Broadcaster

(t.b.c.)Firstly, and following months of ill health & hospitalisation, Glen Douglas (of “Jacksonville”) finally had to make the decision to retire from the scene – at least for the next year or so - leaving Graham Langton without a playing partner for Jacksonville.

At virtually the same time Peter Shaw (of “Broadcaster”) – having lost his original partner Simon to The Swing Commanders back in July of 2007 – was on the verge of giving up the search for a GOOD musician/singer to bring Broadcaster back on course, and had decided that he’d just have to go it alone as a Solo artiste instead.

From the very first, experimental, practice session in the studio with Pete & Graham they quickly realised that with them sharing the same passion for professionalism & musical quality, as well as the “entertaining” factor so necessary to succeed on stage, here indeed was the key to what both of them had been searching for – and potentially an award-winning act by anyone’s standards. The rest (as they say) is history…. name-wise they simply tossed a coin and decided to stick with the “Broadcaster” name instead of Jacksonville - and they’ve been wowing the audiences ever since.

All of a sudden here were 2 musicians who were both as keen as mustard to create some really good new material, performed really well, and fully-practised before even doing their first show - in short, to do the job properly instead of using the “Oh, that’ll do” attitude that we see so often on the Country scene. In late January 2008 they hit the road, ready and practised for the fray, and made an immediate, dramatic impact on the circuit – the feedback wasn’t just “good” it was excellent & their reputation has been spreading rapidly ever since, with the demand for the “new” Broadcaster increasing almost daily.

Graham Langton is nationally recognised as being one of the best lead-guitarists on the British Country scene. Having “paid his dues” with firstly “Dirty Hat Band” followed by the “American Pie” outfit from Liverpool he then joined up with two old friends and formed a trio called “Wanted” which toured the UK for over 3 years before changing its name to Frontline. Graham is also an excellent harmony singer – and in fact with Broadcaster he now does an occasional lead vocal as well. He was also the first British musician in Country to introduce the George Strait version of “Baker Street” into a band’s programme – and a brilliant job he makes of it too.

Peter Shaw is, of course, one of the most respected artistes on the Country scene – having been an award-winning act on the “Roots Country” side (including bluegrass festivals, etc) Peter changed the direction of Broadcaster back in 2003 to turn their exceptional talents in the direction of the Line & Western Dance sector – and they became an established force in that field as well, so joining up with the “Jacksonville connection” has simply taken his own aims and ambitions one step further. Like Graham, Peter is also a multi-instrumentalist so we can expect some sparks to be flying with the “new” Broadcaster” from now on.

Welcome then to this top British Country act, who are winning new friends and fans all across the UK. They give a strong, but varied programme of “Country-but-great-to-dance-to” music each time they play, and their excellence shines through at every show, so whether you want to dance all night or just appreciate the pure quality this is the duo to look for – and watch their star shine brightly in the years to come!