AN EX-ARGUS worker turned songwriter has made the charts with his hit country song ‘A World Full of Dreams’ – reaching the Top 40 country chart.

Gavin Clifton is a 37-year-old songwriter from Pentwynmawr who once worked at the South Wales Argus.

As a baby, Gavin was kept in hospital for a long period of time and was soon diagnosed with having cerebral palsy, a cleft palate, hair lip and epilepsy.

South Wales Argus:

(Gavin Clifton)

Gavin also suffers from a speech impediment, and even after seeing a Speech Therapist for years, there has been no improvement to this day.

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Social media has helped him pursue his career as a songwriter, as he has been able to connect with hundreds of industry professionals.

“Sometimes I feel like just giving up talking altogether, but then I think about how lucky I am to even have any sort of voice and how there are people out there who unfortunately can’t talk at all,” he said.

“I wouldn’t be able to do what I do if I had to connect with people via the telephone.

“I’ve had some producers and songwriters asking to co-write by Skype, but I’ve had to turn them down because I don’t feel confident in communicating with someone new over Skype.”

South Wales Argus:

(Gavin in the studio)

His song, ‘A World Full of Dreams’, was co-written with Al Steele at Shabbey Road Studios in Caerphilly.

“I’ve always dreamed about releasing my own song and getting it into some kind of chart, and obviously, due to having quite a severe speech impediment, I’ve had to work a little differently than other artists by bringing in a featured singing to effectively be my voice,” he said.

“This song is quite personal to me."

South Wales Argus:

(Gavin with Hanna and Al)

Find out more on Gavin’s official Facebook page.