Wishbones won't be having a break

PLYMOUTH University roots quartet The Wishbones, who won the regional heat of the Kit Kat competition in December, were runners up in the national grand final held at Cargo in London, writes Clare Robinson.

The Wishbones battled it out with university bands from around the country including Outspoken Silence from the University of Hull, Purple Shards from Newcastle, The Moon Jets from London Metropolitan Uni, Last Regards from the University of Salford and Sharp Knees from Nottingham Trent.

In the event it was Outspoken Silence who emerged victorious but, gracious in defeat, Wishbones lead singer/banjo player Sam Burdekin says they probably deserved the title.

"They are a melodic metal band who are really good at what they do; they gave a great performance on the night so we didn't mind losing out in the final to them. But the whole thing was a great experience for us. We were put up free in a hotel which was nice and actually got a decent sound check which makes a change.

"The venue was quite intimate, with just around 100 people in the audience I guess, and the whole thing was very professional and ran to time. The first time we played in London the crowd didn't really get what we do because our sound is quite surfy, but this time we got a great response and lots of positive feedback."

The judges included Frankmusic, aka Vincent Frank, who has been leading the hunt for the music industry's raw new talent, plus a rock journalist and a rep from Universal Records:

"Frankmusik told us afterwards that he liked our set and the rock journalist said he liked some of the tracks, but wasn't so keen on the reggae – but then you wouldn't expect a rock journalist to like reggae anyway!

"At the competition they only announced the winners and we only just found out we were runners up!"

Despite narrowly missing out on the £3,000 prize money and a masterclass with Frankmusik, which was the prize for the winning band, Sam says that it has all been a great experience for them, has won them new fans in the capital and of course it's all good for publicity.

Meanwhile, the lads continue to do the rounds of local shows in Cornwall but you can catch them in the city a couple of times this month.

On February 18 they play the Skiving Skolar and the following night, February 19, they're at the Barbican Live Lounge.

Watch a video of the guys in action at the Kit Kat BOTB final on www.whatsonsouthwest.co.uk