John Douglas was born and raised in Jersey where, in 1988, he started working the local Country clubs and hotels during the summer season. He assembled his first Country band there and played regularly at the Wolves Cave Club in St.John.
John lists his Country influences as Garth Brooks, George Strait and Alan Jackson and this is evident both in his singing style and his own compositions.
After moving to England in 1991 he formed the four-piece band, John Douglas & Southern Star. The line-up was John Douglas (lead vocal and rhythm guitar), Tony Ryan (pedal steel guitar), Graham Ryan – no relation to Tony – (bass) and Doug Lang aka Doug West (drums).
Having a long-standing love of Country music and Country music people, Tony Ryan was at ease playing behind a vocalist or as an instrumental soloist. A well respected player, he appeared each year at the prestigious Festival of Steel Guitar at Newbury. Tony has played previously with Hobo and Wes Cardy, leaving the latter to join Southern Star.
Doug started his musical career early, playing classical piano from the age of six. He later moved effortlessly to drums and by this time was widely accepted as a master of his craft. He had previously been a member of Barry Westbrook’s Mean Business.
The new band quickly made a big impression on Country fans and promoters alike and was booked to appear at numerous festivals, including Basildon, Redbridge and Strumpshaw. As Country performers, the band was an instant success with audiences, especially in the south and by displaying their strong vocal, visual and instrumental talents in putting across energetic performances of modern Country music.
In 1993 they won the BCMA Award for Most Promising Newcomers.
A change of line-up in January 1994 brought Mike Spiller on bass. He was another experienced musician having played all types of music and he was also a talented songwriter. Previous Country bands include Hot Toddy (fronting Irene Leslie) and Jackson Queen and he also played for a short time with Albert Lee.
Later that year Southern Star became a five-piece with the arrival of Rufus Ruffell on lead guitar. Unfortunately Rufus’ time with the band was short. He left after six months due to other work commitments.
By 1995, John was unhappy with the way the band was progressing and when the opportunity arose to front a new five-piece he immediately left his own band and launched the new John Douglas Band.
Southern Star continued with a new front man, Johnny Earle.
The John Douglas Band was, in fact, the redundant Tracy Elsdon Band. With little warning, Tracy decided to retire from the Country scene and this left a ready made experienced band looking for a new frontman and John jumped at the opportunity. The line-up was John Douglas (lead vocals and rhythm guitar), Jim Weaver (lead guitar), Scott Newstead (keyboard), Billy Dyer (bass) and Ray Hailey (drums).
By 1997 there were a couple of changes with Jerry Jobson coming in on bass and Dave Unwin on keyboards. By the early 2000s, the John Douglas Band was a trio with John Douglas (lead vocals and rhythm guitar), Micky Byrne, formerly with the Julie Byrne Band on pedal steel guitar and Chris Harris on lead guitar.
Chris Harris has been playing guitar since he was 11. He was in a number of school bands around Romford, Essex which gave him a good opportunity to hone his skills as a guitarist. In his early career he was a prolific songwriter and quickly came to the attention of a number of producers and record labels. He set up his own studio where he recorded numerous musicians while working behind the scenes for years as a session player and songwriter. He worked extensively with top Australian record producer David Mackay who has worked with a number of established artists including Dusty Springfield, Bonnie Tyler and Eric Clapton.
Chris was a latecomer to Country music but after he saw a late night Garth Brooks concert on tv he began listening to a lot of different styles of Country music and quickly realised his future as a musician lay in that genre.
In 1996 he collaborated with Sarah Jory. In 1997 he won the international Songwriter of the Year award at the American Country Music Association awards.
Chris Harris first came to the public’s attention in 2002 when he joined the John Douglas band as lead guitarist. He stayed with the band for two years and left to form his own four-piece band, Southern Union.
He was replaced by Martin Donald on lead guitar. Jim Martin sometimes stood in for Micky Byrne on pedal steel guitar and Martin Donald on lead guitar if either of them were unavailable and Jim eventually replaced Micky as a permanent member of the band. Jim had also been a member Tracy Elsdon’s previous band, Ashanti in the early 1990s and had a career in Country music going back to the 1970s.
This line-up lasted for several years but Martin Donald was in demand as a guitarist and was also a guitar teacher and was always having to juggle commitments. Eventually he was forced to leave the band and John Douglas was able to recruit another top class guitarist Roger McKew.
Originally a Country guitarist, Roger was coaxed into the ‘mainstream’ entertainment world and over the years played with such household names as Joe Brown, Lonnie Donegan and Shakin’ Stevens to name but a few. Joining the John Douglas band brought him back to his Country roots.
The line-up lasted until 2007 when the sudden departure of Stig (Rob Tompsett) from Texas Tornados left a vacancy in that very busy band which was filled by Roger. With the demise of Southern Union in 2007, Chris Harris rejoined the John Douglas Band.
Throughout his career, John has always been a consummate entertainer with a charismatic and very visual presentation. A radio mic allowed him to move about the stage and into the audience at will and it was not unknown for him to climb on top of a stack of speakers while still singing.
In 2008 John Douglas decided to take a break from the Country scene and the John Douglas Band folded. Chris and Jim formed Harrison County duo at this time which lasted for three years.
