Keighley busker Johnny Bedford has a fundraising idea that will really get under his skin.

A lucky fan can pay to have their name tattooed on his body while helping send him to Nashville to try and realise his dream.

Singer-songwriter Johnny says the point of his campaign is to raise £1,700 for the air fare in June.

Once he reaches Nashville, Tennessee, the country music capital of the USA, he plans to play his songs to record company bosses.

The Bracken Bank singer, who performs locally as Johnny B, hopes his needle-sharp campaign will attract hundreds of pounds in donations.

Johnny said: “The person who donates the most money by April 20 gets their name, or a name of their choice, tattooed on me.

“I have a spare spot on the left side of my stomach, just below the ribs.”

Johnny’s partner, Christine, came up with the idea after initial fundraising efforts raised just £75 over several months, half of it given by Christine.

Johnny already has several tattoos, including the name of his daughter, Paige.

He added: “Me and my brother have also decided to have a tattoo together – it’s a dagger with two skulls that say ‘live and die brothers together’.”

Johnny writes and performs acoustic soft rock songs with a hint of country, in the style of US bands like Nickelback.

He said the Nashville project came after he made friends with singer John Newman, who had a UK number one last year with the song Love Me Again.

Johnny said: “John’s manager told me I wasn’t suited to the UK market. He said I needed to go to Nashville and play a few gigs, and he’d make sure I was heard.”

Johnny runs Keighley-based Black Rock Records, and organises one of the music stages at the town’s annual open-air music festival, the Aire Do.

E-mail john@officialblackrockrecords.com to sponsor Johnny.