Unsigned Winners 2005

21 September 2005

FOPP AND THE PRS FOUNDATION ANNOUNCE WINNERS FOR THIS YEAR'S UNSIGNED AWARDS

The winners of this year's Fopp Unsigned Awards have been announced: Monkeytribe, Thee Comrades, Bouchereau and the Abdominal Showmen will all be recording their brand new material this autumn which will then be making its way into Fopp stores nationwide.

Unsigned bands from all over the North of England, Northern Ireland and Scotland were invited to send in their original material - and it was Scotland's efforts that really caught the judges' ears. All four bands are from Scotland and will be recording their material in Scottish studios.

The competition, run by Fopp, The PRS Foundation (PRSF) and Clear Sound & Vision will give these unsigned bands a great opportunity to get their music out there. They'll be recording at professional studios before then having their recording mastered, edited, mixed and pressed for free. Their CD will then have artwork designed for it by Clear Sound and Vision, and the releases will then be distributed in Fopp Stores nationwide.

Fopp Head of Marketing, Ryan Latham explains their involvement:

"Our aim is to support unsigned talent, whilst giving Fopp customers the chance to be the first to discover some of the best new music out there. We very much look forward to hearing the completed output from all the bands and seeing them on sale in Fopp shops soon."

Judges were really pleased with the number and standard of entries this year, Rachel Nelken from The PRS Foundation saying:

"2005 is our second year of Unsigned, and it's great to see the level of interest from this region in this unique initiative. We had a really excellent range of groups and artists apply this year and were delighted with the four Scottish acts we have chosen, who the judges felt represent the best in creative and innovative music happening in the UK today"

Other judges included Dougie Bruce from Universal Publishing A&R, the man responsible for signing Kaiser Chiefs and Maximo Park, and Colin Roberts, editor of the web's new music bible Drowned in Sound, along with representatives from each of the initiatives host organisations.

As the competition goes from strength to strength the winner's developments will all be being watched closely. More news on the band's showcases and other future successes to follow…

For further information contact Charlie at Press Counsel on 020 7792 9400 or charlie@presscounsel.com

For more information on the FOPP / UNSIGNED scheme, click here.