Alex Cheatle - People talk about us
Utterly charming melodies and quirky lyrics defines the writing style of our youngest winner. Alex has been writing songs as long as she can remember, and at just 15 she has already began recording, editing and producing her material.
Her songs are primarily piano orientated, but she also plays the guitar and electric bass and experiments with vocal harmonies.
MIBI Judge quote:
"Alex has real charm – the slightly simplistic approach really adds to the appeal of what she’s doing". - Mark Radcliffe, Broadcaster & Radio 2 Presenter
Go to Alex Cheatle's own MySpace page
Joni Fuller - (Winner of MIBI 2008 with her song track “America”, but has since moved up age category)
Joni is an extremely accomplished musician with experiences including the BBC Breakfast Show, the Montrose Music Festival and performances in the UK, across Europe and beyond, performing live at venues ranging from intimate theatres in Paris and Belgium to 60,000 seater stadiums in Germany (during Phil Collins' 2005 World Tour). Television and radio appearances in the UK, France and Switzerland have followed.
Multi-instrumentalist Joni began playing the violin aged five and within three years was accepted into the Junior School at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester – where she remains today.
MIBI Judge quote:
"I am not surprised that Joni was last year’s winner in the 14-16 age group. 'Change Girl' scored highly in each category and she impressed thoroughly". - Guy Moot, Head of Publishing at EMI
Go to Joni Fuller's own MySpace page
Kirsty Keatch – Lead 210
With her sense of melody and beautifully crafted pop song, we were not surprised that Kirsty scored highly with our judging panel gaining a top score of 25 from Chris Martin. Lead 210 was originally a band, but has more recently become a solo project. Kirsty loves to experiment with a variety of instruments and music technology in her quest to create her own sound.
She has successfully gained airplay on TayFM and has begun gigging in her Scottish home town of Dundee.
MIBI Judge quote:
"Kirsty has made a heartbreakingly gorgeous, ethereal pop track. Her voice might not be the best technically, but the vulnerability in it really works with the chiming, haunting track. Wonderful". - Mark Radcliffe, Broadcaster & Radio 2 Presenter
Go to Kirsty Keatch's own MySpace page
O.C.D.
Bolton born identical twins Cam and Kurt with older brother Jack creates energetic and catchy songs with their band O.C.D. With a MySpace address that reads "ocdthefutureofrockmusic" they are not only confident, but also quite accomplished.
The band is no stranger to winning competition having two other National youth competitions and a BBC1 competition to play the Underage Music festival in London's Victoria Park on the same stage as Dizzee Rascal under their belts already. They have also had radio play on XFM Manchester, which was no surprise to Mark Radcliffe who quoted:
MIBI Judge quote:
"OCD just shade it. Their song really motors but they’ve also crafted a perfectly decent radio pop song". - Mark Radcliffe, Broadcaster & Radio 2 Presenter
Go to O.C.D's own MySpace page
Polly Mackey & The Pleasure Principle
Described by Radio 1 as a "significant talent" and by our judge Steve Levine simply as "Superb!!", Polly Mackey & The Pleasure Principle have added a radically new dimension to Polly's already powerful material.
Her live performances have been in demand from promoters and venues alike throughout the UK in 2008, with more than fifty gigs under her belt…. including Liverpool Sound City Music Festival and MTV Music Week and an unprecedented four official performances at the SXSW International Music Festival in Austin, Texas in March 2009.
We are also pleased to hear Polly has recently joined the roster with KT Tunstall having recently signed with artist development and management company SP Management, so we are sure to hear more from this talented young writer.
MIBI Judge quote:
"Polly has a FANTASTIC voice - strong and with a really wonderful quality to it - it's interesting without being annoying and has something that makes me sad to my bones in a really good way. Love the way it breaks in the chorus. Loved the song - the piano refrain was haunting and the rest of it was lovely and full. I definitely want to keep an eye on Polly, I think she is a great talent and I'd be very interested to see how she develops". - Marsha Shandur, XFM Radio
Go to Polly Mackey & The Pleasure Principle's own MySpace page
SahReal
Our second set of siblings, are beautiful sisters Sarah and Rachel Wood with their musical prowess, gorgeous voices and exciting harmonies. Both classically training and with a wide variety of performance experiences from festivals to concertos, they create atmospheric and spine tingling pop/folk songs including the winner song ‘Wine’, a favourite of several of our judges.
SahReal aim to push the envelope of classical/acoustic/pop to a new level and with powerful lyrics and delicate harmonies they have wooed audiences around North Staffordshire.
MIBI Judge quote:
"SahReal have effortlessly combined vocals, strings and piano to make ‘Wine’ a beautiful and haunting track. In my opinion it easily achieves the dark and eerie atmosphere that they have aimed for. Their voices are exceptional and the music and lyrics complement each other perfectly. I would encourage them to begin touring, even if just locally to begin with, to widen their audience and of course to keep writing". - Guy Moot, Head of Publishing at EMI
Go to Sahreal's own MySpace page