52 > 0:04:56so contrasting, I think works really well, I think.
0:04:56 > 0:04:58BAND PLAYS
0:05:03 > 0:05:04CHEERING
0:05:07 > 0:05:08Chepstow!
0:05:10 > 0:05:12INDISTINCT LYRICS
0:05:20 > 0:05:22'Ben's an amazing songwriter. He really is.'
0:05:22 > 0:05:25You know when he's written another good song
0:05:25 > 0:05:28is that you walk away and you're still singing it.
0:05:28 > 0:05:29# Tonight, tonight
0:05:29 > 0:05:31# Been waiting all my life for tonight
0:05:31 > 0:05:34# It's like we never said goodbye... #
0:05:34 > 0:05:37It comes back to what you think country is.
0:05:37 > 0:05:40We have always said it's just about the honesty and the storytelling.
0:05:40 > 0:05:42It's kind of our catchphrase, really.
0:05:42 > 0:05:45That's why we will always be a new country band.
0:05:45 > 0:05:46THEY CHANT
0:05:48 > 0:05:51'They are in this together. I love that about them.'
0:05:51 > 0:05:54You know, they're supporting each other, having shared experiences,
0:05:54 > 0:05:56which are blowing their minds.
0:05:56 > 0:05:59Who knew two years ago that all of this would happen to them?
0:05:59 > 0:06:01- Thank you so much! - Thank you so much.
0:06:01 > 0:06:03Thank you.
0:06:03 > 0:06:05UK country had never had a
0:06:05 > 0:06:08breakthrough moment prior to The Shires
0:06:08 > 0:06:12and The Shires have spun American country music into their own
0:06:12 > 0:06:13individual unique sound.
0:06:13 > 0:06:18And then they become the point of an arrow for all these other
0:06:18 > 0:06:20bands now that are following them.
0:06:25 > 0:06:27# I wanna be with you everywhere... #
0:06:27 > 0:06:29'They're another band that are kind
0:06:29 > 0:06:32of spearheading this kind of country music movement.
0:06:32 > 0:06:35'Both, us too, were influenced by Fleetwood Mac.'
0:06:35 > 0:06:38So to get up there and sing this kind of four-part harmony, you know,
0:06:38 > 0:06:40to thousands of people, it was so much fun.
0:06:40 > 0:06:42THEY HARMONISE
0:06:45 > 0:06:47The Shires, they've done huge stuff for country music.
0:06:47 > 0:06:52Their first album was just like really, really made a mark and
0:06:52 > 0:06:55I think that there is a big thing happening at the moment.
0:06:58 > 0:07:02We've seen people all around the country while we're on tour talking about
0:07:02 > 0:07:05how they've loved country music for years and years and years and now it's suddenly happening
0:07:05 > 0:07:07and it just seems to be less of a gimmick.
0:07:07 > 0:07:09It seems to be less of a dirty word.
0:07:09 > 0:07:13# You wear the years like a brand-new jacket
0:07:13 > 0:07:16# One I couldn't have given you... #
0:07:18 > 0:07:20'I think Ward Thomas are just great.
0:07:20 > 0:07:25'Like The Shires, they're bringing an English take to country'
0:07:25 > 0:07:28and they've got sibling harmonies and that really, really is important,
0:07:28 > 0:07:30the way that their voices match.
0:07:30 > 0:07:32# I've been running circles
0:07:32 > 0:07:35# Always getting nowhere
0:07:35 > 0:07:38# Putting on a show
0:07:38 > 0:07:42# But you won't see... #
0:07:42 > 0:07:43'We've booked this tour,
0:07:43 > 0:07:46'let's put this album out and hopefully it gets received well.'
0:07:46 > 0:07:52Our manager just called us up, "Oh, by the way, you've got number one."
0:07:52 > 0:07:55And we were like... We were completely shocked and we still are.
0:07:55 > 0:07:57# Always getting nowhere
0:07:57 > 0:08:03# Putting on a show but you won't see
0:08:05 > 0:08:08# I've been doing cartwheels. #
0:08:10 > 0:08:12# We built our own Nashville
0:08:12 > 0:08:17# Underneath these grey skies... #
0:08:18 > 0:08:21- Do you want to have that?- No? No.
0:08:21 > 0:08:23He is so tired.
0:08:27 > 0:08:30This is baby River and Mummy, Vicky.
0:08:30 > 0:08:34And baby River, you were born the morning of Glastonbury.
0:08:34 > 0:08:38So we played Glastonbury at 9pm and he was born at 1am in the morning.
0:08:38 > 0:08:40How was the birth, Mummy?
0:08:42 > 0:08:45You feel guilty, obviously, but...
0:08:45 > 0:08:46Are you bored of this story, are you?
0:08:48 > 0:08:50But you have to do it.
0:08:50 > 0:08:52- Yeah. - Because we've been through
0:08:52 > 0:08:56harder times when we first got together and I think now, now it's
0:08:56 > 0:08:58sort of happening for us a bit more,
0:08:58 > 0:09:00give got to just really capitalise on it and make sure that
0:09:00 > 0:09:02he's all right and we're all right and stuff.
0:09:02 > 0:09:05When we first started going out, you had your publishing deal.
0:09:05 > 0:09:06But then when we moved in together,
0:09:06 > 0:09:09then was working at a Three store and you were doing...
0:09:09 > 0:09:11- Mobile phone shop. - Mobile phone shop.
0:09:11 > 0:09:14And you are doing five days a week of the mobile phone shop and the
0:09:14 > 0:09:16other two days, he was doing music.
0:09:16 > 0:09:19It was really struggling then, money wise.
0:09:19 > 0:09:21I had nothing left and no songs getting taken.
0:09:21 > 0:09:24- We had this tiny, tiny flat. - Tiny studio, little flat.
0:09:24 > 0:09:28It was... Yeah. It was like a top floor thing and I sort of stood in
0:09:28 > 0:09:32the shower and I said... I was crying. I was literally crying, wasn't I? And I said, like,
0:09:32 > 0:09:35"If you want to go off and be with some guy from the City, you know,
0:09:35 > 0:09:39"I wouldn't blame you. And off you go because, you know, I don't know if it's going to work out."
0:09:39 > 0:09:42And Vicky was literally like, "You have to keep going,
0:09:42 > 0:09:44"you have to keep going because I really believe we'll be fine."
0:09:44 > 0:09:47I just knew... I just knew he'd make it.
0:09:47 > 0:09:50The biggest thing as a songwriter and any musician is it's accepting
0:09:50 > 0:09:52the rejection. That's the biggest thing.
0:09:52 > 0:09:55I mean, the amount of songs that I've sent to people.
0:09:55 > 0:09:58You know, Shires' songs got pitched for other people and you don't get a
0:09:58 > 0:10:01response, or someone goes, "Oh, that...
0:10:01 > 0:10:03"Not that song, it's not right."
0:10:03 > 0:10:05You know, and it's just their opinion.
0:10:05 > 0:10:08And it's once you understand that, that's when you understand the industry.
0:10:08 > 0:10:10No-one knows what they're talking about.
0:10:10 > 0:10:12Songs like Brave and Black And White, we played them for
0:10:12 > 0:10:16quite a while before The Shires got going.
0:10:16 > 0:10:18Those songs now that people go, "Brave changed my life."
0:10:26 > 0:10:31# Lie down, just forget the world
0:10:32 > 0:10:35# And your worries
0:10:36 > 0:10:37# Calm down
0:10:38 > 0:10:41# Don't be so absurd
0:10:42 > 0:10:47# I'm sorry it's not the first time
0:10:47 > 0:10:49# I've seen you cry
0:10:53 > 0:10:59# You don't have too be so brave tonight. #
0:11:01 > 0:11:04'The thing about Brave is that it's about vulnerability, really,
0:11:04 > 0:11:08'and it's about saying, "You don't have to be so strong." '
0:11:08 > 0:11:11And I think the most simple things are the most powerful.
0:11:11 > 0:11:18# Let me mend your broken soul. #
0:11:28 > 0:11:30BABY FUSSES
0:11:30 > 0:11:31THEY LAUGH
0:11:37 > 0:11:39I've always been influenced by country.
0:11:39 > 0:11:41I think that's where Ben and I kind of differ.
0:11:41 > 0:11:43It's that I've been a lifelong country fan.
