aaamusic | On 27, Feb 2011

Hard Rock Cafe London has today announced details of its Battle Of The Bands Live Heats, set to take place in March.

In honour of the brand’s 40th anniversary, Hard Rock Cafe’s annual Battle of the Bands competition has this year extended to the UK, giving homegrown acts the chance to perform live at the Hard Rock Calling festival in June.
Nine bands will be duking it out against each other to win this amazing opportunity to play on the same stage as Bon Jovi, with three bands battling it out each night at Hard Rock Cafe London in front of a panel of experts – Starsailor frontman James Walsh, the head of Music at Absolute Radio, James Curran, and Jemma Downey from Live Nation, the festival promoters for Hard Rock Calling. The Final Battle will take place on Tuesday 15 March.
Hard Rock Cafe London will host the first heat of their Battle of the Bands on Tuesday 1 March. This event will see Almost Midnight, Ryco Saints and The Rubicon battling it out for a place. On Tuesday 8 March, Secret Cinema Band, Motorcycle Display Team and Trailfight for their place in the final, whilst the musical combat finishes up with Clockworks, The Ends and Reachback sparring for a spot in the final on Monday 14 March.
The winner of Hard Rock Cafe London’s Battle of The Bands will go through to a second judging process against 74 other winners from Hard Rock Cafe’s across the globe.

These finalists will be judged by a select judging panel including Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz, and Steven Van Zandt, with 40 bands going through to a public vote on <http://www.hardrock.com>.

Four finalists will be flown to London, treated like rock stars and given a spot on the bill at Hard Rock Calling 2011 in London’s Hyde Park; but only one band will open for one of the festival’s iconic headliners on the Main Stage! The band that receives the most votes will take the Main Stage at Hard Rock Calling, with the runners-up rockin’ out on the Second Stage.  (Visit www.hardrock.com <http://www.hardrock.com> for complete program rules.)
Entry for the Live Heats at Hard Rock Cafe London is £3 – with all proceeds going to Nordoff Robbins Music Therapy.
Almost Midnight are an energetic 4 piece funk pop band from Aylesbury, Bucks, UK. They released their debut album, “Hate Mondays” in February 2011. The band have been played on BBC and local radio and are currently working on their second album.
Since forming in 2007 Ryco Saints have established themselves on the live music scene in London. They have gone from strength to strength with appearances at top London live music venues such as Barfly, Monto Water Rats, and Dublin Castle. The band has also received radio airplay across the UK and Europe.
Indie rockers The Rubicon have already drummed up support from the BBC, who claimed it ‘wouldn’t be long till we see them on a national stage’. NME praised them for selling out their first gig at The Wedgewood Rooms in Portsmouth so if that performance is anything to go by there will be some tough competition from this band on the night.
The Secret Cinema Band are one of the winners of the Q Magazine Glastonbury Emerging Talent competition and as a result performed at Glastonbury 2010 with great reviews. Their unusual approach has led to comparisons with bands as varied as Pink Floyd, Radiohead, TV On The Radio and Mars Volta.
Motorcycle Display Team released their debut EP The Crayon Masterpiece in December 2009 and spent 2010 playing exciting live shows in London, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Devon, and appearing on Sky TV’s The Source. Along the way they impressed Grammy-award winning producer Hugh Padgham and are now recording their debut album, which is due for release in late 2011.
Trail are a band of humble beginnings taking years to build their loyal fanbase. This didn’t stop interest from multi-platinum producer Matt Wallace (Maroon 5 / Faith No More which  resulted in their album entitled To The Rest of The World . The album has won critical acclaim from national publications such as Kerrang!, Music Week and Clash Magazine as well as multiple spins on national and regional UK radio.
The Brighton-based trio Clockworks have an innovative and current sound, taking influences  from Coldplay to Fall Out Boy and Muse. Their debut 8 track album, ‘Swings and Roundabouts’ was produced and recorded by the band themselves.
The Ends are from Canvey Island, Essex, and despite only being together for two years they have played Offset Festival and various venues around the UK and even appeared
In 2010 pop punk rockers Reachback released their debut EP ‘Butterflies’ which saw national airplay on Kerrang! Radio and XFM. Word quickly spread about these Blink 182 inspired quartet and early 2011 saw the release of their second single ‘No one Else’.
What: Hard Rock Cafe LONDON Hosts Hard Rock’s Battle of the Bands – with special judges James Walsh (Starsailor), Absolute Radio’s James Curran and Live Nation’s Jemma Downey
When: 1 MARCH – HEAT 1
8 MARCH – HEAT 2
14 MARCH – HEAT 3
15 MARCH – FINAL
7PM     Event begins
Tickets: £3 on the night – 100% proceeds go to Nordoff Robbins Music Therapy
Where: Hard Rock Cafe LONDON
150, OLD PARK LANE