The Shires: New Country


The Shires: New Country

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Now, country music is usually associated with Nashville in

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Tennessee, but it's becoming increasingly popular here thanks to bands like this lot.

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This programme contains some strong language

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Hyde Park, how we doing?

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It's been a very busy year.

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It's almost too much to kind of take in.

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-The Shires!

-The Shires!

-The Shires!

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Who knew two years ago that all of this would happen to them?

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# It's time

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# Oh, I'm desperate... #

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It's very, very, very exciting and nerve-racking.

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# ..inside me now

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# It's a fire that never burns... #

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Just a kind of dream for us.

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Yeah, to actually make it out here would be everything.

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# I'll bet she's beautiful

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# That girl he talks about... #

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When you hear them, they don't sound like anyone else and it's such a

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great story.

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# You're the reason I'm singing

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# And the beat of my soul... #

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It's so competitive and there are people getting off the bus every day

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from every little town coming and going,

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"I think I could be the next big thing."

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# You know my heart

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# Like nobody else

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# You saved me from myself. #

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# Well, they say it's way too cold

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# For cut-off jeans... #

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It was really important for us from day one to sing about stuff that is

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real. We can't sing about drugs,

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we can't sing about drinking whisky and sitting on tailgates

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because that's not stuff that we know.

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# We can build our own Nashville underneath these grey skies... #

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The truth for us is trying to build our own Nashville over here.

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# People will come They'll come from far and wide... #

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That was what we wanted to achieve.

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We wanted to bring country music over here.

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It just so happened that there was a big sort of gap in the market for that.

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# We'll build our own Nashville It's about time. #

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Nashville Grey Skies,

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I wrote that myself just before we

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went to Nashville for the first time.

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And I had this vision of just people at Glastonbury, in their wellies,

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it was completely muddy and loads of rain and stuff, just singing,

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you know...

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# Whoa-oah... # ..that hook.

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# Whoa-oah

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# Whoa-oah... #

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That still takes me by surprise, how much people love that song.

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And you just feel the energy just go from nought to 100 in a second.

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It's going to sound arrogant to say it,

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but it's like the unofficial anthem of sort of UK country now and, yeah,

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we just got to try and write another one.

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So we're off to

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Chepstow Castle in Wales.

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-Yeah.

-On a beautiful day. Not!

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It was only like two-and-a-half years ago,

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two years ago, we were driving ourselves around.

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Still it feels just like a dream.

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Like the festival season for us is good shows for us I think because it

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covers lots of age groups.

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And I think that's definitely what our music's about.

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It's either new country or country/pop.

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Cool.

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Look at this! This is way cool.

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Just casually playing in a castle.

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-What do you need, Glenn?

-I think I might need mine up a little bit. My vocal.

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Just my vocal up.

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# As long as the world keeps turning and turning... #

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We remember playing to tiny little pubs and to see the amount of people

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coming down nowadays,

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there's so much excitement for country music here in the UK.

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A kind of contrasting look, isn't it?

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That we've got between us, I think.

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You know, stereotypically,

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you wouldn't expect Ben maybe to enjoy country music.

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I think that's what we've kind of had in the past.

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But you know what? I think it just really works.

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Our voices seem to really work

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together and our looks being, you know,

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so contrasting, I think works really well, I think.

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BAND PLAYS

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CHEERING

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Chepstow!

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INDISTINCT LYRICS

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'Ben's an amazing songwriter. He really is.'

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You know when he's written another good song

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is that you walk away and you're still singing it.

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# Tonight, tonight

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# Been waiting all my life for tonight

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# It's like we never said goodbye... #

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It comes back to what you think country is.

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We have always said it's just about the honesty and the storytelling.

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It's kind of our catchphrase, really.

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That's why we will always be a new country band.

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THEY CHANT

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'They are in this together. I love that about them.'

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You know, they're supporting each other, having shared experiences,

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which are blowing their minds.

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Who knew two years ago that all of this would happen to them?

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-Thank you so much!

-Thank you so much.

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Thank you.

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UK country had never had a

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breakthrough moment prior to The Shires

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and The Shires have spun American country music into their own

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individual unique sound.

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And then they become the point of an arrow for all these other

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bands now that are following them.

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# I wanna be with you everywhere... #

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'They're another band that are kind

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of spearheading this kind of country music movement.

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'Both, us too, were influenced by Fleetwood Mac.'

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So to get up there and sing this kind of four-part harmony, you know,

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to thousands of people, it was so much fun.

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THEY HARMONISE

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The Shires, they've done huge stuff for country music.

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Their first album was just like really, really made a mark and

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I think that there is a big thing happening at the moment.

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We've seen people all around the country while we're on tour talking about

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how they've loved country music for years and years and years and now it's suddenly happening

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and it just seems to be less of a gimmick.

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It seems to be less of a dirty word.

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# You wear the years like a brand-new jacket

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# One I couldn't have given you... #

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'I think Ward Thomas are just great.

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'Like The Shires, they're bringing an English take to country'

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and they've got sibling harmonies and that really, really is important,

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the way that their voices match.

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# I've been running circles

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# Always getting nowhere

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# Putting on a show

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# But you won't see... #

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'We've booked this tour,

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'let's put this album out and hopefully it gets received well.'

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Our manager just called us up, "Oh, by the way, you've got number one."

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And we were like... We were completely shocked and we still are.

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# Always getting nowhere

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# Putting on a show but you won't see

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# I've been doing cartwheels. #

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# We built our own Nashville

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# Underneath these grey skies... #

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-Do you want to have that?

-No? No.

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He is so tired.

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This is baby River and Mummy, Vicky.

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And baby River, you were born the morning of Glastonbury.

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So we played Glastonbury at 9pm and he was born at 1am in the morning.

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How was the birth, Mummy?

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You feel guilty, obviously, but...

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Are you bored of this story, are you?

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But you have to do it.

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-Yeah.

-Because we've been through

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harder times when we first got together and I think now, now it's

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sort of happening for us a bit more,

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give got to just really capitalise on it and make sure that

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he's all right and we're all right and stuff.

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When we first started going out, you had your publishing deal.

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But then when we moved in together,

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then was working at a Three store and you were doing...

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-Mobile phone shop.

-Mobile phone shop.

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And you are doing five days a week of the mobile phone shop and the

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other two days, he was doing music.

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It was really struggling then, money wise.

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I had nothing left and no songs getting taken.

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-We had this tiny, tiny flat.

-Tiny studio, little flat.

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It was... Yeah. It was like a top floor thing and I sort of stood in

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the shower and I said... I was crying. I was literally crying, wasn't I? And I said, like,

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"If you want to go off and be with some guy from the City, you know,

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"I wouldn't blame you. And off you go because, you know, I don't know if it's going to work out."

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And Vicky was literally like, "You have to keep going,

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"you have to keep going because I really believe we'll be fine."

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I just knew... I just knew he'd make it.

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The biggest thing as a songwriter and any musician is it's accepting

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the rejection. That's the biggest thing.

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I mean, the amount of songs that I've sent to people.

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You know, Shires' songs got pitched for other people and you don't get a

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response, or someone goes, "Oh, that...

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"Not that song, it's not right."

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You know, and it's just their opinion.

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And it's once you understand that, that's when you understand the industry.

