Barnoldswick band Tyro through to Battle of the Bands national final

Tyro, who only formed in 2009, have quickly established themselves as a live tour-de-force and following a triumphant showing in their regional heat will now be aiming to blow the competition away at the Live and Unsigned final, which takes the form of a festival, on Saturday, July 10th.

Live and Unsigned is the biggest original music competition in the UK for unsigned bands and artists, attracting more than 30,000 entries in the past three years.

The band, which is made up of Alex Steventon (vocalist), Lee Cunningham (guitar and backing vocalist) Tom Faulkner (guitarist) Rob Idle (bassist) and Mat Millington (drummer) did not know what to expect when they entered the competition but impressed the judging panel with their originality after initially auditioning against thousands of other acts from across the UK.

This led to the lads performing live on stage at the North West England final earlier this month at the Willows in Salford where they won their chance to appear at the grand final.

The final is being held at the IndigO2 at the O2 in London.

The overall winner of the competition will take home a winners package which will include equipment, coverage and promotion.

They will also be offered a recording and management contract with Future Music to release their single as well as getting the opportunity to develop their own clothing brand to sell online and in retail with Extreme State.

Tyro will be performing on the main stage of the festival during an all-day event, packed full of entertainment which will play host to an eclectic mix of artists in front of a live crowd and judging panel.

Some of the biggest names in the industry will be there to cast their eye over the unsigned talent including the legendary Noddy Holder, Radio 1’s prime time presenter Greg James, urban DJ presenter and Radio 1’s Ras Kwame and R ‘n’ B star Shola Ama.

After making it through to the finals the band were quick to thank their fans for the “electric” support shown in the area finals.

Guitarist Tom Faulkner said: “The atmosphere at The Willows was quite simply electric. To have more than 100 people give up their Sundays and come to Salford to cheer us on is a wonderful feeling.

“The noise they made was incredible and we would like to thank each and every one of them for being there.”

Mr Chris Grayston, events director of Live and Unsigned, said: “We’re all about originality, live ability and credibility.

“It’s a fantastic achievement to make it to the grand final and there are plenty of opportunities for all acts taking part, not just for the winner.

“We’ve got some fantastic judges on board at the IndigO2 and I’m excited to see what the acts can do on the main stage.”

If you are wanting to catch the band locally before they head off to the capital then they are due to play at Inside Out, Burnley, on Saturday, June 12th, before making an appearance at the Commercial, Harle Syke, Sunday, July 4th.

To find out more about Tyro check out their website at www.myspace.com/wearetyro.

For more information on the Live and Unsigned competition you can go to www.liveandunsigned.uk.com.