Michael English (born in

Castledermot Castledermot () is an inland village in the south-east of Ireland in County Kildare, about from Dublin, and from the town of Carlow. The N9 road from Dublin to Waterford previously passed through the village but upon completion of a motorway ...

, County Kildare, Ireland on 23 April 1979) is an Irish country singer. He was born in a musical family as his father played

button accordion A button accordion is a type of accordion on which the melody-side keyboard consists of a series of buttons. This differs from the piano accordion, which has piano-style keys. Erich von Hornbostel and Curt Sachs categorize it as a free reed aer ...

with a traditional Irish band, his mother was an Irish dancer, and his two sisters played fiddle and piano. At the age of nine, English started studying the piano formally at the Hennessy School of Music in Carlow. In 1990, he appeared on

Gay Byrne Gabriel Mary "Gay" Byrne (5 August 1934 – 4 November 2019) was an Irish presenter and host of radio and television. His most notable role was first host of ''The Late Late Show'' over a 37-year period spanning 1962 until 1999. ''The Late Late ...

's ''

The Late Late Show ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in E ...

'' television programme at age 11. He continued his musical studies the Royal Irish Academy of Music in Dublin and launched an Irish country music career. Henry McMahon of The Mainliners offered him one of his own compositions, "The Nearest to Perfect" that became a hit for English in 1999. Signing a contract with Ritz Records, English won Best International Entertainer at the Irish National Entertainers Awards ceremony in both 2004 and 2005.AllMusic.com: Michael English biography
/ref> He went on to record a number of albums, and a number of single hits with Dolphin / Roscas Recordings.

Discography

Albums

;Studio *2006: ''Best of Friends'' *2009: ''All My Life'' *2010: ''Portrait of My Love'' *2012: ''This Is Michael English'' *2015: ''Dance All Night''

Singles

*1999: "The Nearest to Perfect" *2016: "Tuam Beat" *2016: "Crazy Over You" (duet with

Cliona Hagan Cliona Hagan (born 27 February 1989) is an Irish country music singer from Ballinderry, County Tyrone. Career ''The All Ireland Talent Show'' Hagan appeared as a contestant on the 2009 first series of the RTÉ reality talent competition, ' ...

)

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:English, Michael 1979 births Living people People from County Kildare Irish country singers 21st-century Irish male singers