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No-one knows what they're talking about.

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Songs like Brave and Black And White, we played them for

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quite a while before The Shires got going.

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Those songs now that people go, "Brave changed my life."

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# Lie down, just forget the world

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# And your worries

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# Calm down

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# Don't be so absurd

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# I'm sorry it's not the first time

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# I've seen you cry

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# You don't have too be so brave tonight. #

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'The thing about Brave is that it's about vulnerability, really,

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'and it's about saying, "You don't have to be so strong." '

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And I think the most simple things are the most powerful.

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# Let me mend your broken soul. #

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BABY FUSSES

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THEY LAUGH

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I've always been influenced by country.

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I think that's where Ben and I kind of differ.

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It's that I've been a lifelong country fan.

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COUNTRY SONG PLAYS

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My mum would bring me CDs of Alison Krauss and I would sit at home

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listening to Martina McBride, Faith Hill, LeAnn Rimes,

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you know, all of those girls.

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I mean, I did every talent show when I was a kid.

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I think I've got a little... I've got a little poster here...

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..of me when I was aged 13 and I won

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that talent show in the Westgate shopping centre in Stevenage.

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Then, obviously the biggest talent show that I'd done was X Factor,

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which I got down to Boot Camp and I was in Nicole Scherzinger's team.

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When I left uni, I was part of different function bands.

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I was endlessly looking for more work all the time.

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Putting up online, you know, come and see me at this show,

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this little tiny pub.

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I just thought, you know what? I love country music,

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I'm just going to throw up some videos of me singing some country songs.

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So this was It Matters To Me by Faith Hill.

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# When we don't talk

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# When we don't touch

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# When it doesn't feel like we're even in love

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# It matters to me

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# When I don't know what to say

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# Don't know what to do

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# Don't know if it even really matters... #

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'I never thought that country music was naff or uncool,

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'I just loved it myself.

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'But nobody else really shared that opinion with me.'

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I never was really into country growing up.

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And it's weird cos I heard the song Need You Now.

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I remember very clearly, and it was kind of like coming home.

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# It's a quarter after one

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# I'm all alone and I need you now... #

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It was like, wow, this is literally everything I want from music.

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# ..I need you now... #

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In every form, lyrically,

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the production and just how kind of honest and earnest it was.

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I was just like, "There must be a female country singer around London."

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That's when I put the Facebook post up.

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So, this is the original Facebook post that I put out that

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started The Shires.

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On the 8th of May, 2013.

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I said, "My music friends,

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"does anyone know of a great female singer in London who's quite country, pop,

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"who wants to sing with me?

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"Someone must know someone!?!"

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That was the frustration I was talking about.

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It was my friend Laura Jane Hunter that tagged me into this status and

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she simply put, "Try Crissie, she's fab."

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He got in touch with me and he sent me the songs, and Black And White

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was the first one that I listened to and I was blown away.

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I couldn't believe it, I was just, "Oh, my goodness,

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"I cannot wait to get my voice on this track."

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# So you got perspective

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# You were given two ears... #

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'I'm not a singer, I'm a songwriter who sings.'

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# So you hear it from both sides... #

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'Whereas Crissie is a singer, and she's absolutely amazing.'

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It was the best thing. Meeting her was just the best thing ever, musically.

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# It's black and white. #

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CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

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We wrote down about, I think, about five or six goals.

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I said, "We need to get our songs to Bob Harris."

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And at the time, because Ben didn't really know a lot about country,

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he was like, "Who's Bob Harris?"

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And I was like, "He's the leading man in country music here in the UK."

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He just got our demo and said, "I need to play Nashville Grey Skies on my radio show."

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I think he was really excited that there were some Brits

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trying to do country music in the UK.

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They were amazing. They...

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You could somehow just tell that, a, their music was good enough,

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but that, b, they had the depth of determination to make it work.

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You know, they were hungry to make this a success.

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Now, it's The Shires with a track from their brand-new album which is out today.

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..brand-new album Brave has made history, breaking into the UK album chart.

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-We'll speak to them in just a moment. Very good morning to you, both.

-Good morning.

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Performing All Over Again from their new album, Brave,

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please welcome The Shires.

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CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

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# Back when you were younger and the summer would last forever

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# Looking and you and loving you That's the way you make me feel... #

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Brave had surpassed our expectations so far.

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Like, to do 100,000, or more than that, but to go gold, we never thought would happen.

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I mean, the whole thing has been kind of dreamlike.

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We don't kind of sit back and go, "Wow, we sold this many records and we started this whole movement."

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Because it just kind of happened.

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I think the American artists are really jumping at the chance to be

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able to perform at Country To Country.

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Everyone's kind of talking about, "You know, you need to play this show."

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# I've cursed on a Sunday... #

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We came over to C2C and the reaction

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was so big that we called our booking agent.

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You have got to book a tour this year.

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The fans are so excited, we have to give them the tour that we gave

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all of our fans in the States.

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You go to a festival where all of us are on that show,

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you literally get to see a dose of everything that's happening in

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the genre right now.

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I think that that is... That's like the coolest thing ever.

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It's the coolest time to ever be in country music to me.

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# I'll bet she's beautiful That girl he talks about

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# And she's got everything that I have to live without... #

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It took a while for a new generation of artists to be arriving that had

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a much wider horizon line.

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One of the key people in that is a guy called Scott Borchetta,

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who signed Taylor Swift to

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Big Machine and Scott saw the Taylor Swift

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project as being a worldwide project.

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It wasn't just localised to Nashville.

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# The only thing that keeps me wishing on a wishing star... #

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What I love about the British and their affection for American music

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is, if we treat them properly, if we come and visit them often,

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if we bring them along for the ride, then they're in.

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And the beautiful thing is when the British are in,

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it's for their entire career.

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That's something that I got Taylor to understand very early.

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Thomas Rhett coming over right now in real-time

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to understand very early in his

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career. We have the conversation with all of them.

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If I can come to London and sell this place out, I mean,

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I can't even believe that there's this many people showing up to see

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our show tonight in London, or in Manchester, or wherever we're going.

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I always just love being my own person.

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And especially when I started writing songs.

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There's a big thing about, you know,

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you're only country if you have steel or fiddle,

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or if you wear a cowboy hat, or if you wear cowboy boots.

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And I think that that, to me, that just doesn't make sense in my mind.

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BAND REHEARSES

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I do love pop music, I love hip-hop, I love jazz, I love Frank Sinatra.

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One of my favourite artists in the world.

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But at heart, I'm a country artist.

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You know, I may wear skinny jeans and Vans and not dress the part, but

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to me country music is all about storytelling.

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Today, we are shooting for You magazine for the Daily Mail,

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so that will be coming out very soon to promote the album.

0:19:510:19:54

The brand-new album.

0:19:540:19:55

Let's do it.

0:19:550:19:57

That's it, hold that. That's so nice.

0:19:570:19:59

It's five weeks till the album comes out,

0:19:590:20:02

so we're doing loads of interviews and a video as well.

0:20:020:20:05

Then we've got things like this.

0:20:050:20:07

And, yeah, it's all sort of... You feel it kind of ramp up.

0:20:070:20:10

It's a real feeling and nerves start to kick in.

0:20:100:20:13

Love that. Perfect!

