‘Brilliant’ Sharps could be playing the O2!
The Sharps have wowed judges in London and sailed through the audition stage of Live and Unsigned. The Sharps will now be competing against the other most talented bands and artists in the country at the live shows of Live and Unsigned 2010 – all in a bid to be signed.
The Sharps consist of Kieran (guitar) and twin brother Callum Morgan (bass), sons of our very own leader Tim, Darby Dorras (guitar) and Sam Evans (drums).
The Sharps battled against hundreds of acts to secure a spot in the live shows and now have the opportunity to prove that they are the best in the UK. They’ll take part in a live head to head battle in front of thousands of spectators and a professional judging panel to progress to the Live and Unsigned Festival at the 02 in London. The next round is at The Beck Theatre, Hayes on Sunday March 28, when the guys will be performing a cover and an original piece of music. Tickets are available on the door or from the organisers.
The Sharps, described by the Norwich Playhouse as ‘one of Norfolk’s most exciting rock bands’, and by KLFM radio as ‘brilliant’, are all 19 or 20 year olds who met at Aylsham High School. All four boys went on to Paston Sixth Form College and now are at University or on gap years.
Their music is a combo of rock, Brit pop and prog, with a dash of funk, and they mix grunge guitar riffs with driving rhythms and close harmonies. Their crowd-pleasing live act is full of energy and dynamism.
Live and Unsigned is the biggest original music competition in the UK for unsigned bands and artists. Attracting over 30,000 entries in the past three years, it has set itself apart from its predecessors by offering and promoting originality. It’s now established as the definitive music competition for original acts and it’s open to all genres of music from Heavy Rock to Rap. The value of this year’s pool of prizes amounts to over £60,000.
Celebrity judges last year included former Sex Pistols Manager Malcolm McLaren, pop RnB star Dane Bowers and Radio 1’s Annie Nightingale. Radio 1 DJ Greg James has already confirmed for 2010. Previous winners of the competition include Kiddo 360 who went on to pick up a Vodafone Live Award, B-Kay and Kazz, who broke into the top 30 charts, and last year’s winners from Glasgow, The Detours, who have just signed an exclusive clothing deal with Extreme.
"Because of being at uni, we couldn’t make it to the East Anglia audition, so we had to take part in the one in London," says guitarist Kieran Morgan, from Colby, who is currently doing a degree in Popular Music Performance at Solent. "This is a huge opportunity for us and we’re really going for it – we’d love it if loads of our Norfolk fans can make it on 28th."
The Sharps are still performing in Norwich and Norfolk – most recently at the Brickmakers Arms in January – and are also gigging in top music venues around London, including Camden’s Purple Turtle and Dublin Castle, and the prestigious Underbelly Bar in Hoxton.
Says Kieran: "London is central for all of us and Darby is at Westminster Uni, so we’ve got a place to crash! We still love to gig in Norfolk, but now that’s usually during the holidays."
The organisers of Live & Unsigned 2010 say the winners of the competition will be thrust into the media spotlight through television, radio and the press and will have the opportunity to tour the UK. The tour involves as many as 100 gigs across the UK including the chance to perform live at several well-known festivals.
For more information go to the L&U 2010 website www.LiveandUnsigned.UK.com
You can listen to the Sharps’ original songs at www.myspace.com/thesharps
Editor’s notes
Live & Unsigned
Chris Grayston, Events Director of Live & Unsigned explains “This competition really is worlds apart from X Factor and other TV talent contests – we’re all about originality, Live ability and credibility. We don’t accept demos or submissions and everyone auditions live. We’ve got some fantastic prizes up for grabs this year in a £60, 000 prize pool so there’s lot of opportunity for everyone entering and not just the winners – that along with the Festival means 2010 will be the biggest competition yet!”
All the acts that audition in the competition are battling it out for the chance to play at the Live and Unsigned Festival at the 02 in London! Which gives acts the chance to perform at the ultimate live music venue in the country. The overall winner of the competition is offered a recording and management contract with Future Music with an investment of up to £30, 000 to release their single. The winners will be crowned the UK’s best unsigned act in front of a capacity crowd on the main stage of the festival.
Acts will of course be competing for two main prizes which include a management contract with Future Music and the opportunity to design and develop their own clothing range with Extreme State. On route the competition offers a comprehensive winners prize pool and acts will have the opportunity to win some fantastic prizes including Marshall state of the art amps, development through recording studio time in some of the UK’s finest studios and seminars and courses with ICMP. Other goodies up for grabs include an Extreme Element experience day, a year’s worth of Extreme State clothing and MUZU.TV will be contributing an all expenses paid trip to Dublin to film a music video and play at a festival.
And another TPW link: both Callum and Kieran were set on the road to stardom by non other than Dave Morrison (my husband).