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Andrea was obviously very disappointed. She was already a prolific songwriter and knew that she wanted to make music her career so she turned pro as a singer guitarist when she was 16. She worked mainly in pubs and social clubs in Norfolk and Suffolk playing middle of the road music which of course always included some country. She was quickly able to establish a considerable fan base, lots of pubs had singers at that time and the music scene in East Anglia was especially vibrant. She was quickly introduced to a basic drum machine which allowed her to be more creative with a much fuller sound.
In 1982, Suffolk Punch a popular country trio were looking for a new bass player to replace Lindsey St John.  After hearing about Andrea, they asked to see her and although it meant switching from guitar to bass she joined the trio and was soon touring all over the country. Suffolk Punch were Isobel Coe, lead vocals and guitar, Mike Coe drums and harmony vocals and Andrea Burdett bass, lead and harmony vocals. After a few months with the band, Andrea found the continual touring exhausting and when a tour of Japan was being planned she decide to leave but stayed on to tour Germany with her replacement Laurie making the trio up to a 4-piece band to comply with the requirements of the US Army air bases in Germany.
After Suffolk Punch, Andrea returned to the less hectic life of a singer/songwriter guitarist once again taking only local gigs. During this period she recorded two cassette albums recording all her own backing tracks. In about 1990 she was looking for a fiddle player for two original songs she wanted to record and she approached Suzie Hanna who, at that time was working in a popular local busking band.
In 1992 she decided to form an all girl country trio. She was very keen to have a fiddle player in the line up so asked Suzie Hanna who agreed to join the band. A local music arranger recommended Leigh Anne-Perryman as a bass player and Way Out West were launched onto the country circuit that year.
Suzie came from a large family who lived in a cottage without electricity and running water in the middle of the Norfolk marshes, so played music for their own entertainment. Her mother played piano, her brother played banjo and she and her sister played fiddles. She met her husband, Bob, at a folk club in Sheffield, and they played together in a duo for some years. In the 1980s, they moved to Norwich where they formed a jug band called the Oily Rag Band whose performances included busking with a large homemade double bass and a piano. They played at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and in the Canary Islands.  Some members of the band went on to form the Ten Bob Notes.
Leigh-Anne is trained on classical piano and had played in covers bands and backing bands since she was 16, while still at college, studying journalism and drama. She switched to playing in country bands when she decided to pursue music as a part-time career, as there was more work available in that genre. She toured with Brendan Shine and also worked as a photographer for a few years. In 1991, she became deputy editor of The Franchise Magazine and began working in modern jazz/fusion bands too, playing bass and keyboards. When she joined the fledgling Way Out West in 1992 playing bass and keyboards she initially continued with her journalism work but as the trio became established and started touring nationally she had to give this work up although she did continue studying for an Open University degree in history of art.
Way Out West became increasingly popular on the club and festival circuit. They toured extensively and worked on cruise ships. This quickly earned popularity brought them a BCMA nomination for Best British Trio in 1993.
During their time on the road they recorded three cassette albums, Way Out West, Good Time Girls and Backlash.
Suzie left the trio in 1996 and was replaced by another excellent fiddle player Hayley Moyses. Her time with the band was short lived however and she left the trio to work with Brian Mann in New West duo. Her replacement was another very experienced fiddle player Sandra Waters. Sandra had worked with the Tony Rouse Band and also with the very well respected Sweet Revenge which featuired the late great John Stannard on lead guitar and Dennis Bray on vocals. Sandra too also only stayed with the band far a short time. Each time a fiddle player left Suzie Hanna would come back to stand in and on one occasion her husband Bob made the trio up to a quartet for a tour. Eventually, after a series of top session musicians including Wayne Hawes who played guitar for Billie Jo Spears when she toured the UK, keyboard player Jack Stowe and David Hartley one of the best pedal steel players in the business, had come and gone, Andrea and Leigh-Anne decided to call it a day in 1999.
A number of factors led to this decision. Both Andrea and Leigh-Anne were getting weary of touring and this was beginning to affect Andrea’s health. It was impossible to maintain the integrity of the band with three girls and a fiddle so when Leigh-Anne decided to move to Somerset the decision was made and Way Out West played their final gig.
After disbanding, Andrea took her first normal job having been a musician all her working life. She joined the Civil Service as a manager and then became an OFSTED inspected child minder.
Leigh-Anne has not worked in a band since the demise of Way Out West. She had a complete change of direction and after gaining a teaching qualification she began designing and teaching community education courses local to where she lived, in Somerset. She then started teaching arts courses for the Open University which she did for 15 years gaining a Masters in Education from the OU in 2006. After later gaining a PHD, Dr Leigh-Anne Perryman became a full-time academic with the OU, involved in research and in writing and chairing postgraduate courses.
Suzie Hanna has continued as a musician and for the last four years has been playing fiddle and musical saw in The Marisca Trio with her sister Lucy on fiddle and banjo and her husband Bob on piano and vocals. They play some Americana and bluegrass but mainly Scottish, Shetland, Canadian and New England tunes with some diverse song content including anything from The Lovin Spoonful and The Pogues to ancient ballads and Music Hall songs. There is still some country music in the repertoire.
When not playing in her band, Suzie has been busy teaching in Higher Education for over two decades, and making animated films. She is now a Professor of Animation Education at Norwich University of the Arts.
Way Out West made a brief reunion in 2013 when the three girls played together for the first time in 14 years without any rehearsal at Suzie’s 60th birthday party. After this, Andrea was once again bitten by the bug and in 2014 went back on the road as a singer with a guitar.  She is now once again fully pro working mainly in hotels and social clubs around the Norfolk and Suffolk coast. She does take some country club bookings and has accepted a short northern tour from Sylvan Entertainments later in the year.
A full blown Way Out West reunion was also planned before covid struck. The girls are definitely ‘up for it’ but no dates have yet been set. It is a matter of finding a slot in their busy work schedules. Suzie told me “ We had a lot of fun, and  we are still good friends, so we are serious about doing a gig together again. I honestly don’t think anyone has ever made me laugh as much as Leigh-Anne and Andrea used to.”
Here’s a video I made of Way Out West at Hainault, Essex, on 28th of September 1993.