Wakefield Country singer secures top spot in UK Country charts on the same day of single release

Crigglestone's Matt Hodges' song, ‘When We Were Young’, conveys the nostalgia of being young and how things change as we grow up, encapsulated in a heartwarming country-western staple.

He released the single on Friday, February 26, and saw it climb to the UK Country Charts number one spot on the same day.

It also reached a humble spot in the top 40 of the iTunes all genres charts.

Matt said: “Last year I released two singles, one of them actually got to number one.

“But with ‘When We Were Young’, I went about it a bit different - I didn’t promote it as much on social media.

“I sometimes get nervous putting songs out there, so I did pace around the house for a bit.

“With songwriting, you’re putting your experiences out there hoping people will relate, that can sometimes feel like you’re putting all your cards on the table and opening yourself up as a target.

“But I woke up on the day of release and it was already at number 15 in the country charts, later one of my mates texted me to tell me it reached number three.

“I kept an eye on it and within the space of three hours, it got to number one.”

Matt wrote the song in the first lockdown of 2020, after he had time to reflect on the simplicities of his childhood.

He worked with Wakefield based producer, Adam Fiasco, who mixed, mastered and finalised the track.

Due to Matt’s growing reputation on the international country scene, he received instant backing from radio stations in the UK and in Nashville Tennessee, the country music capital of the USA.

Matt has been invited to travel to Nashville, when it’s safe and legal to do so, to pursue further musical opportunities.

He said: “People have been so supportive, I’ve got loads of new listeners from across the world on my Facebook livestreams who keep streaming and sharing loads.

“I’ve had massive backing from Country Hits Radio, which is the biggest station for country in the UK - one of their DJ’s, Matt Spraklen gave the track it’s first, exclusive radio play.

“It’s been doing great since, this is a big deal to me, because I’m really focused on what I want to do, which is become a potential country star out of lockdown.

“I can't get over how quickly people latched on and got behind, considering eight months ago, I was hardly on social media, to then gaining thousands of awesome followers.

“I’m ready to get out and I can't wait to play to all these new people who have found my music.”

Stream 'When We Were Young' on Apple Music, Spotify and Amazon MusicFollow Matt on Facebook and Instagram for updates on upcoming releases