Dani West is spreading her wings…and getting ready to ‘Ambush’! If you haven’t heard the news, it’s time to catch up. The ex-Southernaires singer has signed to Wild Records, released her debut single (which sold out instantly) and earned herself a place on the Viva Las Vegas 2026 lineup. 2025 is her year, and we’re all just along for the ride. 

“I was signed to Wild Records and we wanted to get a really good track to be my debut single,” West explains. “We spoke about doing some original stuff at first, and I have got some up my sleeve. I kind of played around with that at first, and we did record an original song, but it just wasn’t getting the feel I wanted. For me, I need to feel what i’m doing, I need to really feel it in the gut and if I don’t feel it, then I’m just like, ‘no, I’m not doing it’. I said to [Reb Kennedy, head of Wild Records], ‘look, I know you sent me some songs to look into before, send them over again i’m going to have a little look’. I just kept playing them and playing them, over and over again, and ‘Ambush’ just stuck out to me. I thought, ‘I can do this and do my own take on it’ so that’s literally what I did.  I sang along to it, played it in the background and sang along to my incomplete version, and I thought ‘yeah, this is it!’ I just had a feel for it and that’s the only way I can describe how I do any of my music and any song choices i pick for my sets: I get a feeling, a gut feeling. It came out great! I love it, I couldn’t wish for better!” 

‘Ambush’ was a huge success, disappearing from the virtual shelves incredibly quickly. This was quite a surprise for West, to put it mildly. “I was in shock! It was the first time i’ve ever done anything like this…so you’re thinking,  ‘oh, is it going to resonate with the people? Are they going to like it? Am I going to sell like one or two copies?’ I couldn’t believe it when Reb was like, ‘that’s it –  sold out!’. What?! It was massive for me and such a compliment to the work that went into it, not just myself but the guys that were backing me, which was the Southernaires at the time on that as well, but obviously Wild Records and all the amount of effort that they put in. It was a quick turnaround: I was literally signed and it was out within a few months!” 

While West is a recent signing to Wild Records, her journey started several years before with a missed connection. “About, oh, two and a half years ago I’d sent an email to Reb:  ‘Love what you’re doing, love your vision, here’s some tracks of me singing’. I never got a response but I always thought, ‘wow that’s somewhere I want to be’. He’s obviously great at what he does, I love that he’s he’s really proactive in getting the women out there, so I’d love to work with that label.

[Then one day] I opened up my Messenger and had a message from Reb saying something to the effect of ‘great vocals, Dani! Love your voice!’ I was like…. that can’t be him. This is someone winding me up. I wrote back and I just thought ‘I’m gonna be cheeky’, so I said, ‘if it’s that great, maybe I can sing for you one day?’ Within a couple of days, he was like ‘I’ll ring you, we’ll have a chat’. Well, this isn’t gonna happen! Then he rang me and it’s actually him! It just happened very quickly. I said to him, ‘did you ever get the email that I sent you?’ ‘What email? To be honest, I don’t ever look at my emails!’ I’m one of those that believes in manifestation and I think we’re meant to cross paths and the fact that it organically happened is even more lovely.

He’s such a lovely guy: he’s not pushy, he’s not your typical record label boss. His number one priority is family for him and it is for me too. I am a mum of three so I’m really super busy. I’m also a companion to elderly people in my village and I’m literally flat out all the time so the fact that I could do like something that i’m so passionate about – it literally is my kind of therapy so the fact that i could do that alongside my work and prioritise my children –  yeah, this is the right one! I just feel it is Wild is an extended family  and i can’t wait for what the future is going to bring!” 

In the short term at least, West’s future involves collaborating with the Jive Aces for their Christmas shows. “Again, they contacted me! Ian [Clarkson] contacted me and I was like, ‘is this actually the Jive Aces? I just feel like someone’s pulling my leg!” He messages me: ‘I’ve got this thing for you, how do you feel about this?’ What the hell? I think, in life, the more you help other people, the more they help you back. Put yourself out there and you’ll get it back somewhere else along the line! I’ve had to learn some new songs: though I do like fifties, sixties sort of music even some older with the hillbilly stuff I do, [but] the music I’m going to be doing with them is completely different again. It’s  like obviously your jazzy stuff which I absolutely love, [but] I’ve never really sung it –  how great! It just keeps getting bigger and bigger! 

On the 21st of December, which I’m really excited about, is the Christmas show that they do every year, the annual show. I’ve always wanted to play in London , so I’m like, wow. So yeah, I’m really excited. There’s some awesome people that are going to attend that show as well. So to be able to collaborate with all these different people is going to be phenomenal.”

So, can we expect a solo album in the near future? “Potentially. You never know,” she says coyly. “That would be great. It would really be great. There is definitely an album on the horizon next year as to who it will be with and who will be backing me… I’m not sure at this moment in time. I’m still yet to release my own material. I’m not a natural songwriter by any means, but I have got some up my sleeve, it’s just getting the right music musical accompaniment behind it. I know what I want, but because I’m not a musician, it’s trying to put that across to people and they understand. So I’m just going, yeah, I want to go…” she hums a tune “I wish I could like play an instrument, but I can’t, so I put my vision into someone else that actually is musical. They [must be] like, what the hell is this weird one about?”

Even if we don’t get a solo record, we’ve still got a Viva Las Vegas show to look forward to. “I literally can’t wait! This has always been the ultimate dream for me. It doesn’t actually feel real. I think, until I get on the plane, in my head, I’ll still think it’s not going to happen until I’m there because i’m very much like I live in the moment. I’m really excited but until i’m actually there and arrive at the airport I don’t feel it’s real yet.  

This is honestly something that I do for myself, for my therapy, which keeps me happy. The fact that people are supporting me really means the world. I just want to say thank you to everyone:  to the promoters, to Wild Records, but mainly –  I don’t call them fans. I call them friends – my friends that I’ve made along the way. And I hope I make lots more because, yeah, my friends list is getting bigger, and that really means a lot. To be able to go to these events that I wasn’t going to, say, four or five years ago, to be able to go and have people come up to you and be so kind and friendly really means a lot to me. It makes me have that sense of home and sense of belonging, which is really lovely!

I know some people are wondering who will be backing me at future gigs.

As I’ll be working on myself as an artist, I will be collaborating with many other musicians and, of course, my Wild family / band members! I have also secured a fantastic band who will back me for my larger UK gigs – all will be revealed in the new year! I’m feeling excited and blessed. Roll on 2026: I can feel it in my bones, it’s gonna be a good one!”

Kate Allvey

Buy a copy of ‘Ambush’ (while you still can!) here

Book your tickets now to see Dani West at Hard Headed Women II in March! “I’m extremely honoured to be part of this event; it’s very special being my first solo headliner, and with it being an all female-fronted event, it’s gonna be a lot of fun!”