Review Taken From Southern Country Magazine - March 2008
"We made the journey to this lovely theatre through rain storms and road works just making it on time for the start of the show. Our compere for the evening was our own Radio Norfolk's Country Music Presenter Roy Waller, he came on shared a few jokes with the audience and then Roy introduced the special guests on stage, the very popular Father and Daughter Duo Merv & Maria, they started off with "Making Believe" then Maria snag "Cest La Vie" and "Mama He's Crazy" plus a few more numbers before Mervyn takes off the singing postman "Ar Ur Got A Light Boy" also Roy Orbisons "Penny Arcade" and then finished with "Louisianna Saturday Night".

After the break it was time for Ollie, One of Ollie's greatest wishes was to front a band of his own, which has now come true and what a band he has put together, on Lead Guitar Mervyn J Futter, Bass Guitar, Maria Futter, Keyboards Debbie Allen, Steel Guitar Les Wright, and on drums Andy James.
There was a big round of applause when Ollie stepped on stage just with a guitar minus the trademark beard, he then went straight into his first number "Rainbows & Roses" followed by "Bed Of Roses" plus others to numerous to mention, then Ollie called on Debbie to sing with that lovely ballad "Storms Never Last" then it was Debbie's turn to take the spotlight with two numbers on her Accordion "Scotland The Brave" and "The Irish Washer Women" (By the way Merv the Accordion is not a chest expander for Maria) As everyone of the band is a star it was then left to one of East Anglia's top steel players Les Wright to give us a superb version of "Orange Blossom Special" No we have not forgotten the drummer Andy James he's a brilliant, natural, drummer.
As the band filed off stage this left the lone figure of Ollie silhouetted on stage, just him and his guitar, he sang two numbers on his own "The Broken Promise" and the old Bob Dylon number "I Threw It All Away" Now the band rejoined him for the last part of the evening concert with Ollie Singing a lot of his well known songs "Tulsa Time" "Today I Started Loving You Again" "Jackson " with Maria "Dance With Me Molly" these are just a few, the show finishes off with everybody singing the Hank Williams "I Saw The Light" Roy brought the show off stage to a standing ovation, everyone shouting for more.
We do hope that Ollie's wish of fronting his own band has now come true and may Jenny and I say thank you to all the band and backroom people for all their hard work for making this show such a success and Ollie you are a Star with a capital S.
If the show comes to a theatre near you, please go along you won't regret it"
Jenny & Clarence Lakey, J & C Country, Braza Club, March, Cambs

Review Taken From Cross Country Magazine - August 2008
"Ollie Austin and his All Star Band by Tom McGuire - Arts Centre Theatre,Grantham
The theatre in the centre of Grantham holds 396 people and like Grantham itself, is clean and tidy and a pleasure to visit. The comfortable seating and gently sloping rows of seats gives everyone an excellent view of the stage wherever you sit. There were 390 Country music fans who had arrived to be entertained by Ollie and his All Star Country Band.
The show started with the popular duo, Merv & Maria using backing tracks with Merv on lead guitar and Maria on rhythm. They shared the vocals, starting off with Making Believe and continued with a selection of up tempo songs and ballads from artists that included John Prine and Anne Murray. Merv also sang his own song, Rolling Along, a good song with an upbeat tempo.
A mention was made of Maria's upcoming wedding and everyone wished her well for her future happiness. To shouts of more they encored their spot with You Are No Angel having, as Merv said whipped us into a frenzy for the second half.

The interval gave us time for a quick drink before Ollie and the band came on to a great welcome. The band was Les Wright pedal steel, Debbie Allen keyboards, Andy James drums, Merv lead guitar and Maria on bass with Ollie up front on rhythm guitar. The band really gelled with some great instrumental breaks from each member as they stayed on stage for the next two hours to play some really classic Country music and take us on a trip down memory lane.
I had not seen Ollie before and was very impressed as he opened the spot with Rainbow And Roses. What a voice! Any doubts I had disappeared and everything these talented people did for us, songs from artists like Willie Nelson, Vern Gosdin, Merle, Don Williams and Waylon Jennings were enjoyed. For me the memorable moments were Debbie and Ollie dueting on the Jessie Coulter and Waylon classic, Storms Never Last and Ollie performing Stonewall Jackson’s Washed My Hands In Muddy Water and Merv's version of Hev Yew Gotta Loight Bor (Have You Got A light, Boy?) from The Singing Postman.
To find out how good the show is, I recommend you go see it. It is touring the country, the next show being in Bromsgrove on 31st August before moving on to East Grinstead. See the advertisement for more details.
If you would like to enjoy a night out at the theatre where there is no bad language nor poor taste jokes, then this is the one to enjoy. I must say it’s great to see Country music being performed in the large mainstream venues and getting the crowds in too. Country music fans should salute Ollie, the Band and tour manager and promoter, Mike Shave for having the courage to take this venture on."
by Tom McGuire - Arts Centre Theatre,Grantham