Tony Butler has taken advantage of an agreed hiatus from Big Country to put into action a plan he has been hatching since moving to Cornwall ten years ago. He says: "I've wanted to do this for years and this is my chance, if BC were to keep going without a break I just wouldn't have the time to see this through".

He has set up his own record label "Great West Records" to develop and promote talented artistes from the South West. He said: "The rapid turnover of products by the few major record companies does not allow for development of new talent, particularly in more rural counties. The record industry on the 60s and 70s had a policy to find and nurture potentially successful artistes. It is now obviously too expensive to do this on a national scale, so I'm doing it on a local level."

GWR was officially launched, along with his new solo album "The Great Unknown", on 2nd August '97 at "The Great Big Noise" a showcase at the Cornwall Coliseum followed by a short Tour in October & November.

The first signings to the GWR label have released a mini-album of five or six tracks which have been recorded in Cornwall on digital hard disk and produced or co-produced by Tony and are:

	Syrup - a dynamic Cornish band taking the South West by storm with their set of original alternative rock. Their CD is entitled "5" (Cat No: GWR0002).

	Caroline Berry - a singer-songwriter who creates tales of love and life with a new country flavour. Her CD is entitled "Glorylands" (Cat No: GWR0003).
	Blind Panic - an adult orientated rock group combining classic themes with good old rock and roll. Their CD is entitled "Bodyheat" (Cat No: GWR0004).

	Sacred Turf - a five-piece band from King Arthur country providing a magical blend of punk spirit and traditional folk. Their brilliant CD is entitled "Forever Green" (Cat No: GWR0005) and features the tracks: "Old King Cole", "Upside Down", "Forever Green", "Higher and Higher", and "Crazy". They are currently in the studio with Tony recording a second album!

	Pelt - a four-piece pop-rock band based around sisters Lana & Bridgitte Rogers. Their CD "Fuzzy" (Cat No: GWR0006) is now available featuring the tracks "Feel", "Don't Make Me Cry", "Another Day", "Toffee Apples", and "Nannie".

Tony said: "I sign acts because their standard of songwriting is very high. I place a lot of emphasis on melody mixed with raw enthusiasm and commitment. I will only sign acts who have the potential to make it nationally or internationally. I would like to think that GWR can be the stepping stone between development and a major record contract."

This is the title of Tony's new solo album which contains a collection of songs that he's written over the last 10 years, recorded by himself with local musicians (although Mark features on a couple of tracks). Tony says: "I've wanted to do this for years and this is my chance, if BC were to keep going without a break I just wouldn't have the time to see this through".

1 The Great Unknown (6:15) 2 Living Side By Side (3:02) 3 I Believe In Angels (4:38) 4 When The Trees Come Down (4:07) 5 Mist In Your Moonlight (4:05) 6 The May Queen Leads Her Parade (4:07) 7 Pleasuretime (4:13) 8 Old Money (3:57) 9 Can You See Heaven (3:25) 10 Oblivion Road (3:43) 11 How Many Times (4:46) 12 The Man With The Hooded Face (4:03) 13 But I Still Want You (4:44) 14 Everyday (5:13) Total running time (60:18)

Click here to see the lyrics to this album.

Review: Watch this space...

Tony had this to say about this gig: "the thought of appearing 'solo' in front of ardent BC followers fills me with abject horror, but yet, an interesting challenge", so let's all give him our full support!   The "Great Big Noise" was on 2nd August 1997 and a tour was later arranged: October 21st The Grove, Exmouth 24th Strawberry Fields, Hayle 30th Plymouth Uni 31st The Rising Sun, Barnstaple November 1st St. Austell Band Club 7th The White Hart, Launceston 8th Lanterns, Ashburton 14th The Britannia, Plymouth 15th The Bolton Hotel, Brixham 20th Rumours, Exeter 22nd Treyarnon Bay Hotel, Nr Padstow

Tony has released the beautifully haunting and moving song "One Day to the Next" (Cat No: GWR0007) on his GWR label in conjunction with M.E. Awareness week (11th - 17th May 1998). Read the press release for more information.

	Track 1:	One Day to the Next (Big Noise version) featuring Lee Ellis (guitar), Jo Knight (backing vocals), Craig Quayle (keyboards), Bridgitte Rogers (guitar, courtesy of Pelt)
	Track 2:	One Day to the Next (Instrumental version) featuring Josh Phillips on Piano
	Track 3:	One Day to the Next (Choir version) featuring Mark Brzezicki (drums), Al Hodge (guitar), Josh Phillips (keyboards), members of the children's choir from Launceston County Primary School, Kate Brown, Sharon Howell, Alex Butler (backing vocals)

Mini CD albums were released on 4th August and "The Great Unknown" was released on 18th August 1997. They are all on sale at record shops in Devon and Cornwall and nationally and internationally by mail order direct from GWR:

See more about GWR, it's bands and Cornwall in general by visiting:

You can see an HTML version of the Press Release containing the bones of the information on this page
on John Underwood's Big Country site "The Crossing".

people have come this way since
21st November 1997

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