ONE of the most influential female artists of the ‘new wave’ country music in the Nineties will be making a special appearance in the North West next week as part of a brief UK tour.

Suzy Bogguss was one the biggest names on the country scene, with hits including Drive South, Hey Cinderella and the multi-million selling album Aces.

“That was blossom time for me,” recalled Suzy, “but to be honest it was so busy and got so big that I don’t really remember that much about it.

“I was going from one show to another and never really got the chance to see where I was or what I was doing. In many ways for all the access it was not that good. I didn’t get the access to the fans that I like “That’s why I really enjoy coming back to the UK now and doing shows as I get the chance to talk to fans and see how music has affected their lives.

“I like my shows to be very spontaneous and the fans in the UK are very comfortable with that and often help make them special occasions for me.”

Suzy has just released her album Lucky, which features her interpretation of songs by country legend Merle Haggard.

“Doing this album has been like attending songwriting school for me,” said Suzy. “I tend to take a shotgun approach to things with all the words pouring out but Merle is the master of being concise and yet saying so much.

“I’ve tried to keep the songs as honest and authentic as possible and they have some of the most beautiful melodies in any genre of music.

“Merle has the gift of being able to bring so much emotion into a song.

“Since doing the album I do feel more compelled to write and I’m going to see if I can be more concise.

“I’m hoping to carve out a little time in June for some writing in between touring.”

For her tour, which comes to Bury Met on Tuesday, Suzy will be accompanied by husband and producer Doug Crider plus her regular touring band.

“For any musician, keeping a band on the road is a major expense but that’s why the UK is great,” said Suzy. “We can fit in a number of shows in a relatively short period of time because the distances between gigs is relatively short.

“In the States you can’t really do shows in different places every night too often as you’d always be getting on planes.”

Suzy Bogguss, Bury Met, Tuesday, April 15. Details from 0161 761 2216.