The Darkness, of course, were one of the bands to get a vital boost to their early career by a performance at In The City - so who knows what future drink and drug filled chaos is awaiting the 54 bands that have just been announced as playing at this year's In The City Unsigned? Not that coke fuelled oblivion is compulsory for former ITC bands. I mean, Coldplay, Stereophonics, Oasis and Placebo all played early gigs at the Manchester music convention, and they're all clean living sorts, I'm sure.
Anyway, organisers of this year's In The City have announced which 54 bands out of the 1000+ who applied will be appearing at the In The City Unsigned showcase later this month. The bands due to play are: 52 Teenagers, Alberta Cross, Attic Lights, Bricolage, Cate Le Bon, Charlie Calleja, Cheap Dates, Churchill Black, Clarky Cat, David Venn, Driving By Night, Eugene Mcguiness, Far From The Dance, Flood Of Red, Found, Freemaker, Friendly Fires, From Mars, From The Wreckage, Full Speed Alone, Gallows, Gideon Conn, Granby Row, Great Northwestern Hoboes, Jack Afro, John Smith, Josephine Oniyama, Karima Francis, Lesser Panda, Miichelle Strahan, Milke, New World Record, Newsum Turn, No. 1 Son, O.B.E, Our Fold, Our Lives, Paul Napier, Paul Steel, Penknifelovelife, Pop Noir, Quartershade, Rebecca Rothwell, Sally Suicide, Shakes, Sidecar Kisses, Smokefeathers, Squire, Straglers, Stuart James, Suzuki Method, Terra Naomi, Texas Radio Band, The Answering Machine, The Fleas, The Gentle Good, The Headlines, The High Wire, The Jakpot, The Maple State, The Mono Effect, The Neon Hearts, The Permissive Society, The Strange Death Of Liberal England, The Thurston Revival, The Wombats, Thom Stone, Thomas Tantrum and Through Snowy Static. Look at all those 'The' bands. 'The' names are obviously still in vogue.
As well as getting to play at the ITC convention itself, a track from each artist also appears on a special iTunes album that goes on sale today. On that ITC top guy Anthony Wilson told CMU: "We're delighted to have linked up with iTunes for the second year running. In The City has always prided itself on its spirit of adventure and willingness to embrace new innovations and iTunes continues to lead the field in digital music distribution. We're a very natural fit. Last year's iTunes distributed album was a real success and I think that this year's 'In The City Unsigned' line-up is possibly our strongest ever."
In the City, as you all know, takes place from 29-31 Oct in Manchester. Info at http://www.inthecity.co.uk