3 First Cut Awards down to final 3!

3 ANNOUNCED the 3 finalists in the 3 First Cut Awards, 3’s unsigned band competition. Following a successful 7 date tour of universities nationwide, Buffalo ‘77, Mendicant and Finka have made it to the Final and have the chance to win the most comprehensive package on offer to help them break into the music industry.

21 bands, 16 were chosen by judges, 5 by public vote, were shortlisted from 1,900 had a chance to play in front of a panel of expert judges including Xfm’s Marsha and Head of Fallout Recordings, Nick McEwen. The task of choosing the bands was a difficult one, but the winning bands were London based Mendicant and Leeds based Buffalo ‘77. The 3rd band, chosen by fans on the 3 First Cut website, was Manchester based Finka.

The final 3 bands will have the chance to go on tour with The Rumble Strips, playing 3 dates at Barfly venues in Glasgow (26 April), Liverpool (2 May) and Birmingham (3 May). The Rumble Strips are currently taking the UK music scene by storm, and with the recent release of their new single ‘Alarm Clock’ are set to be the band to see over the next few months.  In addition to sharing the stage with the band of the moment, the bands will get advice from music industry and media experts, stylists and photographers so they have a chance to fine tune their performance during the Tour ahead of the Final. The competition culminates on 17 May at London’s ULU where the lucky three will share the stage with the Fratellis and the panel will decide the winner.

This is just the start for the winning act. After being chosen on the night of the Final, they will then have their single released on Fallout Recordings, the influential label dedicated to nurturing new talent. They will also have a standout video created by a top director and be given a slot at a prestigious music festival in 2007. The prize includes ongoing support by experts from the label, plus help in promoting themselves to the media. Finally, they will be given extensive promotion on 3 – 3 customers have downloaded more than 20 million music tracks in the past 2 years and the mobile network has been credited with helping to break artists like Chamillionaire in the UK.

Judge Marsha Shandur, Xfm presenter and champion of unsigned talent comments;- “The discussion to get from twenty one down to two was very heated - unsurprising given the high quality of the shortlist. As judges we're all very excited about seeing how our chosen acts fare.”

3’s First Cut service allows you to discover the best unsigned talent on the move. Whether its indie or electro, hip hop or house, 3 First Cut showcases the best of the UK’s unsigned talent. For just 49p a month music fans can download tracks from their 3 phone and keep up to date with the latest acts on the music scene. Bands can use the service to promote gigs, talk to fans and find out who’s listening to their music. It’s free for acts to use and they keep all their copyrights. The 3 First Cut Awards aim to promote the best of 3 First Cut to a wider audience, and ultimately to break new talent. To see the current Finalists and details of the Tour, go to www.3firstcutawards.co.uk.

3’s Marketing Director, John Penberthy-Smith says:- “3 continues to lead the way in mobile music and now we are leading the way in the search for fresh and exciting new talent with the 3 First Cut Awards. Thanks to 3 the finalists will tour with one of the best new bands in the country, gain exposure to 3's 3.75million customers and meet some of the most influential people in the music industry”.

Win Centre Court Tickets for this Years Liverpool International

SOUTHPORT Reporter has teamed up with Northern Vision to give 10 lucky readers the opportunity to win tickets for this year’s Liverpool International Tennis Tournament 12 June 2007 to 17 June 2007, 10 lucky winners and a friend will get to spend a day enjoying the tennis on centre court at Calderstones Park, Liverpool.

Attracting over 25,000 spectators, the annual event is one of the most prestigious sporting occasions in the North West and is hailed as the Wimbledon of the North! It’s easy to see why, as some of the world’s elite ATP and WTA tour players and tennis legends have been attracted to the tournament in recent years, including Martina Navratilova, Richard Krijicek and Marat Safin.

This year, all time tennis legend Bjorn Borg will grace centre court, which is a 1st in the UK for over 15 years. As well as Bjorn, Greg Rusedski, will bid farewell to his ATP career, with the Liverpool International being his penultimate grass tournament before he retires at the end of the season.

Anders Borg, Tournament Director, said:- “I am delighted with the line-up for this year and I believe the calibre of players is our best to date.”

In the men's event, Vince Spadea of the United States will be returning for his 5th consecutive year, as well as crowd favourite – Robert Kendrick; who after last years tournament, went on to Wimbledon and took Rafael Nadal to 5 sets in the 2nd round at the All England Club.  The WTA event is also taking shape with last year’s winner and 2006 Wimbledon Junior Champion, Caroline Wozniacki, returning to defend her title and American, Ashley Harkleroad, returning to try and take it away from her.

Borg will play on Wednesday and Thursday with a host of other legends including Mansour Bahrami and Peter McNamara, Peter Fleming and Cédric Pioline. Bjorn will play only 1 singles match against 1987 Wimbledon champion, Pat Cash on Friday 15 June 2007.

All you have to do to win is answer this question – which country does Bjorn Borg come from?  Email us your answer, your full name, address and phone number to:- news24@southportreporter.com

For further information about the event and ticket enquiries, telephone 0870 1690 107 or visit www.liverpooltennis.co.uk. 

Delivery crew attacked?

ON 26 April 2007 we had reports of an assault involving an Argos delivery crew driver.

According to an email we have received informing us about the incident that is said to have happened at around 09:00 am on Thursday 26 April 2007 in Victoria Road, Formby, Merseyside.

We have yet to confirm the information surrounding the alleged incident, but thank you Leslie for your email. 

We will let you know more as soon as we can get more information.