0:11:43 > 0:11:46COUNTRY SONG PLAYS
0:11:48 > 0:11:52My mum would bring me CDs of Alison Krauss and I would sit at home
0:11:52 > 0:11:55listening to Martina McBride, Faith Hill, LeAnn Rimes,
0:11:55 > 0:11:58you know, all of those girls.
0:11:59 > 0:12:02I mean, I did every talent show when I was a kid.
0:12:03 > 0:12:06I think I've got a little... I've got a little poster here...
0:12:07 > 0:12:10..of me when I was aged 13 and I won
0:12:10 > 0:12:15that talent show in the Westgate shopping centre in Stevenage.
0:12:15 > 0:12:20Then, obviously the biggest talent show that I'd done was X Factor,
0:12:20 > 0:12:24which I got down to Boot Camp and I was in Nicole Scherzinger's team.
0:12:24 > 0:12:27When I left uni, I was part of different function bands.
0:12:27 > 0:12:30I was endlessly looking for more work all the time.
0:12:30 > 0:12:33Putting up online, you know, come and see me at this show,
0:12:33 > 0:12:35this little tiny pub.
0:12:35 > 0:12:38I just thought, you know what? I love country music,
0:12:38 > 0:12:41I'm just going to throw up some videos of me singing some country songs.
0:12:41 > 0:12:43So this was It Matters To Me by Faith Hill.
0:12:43 > 0:12:45# When we don't talk
0:12:45 > 0:12:47# When we don't touch
0:12:47 > 0:12:53# When it doesn't feel like we're even in love
0:12:53 > 0:12:56# It matters to me
0:12:58 > 0:13:00# When I don't know what to say
0:13:00 > 0:13:02# Don't know what to do
0:13:02 > 0:13:05# Don't know if it even really matters... #
0:13:05 > 0:13:08'I never thought that country music was naff or uncool,
0:13:08 > 0:13:10'I just loved it myself.
0:13:10 > 0:13:13'But nobody else really shared that opinion with me.'
0:13:18 > 0:13:20I never was really into country growing up.
0:13:21 > 0:13:25And it's weird cos I heard the song Need You Now.
0:13:25 > 0:13:29I remember very clearly, and it was kind of like coming home.
0:13:29 > 0:13:31# It's a quarter after one
0:13:31 > 0:13:36# I'm all alone and I need you now... #
0:13:36 > 0:13:40It was like, wow, this is literally everything I want from music.
0:13:40 > 0:13:43# ..I need you now... #
0:13:43 > 0:13:44In every form, lyrically,
0:13:44 > 0:13:48the production and just how kind of honest and earnest it was.
0:13:48 > 0:13:55I was just like, "There must be a female country singer around London."
0:13:55 > 0:13:57That's when I put the Facebook post up.
0:13:58 > 0:14:01So, this is the original Facebook post that I put out that
0:14:01 > 0:14:03started The Shires.
0:14:03 > 0:14:06On the 8th of May, 2013.
0:14:06 > 0:14:07I said, "My music friends,
0:14:07 > 0:14:11"does anyone know of a great female singer in London who's quite country, pop,
0:14:11 > 0:14:13"who wants to sing with me?
0:14:13 > 0:14:17"Someone must know someone!?!"
0:14:17 > 0:14:19That was the frustration I was talking about.
0:14:19 > 0:14:23It was my friend Laura Jane Hunter that tagged me into this status and
0:14:23 > 0:14:27she simply put, "Try Crissie, she's fab."
0:14:27 > 0:14:31He got in touch with me and he sent me the songs, and Black And White
0:14:31 > 0:14:35was the first one that I listened to and I was blown away.
0:14:35 > 0:14:38I couldn't believe it, I was just, "Oh, my goodness,
0:14:38 > 0:14:40"I cannot wait to get my voice on this track."
0:14:43 > 0:14:46# So you got perspective
0:14:50 > 0:14:53# You were given two ears... #
0:14:53 > 0:14:56'I'm not a singer, I'm a songwriter who sings.'
0:14:56 > 0:14:58# So you hear it from both sides... #
0:14:58 > 0:15:02'Whereas Crissie is a singer, and she's absolutely amazing.'
0:15:02 > 0:15:05It was the best thing. Meeting her was just the best thing ever, musically.
0:15:05 > 0:15:07# It's black and white. #
0:15:16 > 0:15:17CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:15:18 > 0:15:22We wrote down about, I think, about five or six goals.
0:15:22 > 0:15:24I said, "We need to get our songs to Bob Harris."
0:15:24 > 0:15:27And at the time, because Ben didn't really know a lot about country,
0:15:27 > 0:15:29he was like, "Who's Bob Harris?"
0:15:29 > 0:15:34And I was like, "He's the leading man in country music here in the UK."
0:15:34 > 0:15:39He just got our demo and said, "I need to play Nashville Grey Skies on my radio show."
0:15:39 > 0:15:42I think he was really excited that there were some Brits
0:15:42 > 0:15:45trying to do country music in the UK.
0:15:45 > 0:15:47They were amazing. They...
0:15:47 > 0:15:51You could somehow just tell that, a, their music was good enough,
0:15:51 > 0:15:56but that, b, they had the depth of determination to make it work.
0:15:56 > 0:15:59You know, they were hungry to make this a success.
0:15:59 > 0:16:04Now, it's The Shires with a track from their brand-new album which is out today.
0:16:04 > 0:16:08..brand-new album Brave has made history, breaking into the UK album chart.
0:16:08 > 0:16:11- We'll speak to them in just a moment. Very good morning to you, both.- Good morning.
0:16:11 > 0:16:13Performing All Over Again from their new album, Brave,
0:16:13 > 0:16:14please welcome The Shires.
0:16:14 > 0:16:16CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:16:23 > 0:16:27# Back when you were younger and the summer would last forever
0:16:28 > 0:16:32# Looking and you and loving you That's the way you make me feel... #
0:16:34 > 0:16:37Brave had surpassed our expectations so far.
0:16:37 > 0:16:41Like, to do 100,000, or more than that, but to go gold, we never thought would happen.
0:16:41 > 0:16:44I mean, the whole thing has been kind of dreamlike.
0:16:44 > 0:16:48We don't kind of sit back and go, "Wow, we sold this many records and we started this whole movement."
0:16:48 > 0:16:50Because it just kind of happened.
0:16:56 > 0:16:59I think the American artists are really jumping at the chance to be
0:16:59 > 0:17:02able to perform at Country To Country.
0:17:02 > 0:17:05Everyone's kind of talking about, "You know, you need to play this show."
0:17:09 > 0:17:11# I've cursed on a Sunday... #
0:17:11 > 0:17:13We came over to C2C and the reaction
0:17:13 > 0:17:16was so big that we called our booking agent.
0:17:16 > 0:17:19You have got to book a tour this year.
0:17:19 > 0:17:22The fans are so excited, we have to give them the tour that we gave
0:17:22 > 0:17:24all of our fans in the States.
0:17:26 > 0:17:30You go to a festival where all of us are on that show,
0:17:30 > 0:17:32you literally get to see a dose of everything that's happening in
0:17:32 > 0:17:33the genre right now.
0:17:33 > 0:17:36I think that that is... That's like the coolest thing ever.
0:17:36 > 0:17:38It's the coolest time to ever be in country music to me.
0:17:38 > 0:17:42# I'll bet she's beautiful That girl he talks about
0:17:42 > 0:17:48# And she's got everything that I have to live without... #
0:17:48 > 0:17:55It took a while for a new generation of artists to be arriving that had
0:17:55 > 0:17:57a much wider horizon line.
0:17:57 > 0:18:00One of the key people in that is a guy called Scott Borchetta,
0:18:00 > 0:18:01who signed Taylor Swift to
0:18:01 > 0:18:04Big Machine and Scott saw the Taylor Swift
0:18:04 > 0:18:06project as being a worldwide project.
0:18:06 > 0:18:08It wasn't just localised to Nashville.
0:18:08 > 0:18:13# The only thing that keeps me wishing on a wishing star... #
0:18:13 > 0:18:16What I love about the British and their affection for American music
0:18:16 > 0:18:22is, if we treat them properly, if we come and visit them often,
0:18:22 > 0:18:26if we bring them along for the ride, then they're in.
0:18:26 > 0:18:30And the beautiful thing is when the British are in,
0:18:30 > 0:18:31it's for their entire career.
0:18:31 > 0:18:35That's something that I got Taylor to understand very early.