0:20:130:20:15

'You know, we'll see where'

0:20:150:20:17

the album goes, but it's very, very, very exciting and nerve-racking.

0:20:170:20:21

You're blue steeling it now, aren't you?

0:20:210:20:25

Look at that.

0:20:250:20:26

When we first got together,

0:20:260:20:28

we said if people think we are a couple, we're doing a great job.

0:20:280:20:32

Little smile, Ben, yeah. That's great, Crissie.

0:20:320:20:35

But I find it fascinating how a girl and a guy,

0:20:350:20:37

you just can't work together and people can't think...

0:20:370:20:41

they have to be sleeping with each other.

0:20:410:20:43

You know, of course people and the press will want to make it into

0:20:430:20:45

a thing, but, you know, we're just friends.

0:20:450:20:48

-That's great.

-That's cool.

0:20:480:20:49

And do you write all your lyrics together?

0:20:490:20:52

We write together, we write separately and we write with other people,

0:20:520:20:55

-as well.

-And what are your future ambitions?

0:20:550:20:58

Go platinum with a record.

0:20:580:21:00

Incredible. And I think to make it in the US.

0:21:000:21:03

-The USA.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

0:21:030:21:05

Before My Universe was released, a lot of people were going,

0:21:060:21:09

"Oh, the difficult second album, how you feeling?"

0:21:090:21:11

Every interview that we had, going around radio stations,

0:21:110:21:14

-they were like, "Oh."

-Like, "Brave was so good, how can you top it,

0:21:140:21:18

"how can you match it?" So, there was nerves.

0:21:180:21:21

There was huge amounts of nerves.

0:21:210:21:22

And it did again feel like all or nothing, in a way.

0:21:220:21:27

And it's not a science, it's an art form.

0:21:270:21:30

And you don't know if people are going to like it or not.

0:21:300:21:33

You just never know.

0:21:330:21:34

Do you want to video it?

0:21:340:21:36

-Go on. Do it.

-OK, go on, then.

0:21:360:21:38

We've just done a photo shoot.

0:21:380:21:40

Oh, yes.

0:21:400:21:41

We did a gig in Sheffield once and some guy tweeted us before we went

0:21:440:21:48

on stage. He said, "When you're the only black guy at a Shires gig."

0:21:480:21:52

And I got on stage and I was like, "I know exactly how you feel."

0:21:520:21:56

Being mixed race, it's interesting

0:21:580:22:00

not being white or black when people try to be so binary

0:22:000:22:05

about it in a way.

0:22:050:22:06

You know, I'm just kind of who I am.

0:22:060:22:08

We've had it a few times when people go, "Oh, is it soul music you do or do you rap?"

0:22:140:22:19

You know, because I'm a bit brown.

0:22:190:22:21

It's, like, "Well, no, I just do music that I love."

0:22:210:22:24

And before I discovered country,

0:22:240:22:25

it was kind of weird because I kind of thought that I have to try and be cool. Not because I'm mixed race,

0:22:250:22:30

just because people expected me to try and do something cool because of the way I look generally.

0:22:300:22:34

You know, we are not a cool band.

0:22:340:22:37

We just do what we love and as I've sort of grown-up,

0:22:370:22:39

I think just being who you are is the coolest thing you can do, really.

0:22:390:22:43

Yeah, that's right.

0:22:460:22:48

We just want people to hear it now.

0:22:500:22:52

It's two weeks tomorrow.

0:22:520:22:54

Which is just amazing, so...

0:22:540:22:55

30th of September.

0:22:550:22:57

Yeah. It's really exciting. We've got lots of TV and press and promos

0:22:570:23:01

to do in that kind of week and the weeks leading up to it.

0:23:010:23:04

-All right, guys, we're going to go for another take.

-Cool. We good?

0:23:040:23:08

BACKING TRACK STARTS

0:23:130:23:15

# My heart still skips a beat

0:23:240:23:26

# When you look at me

0:23:260:23:29

# You don't even know the things you do... #

0:23:310:23:35

'The two of us, we got into the music industry because we love music

0:23:350:23:39

and all of a sudden you have to be

0:23:390:23:41

this kind of model, this actor, you know,

0:23:410:23:43

these jobs that you don't really know about before,

0:23:430:23:46

so you just kind of learn on the day.

0:23:460:23:49

Perfect, we're just going to do the same thing again.

0:23:490:23:51

And we're just doing close-ups of you on this one.

0:23:510:23:53

Awesome, cut there.

0:24:020:24:03

Excellent, perfect.

0:24:030:24:05

CHRIS EVANS: And the people who have worked hardest this morning,

0:24:060:24:09

biggest round of applause, please, for The Shires.

0:24:090:24:12

APPLAUSE

0:24:120:24:13

The Shires new album, My Universe, is out today.

0:24:130:24:18

Now, we've got a real treat for you.

0:24:180:24:19

Crissie Rhodes and Ben Earle have got even bigger since they first

0:24:190:24:23

appeared on the programme last year.

0:24:230:24:25

The duo, known as The Shires, of course you know them,

0:24:250:24:28

they've got a new album out today. And it's creating a bit of a buzz.

0:24:280:24:31

Seven minutes past five, Magic Drivetime,

0:24:310:24:34

The Shires are back in town. Hi, guys!

0:24:340:24:36

I mean it's been a very busy year, almost too much to kind of take in.

0:24:360:24:40

This is album number two, so this Friday, it's going to be in the charts.

0:24:400:24:44

-Yeah.

-Yes!

0:24:440:24:46

-Have you see the midweeks?

-We've seen the midweeks, we're number three.

0:24:460:24:49

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

0:25:020:25:04

# You're electric

0:25:110:25:12

# It's infectious

0:25:120:25:15

# My heart beats to your rhythm... #

0:25:150:25:18

We've just played HMV Oxford Street, about 200 of our fans here.

0:25:180:25:22

-About 300.

-300, sorry, is it?

0:25:220:25:25

And we arrived in a blue Chevy, which was amazing.

0:25:250:25:27

And, yeah, we're just celebrating the album being out.

0:25:270:25:30

We're going to go out and sign some albums now and meet them and chat, it's been great.

0:25:300:25:34

Hello, how are you?

0:25:340:25:36

'Cameras everywhere.'

0:25:360:25:38

It just feels like everything stepped up a gear for My Universe, this album.

0:25:380:25:41

We're mega excited.

0:25:410:25:43

-Hey, Dan.

-How's it going? Good to see you.

-How's things?

0:25:530:25:55

'Our manager, Steve, was in very close contact with Radio 2,

0:25:560:26:02

'it was them that were the driving force, right from the very beginning.'

0:26:020:26:05

'Overloaded, please reduce the load.

0:26:050:26:08

'Doors opening. Mind the doors.'

0:26:080:26:11

It's fine now.

0:26:110:26:12

Bob Harris Country here on Radio 2.

0:26:130:26:16

And welcome to Ben and to Crissie,

0:26:160:26:18

The Shires are here with us on Radio 2.

0:26:180:26:21

So this is The Shires, from My Universe, the CD itself,

0:26:230:26:26

and it's called A Thousand Hallelujahs.

0:26:260:26:29

Oh, what's happened?

0:26:290:26:30

Oh. I have no idea.

