THERE were banners, there were texts, there were screams and even the odd tear but, in the end, the second annual AMP Awards was won by a brilliant band from St John Fisher School in Harrogate.
Amid the stunning surroundings of the Royal Hall pack
ed with students, parents and teachers from schools across the district, the young indie trio fought off close competition from runners-up Dukes of Bevington and third-placed The Weeknights.
In truth, the standard of all seven bands was so good on a night superbly organised by the students and schools themselves that the result was anyone's guess for a time.
Judges Simon Colgan, owner of Harrogate venue the Blues Bar, Jason Odle of Harrogate's BASH Studios, the Harrogate Advertiser's Graham Chalmers and aspiring young Harrogate music journalist George Tyson were helped in their difficult task by a smart new idea this year - let the audience take part in the decision.
Having utilised the giant screen on stage all night for a stream of good will messages and occasional bit of witty rudeness, the crowd then made their choice by text, contributing 20% of the final vote.
Part musical competition and part hands-on business learning experience for the students, the prizes for the top three bands and winning business teams this year were provided by 6k Vision, a music industry development project for young musicians; Harrogate Spa Water, the Young People's Enterprise Forum, supported by Yorkshire Forward; and leading music industry suppliers, Soundsavers.
On the big stage, winning band The Brixton Rowers may have been a bit too Arctic Monkeys for their own good, despite excellent singing and playing, but they really rocked on their second track and look like a fully-formed band.
The Dukes of Bevington, from St Aidan's C of E School, produced well-arranged interesting indie pop, part piano-led and party jangly guitar . Only their mysterious lack of a bass guitarist stopped them winning.
The Weeknights from Ripon Grammar School were the most innovative band instrumentally of the night with slight shades of Vampire Weekend's quirky Afro-beat and bravely finished with a brilliant instrumental.
Boroughbridge High School's Going Backwards Forwards were blessed with the best DVD of the night, which spared them terrific MC Josh Hill's wisecracks when their business team was interviewed on stage.
