Martin Smith is a country singer-songwriter from Ulverston in Cumbria and has been writing his style of country music for many years. Martin has loved country music since his was eight years old. He began singing in a six-piece choir at secondary school. He then went on to win various talent competitions at the famous Butlins holiday camps. By the age of 21, he was performing at clubs and cabaret venues as a semi-professional guitar/vocal act. He then went on to form his own country band and started to write original material.
In 1978 and 1982, Martin’s band reached the final of the National Country Song Contest at Wembley. His songs also won recognition in the country section of the International Song Contests held in Ireland in 1980 and 1981. In 1982, Martin entered a world-wide songwriting contest in Nashville and was awarded a Musical Diploma for reaching the final hundred. In the same contest in 1989, Martin came 25th out of approximately two million entries and received a second Musical Diploma.
In 1990, Martin appeared as one of the featured artists at the Morecambe International Festival of Country Music which was recorded for a BBC TV documentary.
Over the years, Martin has appeared alongside many top artists including Frank Ifield, George Hamilton IV, Bill Anderson, Billy Walker, Karl Denver, Guy Mitchell, Ronnie Prophet, Mary Duff, Ann Breen, Brendan Shine, Philomena Begley and Charlie Landsborough, as well as top British country bands including Poacher, Hillsiders, Raymond Froggat, Sarah Jory and Dave Sheriff.
Martin has visited the Grand Ole Opry and Ryman Auditorium in Nashville and Graceland in Memphis. These visits have given him new incentives to further his songwriting career. He has just completed his fourth original album “”Britain’s Best Kept Secret”” – his sixth album overall.
Martin has experienced great success on the Hotdisc Charts, including a number one. He has also topped the UK Country Chart twice.
Martin released his first Christmas song in December 2011 which was chosen by a French radio station to be played in Nashville and Atlanta on Christmas Day. Martin was the only British artist on the playlist among many renowned country greats including George Strait, Alan Jackson, Vince Gill, Dolly Parton, Toby Keith, Randy Travis and Garth Brooks.
Martin has six original albums to his credit and eight albums overall.He has also released a DVD featuring 10 original songs both newand old, all filmed in and around his home in the Lake District. Some ofthese films have already been featured on TV shows such as The PhilMack Country Show and Hot Country Showcase.
In May 2019, Martin released his sixth original self-penned album to date called ‘Something Old Something New’. As the title suggests, it is a mixture of old and new songs. Four of the songs were written many years ago and never really had the exposure they deserved, so Martin included them on this album. The other six tracks are new songs that he hopes the listeners will enjoy. There is also one bonus track.
In 2022, Martin released his seventh album of original material, “Country Rogue”.
“Moving forward from my past recorded works, I have decided to produce something slightly different this time; using the exceptional talents of musicians from various musical backgrounds and by introducing sax into my music giving a different sound to my songs.
This is my 7th album of original material. There are 12 brand new original songs on this album, all of which give the listener varied tempos, genres and feel. These songs are about love and life and are self-explanatory, whilst hopefully leaving a little to the imagination.
Looking to the future I will continue to write and record more songs in my unique style and strive to be original in my musical endeavours. I consider this album to be a team effort and would like to thank everyone who has been involved.”
