Birmingham band 51 Breaks in hunt for V Festival spot

Jul 10 2009 by Andrew Coleman, Birmingham Mail

BIRMINGHAM band 51 Breaks are hoping that a V Festival competition will be their big break in the music biz.

The foursome from Castle Bromwich and Chelmsley Wood are among the final six contestants in the Road To V contest.

The winning act will open the festival in Weston Park and Chelmsford on August 22 and 23.

‘‘If we win we’ll open the main stage before the likes of The Killers and Oasis. It’ll be unbelievable, especially as we’re big Killers fans,’’ says 23-year-old drummer Marc Turner.

‘‘I’ve not been to the V Festival before so just being there will be a great experience in itself.’’

Completing the line-up is Marc’s 20-year-old brother Michael, who supplies vocals, their bass playing cousin Tom Harman, 21, and guitarist Tom Rankin, aged 25. Marc says the track they submitted to the competition was picked up by Just Jack who is now championing them in the finals.

‘‘We played at Brighton’s Great Escape Festival where the contestants were whittled down to the final six. Just Jack chose us as one of his favourite acts and afterwards he went with us through a video of the gig giving us pointers, like how to get the crowd more involved and how to lift different parts of the songs.’’

The Starz In Their Eyes singer has now found he has got himself some new fans.

Reveals Marc: ‘‘His stuff is quite different to what we normally listen to but over the last few months we’ve started getting into his music.’’

51 Breaks have supported the likes of The Maccabees and Little Man Tate. Their next Birmingham gig is at The Rainbow, Digbeth, on July 24.

‘‘We’ve been practising non-stop and been gigging throughout the whole of last year. Even though we’ve only released one single we’ve got plenty of material so after the festival, depending how it goes, we’ll be looking to release more stuff.’’

Marc also hopes band members will be able to quit their day jobs if they win Road To V.

‘‘I’m getting into teaching - music technology at Solihull Sixth Form College,’’ he says. ‘‘As soon as we finish work we’ll all meet up to go to a gig or a rehearsal session. ‘We’ll be aiming to give up our jobs if we win the contest and get signed.’’

He calls on Midland music fans to support 51 Breaks by voting for them on the internet.

‘‘We’re the only Midland band left in the competition so get behind us and give us your support,’’ he says.