0:26:320:26:34

That is very strange.

0:26:340:26:36

The CD refuses to allow me.

0:26:370:26:39

-Can you do it live?

-We haven't tried it before,

0:26:390:26:42

-but this is genuinely a first.

-We have no idea.

0:26:420:26:44

Here we go.

0:26:440:26:46

# I've been foolish

0:26:510:26:53

# I've been mistaken

0:26:530:26:55

# I've been blinded

0:26:550:26:57

# I've felt my heart breaking... #

0:26:570:27:00

'The first time I heard The Shires,

0:27:000:27:02

'and I don't remember what the first song was but I took about 30 seconds

0:27:020:27:05

'and you go, "Yep, that works." '

0:27:050:27:07

Country music has always been aimed at the mainstream.

0:27:070:27:12

It's not for,

0:27:120:27:13

it's a terrible cliche, it's not for the hipsters in Shoreditch.

0:27:130:27:17

Or in Brooklyn. It's for the ordinary person in the street.

0:27:170:27:21

Which doesn't make it cool, however you want to define it,

0:27:210:27:24

but it makes it populist.

0:27:240:27:26

# Hallelujah!

0:27:260:27:27

# Hallelujah!

0:27:270:27:29

# Hallelujah!

0:27:290:27:31

# The moment I saw you my love. #

0:27:310:27:36

It was a cunning ploy.

0:27:390:27:41

A Thousand Hallelujahs.

0:27:430:27:45

Live in the studio here.

0:27:450:27:47

I had to reboot the CD machine.

0:27:470:27:49

So, that's working now but I'm glad,

0:27:490:27:51

I'm so glad we got to hear that live.

0:27:510:27:53

'No UK act has ever gone to America and broken country.'

0:27:560:28:00

On the first album we didn't push it, we were potentially going to go,

0:28:000:28:05

we went over and we did some shows over there.

0:28:050:28:07

But we decided not to go heavy because you are only really going to get one shot. So we held off.

0:28:070:28:11

And then in the last couple of,

0:28:110:28:13

in the last four weeks, suddenly Scott came, suddenly appeared,

0:28:130:28:19

and started making moves towards the band and we were like

0:28:190:28:23

"Oh, my God, this is amazing."

0:28:230:28:24

Somebody as big as what Scott Borchetta is, you know,

0:28:240:28:29

wanting to represent us over there.

0:28:290:28:32

-That means quite a lot.

-It sounds like he wants to make the move and

0:28:320:28:35

this is the moment he's going to push the button.

0:28:350:28:38

I'm always looking for individuality.

0:28:380:28:41

And when I first met The Shires several years back,

0:28:410:28:43

they definitely had that. They just needed to develop.

0:28:430:28:46

And I think when you hear them, they don't sound like anyone else,

0:28:460:28:50

and it's such a great story.

0:28:500:28:51

# I see the sunrise

0:28:550:28:58

# Creeping in

0:28:580:29:00

# Everything changes like the desert wind... #

0:29:000:29:05

We've just signed a deal with Big Machine.

0:29:050:29:08

We're the first British act to be signed over here.

0:29:080:29:11

Just a kind of dream for us to do that.

0:29:110:29:13

Yes, I think to make it in Nashville,

0:29:130:29:16

when we first got together it was a dream even just to come out here

0:29:160:29:18

but, you know, to actually make it out here would be everything.

0:29:180:29:21

This is Broadway in Nashville.

0:29:250:29:28

This is where it all goes down.

0:29:280:29:29

You can hear music outside already and it is not even 12 o'clock.

0:29:330:29:37

It's a great place to be.

0:29:370:29:39

Historically, British country acts have never played in any sense of

0:29:420:29:47

the word in Nashville.

0:29:470:29:48

Here you've got a band whose second album is the fastest selling British

0:29:480:29:52

country album of all time.

0:29:520:29:53

But what you have to bear in mind is that America is a much, much

0:29:530:29:56

slower market. It's a big place.

0:29:560:29:58

And it takes a long time to break it.

0:29:580:30:01

This is our first time going to Big Machine.

0:30:030:30:05

We are on Music Row. It's so great round here,

0:30:050:30:07

you can literally feel the kind of energy.

0:30:070:30:10

Every one of these buildings is some kind of publishers and songwriters.

0:30:100:30:14

-Hey there.

-Hey.

-How are you?

0:30:250:30:27

Good, thanks. Be careful, don't hit your head on the way down.

0:30:270:30:29

OK.

0:30:290:30:30

Welcome to the attic.

0:30:310:30:33

How are you all doing?

0:30:340:30:36

Great, how are you?

0:30:360:30:37

Good. My favourite thing about writing

0:30:370:30:40

is that, like, I love

0:30:400:30:42

getting with artists and trying to figure out what they want to say and

0:30:420:30:45

how I can help them say what they want to say.

0:30:450:30:47

The thing we're both feeling, we spoke a bit this morning,

0:30:470:30:49

we just want to get something a bit up-tempo with a bit of energy.

0:30:490:30:52

-Yep.

-We just want to write hits.

0:30:520:30:54

HE VOCALISES TO A MELODY

0:30:550:30:57

At the moment it feels like Big Machine is the perfect home for us.

0:31:030:31:07

I think they enhance their artists by leaving them to do their thing,

0:31:070:31:11

putting them in with the writers

0:31:110:31:13

that aren't going to waste their time.

0:31:130:31:15

# People come and people go... #

0:31:170:31:18

But then, on the business side of it, they're going to be able to catapult us into

0:31:200:31:24

another level that we couldn't have

0:31:240:31:26

done with just Decca in the UK, kind of thing.

0:31:260:31:29

# Get in the car and go I know

0:31:300:31:33

# I hit every red light on the way

0:31:330:31:35

# Bumper to bumper just another day... #

0:31:350:31:38

'We're not just signing another duo off the street who's landed in Nashville.

0:31:380:31:43

'We have a great story coming from the UK'

0:31:430:31:46

so I think it will help us make the right noise upfront and then,

0:31:460:31:51

it's one thing to get the gatekeepers, get the press, get the industry.

0:31:510:31:54

But we've got to see if the fans like it.

0:31:540:31:57

-It's been fun, it's been great, hasn't it?

-Yeah, it's been really good fun.

0:31:570:32:00

We've got pretty much a song, we just get the second verse done.

0:32:000:32:03

Great writing with Eli.. Elimy? Emily.

0:32:030:32:05

'There's an expression they use in Nashville'

0:32:120:32:15

that says, it all begins with a song.

0:32:150:32:18

'And, for all the great artists and all the great singers,

0:32:180:32:21

'having the great songs is what really catapults.

0:32:210:32:26

'The song in Nashville is king.'

0:32:260:32:28

# I've been waiting somewhere outside alone

0:32:330:32:37

# I've been waiting somewhere... #

0:32:370:32:43

I had another bit.

0:32:460:32:47

It could kind of be, you have those places, you might even have had

0:32:470:32:51

this with Nashville, like, where it's kind of like,

0:32:510:32:54

you haven't been there often but you go back to it and it's almost like

0:32:540:32:58

going back to see an old friend.

0:32:580:33:00

# I don't

0:33:000:33:02

# Know when I'm going to see you again

0:33:020:33:07

# You're going to... #

0:33:070:33:08

That's nice.

