Fourth judge announced for Southport Battle of Bands grand final
Organisers of the Southport Battle of the Bands have revealed the fourth judge for this Friday's grand final, writes Martin Hovden.
He's top Southport drummer and music teacher Darren Leonard, well known on the local music scene and a former member of local bands.
He joins Miles Jones and Martin Hovden (pictured with fellow judge Hayley Jones) for the final which offers a cash prize of £1,000 for the winner.
Darren is a multi instrumentalist and has been teaching music for more than 20 years. He still gigs and his main instrument is the drums, but he also plays guitar, bass and has been a band frontman.
He said: “I've been a finalist four times in three bands in battle of the bands competitions and never won. So I'm looking forward to sitting next to Martin Hovden on the judges' panel instead of being judged by him this time, haha.”
Dave Aston, one of the organisers of the competition along with Hayden Birch and Martin White, regards Darren as someone who has had a major influence on him.
He explained: “I did work experience in Rimmers Music in Southport at the age of 15 and Darren worked there at the time. He took me under his wing in the guitar section and introduced me to some punk albums that I still love just as much today.
“I attended gigs by his earliest bands which gave me the inspiration to always play in a punk band and always keep music rocking in your home town.”
OTHER JUDGES:
HAYLEY JONES is a talented singer and is well known on our local music scene. She recently performed at a fun day in Southport and is a member of All Souls Dramatic Club.
MILES JONES is a keen live music fan and is the former manager of the Fox and Goose in Cable Street in the town centre. While there, he hosted the very successful Band Royale contests for many years.
MARTIN HOVDEN is a retired weekly newspaper editor and has been writing about local bands for more than 50 years. He started the Live Sounds music column in the Southport Champion 20 years ago and also hosted a radio version of the column on Southport Radio, Dune FM and Mighty FM.
The four bands in this Friday's final in the Banff in West Street are: Southport bands Coneheads and Slick Cupid, plus Burscough pop punkers Some Time Today and Liverpool indie rockers Lazy Sundaze.
Doors open at 7.30pm with admission at just £3.
NEXT TIME: I take a closer look at the four finalists