On day two, the eight finalists of Sennheiser UK's Best Unsigned Artist Contest 2004 took to the stage. With well over 1,000 entrants, the competition, now in its 4th year, aims to help bands and artists who don't fall into the category of manufactured pop idol, currently so favoured by the recording industry, by giving them as much exposure as possible and some great prizes. In front of a packed audience, Liverpool-based band 'Boa' took first prize, which includes performing at Glastonbury 2005, £2,500 cash, £2,500 worth of Sennheiser evolution G2 microphones and £500 worth of Sennheiser headphones.
The five-piece band, consisting of singer Rob Vincent, guitarist Andy McClelland, keyboards Danny Rankin, bass player Neil Jones and drummer Mark Doran have only been playing together since April but have progressed into an explosive act in that time. Amazingly, given such a short period, they have also won the Cavern Battle of the Bands (organized by the world-famous Liverpool Cavern club), winning a first American visit for the guys and playing at the 50th anniversary for rock and roll in Memphis.
Luck was not on their side at the start of the contest when drummer Mark was taken ill and was unable to perform. Determined that their show must go on, the remaining four took to the stage with an acoustic version of the set and won over the audience and the judges, Chris Denman of XFM and Julian Spear from Reality Check, partners in the Unsigned Artist Contest. "It's a dream come true" said guitarist Andy McClelland after their prize was presented, "to win this competition with the chance to play at Glastonbury is just incredible." To complete the band's evening, drummer Mark had recovered sufficiently to join them on stage for their encore.
Commenting after the event, Sennheiser UK's director of sales and marketing, John Steven, said: "It was a really entertaining and fun weekend for the thousands who came to join us. Miss Behavin' and the Flipside DJs put on a great performance, as did all the finalists in the Unsigned Contest, and our congratulations go to Boa on winning. I'm sure they've made many new fans who, like us, will be following their progress in the future."
(Sarah Rushton-Read)
