Battle of the Bands 2024: A Night of Unforgettable Performances

It was a rip-roaring night in the MCT for the two Battle of the Bands shows on Thursday 18th January! Due to the huge popularity of the event, the night was split into two shows: Lower School performers at 5:30pm before the Middle School and Upper School entrants rocked on at 7:30pm. 

The sold-out event was full to the brim with excited performers, friends, family and teachers, with queues going out the door as people lined up at the bar to get their refreshments. They were in for a real treat! 

Year 8 pupils Trix and Sylvie compered the event wonderfully, hamming it up with corny jokes and putting the performers at ease along the way. We were lucky enough to welcome back Jason Thompson and Sam White as our judges, with their expertise and warmth again proving their worth at this mega event. 

The night unfolded with the newly-formed The Ravens, who performed a beautiful folk song, ‘Sysiphus’. This was followed by the crowd-pleaser, ‘Don’t Stop Believing’, performed by Year 8 Destination. Soon the classic hits started rolling in and we had ‘I’ll Be There’ from Friends, performed by Year 7 Chaotic Stars. Teen heartthrob Shawn Mendes made an appearance once again with ‘Holding Me Back’ but this time it was Year 7 band The Space Invaders who gave us their rendition. 

The Lower School show was dominated by Year 7 bands, and next up we had the appropriately-named The Black Stripes, performing ‘Seven Nation Army’. Iris and Rosie sure led the way with their confident vocals and then we had more thrilling singing in ‘Beggin’, by Year 8’s Off the Radar. Nameless gave us a haunting version of ‘Creep’, and it was impressive to see such confident Year 7s up on stage.  

One for the old-timers followed, with ‘Blame it on The Boogie’ performed by the Jackson 6. This plucky rendition had fresh harmonies and exuded enthusiasm from start to finish. Finally, we ended with two Year 8 bands: Orla and The Meringues and Room 43, singing ‘Material Girl’ and ‘Highway to Hell’ respectively. Such contrasting numbers proving how wonderful it is to have a student-led event like this. 

However, it was The Space Invaders that clinched 1st Place, with Off The Radar coming 3rd and Jackson 6 as the Runners up. Charlie, lead singer of Year 7 band The Space Invaders was clearly chuffed with the result, and was heard saying, Wow, I really can’t believe we won. I thought a Year 8 band would win!’ . 

Audience feedback was stellar, with Ethan in Year 7 expressing; 'The standard was so high. I can’t believe I was watching my Year 7 friends perform with such confidence on stage’. Well done to all! 

The limelight was given over to the older students for the second show and Year 13’s Jacob and Ren were our hosts for the night.  

Introducing favourites from last year, Distortion, set the tone with ‘Numb’ by Linkin Park. This was followed by The Ballad of the Ham Sandwich performing ‘It’s Time’ by Imagine Dragons. The Cynics followed, with ‘Someday’ by The Strokes, clearly a crowd-favourite with those of us who grew up in the 00s!  

Mockingbirds gave us a beautiful original called ‘There Aren’t Enough Happy Songs’ where we had an impressive one-handed piano solo from Josh Grist. We were transported back to the 00s dark and dingy clubs with Mr. Brightside, performed by The Dodgy Jammers.  

Wrong Direction were back again, but this time with a Swifty classic ‘Story of Us’. No dance moves like last year but we reveled in it nonetheless. Lucy in Year 9 relayed her enjoyment of the show; 

‘Battle of the Bands was so energising and a great experience. The standard of music was amazing, and it was an amazing event to be a part of!' 

Lower School 2023 winners, Anaphalactix, performed an original song this year called ‘Yesterday’s Gone’. It started with their usual cool harmonies blending so well together, proving why they were last year’s champions.  

It was then the turn of the older students, with Promenade giving a beautiful rendition of ‘The Court of the Crimson King’. Gnarles Barkley then made an appearance in the form of Year 13 band, Reality Check.  

Talent from Year 12 continued, and we had last year’s Runners Up, Atonement, singing a classic for any 90’s baby, ‘Glorybox’ by Portishead. The night ended with DUI, the reformed Profits of Insanity. Gabriel Booth dominated the stage with his moody vocals and thrashing head banging. 

A wonderful night was had by all, and a massive congratulations goes to Promenade who secured the win with ‘The Court of the Crimson King’, an eerie prog rock classic. Judge Sam White was so impressed, he stated: “You were so professional you could tour!” to which Joe, the lead singer from Promenade promptly shot back: ‘When does the tour start?!’. 

Enrico, Promenade drummer expressed his delight at the battle; ‘There was a lot of competition because there were a lot of other really good bands and anyone could have won. It was really amazing when they called our name out!’.

Atonement came 3rd and last year’s LS winners, Anaphalactix, were the Runners up. Overall, the battles were well enjoyed by all involved and the double show was a necessary move to ensure everyone had their chance to shine under the spotlight. 

‘There were so many bands this year and it felt so much bigger than last year. The feeling you get when you walk off stage, in front of an amazing crowd, is incredible!' - Arthur, Anaphalactix. 

Miss Wynter would like to extend her thanks to the AV team, Mr. Orellana and Mr. Borland, in particular for their invaluable help on this project.  

Miss Wynter, Head of Music Outreach