ALL CHANGE AT THE TOP AS BILLY YATES DOES IT AGAIN

Billy Yates is surely the most prolific independent country music artist in the world! The DJs love him and his music, he gets tons of airplay and yet no major record company has signed him up. Indeed when he was on Columbia Records a few years ago he was given a couple of singles to prove himself, and when they didn't chart as high as the record company wanted, he was dropped. That is the crazy way the major companies work these days. They want instant success and their men in suits call the shots to pull the plug if artists don't deliver the big numbers they need.

Billy's new single, One Beer A Day, from his upcoming album "Bill's Barber Shop", debuts at number one this week, but he was run close by Ronnie Baker who comes in at number 2 with the excellent "Urban Cowboy Wannabe" which could yet have its moment at the top in the coming weeks as he battles with Billy for supremacy. The Canadian band Wild Wild Westt (and yes there IS two Ts at the end) have gone in at number 5 this week with their first ever European single. The vocals of Brenda Burch are indeed very impressive and it seems like the European DJs all agree. She is a great find for the future. At number 7 the other new entry inside the Top 10 features two Australians, Nicki Gillis and Bob Howe, with the first single from their highly rated "Collaborations" album. It's their country music take on the Snow Patrol worldwide hit "Chasing Cars" and the question has been answered. Yes, it HAS crossed over to country radio with some superb steel guitar work to the fore.

Other new entries within the Top 20 this week come from Nick and Noah Murray (12), Mel McDaniel (13), Susan McCann (14 and also this week's British and Irish number 1), Byron Hill (16) and Gary Curtis (17).