0:18:35 > 0:18:38Thomas Rhett coming over right now in real-time
0:18:38 > 0:18:39to understand very early in his
0:18:39 > 0:18:42career. We have the conversation with all of them.
0:18:44 > 0:18:46If I can come to London and sell this place out, I mean,
0:18:46 > 0:18:50I can't even believe that there's this many people showing up to see
0:18:50 > 0:18:54our show tonight in London, or in Manchester, or wherever we're going.
0:18:55 > 0:18:58I always just love being my own person.
0:18:59 > 0:19:01And especially when I started writing songs.
0:19:01 > 0:19:03There's a big thing about, you know,
0:19:03 > 0:19:06you're only country if you have steel or fiddle,
0:19:06 > 0:19:10or if you wear a cowboy hat, or if you wear cowboy boots.
0:19:10 > 0:19:14And I think that that, to me, that just doesn't make sense in my mind.
0:19:14 > 0:19:15BAND REHEARSES
0:19:24 > 0:19:28I do love pop music, I love hip-hop, I love jazz, I love Frank Sinatra.
0:19:28 > 0:19:30One of my favourite artists in the world.
0:19:30 > 0:19:32But at heart, I'm a country artist.
0:19:32 > 0:19:36You know, I may wear skinny jeans and Vans and not dress the part, but
0:19:36 > 0:19:38to me country music is all about storytelling.
0:19:47 > 0:19:51Today, we are shooting for You magazine for the Daily Mail,
0:19:51 > 0:19:54so that will be coming out very soon to promote the album.
0:19:54 > 0:19:55The brand-new album.
0:19:55 > 0:19:57Let's do it.
0:19:57 > 0:19:59That's it, hold that. That's so nice.
0:19:59 > 0:20:02It's five weeks till the album comes out,
0:20:02 > 0:20:05so we're doing loads of interviews and a video as well.
0:20:05 > 0:20:07Then we've got things like this.
0:20:07 > 0:20:10And, yeah, it's all sort of... You feel it kind of ramp up.
0:20:10 > 0:20:13It's a real feeling and nerves start to kick in.
0:20:13 > 0:20:15Love that. Perfect!
0:20:15 > 0:20:17'You know, we'll see where'
0:20:17 > 0:20:21the album goes, but it's very, very, very exciting and nerve-racking.
0:20:21 > 0:20:25You're blue steeling it now, aren't you?
0:20:25 > 0:20:26Look at that.
0:20:26 > 0:20:28When we first got together,
0:20:28 > 0:20:32we said if people think we are a couple, we're doing a great job.
0:20:32 > 0:20:35Little smile, Ben, yeah. That's great, Crissie.
0:20:35 > 0:20:37But I find it fascinating how a girl and a guy,
0:20:37 > 0:20:41you just can't work together and people can't think...
0:20:41 > 0:20:43they have to be sleeping with each other.
0:20:43 > 0:20:45You know, of course people and the press will want to make it into
0:20:45 > 0:20:48a thing, but, you know, we're just friends.
0:20:48 > 0:20:49- That's great.- That's cool.
0:20:49 > 0:20:52And do you write all your lyrics together?
0:20:52 > 0:20:55We write together, we write separately and we write with other people,
0:20:55 > 0:20:58- as well.- And what are your future ambitions?
0:20:58 > 0:21:00Go platinum with a record.
0:21:00 > 0:21:03Incredible. And I think to make it in the US.
0:21:03 > 0:21:05- The USA.- Yeah.- Yeah.
0:21:06 > 0:21:09Before My Universe was released, a lot of people were going,
0:21:09 > 0:21:11"Oh, the difficult second album, how you feeling?"
0:21:11 > 0:21:14Every interview that we had, going around radio stations,
0:21:14 > 0:21:18- they were like, "Oh."- Like, "Brave was so good, how can you top it,
0:21:18 > 0:21:21"how can you match it?" So, there was nerves.
0:21:21 > 0:21:22There was huge amounts of nerves.
0:21:22 > 0:21:27And it did again feel like all or nothing, in a way.
0:21:27 > 0:21:30And it's not a science, it's an art form.
0:21:30 > 0:21:33And you don't know if people are going to like it or not.
0:21:33 > 0:21:34You just never know.
0:21:34 > 0:21:36Do you want to video it?
0:21:36 > 0:21:38- Go on. Do it.- OK, go on, then.
0:21:38 > 0:21:40We've just done a photo shoot.
0:21:40 > 0:21:41Oh, yes.
0:21:44 > 0:21:48We did a gig in Sheffield once and some guy tweeted us before we went
0:21:48 > 0:21:52on stage. He said, "When you're the only black guy at a Shires gig."
0:21:52 > 0:21:56And I got on stage and I was like, "I know exactly how you feel."
0:21:58 > 0:22:00Being mixed race, it's interesting
0:22:00 > 0:22:05not being white or black when people try to be so binary
0:22:05 > 0:22:06about it in a way.
0:22:06 > 0:22:08You know, I'm just kind of who I am.
0:22:14 > 0:22:19We've had it a few times when people go, "Oh, is it soul music you do or do you rap?"
0:22:19 > 0:22:21You know, because I'm a bit brown.
0:22:21 > 0:22:24It's, like, "Well, no, I just do music that I love."
0:22:24 > 0:22:25And before I discovered country,
0:22:25 > 0:22:30it was kind of weird because I kind of thought that I have to try and be cool. Not because I'm mixed race,
0:22:30 > 0:22:34just because people expected me to try and do something cool because of the way I look generally.
0:22:34 > 0:22:37You know, we are not a cool band.
0:22:37 > 0:22:39We just do what we love and as I've sort of grown-up,
0:22:39 > 0:22:43I think just being who you are is the coolest thing you can do, really.
0:22:46 > 0:22:48Yeah, that's right.
0:22:50 > 0:22:52We just want people to hear it now.
0:22:52 > 0:22:54It's two weeks tomorrow.
0:22:54 > 0:22:55Which is just amazing, so...
0:22:55 > 0:22:5730th of September.
0:22:57 > 0:23:01Yeah. It's really exciting. We've got lots of TV and press and promos
0:23:01 > 0:23:04to do in that kind of week and the weeks leading up to it.
0:23:04 > 0:23:08- All right, guys, we're going to go for another take.- Cool. We good?
0:23:13 > 0:23:15BACKING TRACK STARTS
0:23:24 > 0:23:26# My heart still skips a beat
0:23:26 > 0:23:29# When you look at me
0:23:31 > 0:23:35# You don't even know the things you do... #
0:23:35 > 0:23:39'The two of us, we got into the music industry because we love music
0:23:39 > 0:23:41and all of a sudden you have to be
0:23:41 > 0:23:43this kind of model, this actor, you know,
0:23:43 > 0:23:46these jobs that you don't really know about before,
0:23:46 > 0:23:49so you just kind of learn on the day.
0:23:49 > 0:23:51Perfect, we're just going to do the same thing again.
0:23:51 > 0:23:53And we're just doing close-ups of you on this one.
0:24:02 > 0:24:03Awesome, cut there.
0:24:03 > 0:24:05Excellent, perfect.
0:24:06 > 0:24:09CHRIS EVANS: And the people who have worked hardest this morning,
0:24:09 > 0:24:12biggest round of applause, please, for The Shires.
0:24:12 > 0:24:13APPLAUSE
0:24:13 > 0:24:18The Shires new album, My Universe, is out today.
0:24:18 > 0:24:19Now, we've got a real treat for you.
0:24:19 > 0:24:23Crissie Rhodes and Ben Earle have got even bigger since they first
0:24:23 > 0:24:25appeared on the programme last year.
0:24:25 > 0:24:28The duo, known as The Shires, of course you know them,
0:24:28 > 0:24:31they've got a new album out today. And it's creating a bit of a buzz.
0:24:31 > 0:24:34Seven minutes past five, Magic Drivetime,
0:24:34 > 0:24:36The Shires are back in town. Hi, guys!
0:24:36 > 0:24:40I mean it's been a very busy year, almost too much to kind of take in.
0:24:40 > 0:24:44This is album number two, so this Friday, it's going to be in the charts.
0:24:44 > 0:24:46- Yeah.- Yes!
0:24:46 > 0:24:49- Have you see the midweeks? - We've seen the midweeks, we're number three.
0:25:02 > 0:25:04- Thank you.- Thank you.
