# Allan Caswell

David Allan Caswell, (born; 9 March 1951) 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
### Early years

Allan Caswell was born as David Allan Caswell to Stephen Castle and his wife in Chester, Cheshire and grew up in North Wales, Berkshire, and South London (Mitcham) before migrating to Australia in 1966. He was educated at Wimbledon County Secondary School and later at South Sydney Boys High School.

## Music career

Caswell's songwriting career started in 1973 when Chris Gilbey signed a song he had written with his brother Brian Caswell to Albert Music in Sydney. However, it was 6 years later when Allan Caswell had a song recorded.
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 stars such as Patti Page, Cilla Black, The Irish Rovers, Max Bygraves, Acker Bilk, Slim Dusty, The Living End, Chad Morgan, Lynne Hamilton, James Blundell, Anne Kirkpatrick, Don Spencer, Graeme Connors, The Delltones, Doug Ashdown and Ricky May.
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, 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'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

List of albums, with selected detail :
| Title | Details |
| What Happened to Love? | Released: 1982 Format: LP Label: Country Man (CML1003) |
| Handwritten | Released: 1987 Format: LP Label: EMI (EMX 490059) |
| Heart Written | Released: 1990 Format: LP, CD, Cassette Label: True Blue Records (466734 1) |
| Different Eyes | Released: 1995 Format: CD Label: Larrikin Records (LRF 380) |
| Caswell Sings Caswell | Released: 2001 Format: CD Label: Shoestring Production |
| Don't Count on It | Released: 2002 Format: CD Label: Shoestring Production (SR39) |
| Al's Bar And Grill | Released: 2006 Format: CD Label: ORIGiN (OR 079) |
| Rules for Love | Released: 2008 Format: CD Label: Allan Caswell |
| Behind Bars | Released: 2010 Format: CD, digital download Label: Allan Caswell |
| Just Kidding | Released: March 2012 Format: CD, DD Label: Allan Caswell |
| It's a Country Song | Released: 2012 Format: CD, DD Label: Allan Caswell |
| Sometimes When Lose When You Win | Released: January 2014 Format: CD, DD Label: Allan Caswell |
| My Version of the Truth | Released: 2015 Format: CD, DD Label: Shoestring Production (SR111) |
| 50 Years in Oz | Released: July 2016 Format: CD, DD, streaming Label: Allan Caswell |
| Carpenter Caswell (as Carpenter Caswell) | Released: 10 November 2017 Format: CD, DD, streaming Label: Carpenter Caswell/WJO (BRR20173) |
| Mexico | Released: 11 May 2018 Format: CD, DD, streaming Label: Allan Caswell |
| Tequila Amnesia | Released: 2020 Format: CD, digital download, streaming Label: Chihuahua Records (KEV9301) |

### Live albums

List of albums, with selected detail :
| Title | Details |
| Warm January Morning | Released: 1986 Format: Cassette Label: Allan Caswell Music (ACMe C001) Note: Live at The Tamworth & District Workmen's Club (January 1986) |

