Martin Davis / The M

Imagine the scene… a dark wet ‘open mic’ night somewhere in Yorkshire . A silver haired man in awhite cotton shirt with mother of pearl buttons, 501’s ,big buckle belt, cowboy boots picks up hisarch top guitar and plays a country cover song.

‘Later as I drove away I began to remember that growing up in the 1960’s that nearly all of thecinema and TV heroes were cowboys: Bonanza, Rawhide, Laramie, The Virginian. Nearly every smallboy dreamed about being a cowboy. I had to pull the car over and just sat there … finally realising that at 55 I would never be thatcowboy.’

The melody and lyrics were pretty much finished by the time Martin got home.

Although written and sung by Martin the song has been nurtured, arranged, recorded andproduced by virtuoso Malcolm Jagger.

12 hours after sending the song to a Texas Radio station the message came back ‘not a bad effortfrom the East side of the pond!’

A relative late-comer to Country, Malc is slowly turning Martin into a convert who now has AlanJackson in the car and last year drove 200 miles to see Eve Selis play!

Martin still fronts the 6-piece Dirty Mavis band hailing from Buckinghamshire. The band last year played Oxford Uni and to a crowd of over 3000 people at a June festival .

Dirty Mavis enjoyed UK Chart success in 2011 with another of Martin’s songs ‘Oak Tree Lament’ which, although more folk than country, has received several plaudits and hopefully demonstrates a talent for melody and lyrics.

Encouraged by local audiences Martin has now begun playing smaller clubs and private functions .

The single ‘I wanna be a cowboy‘ is available as a digital download with a 6-track EP to follow shortly.

Martin’s single released in the spring of 2014, “”Give Me All You Got Las Vegas””, was influenced by Martin’s trip to Vegas in 2002. The huge Luxor hotel, the flight down the Grand Canyon, the 24/7 non stop frenzied action in a place that really shouldn’t exist all made a huge impression – as did the cost!.

The song is a true collaborative effort with Malc providing tremendous energy to the recording, thereby creating an authentic Jordanaire’s sound. The lyrics and light-hearted vocal touch provided an infectious recipe for the single which was mastered by Steve Corrao in Nashville.
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Towards the end of 2013, Martin released the single “”All Over Now””, Originally written by Bobbby Womack and covered most famously by the Rolling Stones. The Cajun country version was producer Malc Jagger’s idea in that the song lent itself to Banjo. The infectious arrangement hopefully hits the spot and is planned to feature on a 2014 album.
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At the same time, anacoustic version of “”I Wanna Be A Cowboy”” was received. It followedfeedback from Martin’s live solo performances where it was suggested that a stripped-back version would add extra warmth to the song.

With Andy Little wheeled in to film and edit the new YouTube video and supported by sleeve art from Ed Davis, Martin hopes that this song brings out the last cowboy in everyone.
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In the summer of 2015, Martin released a 16-track album “”Long Way Home””. Influenced by Malc’s deep love of country the album features a variety of songs that demonstrates a true sense of ‘story’ for each of the tracks. They not only showcase Malc’s talent as a multi instrumentalist but also provide the ideal landscape for Martin’s stories to be heard.

The album included the single “”Hot Summer Rain”” which was released in September 2015, just in time for Martin’s performance at UKCountryRadio.com’s 8th Birthday Party And Awards where he was a finalist for the Listeners’ Club Song Award with “”Give Me All You Got Las Vegas.””

A “”what do I do Dad?”” situation brought by one of Martin’s four sons who was having “”girl problems”” inspired the song.

Following on from the UKCountryRadio.com 8th Birthday Party And Awards in 2015, the nucleus of a band was formed where Richard Novak on drums and Shaun Wallace on bass joined Martin. In early 2016 and after hearing “”The Long Way Home”” album and some brand new material Andrew Taylor completed the line up of The Mighty Stampede on keyboards.

After a a few months of rehearsals and summer 2016 gigs TMS were ready to hit the studio in December 2016 . The result is a 4 track EP with the the title track “”Embers”” supported by “”Let ’em Go”” , Leaving the County and Down in the City . The EP was recorded at KMD Studios Chesham , mixed by Shaun Wallace and mastered by Sage Audio Nashville.

The Mighty Stampede [TMS] have now got 2 full sets of material under their belts for their live gigs which comprises both original material and Country Rock covers.

After appearing at the 2018 UK Country Music Awards playing “”Let ’em All Go””, TMS have signed a contract with Amnesty International for the song to be an official fundraiser with all profits being donated to this wonderful cause.

The song is available from all major platforms including Amazon and Apple Music
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TMS are currently busy rehearsing towards their next set of recordings as well as playing at live events

In September 2019, Martin released the album “”Growing Up The Hard Way, the second joint album with Malcolm Jagger, recorded in Malc’s ‘tardis-like’ bedroom studio.

Malc is a true multi-instrumental virtuoso whose vast musical experience influences every song from the initial idea to the final production .

With several new songs already recorded towards the next album their weekly sessions continue to be both creative and productive .

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