0:25:11 > 0:25:12# You're electric
0:25:12 > 0:25:15# It's infectious
0:25:15 > 0:25:18# My heart beats to your rhythm... #
0:25:18 > 0:25:22We've just played HMV Oxford Street, about 200 of our fans here.
0:25:22 > 0:25:25- About 300.- 300, sorry, is it?
0:25:25 > 0:25:27And we arrived in a blue Chevy, which was amazing.
0:25:27 > 0:25:30And, yeah, we're just celebrating the album being out.
0:25:30 > 0:25:34We're going to go out and sign some albums now and meet them and chat, it's been great.
0:25:34 > 0:25:36Hello, how are you?
0:25:36 > 0:25:38'Cameras everywhere.'
0:25:38 > 0:25:41It just feels like everything stepped up a gear for My Universe, this album.
0:25:41 > 0:25:43We're mega excited.
0:25:53 > 0:25:55- Hey, Dan.- How's it going? Good to see you.- How's things?
0:25:56 > 0:26:02'Our manager, Steve, was in very close contact with Radio 2,
0:26:02 > 0:26:05'it was them that were the driving force, right from the very beginning.'
0:26:05 > 0:26:08'Overloaded, please reduce the load.
0:26:08 > 0:26:11'Doors opening. Mind the doors.'
0:26:11 > 0:26:12It's fine now.
0:26:13 > 0:26:16Bob Harris Country here on Radio 2.
0:26:16 > 0:26:18And welcome to Ben and to Crissie,
0:26:18 > 0:26:21The Shires are here with us on Radio 2.
0:26:23 > 0:26:26So this is The Shires, from My Universe, the CD itself,
0:26:26 > 0:26:29and it's called A Thousand Hallelujahs.
0:26:29 > 0:26:30Oh, what's happened?
0:26:32 > 0:26:34Oh. I have no idea.
0:26:34 > 0:26:36That is very strange.
0:26:37 > 0:26:39The CD refuses to allow me.
0:26:39 > 0:26:42- Can you do it live? - We haven't tried it before,
0:26:42 > 0:26:44- but this is genuinely a first. - We have no idea.
0:26:44 > 0:26:46Here we go.
0:26:51 > 0:26:53# I've been foolish
0:26:53 > 0:26:55# I've been mistaken
0:26:55 > 0:26:57# I've been blinded
0:26:57 > 0:27:00# I've felt my heart breaking... #
0:27:00 > 0:27:02'The first time I heard The Shires,
0:27:02 > 0:27:05'and I don't remember what the first song was but I took about 30 seconds
0:27:05 > 0:27:07'and you go, "Yep, that works." '
0:27:07 > 0:27:12Country music has always been aimed at the mainstream.
0:27:12 > 0:27:13It's not for,
0:27:13 > 0:27:17it's a terrible cliche, it's not for the hipsters in Shoreditch.
0:27:17 > 0:27:21Or in Brooklyn. It's for the ordinary person in the street.
0:27:21 > 0:27:24Which doesn't make it cool, however you want to define it,
0:27:24 > 0:27:26but it makes it populist.
0:27:26 > 0:27:27# Hallelujah!
0:27:27 > 0:27:29# Hallelujah!
0:27:29 > 0:27:31# Hallelujah!
0:27:31 > 0:27:36# The moment I saw you my love. #
0:27:39 > 0:27:41It was a cunning ploy.
0:27:43 > 0:27:45A Thousand Hallelujahs.
0:27:45 > 0:27:47Live in the studio here.
0:27:47 > 0:27:49I had to reboot the CD machine.
0:27:49 > 0:27:51So, that's working now but I'm glad,
0:27:51 > 0:27:53I'm so glad we got to hear that live.
0:27:56 > 0:28:00'No UK act has ever gone to America and broken country.'
0:28:00 > 0:28:05On the first album we didn't push it, we were potentially going to go,
0:28:05 > 0:28:07we went over and we did some shows over there.
0:28:07 > 0:28:11But we decided not to go heavy because you are only really going to get one shot. So we held off.
0:28:11 > 0:28:13And then in the last couple of,
0:28:13 > 0:28:19in the last four weeks, suddenly Scott came, suddenly appeared,
0:28:19 > 0:28:23and started making moves towards the band and we were like
0:28:23 > 0:28:24"Oh, my God, this is amazing."
0:28:24 > 0:28:29Somebody as big as what Scott Borchetta is, you know,
0:28:29 > 0:28:32wanting to represent us over there.
0:28:32 > 0:28:35- That means quite a lot.- It sounds like he wants to make the move and
0:28:35 > 0:28:38this is the moment he's going to push the button.
0:28:38 > 0:28:41I'm always looking for individuality.
0:28:41 > 0:28:43And when I first met The Shires several years back,
0:28:43 > 0:28:46they definitely had that. They just needed to develop.
0:28:46 > 0:28:50And I think when you hear them, they don't sound like anyone else,
0:28:50 > 0:28:51and it's such a great story.
0:28:55 > 0:28:58# I see the sunrise
0:28:58 > 0:29:00# Creeping in
0:29:00 > 0:29:05# Everything changes like the desert wind... #
0:29:05 > 0:29:08We've just signed a deal with Big Machine.
0:29:08 > 0:29:11We're the first British act to be signed over here.
0:29:11 > 0:29:13Just a kind of dream for us to do that.
0:29:13 > 0:29:16Yes, I think to make it in Nashville,
0:29:16 > 0:29:18when we first got together it was a dream even just to come out here
0:29:18 > 0:29:21but, you know, to actually make it out here would be everything.
0:29:25 > 0:29:28This is Broadway in Nashville.
0:29:28 > 0:29:29This is where it all goes down.
0:29:33 > 0:29:37You can hear music outside already and it is not even 12 o'clock.
0:29:37 > 0:29:39It's a great place to be.
0:29:42 > 0:29:47Historically, British country acts have never played in any sense of
0:29:47 > 0:29:48the word in Nashville.
0:29:48 > 0:29:52Here you've got a band whose second album is the fastest selling British
0:29:52 > 0:29:53country album of all time.
0:29:53 > 0:29:56But what you have to bear in mind is that America is a much, much
0:29:56 > 0:29:58slower market. It's a big place.
0:29:58 > 0:30:01And it takes a long time to break it.
0:30:03 > 0:30:05This is our first time going to Big Machine.
0:30:05 > 0:30:07We are on Music Row. It's so great round here,
0:30:07 > 0:30:10you can literally feel the kind of energy.
0:30:10 > 0:30:14Every one of these buildings is some kind of publishers and songwriters.
0:30:25 > 0:30:27- Hey there.- Hey. - How are you?
0:30:27 > 0:30:29Good, thanks. Be careful, don't hit your head on the way down.
0:30:29 > 0:30:30OK.
0:30:31 > 0:30:33Welcome to the attic.
0:30:34 > 0:30:36How are you all doing?
0:30:36 > 0:30:37Great, how are you?
0:30:37 > 0:30:40Good. My favourite thing about writing
0:30:40 > 0:30:42is that, like, I love
0:30:42 > 0:30:45getting with artists and trying to figure out what they want to say and
0:30:45 > 0:30:47how I can help them say what they want to say.
0:30:47 > 0:30:49The thing we're both feeling, we spoke a bit this morning,
0:30:49 > 0:30:52we just want to get something a bit up-tempo with a bit of energy.
0:30:52 > 0:30:54- Yep.- We just want to write hits.
0:30:55 > 0:30:57HE VOCALISES TO A MELODY
0:31:03 > 0:31:07At the moment it feels like Big Machine is the perfect home for us.
0:31:07 > 0:31:11I think they enhance their artists by leaving them to do their thing,
0:31:11 > 0:31:13putting them in with the writers
0:31:13 > 0:31:15that aren't going to waste their time.
0:31:17 > 0:31:18# People come and people go... #
0:31:20 > 0:31:24But then, on the business side of it, they're going to be able to catapult us into
0:31:24 > 0:31:26another level that we couldn't have
0:31:26 > 0:31:29done with just Decca in the UK, kind of thing.
0:31:30 > 0:31:33# Get in the car and go I know
0:31:33 > 0:31:35# I hit every red light on the way
0:31:35 > 0:31:38# Bumper to bumper just another day... #
0:31:38 > 0:31:43'We're not just signing another duo off the street who's landed in Nashville.
0:31:43 > 0:31:46'We have a great story coming from the UK'
0:31:46 > 0:31:51so I think it will help us make the right noise upfront and then,
0:31:51 > 0:31:54it's one thing to get the gatekeepers, get the press, get the industry.
