This year's In The City Unsigned Band competition sees 54 bands battle for the spotlight. Twelve of them are from Scotland - a stunning achievement given the nation's size and the music industry's customary blindness to anything beyond the M25. Unless you spend time trawling around the toilet circuit, you probably won't be aware of these groups. You will soon. For full details of when and where these bands and the other competitors are playing, see the Glasgow rock listings, pages 49—53.
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,Cherryfire Ashes
Havrng forged the Current four-strong line-up in Edinburgh JUSI over a year ago, Cherryfire Ashes describe their music as ’cutting and faintly tribal With a colourful g melodic edge’. Before that they described it in terms of animals, vegetabie and minerals, ’ yihich was more fun. But there you go. As to that huge record label advance, it’s all going on a crate of cherry brandy, a bale of cherry menthol tobacco and a grant box of fireworks. That’s the Spirit,
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‘ lTam
* J The former Captain Shifty f funky frontman, the . ‘ ; eponymous Tam Treanor, has ‘ ~ ‘ i come over a bit more . ‘ ; electrowc these days, drawmg i on the likGS of Beck and the Beast:e Boys in a hip hop, fuzz , ' and melody mix and melange type stylee tip thang. They’ve already Signed a publishing : deal wrth BMG. Any record i company money wrll be spent l on pants, apparently. (3o Tam. j ' Go. I
l'Youthful exuberance’ said The List a {tad pompously when Volley won a iBacardi/The List band search heat. I {Raspberries to you, Grandad,’ said thel Skids before attracting attention from Several major labels. Their debut srngle {Bullet Proof’ comes out on an independent label soon. They rock like gThe Monkees interbred wrth lSupergrass. Good dance routines too, ihonest. Alan, the bassist, would spend ibny advance on a 'new bike. Bless him.
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12 l’llElJS‘l’ 26 Sen-9 Oct 199/