0:33:080:33:10

# When I leave you

0:33:110:33:14

# I never really say goodbye

0:33:140:33:16

# There's a part of you

0:33:180:33:19

# That's become a part of me

0:33:190:33:22

You got it.

0:33:220:33:23

-# Anywhere I roam will be

-Will be

0:33:230:33:27

# Nashville. #

0:33:300:33:31

We can all write songs by

0:33:340:33:35

ourselves but there is something really

0:33:350:33:37

magical about sitting in a room with

0:33:370:33:39

other really creative, talented people and all of

0:33:390:33:42

these ideas come together and it's just a really collaborative thing

0:33:420:33:45

and you look at the songs in country and they are just so special because of it.

0:33:450:33:49

# Oh, Nashville

0:33:490:33:52

# It's been way too long. #

0:33:520:33:54

Country music is an original American art form,

0:34:040:34:07

it represents the crossroads of so many different kinds of music.

0:34:070:34:10

It's connected to the blues,

0:34:100:34:12

connected to soul and rock and roll

0:34:120:34:14

but its distinctive, southern voice,

0:34:140:34:17

I think captures something about America that's very true.

0:34:170:34:20

# I keep the ends out for the tie that binds

0:34:200:34:25

# Because you're mine, I walk the line. #

0:34:250:34:28

I think that the saying country music is three chords and the truth

0:34:280:34:32

represents a certain ideal that many fans of country music and also musicians embrace.

0:34:320:34:39

In other words, that country is direct, that it is pure,

0:34:390:34:43

that it is musically something that you can grasp easily and that values

0:34:430:34:48

simplicity in a way.

0:34:480:34:50

Three chords and the truth. But it is.

0:34:500:34:53

G, C and D and sing the truth.

0:34:530:34:56

Whenever you get a bit of writer's block and you are struggling,

0:34:560:34:59

you just go, well, what is going on in your life? Write about that.

0:34:590:35:02

You can go, baby, baby, baby in rock and, you know...

0:35:020:35:07

With the right riff, it's awesome.

0:35:070:35:09

But country, you have got to do something that makes the hair on your arms stand up.

0:35:090:35:13

You have got to find those lyrics that freak everybody out.

0:35:130:35:15

# Jolene, Jolene

0:35:180:35:20

# Jolene, Jolene

0:35:200:35:24

# I'm begging of you please don't take my man... #

0:35:240:35:28

'Dolly Parton's Jolene is one of the songs that brings me into that moment

0:35:280:35:33

'and into that emotion and it makes you feel like the person who is

0:35:330:35:38

'singing it is experiencing that.'

0:35:380:35:40

# And I can easily understand

0:35:400:35:44

# How you could easily take my man

0:35:440:35:46

# But you don't know what it means to me, Jolene... #

0:35:460:35:51

'It just builds this picture and you can hear this longing'

0:35:510:35:55

in the song of, you know, I can't control this,

0:35:550:35:58

you are the early person who can and please have pity on me.

0:35:580:36:01

# Jolene, Jolene

0:36:010:36:05

# Jolene, Jolene

0:36:050:36:07

# Please don't take him even though you can

0:36:070:36:14

# Jolene

0:36:140:36:16

# Jolene

0:36:160:36:19

# I mean, it's keen, Jolene. #

0:36:190:36:21

Goodnight.

0:36:210:36:23

The thing about country, I think they are the best songwriters, you know?

0:36:230:36:27

I think it's all about the song.

0:36:270:36:29

It's all about the lyrics and I think the older you get,

0:36:290:36:32

the more you appreciate that kind of thing, you know?

0:36:320:36:34

When I was a kid, I just wanted to plug-in and be Tony Iommi, you know,

0:36:340:36:38

play through a loud fuzz pedal and break stuff, but the older I got,

0:36:380:36:41

I appreciate the song craft and I appreciate, you know,

0:36:410:36:45

the sense of heart and feeling and soul that's in country music.

0:36:450:36:48

The conversation we had all had with your team, who we all love,

0:36:560:36:58

-is just how to figure out how to make some slight tweaks or maybe slight remixes.

-Yes.

0:36:580:37:04

Or possibly even have you right here, you know,

0:37:040:37:08

so you guys are open to that?

0:37:080:37:10

Yeah, yeah, totally.

0:37:100:37:11

-OK.

-I mean, we know that Lady Antebellum remixed stuff for the UK market.

0:37:110:37:15

The US version of that compared to the UK version is so different.

0:37:150:37:18

We're happy to do something similar.

0:37:180:37:20

I mean, for us, it's just about keeping us.

0:37:200:37:22

We don't want to completely just

0:37:220:37:24

seem like we are selling out and going American,

0:37:240:37:27

even though we know we have to change our...

0:37:270:37:29

Or adapt our sound to here, but, you know,

0:37:290:37:31

if we're suddenly singing about trucks and...

0:37:310:37:33

It wouldn't work for us. But, yeah, if it's a great song and we believe

0:37:330:37:36

-in it, then, of course.

-Structurally, your songs are

0:37:360:37:38

exactly as our market would need.

0:37:380:37:42

I think, if anything, it's just the sonics,

0:37:420:37:45

it might be some instrumentation tweaks and mix tweaks.

0:37:450:37:47

'She was saying about,

0:37:470:37:50

'maybe from a production side that we might need to tweak some of the songs on the album'

0:37:500:37:54

but also she was saying about that

0:37:540:37:57

-we need to still retain our kind of...

-Us.

-Us.

0:37:570:38:02

-Yeah.

-You know, what we are about, we said that we don't want to sing

0:38:020:38:05

about trucks and, you know, stuff that we don't really, you know,

0:38:050:38:08

know about. So they're happy to kind of support us out here and get

0:38:080:38:11

-us out to the masses out here.

-Yeah.

0:38:110:38:13

VOCAL WARM UP EXERCISES

0:38:130:38:14

Now a really nasally sound and chest voice,

0:38:260:38:29

so... # Neh, neh, neh, neh, neh. #

0:38:290:38:32

# Neh, neh, neh, neh, neh. #

0:38:320:38:36

So, you said you don't use too much head voice ever, right?

0:38:370:38:40

No, I don't.

0:38:400:38:41

But on this new album we've got quite a few more tracks that have got some

0:38:410:38:44

head voice and now all of a sudden I'm into this kind of challenge, like,

0:38:440:38:48

whoa, this isn't something that I've been used to singing with.

0:38:480:38:51

TRACK PLAYS

0:38:510:38:52

That bit.

0:38:560:38:58

That kind of bit there, I don't really...

0:38:580:39:00

# You're my strong old-fashioned... #

0:39:000:39:04

What I would do is separate them.

0:39:040:39:06

# You're my

0:39:060:39:07

# Strong old... #

0:39:070:39:08

# You're my

0:39:080:39:09

# Strong old-fashioned... #

0:39:090:39:11

Is that easier?

0:39:110:39:13

-Yeah.

-Just give it more of the pharyngeal bite sound on it.

0:39:130:39:15

# Ow... #

0:39:150:39:17

Do that.

0:39:170:39:18

# Ow... #

0:39:180:39:19

THEY RISE IN SCALE

0:39:190:39:21

So with that quality...