0:31:54 > 0:31:57But we've got to see if the fans like it.
0:31:57 > 0:32:00- It's been fun, it's been great, hasn't it?- Yeah, it's been really good fun.
0:32:00 > 0:32:03We've got pretty much a song, we just get the second verse done.
0:32:03 > 0:32:05Great writing with Eli.. Elimy? Emily.
0:32:12 > 0:32:15'There's an expression they use in Nashville'
0:32:15 > 0:32:18that says, it all begins with a song.
0:32:18 > 0:32:21'And, for all the great artists and all the great singers,
0:32:21 > 0:32:26'having the great songs is what really catapults.
0:32:26 > 0:32:28'The song in Nashville is king.'
0:32:33 > 0:32:37# I've been waiting somewhere outside alone
0:32:37 > 0:32:43# I've been waiting somewhere... #
0:32:46 > 0:32:47I had another bit.
0:32:47 > 0:32:51It could kind of be, you have those places, you might even have had
0:32:51 > 0:32:54this with Nashville, like, where it's kind of like,
0:32:54 > 0:32:58you haven't been there often but you go back to it and it's almost like
0:32:58 > 0:33:00going back to see an old friend.
0:33:00 > 0:33:02# I don't
0:33:02 > 0:33:07# Know when I'm going to see you again
0:33:07 > 0:33:08# You're going to... #
0:33:08 > 0:33:10That's nice.
0:33:11 > 0:33:14# When I leave you
0:33:14 > 0:33:16# I never really say goodbye
0:33:18 > 0:33:19# There's a part of you
0:33:19 > 0:33:22# That's become a part of me
0:33:22 > 0:33:23You got it.
0:33:23 > 0:33:27- # Anywhere I roam will be - Will be
0:33:30 > 0:33:31# Nashville. #
0:33:34 > 0:33:35We can all write songs by
0:33:35 > 0:33:37ourselves but there is something really
0:33:37 > 0:33:39magical about sitting in a room with
0:33:39 > 0:33:42other really creative, talented people and all of
0:33:42 > 0:33:45these ideas come together and it's just a really collaborative thing
0:33:45 > 0:33:49and you look at the songs in country and they are just so special because of it.
0:33:49 > 0:33:52# Oh, Nashville
0:33:52 > 0:33:54# It's been way too long. #
0:34:04 > 0:34:07Country music is an original American art form,
0:34:07 > 0:34:10it represents the crossroads of so many different kinds of music.
0:34:10 > 0:34:12It's connected to the blues,
0:34:12 > 0:34:14connected to soul and rock and roll
0:34:14 > 0:34:17but its distinctive, southern voice,
0:34:17 > 0:34:20I think captures something about America that's very true.
0:34:20 > 0:34:25# I keep the ends out for the tie that binds
0:34:25 > 0:34:28# Because you're mine, I walk the line. #
0:34:28 > 0:34:32I think that the saying country music is three chords and the truth
0:34:32 > 0:34:39represents a certain ideal that many fans of country music and also musicians embrace.
0:34:39 > 0:34:43In other words, that country is direct, that it is pure,
0:34:43 > 0:34:48that it is musically something that you can grasp easily and that values
0:34:48 > 0:34:50simplicity in a way.
0:34:50 > 0:34:53Three chords and the truth. But it is.
0:34:53 > 0:34:56G, C and D and sing the truth.
0:34:56 > 0:34:59Whenever you get a bit of writer's block and you are struggling,
0:34:59 > 0:35:02you just go, well, what is going on in your life? Write about that.
0:35:02 > 0:35:07You can go, baby, baby, baby in rock and, you know...
0:35:07 > 0:35:09With the right riff, it's awesome.
0:35:09 > 0:35:13But country, you have got to do something that makes the hair on your arms stand up.
0:35:13 > 0:35:15You have got to find those lyrics that freak everybody out.
0:35:18 > 0:35:20# Jolene, Jolene
0:35:20 > 0:35:24# Jolene, Jolene
0:35:24 > 0:35:28# I'm begging of you please don't take my man... #
0:35:28 > 0:35:33'Dolly Parton's Jolene is one of the songs that brings me into that moment
0:35:33 > 0:35:38'and into that emotion and it makes you feel like the person who is
0:35:38 > 0:35:40'singing it is experiencing that.'
0:35:40 > 0:35:44# And I can easily understand
0:35:44 > 0:35:46# How you could easily take my man
0:35:46 > 0:35:51# But you don't know what it means to me, Jolene... #
0:35:51 > 0:35:55'It just builds this picture and you can hear this longing'
0:35:55 > 0:35:58in the song of, you know, I can't control this,
0:35:58 > 0:36:01you are the early person who can and please have pity on me.
0:36:01 > 0:36:05# Jolene, Jolene
0:36:05 > 0:36:07# Jolene, Jolene
0:36:07 > 0:36:14# Please don't take him even though you can
0:36:14 > 0:36:16# Jolene
0:36:16 > 0:36:19# Jolene
0:36:19 > 0:36:21# I mean, it's keen, Jolene. #
0:36:21 > 0:36:23Goodnight.
0:36:23 > 0:36:27The thing about country, I think they are the best songwriters, you know?
0:36:27 > 0:36:29I think it's all about the song.
0:36:29 > 0:36:32It's all about the lyrics and I think the older you get,
0:36:32 > 0:36:34the more you appreciate that kind of thing, you know?
0:36:34 > 0:36:38When I was a kid, I just wanted to plug-in and be Tony Iommi, you know,
0:36:38 > 0:36:41play through a loud fuzz pedal and break stuff, but the older I got,
0:36:41 > 0:36:45I appreciate the song craft and I appreciate, you know,
0:36:45 > 0:36:48the sense of heart and feeling and soul that's in country music.
0:36:56 > 0:36:58The conversation we had all had with your team, who we all love,
0:36:58 > 0:37:04- is just how to figure out how to make some slight tweaks or maybe slight remixes.- Yes.
0:37:04 > 0:37:08Or possibly even have you right here, you know,
0:37:08 > 0:37:10so you guys are open to that?
0:37:10 > 0:37:11Yeah, yeah, totally.
0:37:11 > 0:37:15- OK.- I mean, we know that Lady Antebellum remixed stuff for the UK market.
0:37:15 > 0:37:18The US version of that compared to the UK version is so different.
0:37:18 > 0:37:20We're happy to do something similar.
0:37:20 > 0:37:22I mean, for us, it's just about keeping us.
0:37:22 > 0:37:24We don't want to completely just
0:37:24 > 0:37:27seem like we are selling out and going American,
0:37:27 > 0:37:29even though we know we have to change our...
0:37:29 > 0:37:31Or adapt our sound to here, but, you know,
0:37:31 > 0:37:33if we're suddenly singing about trucks and...
0:37:33 > 0:37:36It wouldn't work for us. But, yeah, if it's a great song and we believe
0:37:36 > 0:37:38- in it, then, of course. - Structurally, your songs are
0:37:38 > 0:37:42exactly as our market would need.
0:37:42 > 0:37:45I think, if anything, it's just the sonics,
0:37:45 > 0:37:47it might be some instrumentation tweaks and mix tweaks.
0:37:47 > 0:37:50'She was saying about,
0:37:50 > 0:37:54'maybe from a production side that we might need to tweak some of the songs on the album'
0:37:54 > 0:37:57but also she was saying about that
0:37:57 > 0:38:02- we need to still retain our kind of...- Us.- Us.
0:38:02 > 0:38:05- Yeah.- You know, what we are about, we said that we don't want to sing
0:38:05 > 0:38:08about trucks and, you know, stuff that we don't really, you know,
0:38:08 > 0:38:11know about. So they're happy to kind of support us out here and get
0:38:11 > 0:38:13- us out to the masses out here.- Yeah.
0:38:13 > 0:38:14VOCAL WARM UP EXERCISES
0:38:26 > 0:38:29Now a really nasally sound and chest voice,
0:38:29 > 0:38:32so... # Neh, neh, neh, neh, neh. #
0:38:32 > 0:38:36# Neh, neh, neh, neh, neh. #
0:38:37 > 0:38:40So, you said you don't use too much head voice ever, right?
0:38:40 > 0:38:41No, I don't.
