Billy started playing the Guitar at the tender age of five and, by the time he had hit nineteen, he was already a respected professional musician.
He spent six years as a soloist, honing his craft on the road where his experiences proved to be invaluable for his career as a performer. At 25, Billy toured the UK for six months with the highly acclaimed 'Stringband' before forming his own band, 'B.J. Curtis & Nashville Express' – (later to become the 'B. J. Curtis Band'). After extensive touring of the UK Country Club scene, B.J. Curtis & Nashville Express achieved major national recognition by winning the British Country Music Awards accolade of 'Rising Star of 1997'. By this time, Billy had 3 albums under his belt and his début solo video performance was being featured on Sky TV's 'CMT Europe'.
January 1998 marked a significant change in Billys career. With the final dissolution of the band, Billy decided to take time out from touring to concentrate on song writing and recording. After producing some great new original material Billy signed with a new management company and returned to the Country music circuit as a solo artist. His popularity soon grew with his exhaustive repertoire of dance favourites and January 2002 saw him being featured on the front cover of Line Dancer Magazine (pictured right) heralding his acceptance on the British line dance scene.
Whilst generally acknowledged as one of the best guitarists on the British Country Music circuit, Billy is also a fine keyboard player (among other things) and it was this musicianship, his song writing abilities and his understanding of the Line Dancing genre that got him noticed by top Line Dance choreographers. Some of these included Kate Sala, Ed Lawton, Pedro Machado, Rachael McEnaney, Rob Fowler, Maggie Gallagher, Liz Clarke, Peter Metelnick, Dynamite Dot, Pat Stott, Johnny 2 Step, Max Perry and many more. This resulted in an incredible demand for Billy to headline at Line Dance festivals and events all over the UK and Europe.
Since his triumphant return to the Country Music scene, Billy has appeared with The Mavericks, Martina McBride, Ty England, Tank Sherman, Acker Bilk, Matchbox, Carlene Carter and many more top Country artistes. He was signed to music publisher Tabitha Music in 2004 and since then has continued to write and record his own material - he has released numerous CD’s as well as successfully achieving more than 14,000 downloads in the USA alone with his self penned track “That’s Love,” from his hit CD Album, “Bag it up.”
2007 & 2008 saw Billy co-starring in the fabulous UK stage shows 'Route 66' & 'Superstars of Country'. Billy enjoyed every minute of touring with these hit productions but couldn't wait to get back to writing and performing his own shows again.
The Billy Curtis Band, formed by UK top musicians, have made a big impact across France and have appeared at a number of prestigious events there such as; Billy Bob’s Saloon Stage at Disneyland, Paris; The West Rennes Country Days Event; Mirande Country Music Festival and The Calais Country Festival. Since 2009, Billys popularity has continued to grow in France and this has resulted in a number of “exciting and fun” tours.
2016 is going to be an exciting year for Billy and his fans – He is currently working hard on his new duo with Sammi Lee Bassey and a forth coming album, once again Billy has starting writing with his brothers, Jamie and Tim. “It's just like old times, only better.” says Billy, “We're conjuring up some really exciting, fresh new songs that I am sure will blow my fans away. I can't wait to start playing them at my shows”. For now though, Billy's staying tight lipped about his new songs - “I am really proud of what I'm making for my fans and I want it to be a big surprise for them.....” Mum's the word...