0:39:240:39:25

# There's no way that I'm driving home... #

0:39:250:39:28

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-Super edgy.

0:39:280:39:30

-Like that?

-Yeah.

0:39:300:39:32

And you're just going to be killing it live every time.

0:39:320:39:34

Thanks. So you're coming to the Bluebird tonight as well so you can see what I do live?

0:39:340:39:38

Yes, super excited.

0:39:380:39:39

I promise when I'm there I won't be critiquing you or anything.

0:39:390:39:42

-Thank you very much.

-Yeah, looking forward to it.

0:39:420:39:45

Country music's biggest night ever.

0:39:500:39:52

Forget the CMAs, you can't get seats so you get in here.

0:39:560:39:59

I heard that The Shires are like the first country music band from the UK

0:40:030:40:07

and it's really unique having them here in Nashville.

0:40:070:40:10

I became a fan instantly so I'm really excited to see them tonight.

0:40:100:40:14

What do you think?

0:40:170:40:18

We have always said we would love to play the Bluebird Cafe, you know,

0:40:190:40:23

that's where you play as a songwriter, you know,

0:40:230:40:26

that's where the kind of Grand Ole Opry of songwriters, you know,

0:40:260:40:29

that's where they go and play, and Taylor Swift started out there.

0:40:290:40:33

It's really intimate and very nerve-racking because you're putting

0:40:330:40:37

your heart right on the line and somebody's sat right in front of you.

0:40:370:40:40

APPLAUSE

0:40:400:40:41

-Hello.

-You haven't even heard us!

0:40:450:40:48

Welcome to the Bluebird, everybody.

0:40:500:40:51

-Hello.

-This is our first time.

0:40:510:40:53

This is such an honour to be here.

0:40:530:40:55

We are The Shires.

0:40:550:40:56

-We are from England.

-Hello.

0:40:560:40:59

We are going to play a song actually we wrote, I wrote with Brian.

0:41:000:41:03

We both wrote with Brian, sorry.

0:41:030:41:05

-I was there too.

-You were there too, sorry!

0:41:050:41:07

Yeah, it was at the very first one.

0:41:070:41:09

# Here it goes again

0:41:150:41:17

# Keeping me up all night

0:41:210:41:23

# He knows every weakness

0:41:270:41:31

# Just where to stick the knife... #

0:41:320:41:35

'The day that they walked in, Ben had said, you know,

0:41:380:41:40

'so many times I think people kind of,

0:41:400:41:42

'they don't like who they see in the mirror, you know,

0:41:420:41:45

'and sometimes it's just like, "I need somebody to save me from myself." '

0:41:450:41:48

And I meet a lot of people who their worst enemies is themselves.

0:41:480:41:51

The person that they see in the mirror every day that they go,

0:41:510:41:54

"I don't like that person."

0:41:540:41:56

'And so I was like, man, this is a song we need to write.'

0:41:560:41:58

# You're the reason I'm singing

0:41:580:42:05

# You're the beat of my soul... #

0:42:050:42:10

'To create a duo that has that magic, that has that chemistry,

0:42:110:42:16

'it has to have a vocal chemistry, a songwriting chemistry,

0:42:160:42:22

'their ranges have to overlap'

0:42:220:42:24

in this perfect way and they've got all of

0:42:240:42:27

those ingredients and I think, you know, personality wise,

0:42:270:42:31

obviously they get along well and that is...

0:42:310:42:33

The road will wear you down if you don't get along well,

0:42:330:42:36

you're going to find that out really quickly.

0:42:360:42:38

So, this next song, actually,

0:42:410:42:43

was a song that I wrote with three other people who happen to be in this room right now.

0:42:430:42:48

Two of them are on stage with me, and Libby,

0:42:480:42:52

sitting over there on that table there.

0:42:520:42:55

It's a song that we wrote about our dads and their positive influence on our lives.

0:42:550:43:00

In the time that we wrote this song,

0:43:000:43:03

I didn't actually tell anybody in

0:43:030:43:05

the room that my dad actually had passed away 20 years ago.

0:43:050:43:09

So I was kind of, it was difficult for me to sit in

0:43:090:43:12

that room and try and get some feelings out.

0:43:120:43:15

It's a very personal song, it's called Daddy's Little Girl.

0:43:150:43:18

# The smell of Old Spice

0:43:200:43:23

# Flat cap on the dash

0:43:230:43:26

# Windows rolled down in the wind

0:43:260:43:29

# White lines flying past

0:43:290:43:31

# Singing along with the radio

0:43:310:43:35

# A little latitude

0:43:350:43:38

# Hanging on to that steering wheel

0:43:380:43:42

# Was the man who hung the moon

0:43:420:43:45

# He said, "You can be anything you want to in this great big world"

0:43:450:43:52

# But I'm always gonna be

0:43:520:43:57

# Daddy's little girl... #

0:43:570:44:00

For most songwriters who would move

0:44:040:44:06

to Nashville or spend some time there,

0:44:060:44:08

playing the Bluebird, that really is the pinnacle, you can say,

0:44:080:44:12

"I played the Bluebird." It was brilliant, I loved it.

0:44:120:44:14

Absolutely awesome. Really, really great.

0:44:140:44:16

It was great.

0:44:160:44:17

So, we've just done a quick change,

0:44:200:44:21

ready to go to the Big Machine afterparty at the CMAs.

0:44:210:44:25

You've got the dream situation where

0:44:410:44:43

Scott and Big Machine are championing

0:44:430:44:46

the band. No act has ever done it,

0:44:460:44:48

it's the chance of a lifetime for them, it really is.

0:44:480:44:51

They know they could fall at the first hurdle and nothing

0:44:510:44:54

could happen, but they also know that the carrot is big enough,

0:44:540:44:59

and, ultimately, in a weird kind of way,

0:44:590:45:00

they will make history because no-one has ever done it before.

0:45:000:45:03

Hey. Welcome.

0:45:040:45:06

You're here.

0:45:060:45:07

-Yes.

-Hey, buddy. Bring it in.

0:45:070:45:10

-Wow.

-Welcome to headquarters.

0:45:100:45:13

-So cool.

-Well, congratulations.

0:45:130:45:16

So proud of both of you.

0:45:160:45:18

Because I meet so many artists and I can tell from our first meeting that

0:45:180:45:22

both of you are willing to really listen,

0:45:220:45:25

but also take that advice and put it through your own filter.

0:45:250:45:29

When we sign an artist, it's a gut feeling for me.

0:45:290:45:32

And I'm either immediately interested or not.

0:45:320:45:36

If it wasn't true to who they are, and what their musical vision is,

0:45:360:45:42

I think I would have seen right through that

0:45:420:45:44

'and I wouldn't have been interested.'

0:45:440:45:46

Let me show you something.

0:45:460:45:47

So this is for Florida Georgia Line's Cruise,

0:45:490:45:52

which is the biggest selling single in the history of country music.

0:45:520:45:55

This is a diamond award for 10 million sold.

0:45:550:45:57

-Wow.

-Wow.

-That's amazing.

0:45:570:46:01

But I wanted to show you the Big Machine wall.

0:46:030:46:06

-Sounds good.

-The wall of fame, I'm very proud.

0:46:060:46:09

Such a great pose.

