The first Young and Rocking final took place at Lincoln’s Drill Hall on February 12th.
The battle of the bands-style event was between the final five of 150 bands from around Lincolnshire and the East Midlands. The runners up were Lincoln folk band Danny Bell, who won free professional recording time. The winners were the 0.7s, who will be starring in their very own music video as their prize, as well as music promoters PureTime helping the band get as much national publicity as possible.
The winning band however were the oldest there, with drummer Skin being twice as old as many of the other entrants and members of the audience at 33 years old.
The five-piece from Sleaford began their set by inviting the crowd forward and playing a strong indie Brit rock set, featuring upbeat rhythm and soft harmonica. The audience certainly enjoyed themselves, with a few occasions of failed crowd surfing and some even joining the band on stage.
The blues-style track “Shug Shack Train” was the highlight of the set, as well as “The Trap”, an indie track with a Libertines influence.
Their Brit-rock sound and strong vocals managed to win over all the judges resulting in a clear win for the 0.7s.
Lead singer Ryan said: “Winning means everything to us. It really means a lot.”
He also explained that the 0.7s didn’t even have to win any heats to get to the finals. “We were entered as a wild card really, we just blagged our way in but we’re really glad to win.”
“We’re just going to keep going, it’s all about progression and world domination.”
You can listen to the 0.7s on their MySpace page.