News

Mersey beats rest of country to win Most Musical City crown!

01 July 2008

Liverpool has won our search to find England's Most Musical City. After six weeks of campaigning across ten cities and with thousands of votes cast, the home of The Beatles, Frankie Goes to Hollywood and The Zutons surged to victory with 49 per cent of the public's vote.

Almost forty years after Merseybeat, 2008's European Capital of Culture snatched the number one spot from Sheffield, which had been leading online voting until the last week. Rivals Manchester finished third.

Liverpool doesn't just take away a music title; the winning city will be represented by unsigned local band The Affection, who have won the chance to perform in front of 5,000 people at this September's End of the Road Festival in Dorset.

Gordon Ross, Music Coordinator for the Liverpool Culture Company which endorsed Liverpool's bid said: "Liverpool's music scene is renowned the world over - this award is great news for the city and should serve to encourage those seeking to build on that legacy. The city today has a phenomenal pool of talent and it's exciting that now, more than ever, it has the venues, the studios, the promoters and the festivals to nurture new ideas and faces to carry on the city's best musical traditions."

During the Most Musical City campaign, unsigned acts from across the country were given the chance to perform at this year's End Of The Road Festival. From the online auditions submitted, a panel of music industry experts chose The Affection as Liverpool's best unsigned act.

The sound of The Affection is straight out of the British indie-rock tradition firmly wearing influences such as The Stone Roses and early Echo and the Bunnymen on its sleeve, yet what set them apart for the judges was the mix of rare mix of classic Scouse pop and US rock, hinting at bands like Pavement and even Nirvana.

With their biggest gig so far having been at Liverpool's Carling Academy, End of the Road promises to be the biggest day of the band's career so far. "We're made up," said Chris Jones after winning the Liverpool vote, "It'll be brilliant to play in front of 5,000 people. The more the better!"

They will perform at the festival alongside two additional competition winners - Electric Tape Recorder from runners-up Sheffield and 'Best of the Rest' act Bianca Bohl from London.