0:46:110:46:13

So cool. Florida Georgia Line, Greg White, Thomas Rhett.

0:46:130:46:16

Allow me to show you something here. Come on.

0:46:160:46:18

So I was thinking when I came in this morning this would be the perfect place to put your picture.

0:46:200:46:25

BOTH LAUGH

0:46:250:46:27

-Wow.

-That would be cool.

0:46:270:46:29

-That work for you?

-That's good, yes, a really nice height, as well.

0:46:290:46:32

Stand there for a second, we'll just kind of frame it.

0:46:320:46:35

Is this your side, you go that side.

0:46:350:46:37

There it is.

0:46:380:46:40

Done. That'll work.

0:46:410:46:43

-Awesome.

-Welcome to the family.

0:46:440:46:47

# Cos when you're fifteen

0:46:470:46:50

# And somebody tells you they love you

0:46:500:46:54

# You're gonna believe them... #

0:46:540:46:58

Since Taylor's career took off like a rocket,

0:46:580:47:01

Scott Borchetta has made very smart decisions in signing acts that are

0:47:010:47:05

different but also very commercial.

0:47:050:47:08

And that definitely turned off a lot of country purists, but, hey,

0:47:080:47:12

it turned on millions of people.

0:47:120:47:14

# Fifteen... #

0:47:150:47:16

We've come through a time recently that has felt restrictive.

0:47:180:47:22

And the fact that Scott Borchetta is looking to challenge that is great,

0:47:220:47:26

because I think there's a lot of things about country music that need

0:47:260:47:30

to broaden.

0:47:300:47:32

# That don't impress me much... #

0:47:330:47:35

In the '90s, it was all women.

0:47:370:47:39

It was Jo Dee Messina, Shania Twain,

0:47:390:47:41

Lee Ann Womack , Dixie Chicks, it was very, very female driven.

0:47:410:47:44

But then it went to male.

0:47:440:47:47

There was a massive shift into testosterone driven music on country radio.

0:47:470:47:52

And that happened around 9/11.

0:47:520:47:55

# Your little hot self over here

0:47:550:47:57

# Girl, hand me another beer... #

0:47:570:48:00

It became very much beer drinking on the tailgate.

0:48:000:48:04

And a girl is only a girl, it's never a woman.

0:48:040:48:08

# Drinking that ice-cold beer

0:48:080:48:11

# Talkin' about girls, talkin' about trucks

0:48:110:48:14

# Running them red dirt roads... #

0:48:140:48:18

The images of women that are

0:48:180:48:19

presented in some of these bro country songs

0:48:190:48:22

is just, they're ridiculous.

0:48:220:48:24

# Yeah, when I first saw that bikini top on her

0:48:240:48:28

# She's poppin' right out of the South Georgia water

0:48:280:48:31

# Thought, "Oh, good lord" She had them long tanned legs

0:48:310:48:35

# Couldn't help myself so I walked up and said... #

0:48:350:48:38

The duo Maddie & Tae did a great song called Girl In A Country Song,

0:48:380:48:42

where they criticise bro country and

0:48:420:48:44

said, "Hey, I'm not going to climb in that truck,

0:48:440:48:46

"I'm not going to be that girl in your painted-on jeans."

0:48:460:48:49

And I think that critique is very valid.

0:48:490:48:51

# I hear you over there on your tailgate whistling

0:48:510:48:54

# Saying, "Hey, girl"

0:48:560:48:58

# But you know I ain't listening

0:48:580:49:01

# Cos I got a name

0:49:030:49:04

# And to you it ain't "pretty little thing", "hottie" or "baby"... #

0:49:040:49:08

'It came about just after listening to country radio for about a

0:49:080:49:11

'three-month period and kind of getting irritated with how'

0:49:110:49:13

women were being looked at.

0:49:130:49:15

I mean, we were just being called a piece of meat, basically,

0:49:150:49:18

with no character and no value, and that was irritating to us.

0:49:180:49:21

Being raised by strong, independent women, we were like, that's not going to fly.

0:49:210:49:25

# Being the girl in a country song

0:49:250:49:28

# How in the world did it go so wrong?

0:49:280:49:30

# Like all we're good for

0:49:300:49:32

# Is looking good for you and your friends on the weekend... #

0:49:320:49:36

I think it's amazing that we are finally back at the point where

0:49:360:49:39

females can come in and conquer country music again.

0:49:390:49:42

Because it's been 20 years, I feel like,

0:49:420:49:45

since there's been multiple females that were having success.

0:49:450:49:47

I think that country music demands reform,

0:49:490:49:53

the genre in and of itself is requiring that to happen.

0:49:530:49:57

And that's not just bro country,

0:49:570:50:00

that's not just because there are shitty lyrics written by

0:50:000:50:02

nine different people in a think tank somewhere.

0:50:020:50:05

It's because the spirit of it has been completely lost,

0:50:050:50:11

it has just been completely lost and

0:50:110:50:13

the greed of labels and...

0:50:130:50:17

It's just always a money thing.

0:50:170:50:19

# Well, I saw from the way she looked at you

0:50:190:50:25

# Back when you were mine

0:50:260:50:31

# I recall I'd seen that look before too

0:50:330:50:38

# Should have taken it then... #

0:50:380:50:43

There's a whole new generation of women in country who are looking to

0:50:450:50:49

the classic female country voices,

0:50:490:50:51

like Dolly Parton or Loretta Lynn to guide them in the way they speak

0:50:510:50:55

about women's experience.

0:50:550:50:57

# Everything's all wrong

0:50:570:51:01

# I'm coming undone since I... #

0:51:010:51:06

'I would refer to myself as an outlaw country artist'

0:51:060:51:08

because I completely operate on my own terms.

0:51:080:51:13

# The way she looked at you... #

0:51:130:51:16

In my view, punk music and country music are married because they stand

0:51:190:51:24

for exactly the same thing.

0:51:240:51:26

Which is being honest no matter how brutal that honesty is,

0:51:260:51:30

and being angry about injustice.

0:51:300:51:33

Johnny Cash, the Man in Black,

0:51:330:51:36

like, I'm going to wear black until I see social justice reform,

0:51:360:51:40

that's punk, you know, it's country, but that is punk as fuck.

0:51:400:51:43

I can remember a very specific moment in 1998 when I was

0:51:460:51:50

with Randy Travis.

0:51:500:51:51

There was this huge sign of Shania Twain.

0:51:510:51:54

And he goes,

0:51:550:51:58

"Man, it's really gotten away from being country."

0:51:580:52:01

And I said, "Well, Randy, you have to remember you don't decide that."

0:52:010:52:06

I said, "The fans decide what they're going to listen to.

0:52:060:52:09

"And if that's what is being played on country radio, and they like it,

0:52:090:52:12

"it is country whether you like it or not."

0:52:120:52:14

The trip to Nashville, I mean, it couldn't have gone any better, really.

0:52:360:52:39

Meeting Scott. I mean, we were quite nervous about meeting Scott,

0:52:390:52:42

actually, but he's just, he just gets it,

0:52:420:52:44

he seems to get what it's like to be an artist.

0:52:440:52:46

They didn't want to change us massively,

0:52:500:52:52

and Allison said that, she said,

0:52:520:52:54

we want to keep what's great about you guys,

0:52:540:52:56

we just need to find a way to make that work in the US.

