So, last week I got sent to Liverpool with the promise that I’d be showered with liquor and attention, and I graciously accepted both after overcoming the trauma that the world doesn’t revolve around London.
Anywayz, the inaugural GIT, AKA “Get Into This” awards showcased the city’s new music talent; pretty weighty stuff considering the ‘Pool’s most famous exports just happen to be the cornerstone of British pop music… Atomic Kitten (ZING!). It’s run by local music hack Peter Guy and has been dubbed the “Scouse Mercury Music Prize”. The boo boys might say that’s regionalist, but how is having to be from Liverpool any different from having to be PJ Harvey?
Twelve acts were shortlisted for the prize and the night was compered by that illustrious man with the hair who appears on lots of telly shows.
Polite indie rockers Loved Ones walked away as the winners on the night. But here were my personal Scouse ~ones to watch~.
Bang On!
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Live MCing in any form is hit and miss. Live MCing with a regional accent and me sneering at you clutching a return train ticket to Watford is even trickier. Luckily, Big Dada signing Bang On! overcame his ropey name to be actually pretty adept at winning the crowd round, who at that point in the evening were still mainly concentrating on rinsing the free bar.
Outfit
Ummm, bit awk ‘cos they weren’t actually in attendance, ‘cos they’ve gone big time and moved to London for their “careers”. Never forget who you are, guys.
Stealing Sheep
I was ready to write them off as another QuiRkY girl group posing in sparkly things they’d found in the vintage section of TopShop. BUT, they came armed with some annoyingly catchy melodies that got stuck in my head like stray glitter for the rest of the night.
Nine Tails
OMG! These guys were so adorable! And named after a Pokemon, right? They all looked about 13, like, as if they were still in that stage of boy puberty where they’re really clumsy and keep walking into things and bound around like Labrador puppies. The guy next to me kept mumbling about “mathpop” but I just thought it was a satisfying, organised chaos.
Esco Williams
My top pick of the Liverpudlian litter (soz, Loved Ones). He really reminded me of John Legend’s glory days circa 2004 when he hung out with Kanye and was full of sass… way before he got that boner live on stage and had to get boring to defuse boner-gate. But back to Williams: the boy puts on a suspiciously polished show, so much he’ll probs be on T4 with Jameela Jamil braying hysterically at him in no time.
So, thanks again for the hospitality Liverpool, and for teaching me how to use “boss” as an adjective rather than something I shout at the man in the chip shop.