IT was only after Isla Grant survived a near-fatal car collision that her music career really took off.
The car accident in 1992 initially left her with severe internal injuries and a broken wrist. Her husband Al Grant suffered a dislocated foot.
But the crash had far worse effects on the entertainer's psyche and personality than her body.
After the crash she was diagnosed with agoraphobia, becoming anxious in wide open spaces.
Grant also struggled to leave the house or play the guitar.
She said she saw psychiatrists for two years to help her overcome her fears and troubled memories of the crash.
Specialists told her she would never sing in public again.
``My whole world had fallen apart,'' Grant said.
``I'd wake up crying at night, I didn't even have the confidence to go out and buy groceries.
``I couldn't listen to music on the radio because it brought back too many painful memories of my past.'' But she soon realised something she couldn't escape: she was a musician and performing was in her blood.
Her father Alex was a piper, her mother Isabella, was a singer and her grandfather William had been a fiddler.
Grant had also sung in front of crowds in Scottish clubs since the age of eight.
This was enough reason for her to prove the specialists wrong.
``I knew the only person that was going to get me out of this situation was myself,'' Grant said.
``After the accident, when I started writing again, I took it much more seriously than I had previously.
``The songs were far more sincere because they were bred out of genuine emotions and feelings.
``People can relate to the songs because of the emotions conveyed.'' She has released six albums; Only Yesterday, Mother, A Dream Come True, Childhood Memories, The Beauty of My Home and When The Day Is Done.
Only Yesterday, Mother and A Dream Come True all sold double platinum numbers (150,000) of records.
Childhood Memories and The Beauty of My Home all sold platinum numbers (75,000).
Her latest album When The Day Is Done was only released this month August.
Grant has performed with Johnny Cash, Crystal Gayle and The Glaser Brothers and at the Wembley International Festival nf in England.
More recently she has been performing for audiences in the UK and Caribbean.
She will appear at Newcastle Panthers on Friday. Tickets are $49 and are available from the club.
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