0:38:41 > 0:38:44But on this new album we've got quite a few more tracks that have got some
0:38:44 > 0:38:48head voice and now all of a sudden I'm into this kind of challenge, like,
0:38:48 > 0:38:51whoa, this isn't something that I've been used to singing with.
0:38:51 > 0:38:52TRACK PLAYS
0:38:56 > 0:38:58That bit.
0:38:58 > 0:39:00That kind of bit there, I don't really...
0:39:00 > 0:39:04# You're my strong old-fashioned... #
0:39:04 > 0:39:06What I would do is separate them.
0:39:06 > 0:39:07# You're my
0:39:07 > 0:39:08# Strong old... #
0:39:08 > 0:39:09# You're my
0:39:09 > 0:39:11# Strong old-fashioned... #
0:39:11 > 0:39:13Is that easier?
0:39:13 > 0:39:15- Yeah.- Just give it more of the pharyngeal bite sound on it.
0:39:15 > 0:39:17# Ow... #
0:39:17 > 0:39:18Do that.
0:39:18 > 0:39:19# Ow... #
0:39:19 > 0:39:21THEY RISE IN SCALE
0:39:24 > 0:39:25So with that quality...
0:39:25 > 0:39:28# There's no way that I'm driving home... #
0:39:28 > 0:39:30- Yeah.- Yeah.- Super edgy.
0:39:30 > 0:39:32- Like that?- Yeah.
0:39:32 > 0:39:34And you're just going to be killing it live every time.
0:39:34 > 0:39:38Thanks. So you're coming to the Bluebird tonight as well so you can see what I do live?
0:39:38 > 0:39:39Yes, super excited.
0:39:39 > 0:39:42I promise when I'm there I won't be critiquing you or anything.
0:39:42 > 0:39:45- Thank you very much. - Yeah, looking forward to it.
0:39:50 > 0:39:52Country music's biggest night ever.
0:39:56 > 0:39:59Forget the CMAs, you can't get seats so you get in here.
0:40:03 > 0:40:07I heard that The Shires are like the first country music band from the UK
0:40:07 > 0:40:10and it's really unique having them here in Nashville.
0:40:10 > 0:40:14I became a fan instantly so I'm really excited to see them tonight.
0:40:17 > 0:40:18What do you think?
0:40:19 > 0:40:23We have always said we would love to play the Bluebird Cafe, you know,
0:40:23 > 0:40:26that's where you play as a songwriter, you know,
0:40:26 > 0:40:29that's where the kind of Grand Ole Opry of songwriters, you know,
0:40:29 > 0:40:33that's where they go and play, and Taylor Swift started out there.
0:40:33 > 0:40:37It's really intimate and very nerve-racking because you're putting
0:40:37 > 0:40:40your heart right on the line and somebody's sat right in front of you.
0:40:40 > 0:40:41APPLAUSE
0:40:45 > 0:40:48- Hello.- You haven't even heard us!
0:40:50 > 0:40:51Welcome to the Bluebird, everybody.
0:40:51 > 0:40:53- Hello.- This is our first time.
0:40:53 > 0:40:55This is such an honour to be here.
0:40:55 > 0:40:56We are The Shires.
0:40:56 > 0:40:59- We are from England. - Hello.
0:41:00 > 0:41:03We are going to play a song actually we wrote, I wrote with Brian.
0:41:03 > 0:41:05We both wrote with Brian, sorry.
0:41:05 > 0:41:07- I was there too. - You were there too, sorry!
0:41:07 > 0:41:09Yeah, it was at the very first one.
0:41:15 > 0:41:17# Here it goes again
0:41:21 > 0:41:23# Keeping me up all night
0:41:27 > 0:41:31# He knows every weakness
0:41:32 > 0:41:35# Just where to stick the knife... #
0:41:38 > 0:41:40'The day that they walked in, Ben had said, you know,
0:41:40 > 0:41:42'so many times I think people kind of,
0:41:42 > 0:41:45'they don't like who they see in the mirror, you know,
0:41:45 > 0:41:48'and sometimes it's just like, "I need somebody to save me from myself." '
0:41:48 > 0:41:51And I meet a lot of people who their worst enemies is themselves.
0:41:51 > 0:41:54The person that they see in the mirror every day that they go,
0:41:54 > 0:41:56"I don't like that person."
0:41:56 > 0:41:58'And so I was like, man, this is a song we need to write.'
0:41:58 > 0:42:05# You're the reason I'm singing
0:42:05 > 0:42:10# You're the beat of my soul... #
0:42:11 > 0:42:16'To create a duo that has that magic, that has that chemistry,
0:42:16 > 0:42:22'it has to have a vocal chemistry, a songwriting chemistry,
0:42:22 > 0:42:24'their ranges have to overlap'
0:42:24 > 0:42:27in this perfect way and they've got all of
0:42:27 > 0:42:31those ingredients and I think, you know, personality wise,
0:42:31 > 0:42:33obviously they get along well and that is...
0:42:33 > 0:42:36The road will wear you down if you don't get along well,
0:42:36 > 0:42:38you're going to find that out really quickly.
0:42:41 > 0:42:43So, this next song, actually,
0:42:43 > 0:42:48was a song that I wrote with three other people who happen to be in this room right now.
0:42:48 > 0:42:52Two of them are on stage with me, and Libby,
0:42:52 > 0:42:55sitting over there on that table there.
0:42:55 > 0:43:00It's a song that we wrote about our dads and their positive influence on our lives.
0:43:00 > 0:43:03In the time that we wrote this song,
0:43:03 > 0:43:05I didn't actually tell anybody in
0:43:05 > 0:43:09the room that my dad actually had passed away 20 years ago.
0:43:09 > 0:43:12So I was kind of, it was difficult for me to sit in
0:43:12 > 0:43:15that room and try and get some feelings out.
0:43:15 > 0:43:18It's a very personal song, it's called Daddy's Little Girl.
0:43:20 > 0:43:23# The smell of Old Spice
0:43:23 > 0:43:26# Flat cap on the dash
0:43:26 > 0:43:29# Windows rolled down in the wind
0:43:29 > 0:43:31# White lines flying past
0:43:31 > 0:43:35# Singing along with the radio
0:43:35 > 0:43:38# A little latitude
0:43:38 > 0:43:42# Hanging on to that steering wheel
0:43:42 > 0:43:45# Was the man who hung the moon
0:43:45 > 0:43:52# He said, "You can be anything you want to in this great big world"
0:43:52 > 0:43:57# But I'm always gonna be
0:43:57 > 0:44:00# Daddy's little girl... #
0:44:04 > 0:44:06For most songwriters who would move
0:44:06 > 0:44:08to Nashville or spend some time there,
0:44:08 > 0:44:12playing the Bluebird, that really is the pinnacle, you can say,
0:44:12 > 0:44:14"I played the Bluebird." It was brilliant, I loved it.
0:44:14 > 0:44:16Absolutely awesome. Really, really great.
0:44:16 > 0:44:17It was great.
0:44:20 > 0:44:21So, we've just done a quick change,
0:44:21 > 0:44:25ready to go to the Big Machine afterparty at the CMAs.
0:44:41 > 0:44:43You've got the dream situation where
0:44:43 > 0:44:46Scott and Big Machine are championing
0:44:46 > 0:44:48the band. No act has ever done it,
0:44:48 > 0:44:51it's the chance of a lifetime for them, it really is.
0:44:51 > 0:44:54They know they could fall at the first hurdle and nothing
0:44:54 > 0:44:59could happen, but they also know that the carrot is big enough,
0:44:59 > 0:45:00and, ultimately, in a weird kind of way,
0:45:00 > 0:45:03they will make history because no-one has ever done it before.
0:45:04 > 0:45:06Hey. Welcome.
0:45:06 > 0:45:07You're here.
0:45:07 > 0:45:10- Yes.- Hey, buddy. Bring it in.
0:45:10 > 0:45:13- Wow.- Welcome to headquarters.
0:45:13 > 0:45:16- So cool.- Well, congratulations.
0:45:16 > 0:45:18So proud of both of you.
0:45:18 > 0:45:22Because I meet so many artists and I can tell from our first meeting that
0:45:22 > 0:45:25both of you are willing to really listen,
0:45:25 > 0:45:29but also take that advice and put it through your own filter.
0:45:29 > 0:45:32When we sign an artist, it's a gut feeling for me.
0:45:32 > 0:45:36And I'm either immediately interested or not.