John returned to the circuit as a soloist in about 2015 working clubs within easy reach of his Colchester home and he still gives a highly polished performance which always includes some of his own compositions. Former band member Jim Martin plays on many of his backing tracks.
Having a long-standing love of Country music and Country music people, Tony Ryan was at ease playing behind a vocalist or as an instrumental soloist. A well respected player, he appeared each year at the prestigious Festival of Steel Guitar at Newbury. Tony has played previously with Hobo and Wes Cardy, leaving the latter to join Southern Star.
Doug started his musical career early, playing classical piano from the age of six. He later moved effortlessly to drums and by this time was widely accepted as a master of his craft. He had previously been a member of Barry Westbrook’s Mean Business.
The new band quickly made a big impression on Country fans and promoters alike and was booked to appear at numerous festivals, including Basildon, Redbridge and Strumpshaw. As Country performers, the band was an instant success with audiences, especially in the south and by displaying their strong vocal, visual and instrumental talents in putting across energetic performances of modern Country music.
In 1993 they won the BCMA Award for Most Promising Newcomers.
A change of line-up in January 1994 brought Mike Spiller on bass. He was another experienced musician having played all types of music and he was also a talented songwriter. Previous Country bands include Hot Toddy (fronting Irene Leslie) and Jackson Queen and he also played for a short time with Albert Lee.
Later that year Southern Star became a five-piece with the arrival of Rufus Ruffell on lead guitar. Unfortunately Rufus’ time with the band was short. He left after six months due to other work commitments.
By 1995, John was unhappy with the way the band was progressing and when the opportunity arose to front a new five-piece he immediately left his own band and launched the new John Douglas Band.
Southern Star continued with a new front man, Johnny Earle.
The John Douglas Band was, in fact, the redundant Tracy Elsdon Band. With little warning, Tracy decided to retire from the Country scene and this left a ready made experienced band looking for a new frontman and John jumped at the opportunity. The line-up was John Douglas (lead vocals and rhythm guitar), Jim Weaver (lead guitar), Scott Newstead (keyboard), Billy Dyer (bass) and Ray Hailey (drums).
By 1997 there were a couple of changes with Jerry Jobson coming in on bass and Dave Unwin on keyboards. By the early 2000s, the John Douglas Band was a trio with John Douglas (lead vocals and rhythm guitar), Micky Byrne, formerly with the Julie Byrne Band on pedal steel guitar and Chris Harris on lead guitar.
Chris Harris has been playing guitar since he was 11. He was in a number of school bands around Romford, Essex which gave him a good opportunity to hone his skills as a guitarist. In his early career he was a prolific songwriter and quickly came to the attention of a number of producers and record labels. He set up his own studio where he recorded numerous musicians while working behind the scenes for years as a session player and songwriter. He worked extensively with top Australian record producer David Mackay who has worked with a number of established artists including Dusty Springfield, Bonnie Tyler and Eric Clapton.
Chris was a latecomer to Country music but after he saw a late night Garth Brooks concert on tv he began listening to a lot of different styles of Country music and quickly realised his future as a musician lay in that genre.
In 1996 he collaborated with Sarah Jory. In 1997 he won the international Songwriter of the Year award at the American Country Music Association awards.
Chris Harris first came to the public’s attention in 2002 when he joined the John Douglas band as lead guitarist. He stayed with the band for two years and left to form his own four-piece band, Southern Union.
He was replaced by Martin Donald on lead guitar. Jim Martin sometimes stood in for Micky Byrne on pedal steel guitar and Martin Donald on lead guitar if either of them were unavailable and Jim eventually replaced Micky as a permanent member of the band. Jim had also been a member Tracy Elsdon’s previous band, Ashanti in the early 1990s and had a career in Country music going back to the 1970s.
This line-up lasted for several years but Martin Donald was in demand as a guitarist and was also a guitar teacher and was always having to juggle commitments. Eventually he was forced to leave the band and John Douglas was able to recruit another top class guitarist Roger McKew.
Originally a Country guitarist, Roger was coaxed into the ‘mainstream’ entertainment world and over the years played with such household names as Joe Brown, Lonnie Donegan and Shakin’ Stevens to name but a few. Joining the John Douglas band brought him back to his Country roots.
The line-up lasted until 2007 when the sudden departure of Stig (Rob Tompsett) from Texas Tornados left a vacancy in that very busy band which was filled by Roger. With the demise of Southern Union in 2007, Chris Harris rejoined the John Douglas Band.
Throughout his career, John has always been a consummate entertainer with a charismatic and very visual presentation. A radio mic allowed him to move about the stage and into the audience at will and it was not unknown for him to climb on top of a stack of speakers while still singing.
In 2008 John Douglas decided to take a break from the Country scene and the John Douglas Band folded. Chris and Jim formed Harrison County duo at this time which lasted for three years.
John returned to the circuit as a soloist in about 2015 working clubs within easy reach of his Colchester home and he still gives a highly polished performance which always includes some of his own compositions. Former band member Jim Martin plays on many of his backing tracks.
Research by Nick Catford.