Rhod’s road trip to find unsung talent
IN THIS new four-part series, comedian Rhod Gilbert embarks on a road trip across the country, on a mission to find the UK’s best part-time band.
To help him, he has recruited some expert help. Ultravox frontman Midge Ure will head home to Glasgow before taking in a tour of Northern Ireland and Wales. Championing the north of England is former New Order and Joy Division bassist Peter Hook, and in the south of the country, Rhod is accompanied by legendary Soul II Soul producer Jazzie B.
In part one Rhod and Midge set off on an epic road trip across Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales to discover the UK’s Best Part-Time Band.
From across the UK, more than 1,200 bands have entered the competition, playing rock to reggae, ska to skiffle, bhangra to blues and everything in between.
Leading double lives, by day they might be doctors, window cleaners or waiters, but at night they shed their work clothes, pick up a guitar and channel their inner rock god.
What binds them all? An incredible passion for music and a desire to escape the nine-to-five grind.
This is no ordinary talent show – this is a rock ‘n’ roll documentary following Rhod and Midge on tour, visiting bands playing in rehearsal spaces, pubs, barns and bedrooms.
At the end of the road trip, five acts will be selected for a regional heat in Belfast, where they will compete for a place in the Grand Final.
UK’s Best Part-time Band is part of the BBC’s Get Playing campaign, encouraging music lovers, amateur musicians and lapsed players to have a go and celebrate the joy of making music together.