Night brings Grand Ole Opry to Sunderland social club

Paul Jackson’s career in music spans the decades with stints at the helm of British rock band Roadhouse, alongside former Def Leppard members guitarist Pete Willis and drummer Frank Noon, as well as forming country act Smith & Jackson which was managed by former Kiss producer Sean Delaney.

Now Paul, 59, from Grangetown, who also enjoyed a brief stint with Slade, is hoping to bring a country twang to Fulwell.

The musician heads up a new country night, the Silver Bullet CMC, which runs every Tuesday at the Millview Social Club in Station Road.

Paul, who established the night with Margaret Jackson and John Green, said: “Country music is one of the biggest genres in the world and it’s amazing to be involved in that scene in America.

“We supported some amazing acts including LeAnn Rimes, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Toby Keith. When we supported LeAnn it was at the beginning of her career but you could tell she was going to be huge.”

He added: “In Britain there’s a big country music touring scene and it’s getting bigger. You have things like the C2C country music festival at London’s O2, which is huge and all the major acts come across for it.”

The Silver Bullet CMC is hosted by Paul each week and will feature guest slots from artists with the aim of bringing international acts to Sunderland.

Paul, who was a regular on MTV in the early ‘90s as the frontman of Roadhouse, said: “It’s not your normal cabaret-style country night. We’ll be having bigger name acts each week, as well as line dancing tuition.”

As well as running the country night, Paul has recently signed a new solo record and publishing deal and will be working with American country music songwriter Kostas Lazarides.

•The Silver Bullet CMC is held every Tuesday from 7pm at the Millview Social Club in Station Road, Fulwell.