Martin Smith (24)

UK country singer. Martin started singing initially in a six piece choir at secondary school; he then went on to win various talent competitions at the famous 'Butlins' holiday camps throughout Britain. By the age of 21 he started performing at Clubs and Cabaret venues as a semi-professional guitar/vocal act. He then went on to form his own country band and started to write original material. In 1978 and again in 1982 he reached the Wembley final of the Silk Cut National Country Song Contest of Great Britain with his band. This success inspired him to record a second album, from which two of his original songs won the Country section of the Fourth and Fifth International Song Contests held in County Cavan, Ireland in 1980 and 1981 respectively. In 1982 he again pursued a solo career and entered the MCSF in Nashville, Tennessee, (a Worldwide Songwriting Contest) and was awarded a Musical Diploma for reaching the final hundred. In 1989 in the same contest, he attained 25th position (out of some 2 million entries) receiving a second Musical Diploma.