IT’S rare to see one Australian musician in Bolton, but this week there will be two when Derrin Nauendorf and Carus Thompson appear on September 19.

Derrin has practically gone native, having lived here “on and off” for eight years.

“I came over with a phone number and my guitar, and played anywhere that would have me,” he says.

“Bob Harris and Paul Jones picked up on me, and it just keeps growing.”

Despite having no record company, he still managed to sell thousands of copies of his album by flogging them from the back of the converted postal service van he used to drive up and down the country on one endless road trip.

And he says the method paid off, as he now has fans who will follow him up and down the country.

“It definitely makes the fans stronger — they’re less fickle,” he says.

“They haven’t been told that they have to like you, and it’s not like I’ve been the ‘next big thing’, so they follow you through the years.”

Derrin loosely classifies his songs as roots music, although his own definition is disarmingly simple.

“I’m trying to make some music that sounds good and some lyrics that mean something,” he says.

Although he flits around, England is Derrin’s home now, but he is hard-pressed to choose one favourite aspect.

Eventually, he says: “My favourite thing is the way they let dogs in the pubs — I think that’s wonderful.”

He will be appearing on Sunday alongside Carus Thompson, who is very much still based in Australia, although regularly frequents these shores on tour.

“It’s awesome — I love playing in England,” says Carus.

“You really get a sense of the history of music.

"There have been so many great British bands, you get the feeling that the audience is musically intelligent.”

* Derrin Nauendorf & Carus Thompson play the Albert Halls, Bolton, on Sunday, September 19.