Gympie: Maleny TV producer and music manager Ian “Dicko” Dickson says the success of Sunshine Coast country music darling Taylor Moss is because he is a “fucking good manager”.

Ahead of the Gympie Music Muster, which runs August 24-27, the cheeky English ex-pat-turned-Aussie-citizen spoke exclusively to Yelo about life living in Maleny and working with Taylor, who is currently the number one female artist in country music Australia.

“Taylor is absolutely killing it at the moment,” Dicko told Yelo.

“In one week alone on Spotify her single had more than 100,000 hits.”

Real Man, released earlier this month, is a beautifully moving tribute to Taylor’s father with lyrics such as, “You’d take a bullet for me”, “You are my strength when I’m feeling weak” and “Yeah I’m the daughter of a real man”. (We’re not crying, you’re crying!)

And while Real Man is revelling in its own success, Taylor beamed to fans on Facebook that her other catchy country pop song, Country Proud, recently hit half a million streams.

“Taylor is an incredibly talented artist, brilliant songwriter, has a fantastic voice, and sense of self,” Dicko said.

But it’s Taylor’s hard-working attitude that is the real reason behind her success, the 60-year-old said.

Oh, and because she apparently has a pretty top manager.

“The reason why she is having so much success is because she is working tirelessly on her own campaign, and I have to run to keep up with her. That is the perfect relationship between a manager and artist.

“There’s a lot of people who sing well but Taylor has the full understanding of what it takes. She turns up every day. And she has a fucking good manager.”

While Dicko faced serious public backlash in 2003 after making controversial comments to Fijian-Australian singer Paulini on popular TV show Australian Idol, telling her to “choose more appropriate clothes or shed some pounds”, it seems he has since redeemed himself on the global stage.

Dicko has apologised profusely for the comments over the years, even making a heart-felt, teary apology when he appeared on Network 10’s I’m a Celebrity Get me out of Here, earlier this year.

Dicko, who has lived in Maleny for eight years, has managed Taylor for three years after the pair met at the Coast’s Nightquarter, a Birtinya entertainment precinct and shipping container playground, which sadly closed after falling prey to Covid-19’s slow economic recovery.

The live dinner show, Dicko’s Country Spit Roast, was a Nashville meets Hey Hey It’s Saturday glittery spectacular, featuring country music and drag queens. And of course, where the Dicko-Taylor-dynamic-duo all began.

Taylor, 28, who was raised in Noosa, recently moved to Melbourne after finding love, but says the Sunny Coast will always be home.

And Dicko can attest that the Sunshine Coast really is the best place to be.

When Dicko and his wife Mel considered leaving Sydney they wanted to find somewhere “where their daughters wouldn’t move in with them”.

“Mel bewitched me when she came up here on a yoga retreat,” Dicko said.

“She said she had found the perfect town, so we came up to Maleny on a holiday and after two days we bought the house that we still live in.

“Initially we thought we’d have it as a place to come to outside of Sydney, but we didn’t turn back.

“We love it. It’s been a fantastic change of life for us. It’s just stunningly beautiful on a ridge, with one side looking over Moreton Bay and the Glasshouse, and on the other side is Mt Coolum and the coastline.

“I used to travel a lot, but when I’d reach Landsborough and my ears popped I realised I was in a brilliant place, and I knew this was home.

“It’s a real soul place… and one which doesn’t like too much change. It’s a good place to be independently creative and is a special place in Australia.”

And for the record, Dicko’s daughters Esme, 32, and Edie, 30 have not moved in. Yet.

Catch Taylor Moss and Dicko at Gympie Music Muster, on Saturday August 24 at the Crow Bar from 9:30pm.