THEY made history by becoming the first UK country act to score a number one album and have been described as Taylor Swift meets Fleetwood Mac.

Now Ward Thomas, 22-year-old Hampshire born and bred twin sisters Lizzy and Catherine, are gearing up for an exciting homecoming show in Southampton this weekend.

"We're Hampshire through and through and we always feel so much more comfortable here than anywhere else, says Lizzy, the blonde half of the Hampshire duo who were barely out of their teens when they became country crossover stars.

"We still get nervous going on stage, but at our local shows there are people we know in the crowd and we feel the love and support!

"It's the most amazing feeling when you look back and you've done all the work on the album and you're performing a song to an audience who are singing it back to you. I do often pinch myself and wonder how we got here!"

The former convent schoolgirls are the unlikely bright new stars of country music – both in the UK and in Nashville.

The non-identical twin sisters, from a rural hamlet close to Liss, near Petersfield, won Album of the Year at the British Country Music Awards in 2014.

Cartwheels, which has spawned the hit single Guilty Flowers as well as the title track, was written two years ago, at a session in Nashville during the campaign for 2014’s From Where We Stand, the duo’s unexpectedly successful debut album, begun for fun while they were at school and released as an experiment on their own label.

After a debut EP caught the ears of some of country music’s biggest stars, among them 20 times Grammy Award winner Vince Gill, From Where We Stand was completed and recorded in Nashville, but remained distinctively British.

Cartwheels features 14 self-penned songs that capture a range of emotions, from joy to heartbreak and everywhere in between. Inspired by a childhood listening to their parents’ Fleetwood Mac and Beatles records and more recently Taylor Swift and Kacey Musgraves, it became an instant hit after being released on Sony in August.

But the number one album came as a real shock to the girls.

"Oh my gosh. I need so many words to describe how we feel," Lizzy adds. "We're still not quite believing that it happened to us. It's crazy! It's been so exciting and fast-paced that we haven't had much time to think about it. It can sometimes get a bit overwhelming, but it really helps to have each other.

"People are starting to really get country music. The word country has a very wide meaning and it's not just Dolly Parton! I think Taylor Swift has done a lot to help people relate to it and we're trying to do the same."

See Ward Thomas live at The Engine Rooms on Friday.

Visit engineroomssouthampton.com