DRUM major Dave Barnes has been given his marching orders in the battles round of The Voice.

The 37-year-old, originally from Nelson, was given a tough challenge, as he was pitted against Londoner Kagan Fage-Burgin, to perform King's Years And Years.

Even before the contest Dave, who works at the Royal Military School of Music in Twickenham, was slightly apprehensive.

He said: "It's not something I would ever think of singing myself normally."

But he insisted he relished the opportunity to get 'out of his comfort zone' and pledged to give the head-to-head his best shot.

Boy George and Paloma Faith both plumped for Dave's rendition of the song - but Kaiser Chiefs frontman Ricky Wilson opted for the Hackney-born singer.

And Dave's last chance of survival evaporated when will.i.am failed to use his 'steal' option to keep him in the running.

Speaking after his exit, Dave said: "I'm really gutted. I put everything into that.

"I did show every single tone of my voice out there. But it's been a really good experience and a really good learning curve for me."