Bands battle it out in Southport for top title with Video

The Southport Battle of the Bands contest couldn't have got off to a better start, with musicians from all over the North West proving live music is alive and kicking in the resort, writes Martin Hovden.

The first heat was held in the Banff (formerly the Alpine/Underground) club in the West Street - and the honour of being the very first band on stage fell to Southport indie rock outfit The Coast.

Lead singer Dave Crompton is well known and much respected on the local music scene and he writes all the band's songs (my favourite on the night was Time). He and his talented bandmates delivered an outstanding 30-minute set and established a very high bar for the rest of the competition.

But ably meeting that challenge were young five-piece band The Lazy Sundaze, all recent graduates of the famous Liverpool Institute For Performing Arts (LIPA), started by Sir Paul McCartney.

They gave a hugely entertaining performance, with all members displaying the exceptional skills they have built on and developed in recent years.

And what really impressed me was how much they loved being on stage, which came across loud and clear to the appreciative audience, which included many of their friends and family members.

Manchester bands Happy Athletic and Highwaymen also set a very high standard for future heats and were a pleasure to watch.

However, this is a competition with two bands going through to the semi-finals.

The audience vote went quite rightly in my view to The Lazy Sundaze, while I had the difficult decision as guest judge to send another band through - and I went for The Coast. I feel their style of music and performance appeal to a wider audience than the others.

Well done to organisers Dave Aston, Hayden Birch and Martin White who all played a blinder on the night.

Heat two is this Friday (July 8) in the Banff, doors open at 7.30pm with admission at just £3.

Now, how do you condense four hours of amazing live music into a seven minute video? And apologies in advance to those bands who think I've left out their best bits. But I hope I've captured some of the excitement, fun and great atmosphere of the night. By the way, I've started a new Youtube channel for the event and you can check it out on “Live Sounds with Martin Hovden”.