### Singles

List of singles, with selected chart positions :
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Album |
| Year | Title | AUS | Album |
| 1979 | "Take Me Back to Yesterday (Dedicated to a Decade Without The Beatles)"/"King of the Rodeo" | - | non album singles |
| 1980 | "We Used To Call It Heaven"/"First Time in My Life" | - | non album singles |
| 1980 | "Sign on the Dotted Line"/"Poor Side of Heaven" | - | non album singles |
| 1981 | "One Armed Bandit"/"Loco Friday Night" | - | non album singles |
| 1982 | "Used to Be a Gold Song"/"Isn't That Like You" | - | What Happened To Love? |
| 1983 | "What Happened to Love?"/"It's Not Such a Bad Idea" | - | What Happened To Love? |
| 1983 | "The Australia's Cup"/"Lonelyheart's Waltz" | 17 | non album single |
| 1984 | "Moruroa"/"Beyond the Blues" | - | non album single |
| 1985 | "Bulldust"/"Spirit of the Green & Gold" (with Trevor Knight) | - | non album single |
| 1985 | "The Garden" (with Australia Too) | 27 | non album single |
| 1987 | "(You Can Be) Somebody's Shadow"/"Black Jack Blues Again" | - | Handwritten |
| 1988 | "Have You Read to Your Children Today?"/"This is Gonna Be the One" | - | Handwritten |
| 1988 | "Are We Having Fun Yet?"/"Funny Thing About Rainbows" (as Allan Caswell Band) | - | non album single |
| 1989 | "You Still Take My Breath Away"/"Bald Is Beautiful" | - | Heart Written |
| 1990 | "I'm Gonna Take a Heartbreak"/"Still Crazy Over You" | - | Heart Written |
| 1990 | "Proud"/"(I've Got Those) 12 Bar Blues" | - | Heart Written |
| 2006 | "A Little Bit of Country in Us All" | - | Al's Bar And Grill |
| 2007 | "Strong Enough" | - | non album single |
| 2008 | "Rules for Love" | - | Rules for Love |
| 2011 | "It's a Country Song" | - | It's a Country Song |
| 2012 | "I'm an Aussie Shark" | - | Just Kidding |
| 2012 | "Brave Enough to Dream" | - | It's a Country Song |
| 2015 | "One Last Muster" | - | My Version of the Truth |
| 2016 | "Back When I Was Older" (with Michael Carpenter) | - | Carpenter Caswell |
| 2017 | "Life Like It's a Trainwreck" (with Michael Carpenter) | - | Carpenter Caswell |
| 2017 | "High Hopes" (with Michael Carpenter) | - | Carpenter Caswell |
| 2017 | "Want That Back Again" (with Michael Carpenter featuring Felicity Urquhart) | - | Carpenter Caswell |
| 2018 | "The Roses Fall" (with The Weeping Willows) | - | Mexico |
| 2018 | "Feeding the Crew" | - | |
| 2019 | "Train to Godforsaken" | - | |
| 2019 | "Country Copper" | - | Tequila Amnesia |
| 2019 | "Bad Politics" (with Damian Cafarella) | - | Tequila Amnesia |
| 2020 | "Hard Times and Struggle" | - | Tequila Amnesia |
| 2020 | "Bordertown" | - | Tequila Amnesia |
| 2020 | "I Do" (with Donna Fisk) | - | Tequila Amnesia |
| 2020 | "That Holden Saved My Life" | - | TBA |
| 2020 | "Spin" (with Damian Cafarella) | - | TBA |

## Awards and nominations
### Country Music Awards of Australia

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

### Tamworth Songwriters Awards

The Tamworth Songwriters Association (TSA) is an annual songwriting contest for original country songs, awarded in January at the Tamworth Country Music Festival. They commenced in 1986. Allan Caswell has won sixteen awards.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result (wins only) |
| 1988 | "Black Jack Blues Again" by Allan Caswell | Contemporary Song of the Year | Won |
| 1988 | "When We Were Kids" by John Williamson and Allan Caswell | Country Song of the Year | Won |
| 1989 | Allan Caswell | Contemporary Song of the Year | Won |
| 1990 | "You Still Take My Breath Away" by Allan Caswell | Contemporary Song of the Year | Won |
| 1990 | "You Still Take My Breath Away" by Allan Caswell | Country Song of the Year | Won |
| 1991 | "Panda" by Allan Caswell and Don Morrison | Children's Song of the Year | Won |
| 1991 | "Proud" by Allan Caswell | Contemporary Song of the Year | Won |
| 2011 | "Behind Bars" by Allan Caswell | Country Song of the Year | Won |
| 2011 | "Behind Bars" by Allan Caswell | Contemporary Song of the Year | Won |
| 2012 | "The Road That Brought Me Here" by Karen Lynne and Allan Caswell | Contemporary Song of the Year | Won |
| 2013 | "Skin" by Allan Caswell | Comedy/ Novelty Song of the Year | Won |
| 2017 | "Golden Days" by Andrew Wriggleswroth and Allan Caswell | Contemporary Song of the Year | Won |
| 2017 | "Golden Days" by Andrew Wriggleswroth and Allan Caswell | Country Song of the Year | Won |
| 2017 | "Back When I Was Older" by Andrew Wriggleswroth and Allan Caswell | Contemporary Song of the Year | Won |
| 2019 | "The Roses Fall" by Andrew Wriggleswroth and Allan Caswell | Country Ballad of the Year | Won |
| 2022 | "Youngie" by Allan Caswell | Local Heroes Song of the Year | Won |