David Allan Caswell, publishing under pen name Allan Caswell, is an English-Australian songwriter and performer, author, record producer, freelance journalist and teacher. Caswell wrote " On the Inside" (the theme from the television series ''Prisoner'') and recorded by Lynne Hamilton. It was a hit record in Australia and New Zealand in 1979. In 1983, the single "The Australia's Cup" peaked at number 17 on the Australian charts.

Biography

1952-1978: Early years

Allan Caswell was born in Chester and grew up in

North Wales North Wales ( cy, Gogledd Cymru) is a region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders Mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, with Snowdonia N ...

, Berkshire, and South London (

Mitcham Mitcham is an area within the London Borough of Merton in South London, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross. Originally a village in the county of Surrey, today it is mainly a residential suburb, and includes Mitcham Common. It h ...

) before migrating to Australia in 1966. He was educated at Wimbledon County Secondary School and later at South Sydney Boys High School. Caswell's songwriting career started in 1973 when

Chris Gilbey Christopher John Gilbey (born 13 May 1946, Islington) is an English-born Australian entrepreneur and music industry identity. His more recent activities are in the field of materials science and signals processing from graphene-coated materia ...

signed a song he had written with his brother

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Albert Music Albert Music, formerly J Albert and Son, is an Australian company with an estimated worth in 2009 of more than A$209 million. The company has major interests in music publishing and production and it earns significant royalties through its su ...

in Sydney. However, it was 6 years later when Allan Caswell had a song recorded.

1979-present: Music Career

In 1979, Caswell wrote " On the Inside", which became the theme for the television series ''Prisoner'' and later a major international hit song. The success of "On the Inside" triggered a succession of recordings by Patti Page, Cilla Black,

The Irish Rovers The Irish Rovers is a group of Irish musicians that originated in Toronto, Canada. Formed in 1963'Irish Rovers are Digging out those old Folk songs', By Ballymena Weekly Editor, Ballymena Weekly Telegraph, N. Ireland – 20 August 1964 and na ...

Max Bygraves Walter William Bygraves (16 October 1922 – 31 August 2012), best known by the stage name Max Bygraves (adopted in honour of Max Miller), was an English comedian, singer, actor and variety performer. He appeared on his own television shows, s ...

and

Acker Bilk Bernard Stanley "Acker" Bilk, (28 January 1929 – 2 November 2014) was a British clarinetist and vocalist known for his breathy, vibrato-rich, lower-register style, and distinctive appearance – of goatee, bowler hat and striped waistc ...

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Chad Morgan Chadwick William "Chad" Morgan OAM (born 11 February 1933) is an Australian country music singer and guitarist known for his vaudeville style of comic country and western songs, his prominent teeth and goofy stage persona. In reference to his ...

, Lynne Hamilton, James Blundell,

Anne Kirkpatrick Anne Kirkpatrick (born 4 July 1952) is an Australian country music singer. She is the daughter of country singers Slim Dusty and Joy McKean. Biography She also has a brother, David Kirkpatrick, who is an accomplished singer-songwriter. The ...

, Don Spencer, Graeme Connors, The Delltones,

Doug Ashdown Douglas "Doug" Wesley Ashdown (born 29 July 1942) is an Australian singer-songwriter who had a minor hit with " Winter in America", also known as "Leave Love Enough Alone", which reached No. 13 on the Dutch Singles Chart in 1978. In 1988 th ...

and

Ricky May Richard Ernest May (22 November 19431 June 1988) was a New Zealand-born jazz singer and musician, best known for singing cover versions of numerous pop songs or jazz standards. He moved to Australia in 1962 where he worked mainly in theatre and ...

. Caswell won his first Golden Guitar in Tamworth for Best New Talent in 1980. In September 1983, Caswell released "The Australia's Cup", which peaked at number 17 on the Australian chart. His first and only top 100 single. In 1995, Caswell was asked by

Don Spencer Donald Richard Spencer (born 22 March 1941),is an Australian children's television presenter, singer-songwriter, and guitarist. He had a long-running role on ''Play School'' on both the Australian version (1968–99) and the United Kingdom ...

, on behalf of his Australian Children's Music Foundation, to work with children in Juvenile Detention teaching music and songwriting. He has helped set up similar programs in other centres. He also worked with the Foundation in their aim of making music accessible to underprivileged children. In 2006, Caswell published his first book, "Writing Great Song Lyrics". In 2014, Caswell announced he had lost a 10-year legal battle with Sony music over similarities between his song "On the Inside" and

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...

