Council Leader congratulates local band

Date published: 14 February 2005

Cllr. Paul Rowen, Leader of Rochdale Council has personally congratulated local band 'The High' on winning through to the final of a prestigious bands competition. The competition is one of the highlights of the Manchester Irish Festival. Cllr. Rowen is urging the town to get behind the band in their bid for stardom. He said "It's great to see a local Rochdale band doing so well and it would be great to see them winning. I am delighted that they won their heat and am delighted that they will be representing Rochdale in the final on Friday 18 March."

 One of the judges Gemma Myers from commercial radio station Imagine 104.9 FM said "...they were the best band of the night for me, the lead singer has enourmous sex appeal with an original and distinctive sound. The dozens of fans that brought certainly voiced their approval and they have a great chance of winning"

Ryan Wilson from 'The High' said "We brought a couple of coachloads of fans from Rochdale to the heat and we are hoping to double that amount in the final. It is great that the Leader of the Council is taking an interest in our band - he has already pledged to join our fans in the final. We won't forget it when we make it in the big time."
 
 The prestigious international competition has attracted entries from all over the UK and Ireland. It is being held in and is part of the city’s 'Manchester Irish Festival' (www.manchesteririshfestival.co.uk), that is now the biggest Irish Festival in Europe. The competiton received over 300 entrants from across the North-West, this was whittled down to sixteen bands - and now 'The High' have reached the final six. The final will be held on Friday 18 March 2005.

 The international Irish Rock band competition 'YGG Unsigned' celebrates its tenth anniversary this year. Previous winners and entrants are now touring all over the world. One of the first bands to win the competition are currently touring Canada and other bands are now based in New York and London, one of the bands has even appeared in Miami at the Dance festival. The event is one of the highlights of this year Manchester Irish Festival that also features the world famous ‘Riverdance’ show and an appearance from Ireland's top Celtic Rock band 'The Sawdoctors'. 

Ryan Wilson is encouraging as many people as possible to come and support them in the final - anyone who wants to come should ring Ryan on 07811 592990.