Gary Allan

Gary Allan was offered his first recording contract aged 15 in 1982, but his father made him turn it down so that he could concentrate on his schooling.

Much later, having left school, he left a demo tape in the car of a couple to whom he had sold a car. They were so impressed that they gave him money to chase his dream. With it, he moved to the country music capital Nashville, signed a record deal - and paid them back.

His first album was in 1996, Used Heart For Sale. It achieved moderate success. It Would Be You was his second album in 1998 and, on the strength of the hidden acoustic track "No Judgement Day", it bettered its predecessor.

Further albums followed, maintaining his success, but in 2003 his third wife, Angela, committed suicide. He turned to music to help him to cope with the loss and the result was 2005's Tough All Over, an achingly personal album which debuted at No.3 on the Billboard 200.

Gary's seventh studio album, Living Hard was released in Oct 2007.