A Basingstoke band has fallen at the final hurdle in its quest for glory in a national competition for unsigned acts.
Stricken22 contested the Live and Unsigned area final against 25 other hopefuls at Portsmouth’s Guildhall.
The four-piece of lead singer and guitarist Sam Pitter, rhythm guitarist Floyd Woods, bass player Jonnie Adams, and drummer David Miller failed to wow the judges on May 21.
Despite falling short of the top-three spot for a place at London’s O2 Arena final, frontman Sam remains upbeat about the bands future.
The 20-year-old said: “We’re definitely a better band now for experiencing this competition. We’ve played two massive shows at the Guildhall and got so much exposure, so it’s all good. It was an absolutely fantastic experience.”
Sam, from Kempshott, said he was impressed with the standard of competition. He said: “The acts were so varied, some of the voices were brilliant and some really good acts got through.”
Stricken22 received strong feedback during this year’s competition, and despite missing out were told by judges “It was a strong overall performance with great energy and warmth on stage”.
Sam said the four-piece were disappointed to have missed out but a promotional DVD and professional photos from their Portsmouth performance helped soften the blow.
“We played really well, got good feedback, excellent contacts, and a much bigger crowd than last time,” he added. “Our fan base on Facebook has grown massively.”
However Sam’s dad and Stricken22’s unofficial manager, Jamie Pitter, said the judges’ decision was out of keeping with earlier rounds, with some winners chosen to ensure a variety at next month’s final. “I don’t think the crowd were very happy with the result,” he said.
Despite this, the future looks promising for Stricken22. Just days after their area final effort, Sam said he had an offer from a music publishing company interested in purchasing his songs. “I turned it down,” he said. “I want to do well with my own material rather than have others using it.”
And with upcoming performances in Basingstoke and London he claimed Stricken22 had no plans for a second bid at the Live and Unsigned title next year.
He said: “We’ve taken everything we possibly could from the competition, and we all know where we want to go from now.”