's " Christmas in Dixie"; a song from which Alabama are estimated to have earned over $700,000. In 2016, Caswell celebrated the 50th Anniversary of his arrival in Australia in 1966 with an album called ''50 Years in Oz''. In 2019, he released his autobiography My Version Of The Truth and moved to Queensland where he lives with his wife Marian in Varsity Lakes. In 2020, Caswell released his 20th album, ''Tequila Amnesia''. He also released his third book, ''Secrets of Stronger Songwriting''.

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

Singles

Awards and nominations

Country Music Awards of Australia

The

Country Music Awards of Australia The Country Music Awards of Australia also known as the Golden Guitar Awards (originally named Australasian Country Music Awards) is an annual awards night held in January during the Tamworth Country Music Festival, in Tamworth, New South Wales ...

(also known as the Golden Guitar Awards and originally named Australasian Country Music Awards) is an annual awards night held in January during the

Tamworth Country Music Festival The Tamworth Country Music Festival is an annual Australian music festival held for 10 days from Friday to Sunday in mid to late January each year, sometimes including Australia Day, in Tamworth, New South Wales. The festival is the second bigg ...

, in

Tamworth, New South Wales Tamworth is a city and administrative centre of the north-western region of New South Wales, Australia. Situated on the Peel River within the local government area of the Tamworth Regional Council, it is the largest and most populated city in t ...

, celebrating recording excellence in the Australian country music industry. Caswell has won eight awards (wins only). , - , 1980 , "King of the Rodeo" , New Talent of the year , , - , 1981 , "One Armed Bandit" (with Brian Caswell) , Song of the Year , , - , 1983 , "Used to Be a Gold Song" (with Keith Potger) , Song of the Year , , - , 1986 , " The Garden" , Song of the Year , , - , 1988 , "Black Jack Blues Again" , Male Vocalist of the Year , , - , 2007 , "A Little Bit of Country in Us All" (with Drew McAlister) , Vocal Collaboration of the Year , , - , 2016 , "One Last Muster" , Bush Ballad of the Year , , - , 2020 , "Country Copper" , Bush Ballad of the Year , , -

Tamworth Songwriters Awards

The Tamworth Songwriters Association (TSA) is an annual songwriting contest for original country songs, awarded in January at the

. They commenced in 1986. Allan Caswell has won sixteen awards. (wins only) , - , rowspan="2", 1988 , "Black Jack Blues Again" by Allan Caswell , Contemporary Song of the Year , , - , "When We Were Kids" by John Williamson and Allan Caswell , Country Song of the Year , , - , 1989 , Allan Caswell , Contemporary Song of the Year , , - , rowspan="2", 1990 , rowspan="2", "You Still Take My Breath Away" by Allan Caswell , Contemporary Song of the Year , , - , Country Song of the Year , , - , rowspan="2", 1991 , "Panda" by Allan Caswell and Don Morrison , Children's Song of the Year , , - , "Proud" by Allan Caswell , Contemporary Song of the Year , , - , rowspan="2", 2011 , rowspan="2", "Behind Bars" by Allan Caswell , Country Song of the Year , , - , Contemporary Song of the Year , , - , 2012 , "The Road That Brought Me Here" by Karen Lynne and Allan Caswell , Contemporary Song of the Year , , - , 2013 , "Skin" by Allan Caswell , Comedy/ Novelty Song of the Year , , - , rowspan="3", 2017 , rowspan="2", "Golden Days" by Andrew Wriggleswroth and Allan Caswell , Contemporary Song of the Year , , - , Country Song of the Year , , - , "Back When I Was Older" by Andrew Wriggleswroth and Allan Caswell , Contemporary Song of the Year , , - , 2019 , "The Roses Fall" by Andrew Wriggleswroth and Allan Caswell , Country Ballad of the Year , , - , 2022 , "Youngie" by Allan Caswell , Local Heroes Song of the Year , , -

References

External links

Allan Caswell
{{DEFAULTSORT:Caswell, Allan 1952 births Living people APRA Award winners English songwriters English record producers People from Chester English emigrants to Australia Australian country guitarists Australian songwriters Australian male guitarists