Exeter band set for gig of a lifetime at Royal Albert Hall

A BAND from Exeter will be showcasing its talent on the national stage after winning a competition to perform at London's Royal Albert Hall.

For Morning Rush it will be the gig of their lives when they perform there on November 9 as part of Music for Youth Schools Prom, an event seen as a showcase for some of the country's finest young musicians and singers.

Sam Perry, 17, guitar/vocals, Tom Short, 17, keyboard/vocals, Michael Richards, 18, bass, and Sam Chamberlain, 18, guitar/vocals, formed Morning Rush while they were students at Isca College, Exeter, and recruited drummer/vocalist Pip Arnold, 18, at Exeter College, where all the band are in their second year of A-levels and BTEC music courses.

They write their own material and have sold over 300 copies of their first CD, Racetrack. They are recording an EP with Show of Hands producer Mark Tucker, and will soon work with songwriter Ray Davies at his London studio on new material.

Morning Rush were picked to play at the Royal Albert Hall after being involved in the Music for Youth Regional Festival in Exmouth in February and again in the National Festival at the HMV Institute in Birmingham in July.

Laura Wright, head of music at Exeter College, said: "This group has the potential to go far – their original material is really good, their performance standard extremely high, and their understanding of the need for constant hard work and application while learning the craft of musicianship is exemplary."