Kurt Burgess was born in 1991 and grew up in Stoke on Trent, Staffs. As a young boy, his aunt and uncle Bev and Paul loved Country music and first took him to their local Country club, Bidds in Longton when he was about 4 or 5. It’s there that he learnt how to dance and develop a love of Country music; his dad preferred more traditional Country like John Denver and Glen Campbell. He was soon going to Bidds regularly on a Saturday evening and joked that he had little choice about learning line and partner dancing. After each club night he and aunt Bev would practice what they had learnt in the kitchen it home.
As he got older, dancing was always important and to this day he often still gets up to dance. “Watching live bands at a young age was quite mesmerising” he told me. One of the band he used to follow was Doncaster based 4-piece Outlaw and while following the band he first met their lead singer MT (Malc) Allan when he was 5 and they have remained friends ever since. Outlaw were formed in 1993 and Malc joined them in 1995 and stayed with them until they folded in 2002. The band comprised MT Allan (lead vocal and rhythm guitar), Norman Pearson (lead guitar), Ray Thornton (bass) and Dave Holdridge (drums). In 2000 Malc also formed the MT Allan Duo with Brian Gradwell and when Outlaw folded Kurt followed Malc’s duos first with Brian and later with Dave Inglis and then Malc as a solo artist.
At that age, he didn’t know he could sing. He would always sing along with songs but had no aspirations about being a singer. As a teenager, he would help Malc out at festivals when he was arranging the PA (such as Quickdraw, Harlow’s Party In The Park, Kelso etc). He went all round the country helping Malc and learning to be a sound and lighting engineer and he told me “you certainly get more inspired by the people on stage when you stand at the side of the stage watching”. It quickly became his dream to be on stage to entertain and sing. It was a matter of getting the confidence and the courage to do so. He would soundcheck the mics and Malc often told him “You’ve got a good voice – you should try” but at that time, he never did.
Kurt first sang in public when he was 14 at a family party for his aunt and uncles anniversary. The MT Allan Duo had been booked for the event and Malc coaxed him onto stage and he sang two sings, John Anderson’s Siminole Wind and Joe Nichols’ Brokenheartsville. In 2010 he moved from Stoke on Trent to South Shields in Tyne and Wear where his mother-in-law Julie Taylor ran JJ’s CMC in Hebburn.
As he got older, his confidence issues began to fade but it took a family bereavement for Kurt put his life into perspective. “This isn’t a dress rehearsal – you only have once chance and you need to take that one chance” he told me. In 2023 Julie had a free club night and needed someone to fill in. His partner Melanie and Julie both told him “You can do it” and he quickly decided he would give it a go. Knowing Malc so well (MT Allan regularly played at the club), he came along on 31 March and brought all his gear and set it up and ran the front of house sound. Kurt did three half hour sets and he told me there nothing more liberating than singing the last song that night; he felt so proud of himself and was so happy and now knew this is what he wanted to do. Initially he performed as Kurt Burgess but within a few months this had been shortened to Kurt B.
Malc signed him up to his National Artist Management (NAM) agency and has been very supportive finding most of his bookings. He told me the last two years have been the best two years of his life adding “it’s been fantastic to live my dream” which he feels is going from strength to strength with every gig. He loves all styles of country and all types of clubs including listening clubs where he gets the chance to sing some great story songs. He enjoys the line dance gigs just as much watching people dancing and having a good time.
Kurt knows he’s now living his dream by getting on stage and singing and entertaining and he would like to go fully pro one day when his children have grown up. He loves to see people enjoying themselves whether dancing or listening. Kurt’s taste in Country music is very varied and he is happy performing early songs from the likes of Hank Williams and Jonny Cash right up to modern songs by the likes of Luke Combs and Midland. As a linedancer, Kurt is able to keep up to date with all the latest dances as they arrive, this has allowed him to create a show to suit most dance tastes. He also has a great Country voice.
His first CD album is in the pipeline. He has already recorded one track, Ty Herndon’s Love Too Much in Steve Place’s studio in Redcar and plans to record sufficient tracks for a CD.
Research by Nick Catford.
Here is a video of Kurt at the CCN awards at Southport in 2024. At the end you will see a short clip of Kurt’s daughter Ella line dancing in front of her dad.