0:52:560:53:00

I mean, this is beautiful. I've just picked this up,

0:53:000:53:03

I think Vicky would kill me if I buy

0:53:030:53:04

this guitar, cos it's quite expensive.

0:53:040:53:06

The work starts again,

0:53:080:53:11

redoing exactly what we've done over here but over there.

0:53:110:53:14

If the Shires can spend enough time here,

0:53:160:53:19

I think they have a huge opportunity to be a significant recording duo

0:53:190:53:24

over the next several years, I really do.

0:53:240:53:26

They are putting themselves in a big machine.

0:53:260:53:29

Which, I mean, you have to play the game,

0:53:290:53:32

the stakes are high and you've got to go for it.

0:53:320:53:34

And if you can work through a platform that has that kind of power,

0:53:340:53:39

then it can take you to great places.

0:53:390:53:42

It's not guaranteed, it's not even going to be easy.

0:53:430:53:47

The good thing is, I've gotten to know The Shires over the past year or two,

0:53:470:53:52

which is why the success doesn't surprise me.

0:53:520:53:55

It's because they're not afraid to work.

0:53:550:53:57

# I've been foolish and... #

0:53:570:53:59

They show up.

0:53:590:54:01

Is it guaranteed? No.

0:54:020:54:04

# ..feel my heart breaking... #

0:54:040:54:06

It's so competitive and there are people getting off the bus every day

0:54:080:54:12

from every little town, coming in, going,

0:54:120:54:14

"I think I could be the next big thing."

0:54:140:54:17

# Hallelujah... #

0:54:170:54:19

You can't deny their talent,

0:54:190:54:20

and it has been fun to see Nashville kind of go, "Oh, this is really,

0:54:200:54:24

"really good. And where are they from?

0:54:240:54:28

"Did they come here from out west or did they come down from New York?"

0:54:280:54:33

"No, they came from the UK." "Oh."

0:54:330:54:35

# Hallelujah

0:54:350:54:38

# The moment I saw you, my love. #

0:54:380:54:41

Thank you very much.

0:54:440:54:46

'We are at the end of our week in Nashville.

0:54:470:54:50

'And it's been amazing.

0:54:500:54:51

'We are on an absolute high.'

0:54:510:54:53

We know we've got a long way to go, a lot of work to do,

0:54:530:54:55

but it feels great.

0:54:550:54:57

It feels really good, doesn't it?

0:54:570:55:00

We just want to get going, want to get the songs and get going.

0:55:000:55:03

And if we can break here, then that will be

0:55:030:55:06

everything we've ever wanted, really.

0:55:060:55:08

-I can hear now.

-Can you hear me in there at all?

-I can hear you now.

0:55:240:55:26

OK, cool.

0:55:260:55:28

INDISTINCT QUESTION

0:55:280:55:30

What's that?

0:55:300:55:31

'We got back from Nashville about five weeks ago.'

0:55:310:55:34

And then we did some rehearsals,

0:55:340:55:35

and then we just went straight out on tour. It was really quick, and we did 18 shows, this is the last one,

0:55:350:55:40

the 19th show, in London, and it's been a whirlwind,

0:55:400:55:43

the last six or eight weeks has been crazy.

0:55:430:55:45

It's really cool to be finishing up here in London.

0:55:450:55:48

They are absolutely amazing.

0:55:480:55:51

We love the Shires.

0:55:510:55:52

They're just different, aren't they?

0:55:520:55:54

It's kind of a new generation of people that like country music.

0:55:540:55:57

They are British country.

0:55:570:55:59

-They fly the British flag.

-They've kind of brought it into the modern world and made it really cool.

0:55:590:56:03

# Hallelujah

0:56:030:56:05

# Hallelujah. #

0:56:050:56:07

You have to go, Hallelujah

0:56:070:56:09

# Hallelujah

0:56:090:56:11

# Hallelujah... #

0:56:110:56:13

LAUGHTER

0:56:130:56:14

# Hallelujah

0:56:170:56:19

# Hallelujah... #

0:56:190:56:21

The tour has been a whole lot of fun, but it's tiring.

0:56:210:56:25

SHE DOES A VOCAL WARM UP

0:56:250:56:28

You're on the road all the time and when we're doing three,

0:56:280:56:31

four shows in a row, we've been doing promo in the daytime as well.

0:56:310:56:36

My voice has been very tired.

0:56:360:56:37

This new set that we've got has been extremely demanding on my voice.

0:56:370:56:42

You know, people always kind of forget that the voice is what it's

0:56:420:56:47

all about, and all I keep hearing, especially on this tour,

0:56:470:56:50

is that it's not just about the voice.

0:56:500:56:52

That's always hard for me to take because actually everything I do is about my voice.

0:56:520:56:57

I think Crissie was struggling a tiny bit with her voice.

0:56:590:57:02

It's been really busy with Nashville and doing this.

0:57:020:57:05

It takes it out of you and there are moments, especially before you go

0:57:050:57:09

on, you have a bit of a lull.

0:57:090:57:10

And the adrenaline just kinds of kicks in and carries you through.

0:57:100:57:13

London!

0:57:130:57:14

How are we all doing?

0:57:190:57:20

'The moment we stepped out onto the stage at Shepherd's Bush, I mean,'

0:57:200:57:24

I don't know about you, but my heart was racing like crazy.

0:57:240:57:28

# Country boys

0:57:280:57:30

# In the dark

0:57:300:57:32

# We can build our own Nashville... #

0:57:360:57:39

This year has been a lot about, it's going to sound really weird,

0:57:410:57:43

but coming to terms with success almost.

0:57:430:57:46

# People will come from far and wide... #

0:57:460:57:51

Most people associate having more money than you are used to having

0:57:510:57:55

and bestselling UK country album of all time, that's it,

0:57:550:57:58

you've achieved everything.

0:57:580:57:59

But then it's kind of like sort of remembering why we do what we do,

0:57:590:58:03

and why I do what I do.

0:58:030:58:05

I write songs because I love writing songs.

0:58:050:58:08

It really defines me as a person.

0:58:080:58:10

Thank you so much, London, thank you.

0:58:150:58:18

Just to be signed in the first place was an amazing achievement for us,

0:58:270:58:31

and now to be able to take our music further afield is an exciting

0:58:310:58:35

-challenge for us.

-We are experiencing a lot of different things and playing

0:58:350:58:39

huge shows and stuff, and that's going to come across in our music,

0:58:390:58:42

so it will definitely evolve and change and, you know...

0:58:420:58:46

I love that they're going to replay this in like three years when I'm

0:58:460:58:49

going,

0:58:490:58:50

# Sitting on my truck, drinking my beer in my blue jeans. #

0:58:500:58:54

I'm not going to change.

0:58:540:58:56

# Cos I'm made in England

0:59:000:59:02

# And I'm proud to be

0:59:020:59:05

# From this little island

0:59:050:59:08

# It's more than home to me

0:59:080:59:11

# Yes I'm made in England

0:59:110:59:15

# Nowhere I'd rather be

0:59:150:59:18

# Rainy days and milk in my tea

0:59:190:59:23

# It's good enough for me. #

0:59:230:59:26

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