Henry Smith Band
Henry Smith band leader may be one of the most influential country music stars in the UK with his career expanding across Europe and beyond. Originally from Reading, Henry Smith has spent most of his life around the Portsmouth area.
His love of country music started at a young age with stage performances from 5 years old. Henry Smith band leader is a very popular and energetic showman who is well received at festivals and clubs. Henry loves music and is renowned for his dedication and lively stage performances.
Described by many music critics as the UK’s number one country artist he has regularly appeared on TV performing live in the studio. Seven out of eleven cds so far have hit the country singer radio charts.
These include ‘Mum And Dad’, ‘Hello DJ’, ‘Welcome To My World’, ‘There Goes’, ‘I Hope She Falls’ and ‘Enough Tequila’. These tracks have been hits in the UK, Holland, Denmark, Germany and Australia.
Influences include: Alan Jackson, Randy Travis, George Jones and Garth Brooks. Influences also include: Chesnutt, Billy Yates, Billy Jo Spears, Heather Miles, Joni Harms, Eve Sellis, Jon Randell and Danni Lee.
A well toured country artist, he has had numerous appearances and shared the stage with many artists. His achievements so far include an award at the BCMA Band of The Year in 2009 and again in 2010. Henry himself achieved Entertainer of The Year in 2010, 2011 and 2012. Check out the Henry Smith Gig Guide 2024 for a performance near you.
Tracks ‘Mum and Dad’, ‘Hello DJ‘ and ‘Welcome To My World’ each reached number one in the British Hotdisc chart and ‘Enough Tequila’ and ‘I Hope She Falls’ reached number two.
‘Fooling Myself’ is a duet with Nashville’s own Billy Yates which reached number three in the International Independent Chart. He remains popular and well-respected. After exiting Columbia, Yates founded his own label called M.O.D., an abbreviation for my own damn records.
His first release on his own label was ‘If I Could Go Back’ in 2001. The album’s lead single was ‘Too Country and Proud of It’. Bobby Peacock of Roughstock reviewed the album favourably, with a focus on Yates’ singing voice and lyrics in particular.
He continued to tour Europe in 2011 in support of his next album, Just Be You. Unlike his previous albums, Yates wrote every song by himself. ‘On My Way’ (The Norway Song) was the album’s lead single.
His last independent album was 2015’s ‘These Old Walls’, which like its predecessors was supported through extensive touring in Europe. Billy Yates has been married to his wife, Nancy, since the release of ‘Flowers’ in 1997. They have one son named Grayson, who was ten years old when he provided guest vocals on ‘Just Be You’.
In 2015, Yates had a section of U.S. Highway 160 outside his hometown of Doniphan named after him. State senator Mike Cunningham attended the naming ceremony, which also included musical performances by Jimmy Fortune and Buddy Jewell. Wikipedia