0:45:36 > 0:45:42If it wasn't true to who they are, and what their musical vision is,
0:45:42 > 0:45:44I think I would have seen right through that
0:45:44 > 0:45:46'and I wouldn't have been interested.'
0:45:46 > 0:45:47Let me show you something.
0:45:49 > 0:45:52So this is for Florida Georgia Line's Cruise,
0:45:52 > 0:45:55which is the biggest selling single in the history of country music.
0:45:55 > 0:45:57This is a diamond award for 10 million sold.
0:45:57 > 0:46:01- Wow.- Wow.- That's amazing.
0:46:03 > 0:46:06But I wanted to show you the Big Machine wall.
0:46:06 > 0:46:09- Sounds good. - The wall of fame, I'm very proud.
0:46:11 > 0:46:13Such a great pose.
0:46:13 > 0:46:16So cool. Florida Georgia Line, Greg White, Thomas Rhett.
0:46:16 > 0:46:18Allow me to show you something here. Come on.
0:46:20 > 0:46:25So I was thinking when I came in this morning this would be the perfect place to put your picture.
0:46:25 > 0:46:27BOTH LAUGH
0:46:27 > 0:46:29- Wow.- That would be cool.
0:46:29 > 0:46:32- That work for you?- That's good, yes, a really nice height, as well.
0:46:32 > 0:46:35Stand there for a second, we'll just kind of frame it.
0:46:35 > 0:46:37Is this your side, you go that side.
0:46:38 > 0:46:40There it is.
0:46:41 > 0:46:43Done. That'll work.
0:46:44 > 0:46:47- Awesome.- Welcome to the family.
0:46:47 > 0:46:50# Cos when you're fifteen
0:46:50 > 0:46:54# And somebody tells you they love you
0:46:54 > 0:46:58# You're gonna believe them... #
0:46:58 > 0:47:01Since Taylor's career took off like a rocket,
0:47:01 > 0:47:05Scott Borchetta has made very smart decisions in signing acts that are
0:47:05 > 0:47:08different but also very commercial.
0:47:08 > 0:47:12And that definitely turned off a lot of country purists, but, hey,
0:47:12 > 0:47:14it turned on millions of people.
0:47:15 > 0:47:16# Fifteen... #
0:47:18 > 0:47:22We've come through a time recently that has felt restrictive.
0:47:22 > 0:47:26And the fact that Scott Borchetta is looking to challenge that is great,
0:47:26 > 0:47:30because I think there's a lot of things about country music that need
0:47:30 > 0:47:32to broaden.
0:47:33 > 0:47:35# That don't impress me much... #
0:47:37 > 0:47:39In the '90s, it was all women.
0:47:39 > 0:47:41It was Jo Dee Messina, Shania Twain,
0:47:41 > 0:47:44Lee Ann Womack , Dixie Chicks, it was very, very female driven.
0:47:44 > 0:47:47But then it went to male.
0:47:47 > 0:47:52There was a massive shift into testosterone driven music on country radio.
0:47:52 > 0:47:55And that happened around 9/11.
0:47:55 > 0:47:57# Your little hot self over here
0:47:57 > 0:48:00# Girl, hand me another beer... #
0:48:00 > 0:48:04It became very much beer drinking on the tailgate.
0:48:04 > 0:48:08And a girl is only a girl, it's never a woman.
0:48:08 > 0:48:11# Drinking that ice-cold beer
0:48:11 > 0:48:14# Talkin' about girls, talkin' about trucks
0:48:14 > 0:48:18# Running them red dirt roads... #
0:48:18 > 0:48:19The images of women that are
0:48:19 > 0:48:22presented in some of these bro country songs
0:48:22 > 0:48:24is just, they're ridiculous.
0:48:24 > 0:48:28# Yeah, when I first saw that bikini top on her
0:48:28 > 0:48:31# She's poppin' right out of the South Georgia water
0:48:31 > 0:48:35# Thought, "Oh, good lord" She had them long tanned legs
0:48:35 > 0:48:38# Couldn't help myself so I walked up and said... #
0:48:38 > 0:48:42The duo Maddie & Tae did a great song called Girl In A Country Song,
0:48:42 > 0:48:44where they criticise bro country and
0:48:44 > 0:48:46said, "Hey, I'm not going to climb in that truck,
0:48:46 > 0:48:49"I'm not going to be that girl in your painted-on jeans."
0:48:49 > 0:48:51And I think that critique is very valid.
0:48:51 > 0:48:54# I hear you over there on your tailgate whistling
0:48:56 > 0:48:58# Saying, "Hey, girl"
0:48:58 > 0:49:01# But you know I ain't listening
0:49:03 > 0:49:04# Cos I got a name
0:49:04 > 0:49:08# And to you it ain't "pretty little thing", "hottie" or "baby"... #
0:49:08 > 0:49:11'It came about just after listening to country radio for about a
0:49:11 > 0:49:13'three-month period and kind of getting irritated with how'
0:49:13 > 0:49:15women were being looked at.
0:49:15 > 0:49:18I mean, we were just being called a piece of meat, basically,
0:49:18 > 0:49:21with no character and no value, and that was irritating to us.
0:49:21 > 0:49:25Being raised by strong, independent women, we were like, that's not going to fly.
0:49:25 > 0:49:28# Being the girl in a country song
0:49:28 > 0:49:30# How in the world did it go so wrong?
0:49:30 > 0:49:32# Like all we're good for
0:49:32 > 0:49:36# Is looking good for you and your friends on the weekend... #
0:49:36 > 0:49:39I think it's amazing that we are finally back at the point where
0:49:39 > 0:49:42females can come in and conquer country music again.
0:49:42 > 0:49:45Because it's been 20 years, I feel like,
0:49:45 > 0:49:47since there's been multiple females that were having success.
0:49:49 > 0:49:53I think that country music demands reform,
0:49:53 > 0:49:57the genre in and of itself is requiring that to happen.
0:49:57 > 0:50:00And that's not just bro country,
0:50:00 > 0:50:02that's not just because there are shitty lyrics written by
0:50:02 > 0:50:05nine different people in a think tank somewhere.
0:50:05 > 0:50:11It's because the spirit of it has been completely lost,
0:50:11 > 0:50:13it has just been completely lost and
0:50:13 > 0:50:17the greed of labels and...
0:50:17 > 0:50:19It's just always a money thing.
0:50:19 > 0:50:25# Well, I saw from the way she looked at you
0:50:26 > 0:50:31# Back when you were mine
0:50:33 > 0:50:38# I recall I'd seen that look before too
0:50:38 > 0:50:43# Should have taken it then... #
0:50:45 > 0:50:49There's a whole new generation of women in country who are looking to
0:50:49 > 0:50:51the classic female country voices,
0:50:51 > 0:50:55like Dolly Parton or Loretta Lynn to guide them in the way they speak
0:50:55 > 0:50:57about women's experience.
0:50:57 > 0:51:01# Everything's all wrong
0:51:01 > 0:51:06# I'm coming undone since I... #
0:51:06 > 0:51:08'I would refer to myself as an outlaw country artist'
0:51:08 > 0:51:13because I completely operate on my own terms.
0:51:13 > 0:51:16# The way she looked at you... #
0:51:19 > 0:51:24In my view, punk music and country music are married because they stand
0:51:24 > 0:51:26for exactly the same thing.
0:51:26 > 0:51:30Which is being honest no matter how brutal that honesty is,
0:51:30 > 0:51:33and being angry about injustice.
0:51:33 > 0:51:36Johnny Cash, the Man in Black,
0:51:36 > 0:51:40like, I'm going to wear black until I see social justice reform,
0:51:40 > 0:51:43that's punk, you know, it's country, but that is punk as fuck.
0:51:46 > 0:51:50I can remember a very specific moment in 1998 when I was
0:51:50 > 0:51:51with Randy Travis.
0:51:51 > 0:51:54There was this huge sign of Shania Twain.
0:51:55 > 0:51:58And he goes,
0:51:58 > 0:52:01"Man, it's really gotten away from being country."
0:52:01 > 0:52:06And I said, "Well, Randy, you have to remember you don't decide that."
0:52:06 > 0:52:09I said, "The fans decide what they're going to listen to.
0:52:09 > 0:52:12"And if that's what is being played on country radio, and they like it,
0:52:12 > 0:52:14"it is country whether you like it or not."
0:52:36 > 0:52:39The trip to Nashville, I mean, it couldn't have gone any better, really.
