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Troy and Adam withdraw album from Golden Guitars

Troy Cassar-Daley and Adam Harvey have requested that all voted nominations for their album Great Country Song Book be withdrawn from the 2014 Golden Guitar Awards.

In a media release issued late today, the pair said their decision had been made after careful consideration.

"There was, and still is, no problem with the album's legitimate qualification in the categories for which it was nominated," the release said, "however, due to recent objection and the ensuing industry debate, both Troy and Adam have decided (with respect) to withdraw their nominations."

"The conversations and debates about the album over the past few days has fragmented an already fragile music community," the pair said. "We are very proud of the achievements of the project however wish to not have the album as part of the Awards. We are just sad for country music that this has all happened. The last thing we wanted to do was cause any controversy. It was just two mates paying tribute to our musical heroes."

" The Great Country Song Book is a lovingly hand-picked bunch of country music classics, recorded entirely in Australia, top-heavy with both Troy and Adam's favourite childhood songs," the release continued. "Songs that evoke memories of families that lived and loved country music; songs that have formed the fabric of their musical careers such as their faithful rendition of Slim Dusty's Lights On The Hill which was released as the first single from the album in direct response to pleas from their fans."

The album went Gold after five weeks following release. It jumped to the top of the ARIA (Australian Recording Industry Association) album charts, debuting at number one on the Country Album chart and number two on the mainstream album chart. It held top 10 on the mainstream album chart for eight weeks and number one on the Country Album chart for 13 consecutive weeks. The album currently sits at number three on the Country Albums chart and has sold more than 60,000 copies to date.

" The Great Country Song Book has been extremely special to both Troy and Adam and they have had a lot of fun touring the country together over the past five months with a talented band of Australian musicians, many of whom recorded the album with them," the release said.