THERE’S a great treat in store for traditional country music fans next month when Charley Pride returns to the UK to play a series of dates.

He’s one of the few African- American country musicians to have achieved success around the world with his music and only the second to have been inducted as a member of the Grand Ole Opry.

In the 1960s, he was marketed as Country Charley Pride, and because country artists, at that time, were white, no pictures were shown of him for two years. Many claim that this stigma still flows through the music malls to this very day. Between 1969 and 1971, Pride gained the accolade of having eight singles at number one and was awarded the Country Music Association’s Entertainer and Male Vocalist Of The Year Award .

To date, he’s sold more than 70 million records, including 48 studio albums, 67 single, of which 39 topped the charts. On November 5- 6 he tours to The Waterfront Hall, Belfast, The 02 London on the 9th, Liverpool Philharmonic on the 10th and finally the Royal Concert Hall Glasgow on the 11th.

Pride features on this week’s American Connection show on euvue.co.uk from Saturday on our all request show featuring songs from 1950 through to the year 2000.