This year’s Battle of The Bands was a huge success, especially for winning band The Retainers, from Audenshaw School.

Walking into the performing arts theatre it was clear every effort had been made to create the right atmosphere. A professional staging and lighting set-up really helped the assembled crowd get into the spirit of the event, whilst master of ceremonies Lucy Mountfort made sure they kept on smiling and knew who was up next. The crowd were also treated to a performance from our leading college band HAZE, who looked and sounded ready for next year’s Glastonbury festival.

Last year’s winners, Crimson, returned to defend their title whilst newcomers The Stereotechs (Longdendale Community College) almost caused a huge upset! Their funky sound, with strong keys and slapped bass was a real surprize and had judges Luke Warren and Tom Caruana at loggerheads.

In the end the final say went to the crowd. Support for The Stereotechs and The Retainers was largely equal but in the end a decision had to made and the Retainers, with their original material, made the cut.

After a long discussion between the judges the decision was made to offer both bands the grand prize. They can now look forward to a recording session in the college’s own recording studio with support from Luke Warren and Rizzle Kicks contributor Tom Caruana.