Let the Battle commence...

The Midlands has bred some serious music talent over the years - Robert Plant, Black Sabbath, The Twang and Judas Priest to name just a few. Could

be the next big thing?

If you're in a band and have bags of talent, then the Civic Hall wants to hear from you.

Every year, Wolverhampton's best live venue hosts a heated competition where over a hundred bands from the West Midlands and beyond battle it out for the coveted title and a prize of £1,000.

Groups will be judged on their songs, delivery, originality, vibe, crowd reaction, bonus (tickets sold) and deductions (lateness and overruns). The bands with the highest score will then progress to the next stage of the competition.

Almost 4,000 people packed into the venue to watch last year's finals, while nearly 3,000 others from all over the globe watched the whole event live on the Civic's free webcasts.

Organisers are still looking for bands to enter the competition, which kicks off in January and runs until the grand final on 26th April, and all musical styles and genres are welcome.

The venue's talent spotters will also be keeping their eyes and ears open for fresh talent to play support slots at the Civic and eventually headline shows at the Little Civic.

The public can watch all the heats live or online, and vote on the website for their favourite band to win the coveted 'Online Wildcard' which takes them straight to the final regardless of how they perform in the heats!

Battle of the Bands is sponsored by Banks's, which has its very own 'micro-site' where you can find details of the schedule, subscribe to watch the free live webcasts and vote for your favourite band, at http://botb.wolvescivic.co.uk