Coyle Girelli on embracing Americana as a Yorkshireman and new album ‘Out Of This Town’

How does someone born in a West Yorkshire market town end up writing songs with huge Transatlantic 1960s influences? That man is Coyle Girelli, who, after finding success in previous bands Your Vegas and The Chevin, and co-writing for the likes of BTS and Westlife, has now fully stepped out as a solo artist with a classic songwriting sound. Girelli, alongside his timeless songwriting, has returned with Out Of This Town, a long-awaited collection of songs co-written with the legendary Elvis Presley collaborator Mac Davies, featuring duets with KT Tunstall and Cassandra Lewis. Headliner speaks to Girelli about his former band life, co-writing with pop stars, while seamlessly slipping into making an album steeped in nostalgia and a classic sound.

Girelli began writing songs very young, directly inspired by his parents’ love of ’60s music, and his interest in music became an obsession when his ears were caught by bands like Nirvana and the wave of Britpop music in the ‘90s. His first forays into music, via rock outfits Your Vegas, which would then become The Chevin, saw the group signing major label deals in the UK and US. Heavy touring saw support slots with Duran Duran and Franz Ferdinand, and even a US Late Show appearance that left David Letterman saying, “If I had a voice like that, I’d run for President!”

In his role as a more background songwriter, Girelli has penned songs with the likes of Mac Davis (Elvis Presley, Kenny Rogers) and Linda Perry (Gwen Stefani, P!nk). He has also written songs for Macklemore and BTS, not that you’d ever be able to guess that from listening to his own solo music.

Girelli joins the call from a hotel room in Nashville, Tennessee, announcing, “I’m here just this week for Americana Fest. It is lovely, it’s been a lot of fun. I was in Memphis at the start of the week, and went down to Sun Studios and did a little bit of recording. Which was amazing and a bit of a spiritual experience, being in the birthplace of rock and roll. So I’ve played a show, been seeing other people's shows, and hung out with some friends, enjoying the whole thing this week.”

‘Spiritual experience’ seems very apt words indeed, perhaps Memphis had even been his home in a past life. Because, regarding this Yorkshire lad becoming obsessed with Stateside rock and roll from the ‘60s, he says: “I think you’re influenced by what your parents play, subconsciously, whether you like it or not. My dad always played a lot of Americana and American roots stuff in the house. He’s a big fan of Dylan, the Eagles, Jackson Browne, and Springsteen. So I grew up with a lot of that in the house.

“I don’t think I liked it as a kid, as you tend not to like your parents’ music. But as I grew up, and I started obsessing over and adoring music, I sort of dove back into all that. I’ve loved it since I was a teenager. Even in the band, there’s definitely a lot of Americana influence in everything.”

When The Chevin went on hiatus, a period of fairly intense songwriting for other artists began. Having been active in the music industry since 2007, Girelli’s first solo work appeared more than a decade later, beginning with the debut single, Where’s My Girl? This was his first real opportunity to write and release the music that shaped him as a youth — the unmistakable ‘60s sounding guitar that wouldn’t sound amiss in a Spaghetti Western. In fact, the track chimes its beginning with a bell that could also be announcing guns at dawn. All this is bolstered when the Ennio Morricone-esque strings join the chorus.

Needless to say, it’s a very confident and fully-formed sound that can also be heard across the rest of his debut album, Love Kills. Of course, Girelli was stepping out on his own for the first time, away from bandmates and the comfort zone of co-writing in the background, so there was some trepidation.

“There's always a little voice in your ear going, 'Oh, here you go. What if no one likes it?” he reveals. “But it did feel pretty natural. My first record, Love Kills, I still love. I was very excited about putting it out into the world at the time. It felt natural to me because it was the stuff I really wanted to sing, write, and record. I think I was excited about really feeling I was in the right place artistically. Obviously, I was a little nervous venturing out alone, and there were many times I wished I could lean on bandmates for certain things. But I just love the record. Love Kills really stands the test of time. I put it out eight years ago now, and I still love listening to it.”

During Girelli’s ventures writing songs for other artists, a fellow songwriter he formed a lifelong creative bond with was the aforementioned Mac Davis. This legendary songwriter, born in Texas in the early 1940s, achieved success when writing songs for Elvis Presley during the early years of the rock and roll megastar’s career. This collaboration would yield such timeless hits as A Little Less Conversation and In The Ghetto. He also worked with the likes of Johnny Cash and Roy Orbison, so it’s little wonder he and Girelli would become such kindred spirits. As if that wasn’t enough, he also found success as a solo artist and actor.

Having written together for other artists many times before, Girelli and Davis decided to work on an album together, during what were revealed to be the final years of Davis’ life. Recording the songs more than ten years ago now, Girelli decided that 2025 would be the year he brought the fruits of their most heartfelt collaboration to light. In fact, it was a collaboration that forever changed Girelli.

“I actually wrote this album before Love Kills,” he says. “Mac Davis is somewhat of a legendary, iconic figure in country music and crossover country music from the 70s. He and I were introduced around the time that the band went on hiatus and started writing this music together. A lot of my confidence and finally moving into this area of music comes from him almost giving me permission to sing Americana music. Coming from West Yorkshire, I always felt a little uncomfortable: ‘Am I allowed to put a pedal steel on a record?’ I always felt slightly uncomfortable. He very kindly said that my voice was built to sing this sort of music. Coming from someone like him, who had worked with Elvis Presley and Roy Orbison and people like that, it was extremely flattering.”

In some respects, Out Of This Town was a case of Davis going into his treasure trove of unreleased song ideas and unused lyrics. Something which Girelli had deeply fortunate access to.

“There are seven songs that we wrote together on here,” he recalls. “And then a couple of his songs that, one day, when we hit a creative wall, he pulled out a bag and said, ‘This is my publishing company.’ It was a swag bag of pieces of paper with lyrics on them. He just started singing me these songs that he thought would suit my voice. He’d say, ‘This one's yours.’ And we did that with a few of them. It’s a collection of songs we wrote together and a couple of songs that he gave me. Working with him and this collection of songs changed the trajectory of me as an artist and as a writer.” 

Keeping with the album’s spirit of collaboration, Out Of This Town also features guest spots from some very talented singer-songwriters: KT Tunstall, who, similarly to Girelli, hails from Scotland but feels a strong connection to Americana and loves recording her music in the States. More talent is lent to the record by Cassandra Lewis and Jaime Wyatt. And with these songs locked away in the vault for a long period, releasing the collection was just a matter of timing for Girelli.

“A couple of years went by after we recorded it,” he says. “I started writing Love Kills just after working with Mac, and then released it. Then COVID happened, and Mac passed away in 2020. I really held this collection of songs very close personally; they mean a lot to me. With Mac no longer physically around, I wanted to make sure I found the right home for them. When Sun Records relaunched as a label a couple of years ago, they were already familiar with the songs and asked if we could put the record out through them. It felt like the perfect partner, with their Elvis connection and obviously being the birthplace of American music and rock music. It felt like a good home for them.”

Out Of This Town is out now; it’s recorded in such a stunningly raw manner, with such a classic sound, that it truly allows this special collaboration, and the legend who is no longer with us, to shine through these songs. Girelli signs off with almost a note of relief. “It's been 10 years, really, for this collection of songs to get to this point, so it feels amazing to finally get them out into the world.”