A band who cut their teeth at Liverpool’s iconic Knotty Ash Youth and Community Centre are through to the final of a top national music competition.
On 1 October Matt Breen and his band ‘The Endings’ will take to the stage in Manchester to compete against four other groups in a ‘Battle of the Bands’ to win an amazing range of musical equipment.
And in what is hoped will be a good omen, the Knotty Ash Youth and Community Centre, 50 years ago, was home to the original and the first Battle of the Bands, featuring none other than local group ‘The Beatles’.
Matt Breen of the Endings said: “The Knotty Ash youth centre provided us with warm company, a great atmosphere and high quality recording facilities and equipment. The centre has helped us grow in popularity and musical ability.
“Without the fantastic support and resources available at the centre we wouldn’t be on stage today taking part in the Battle of the Bands.”
The event takes place on Monday 1 October at the Night and Day Cafe, Oldham Street in Manchester and will feature four new acts from across the country. The judging panel will include record producer Steve Levine who is most famously know for his work on Culture Club’s studio albums, 6music DJ, Chris Hawkins and Chief Executive of UK Music Jo Dipple.
Jo said: “We are very excited about the potential of the Live Music Act. A battle of the bands is a very fitting way to celebrate and acknowledge what this act could mean for live music. I am so pleased that a band from one of the rehearsal spaces we help set up, The Endings, is playing with us at Night and Day, I can’t wait to hear them!”
The Knotty Ash Youth and Community Centre was the pilot music rehearsal space in for a project between Feargal Sharkey on behalf of UK Music and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. The centre is part of the Liverpool integrated youth and play service which focuses specifically on the arts and music.
Since its launch in 2009, thousands of performers have passed through the centre, and last year celebrated 50 years since The Beatles played at the venue.
