Glastonbury Band Competition Finals

Last year Blackbud and The Subways were announced the winners, so I knew the standard would be high. Though I was expecting a mention of the late John Peel instead it broke straight into the first band.

Transcargo
They were my tip to win the event and yet they sounded different to what I’d heard of them. This I was told was because they were playing their old stuff as opposed to the newer material. The band certainly sounded great, with a horn section, keyboards, percussion, drummers and lead singer Emily Phillips creating a great sound. Personally I thought her dancing on stage appeared a little forced but I’ve been told that I am wrong and perhaps shouldn’t have drunk so much real ale the night before! They played their big tune Copenhagen and were very good on the night. Their sound is not new, a lot of electronic synth, with guitars, melodies and the lead vocal and traditional beats creating a full warm instrumental sound. I immediately thought they’d be the kind of band that would work well on the Joolz Holland programme and if they did an album it would happily play in coffee shops and mellow clubs.

Duke Raoul
Three really young kids take to the stage and blast us into the stratosphere with their music. I’m impressed with this lot their music notches up to almost metal speeds and they remind me musically of early grunge slightly but with a more Brit-Jam styling. Bass playing to make Bruce Foxton cry and the tightest drumming of the night plus an energetic lead singer, they sounded well beyond their ages. Hard to tie them down on what sort of music they were playing as it was quite mixed but worked. It will be interesting to see where they evolve and take their music, their only downfall was it was too embryonic but they have a big future and with more exposure will pick up fans at festivals and touring. Look forward to hearing them again.

The Priscillas
Being a fan of the Damned, Meteors and Siouxsie I was looking forward to this all girl group. Clearly the drummer Mavis Minx is a Dave Grohl fan, why else did she smile maniacally and wear an air hostess uniform? Dressed in a white PVC cat suit with black locks and heavy eyeliner Jenny Drag high kicked and entertained with girl punk rock. Kate Kannibal on rockabilly basslines was really on form and Guri Go-Go providing jagged guitar and sweet harmonies. It might be slightly kitsch but hey are the Darkness complaining. I loved them, Lost Vagueness must surely beckon and it’s about time we had a new girl band for kids to look up to. Playing bouncy b-movie tales of zombies and lurve the girls were a breath of fresh air. I wanted them to win, they provided good fun, were entertaining, made me smile and probably confused a few musos who wondered why we loved them.

Sound Development Agency
All the way from Scotland, ten and a half hours by bus, and bringing the old skool off on one party vibe to Pilton. With Happy Mondays funk sound and wacca-wacca guitar and some dirty vocals from their lanky haired charismatic singer with a gift for being on stage. They certainly are accomplished live, and the room was moving to the beat. Definitely music for festivals, to feel great with and their time will certainly come. I really liked them and thought at the time they would win but maybe the fact Kasabian are already out there and that SDA will clearly break anyway put them out of the running.

Mad Starring Eyes
After a while of going to these finals, I recognise when the winners are playing. It’s when the room transports into the festival. The Mad Starring Eyes have started, I’m towards the back having a smoke and suddenly, the crowd are in lines, the lights at the front confuse the eye and for a minute the movement of those near the front looks like the front of a bigger stage. At that moment you know the band have won, it’s only when you look up and see the ceiling and look down and see no grass you realise you’re still in Pilton. Mad Starring eyes did this to me. They appealed to the festival spirit inside me. With a slight mix of Hawkwind and a song about Time their sound is born to carry across a field full of heads. What were they like? Well slightly space rock/David Bowie (when he was good) I guess but I was too caught in it to know precisely my objectivity went out the window.

Tone
I’d peaked with Mad Starring Eyes and got confused about who was on when Tone sounded for a moment slightly similar. Instantly likeable, the songs were well structured and bopped around happily in the crowd. The four piece played well crafted upbeat rock tunes, following in the footsteps of the Stone Roses or The Las. I remember them finishing and thinking oh hang on they might have won and my daughter thought they would be announced the winner. With The Beatles for inspiration and quite a following rooting for them, their breezy summery sound will be perfect with a cider on a sunny festival day.


John Peel would have loved the evening and you could imagine him in the crowd. Before the winners were announced Michael Eavis was handed an award for the best festival in the World – heh, is their any other festival in the running? He’ll get one every year from now on then, maybe they’re taking a year out to give someone else a chance.

Michael also took time to thank Hilary for all her wonderful work putting the night together and selecting all the bands, thank you Hilary. Neil asked me who I thought had won, and I replied ‘The Eyes have it’ and I wasn’t wrong. But it was too tight to call for many and everyone had their favourites.


winners : Mad Staring Eyes

It was a fantastic night of high calibre entertainment. All the bands we’d seen can go on to great things and if I have an opportunity to see them again I will. A special thank you to GFL, Michael Eavis and Hilary for these fantastic nights of entertainment. They are very special!

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