28/04/2008
Arts Council England has launched a search for the most musical city in the UK.
As part of the Take It Away scheme - which offers interest-free loans for buying musical instruments - the public is being asked to vote for its favourite musical city, whether that's the birthplace of the Beatles, the home of trip hop or the city that gave us the stellar talent (and sideburns) of Engelbert Humperdinck.
Ten cities have made the shortlist - Birmingham, Brighton, Bristol, Colchester, Leicester, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield - and a host of celebrity ambassadors including Sting, Jamelia and Richard Hawley will be drumming up support for their home towns.
According to the Arts Council, Liverpool, Manchester and London are strong contenders for the title, but with the winner decided by public vote the competition is wide open.
You can place your vote at www.mostmusicalcity.co.uk and voters will also have a chance to win tickets to the End of the Road festival in Dorset in September.
And that's not all. Unsigned bands can register for a chance to represent their Most Musical City and play in front of a crowd of 5000 festival-goers at the End of the Road, sharing the bill with the likes of Mercury Rev, Calexico and Laura Marling.
Click here http://www.mostmusicalcity.co.uk for all the details.