0:52:39 > 0:52:42Meeting Scott. I mean, we were quite nervous about meeting Scott,
0:52:42 > 0:52:44actually, but he's just, he just gets it,
0:52:44 > 0:52:46he seems to get what it's like to be an artist.
0:52:50 > 0:52:52They didn't want to change us massively,
0:52:52 > 0:52:54and Allison said that, she said,
0:52:54 > 0:52:56we want to keep what's great about you guys,
0:52:56 > 0:53:00we just need to find a way to make that work in the US.
0:53:00 > 0:53:03I mean, this is beautiful. I've just picked this up,
0:53:03 > 0:53:04I think Vicky would kill me if I buy
0:53:04 > 0:53:06this guitar, cos it's quite expensive.
0:53:08 > 0:53:11The work starts again,
0:53:11 > 0:53:14redoing exactly what we've done over here but over there.
0:53:16 > 0:53:19If the Shires can spend enough time here,
0:53:19 > 0:53:24I think they have a huge opportunity to be a significant recording duo
0:53:24 > 0:53:26over the next several years, I really do.
0:53:26 > 0:53:29They are putting themselves in a big machine.
0:53:29 > 0:53:32Which, I mean, you have to play the game,
0:53:32 > 0:53:34the stakes are high and you've got to go for it.
0:53:34 > 0:53:39And if you can work through a platform that has that kind of power,
0:53:39 > 0:53:42then it can take you to great places.
0:53:43 > 0:53:47It's not guaranteed, it's not even going to be easy.
0:53:47 > 0:53:52The good thing is, I've gotten to know The Shires over the past year or two,
0:53:52 > 0:53:55which is why the success doesn't surprise me.
0:53:55 > 0:53:57It's because they're not afraid to work.
0:53:57 > 0:53:59# I've been foolish and... #
0:53:59 > 0:54:01They show up.
0:54:02 > 0:54:04Is it guaranteed? No.
0:54:04 > 0:54:06# ..feel my heart breaking... #
0:54:08 > 0:54:12It's so competitive and there are people getting off the bus every day
0:54:12 > 0:54:14from every little town, coming in, going,
0:54:14 > 0:54:17"I think I could be the next big thing."
0:54:17 > 0:54:19# Hallelujah... #
0:54:19 > 0:54:20You can't deny their talent,
0:54:20 > 0:54:24and it has been fun to see Nashville kind of go, "Oh, this is really,
0:54:24 > 0:54:28"really good. And where are they from?
0:54:28 > 0:54:33"Did they come here from out west or did they come down from New York?"
0:54:33 > 0:54:35"No, they came from the UK." "Oh."
0:54:35 > 0:54:38# Hallelujah
0:54:38 > 0:54:41# The moment I saw you, my love. #
0:54:44 > 0:54:46Thank you very much.
0:54:47 > 0:54:50'We are at the end of our week in Nashville.
0:54:50 > 0:54:51'And it's been amazing.
0:54:51 > 0:54:53'We are on an absolute high.'
0:54:53 > 0:54:55We know we've got a long way to go, a lot of work to do,
0:54:55 > 0:54:57but it feels great.
0:54:57 > 0:55:00It feels really good, doesn't it?
0:55:00 > 0:55:03We just want to get going, want to get the songs and get going.
0:55:03 > 0:55:06And if we can break here, then that will be
0:55:06 > 0:55:08everything we've ever wanted, really.
0:55:24 > 0:55:26- I can hear now.- Can you hear me in there at all?- I can hear you now.
0:55:26 > 0:55:28OK, cool.
0:55:28 > 0:55:30INDISTINCT QUESTION
0:55:30 > 0:55:31What's that?
0:55:31 > 0:55:34'We got back from Nashville about five weeks ago.'
0:55:34 > 0:55:35And then we did some rehearsals,
0:55:35 > 0:55:40and then we just went straight out on tour. It was really quick, and we did 18 shows, this is the last one,
0:55:40 > 0:55:43the 19th show, in London, and it's been a whirlwind,
0:55:43 > 0:55:45the last six or eight weeks has been crazy.
0:55:45 > 0:55:48It's really cool to be finishing up here in London.
0:55:48 > 0:55:51They are absolutely amazing.
0:55:51 > 0:55:52We love the Shires.
0:55:52 > 0:55:54They're just different, aren't they?
0:55:54 > 0:55:57It's kind of a new generation of people that like country music.
0:55:57 > 0:55:59They are British country.
0:55:59 > 0:56:03- They fly the British flag.- They've kind of brought it into the modern world and made it really cool.
0:56:03 > 0:56:05# Hallelujah
0:56:05 > 0:56:07# Hallelujah. #
0:56:07 > 0:56:09You have to go, Hallelujah
0:56:09 > 0:56:11# Hallelujah
0:56:11 > 0:56:13# Hallelujah... #
0:56:13 > 0:56:14LAUGHTER
0:56:17 > 0:56:19# Hallelujah
0:56:19 > 0:56:21# Hallelujah... #
0:56:21 > 0:56:25The tour has been a whole lot of fun, but it's tiring.
0:56:25 > 0:56:28SHE DOES A VOCAL WARM UP
0:56:28 > 0:56:31You're on the road all the time and when we're doing three,
0:56:31 > 0:56:36four shows in a row, we've been doing promo in the daytime as well.
0:56:36 > 0:56:37My voice has been very tired.
0:56:37 > 0:56:42This new set that we've got has been extremely demanding on my voice.
0:56:42 > 0:56:47You know, people always kind of forget that the voice is what it's
0:56:47 > 0:56:50all about, and all I keep hearing, especially on this tour,
0:56:50 > 0:56:52is that it's not just about the voice.
0:56:52 > 0:56:57That's always hard for me to take because actually everything I do is about my voice.
0:56:59 > 0:57:02I think Crissie was struggling a tiny bit with her voice.
0:57:02 > 0:57:05It's been really busy with Nashville and doing this.
0:57:05 > 0:57:09It takes it out of you and there are moments, especially before you go
0:57:09 > 0:57:10on, you have a bit of a lull.
0:57:10 > 0:57:13And the adrenaline just kinds of kicks in and carries you through.
0:57:13 > 0:57:14London!
0:57:19 > 0:57:20How are we all doing?
0:57:20 > 0:57:24'The moment we stepped out onto the stage at Shepherd's Bush, I mean,'
0:57:24 > 0:57:28I don't know about you, but my heart was racing like crazy.
0:57:28 > 0:57:30# Country boys
0:57:30 > 0:57:32# In the dark
0:57:36 > 0:57:39# We can build our own Nashville... #
0:57:41 > 0:57:43This year has been a lot about, it's going to sound really weird,
0:57:43 > 0:57:46but coming to terms with success almost.
0:57:46 > 0:57:51# People will come from far and wide... #
0:57:51 > 0:57:55Most people associate having more money than you are used to having
0:57:55 > 0:57:58and bestselling UK country album of all time, that's it,
0:57:58 > 0:57:59you've achieved everything.
0:57:59 > 0:58:03But then it's kind of like sort of remembering why we do what we do,
0:58:03 > 0:58:05and why I do what I do.
0:58:05 > 0:58:08I write songs because I love writing songs.
0:58:08 > 0:58:10It really defines me as a person.
0:58:15 > 0:58:18Thank you so much, London, thank you.
0:58:27 > 0:58:31Just to be signed in the first place was an amazing achievement for us,
0:58:31 > 0:58:35and now to be able to take our music further afield is an exciting
0:58:35 > 0:58:39- challenge for us.- We are experiencing a lot of different things and playing
0:58:39 > 0:58:42huge shows and stuff, and that's going to come across in our music,
0:58:42 > 0:58:46so it will definitely evolve and change and, you know...
0:58:46 > 0:58:49I love that they're going to replay this in like three years when I'm
0:58:49 > 0:58:50going,
0:58:50 > 0:58:54# Sitting on my truck, drinking my beer in my blue jeans. #
0:58:54 > 0:58:56I'm not going to change.
0:59:00 > 0:59:02# Cos I'm made in England
0:59:02 > 0:59:05# And I'm proud to be
0:59:05 > 0:59:08# From this little island
0:59:08 > 0:59:11# It's more than home to me
0:59:11 > 0:59:15# Yes I'm made in England
0:59:15 > 0:59:18# Nowhere I'd rather be
0:59:19 > 0:59:23# Rainy days and milk in my tea
0:59:23 > 0:59:26# It's good enough for me. #