ISLA GRANT never had any doubts about her career.
She was almost born into the music industry.
The Scottish singer was the daughter of a piper and a singer and the granddaughter of fiddlers.
By the time Grant was eight, she was singing in her church choir then the folk clubs of Glasgow and Edinburgh.
She graduated to the clubs of north-east England where she quickly learned to handle criticism.
About this time her musical taste morphed to country/ ``His songs have got me through a lot of hard times over the years,'' Grant said.
She became a regular on the British country music scene, playing clubs and the occasional major event including the WEMBLEY INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL, where she shared the bill with JOHNNY CASH. ``But you can only go so far working the club scene,'' Grant said.
``It's a scene where cover songs are the general order of the day, current hit titles and standards. Once you reach a certain level, there's nowhere else to go.'' She defied the odds by singing original songs and audiences asked for more.
It was during her time on the club scene that she met AL GRANT who was heading up his own band.
The pair married in 1992 but tragedy struck when she was involved in a near-fatal car accident which left her struggling to leave her house.
Diagnosed as agoraphobic, she could barely continue with her music after doctors told her she would probably never sing again, let alone perform in public.
``My whole world had fallen apart,'' she said.
``I couldn't listen to music on the radio because it brought back too many painful memories of my past, I'd wake up crying at night and I didn't even have confidence going out and buying groceries.'' With the support and encouragement of family and friends, Grant won back her confidence and regained control of her life and career.
``I knew that the only person who was going to get me out of the situation was me,'' she said.
``I had plenty of time to write and so many songs came to me because of the accident.
``I had to write my feelings down, often because I couldn't talk about them, but I was able to put them down on paper.'' She began recording again and has since released a string of successful albums which have gone platinum including the latest, A Dream Come True. Grant will perform at NEWCASTLE PANTHERS on Saturday, June 26.
Tickets cost $38, with bookings at the club.
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