BLACKPOOL band Waterfront are beating a track to Wembley after winning through to the final of a competition to find the next Oasis.

And that means they will be performing in front of a slightly bigger crowd than normal - but the band can't wait.

The five won the chance to appear at Wembley's Undiscovered Originals grand final when they scooped first place in the regional final at Yates's Wine Lodge, Blackpool, last week with a thumping song sheet which included new number The Princess Of Low Life and their popular anthem Metaxa.

And the local line-up, which consists of lead singer and rhythm guitarist Marc Sunderland, 19-year-old lead guitarist Stephen Lewis, 22-year-old bass player Paul Farrell and 18-year-olds Ryan Brooks, drums, and Hannah Stott, keyboards, say they are all looking forward to appearing at Wembley.

Ryan, who always felt confident the band would win through, said: "The atmosphere was absolutely electric on the night and there were loads of people there - not as many as will be at Wembley though.

"I was a bit nervous before the set, but only because I was wondering what the other bands were going to be like. "But we thought we had something unique on the night with our stage presence and image and I think that's where the other bands fell short."

But it was only by a whisker that Waterfront stole the top prize from Cujo - a popular, punk-influenced Preston-based band who have featured on the same bill as Waterfront in the region's clubs and pubs before and brought a noisy crowd to spur them on.

Edinburgh band Boothacre, whose influences obviously included a little too much Happy Mondays and Ocean Colour Scene, and guitar-filled Staffordshire combo 3 Mile Smile, who described their sound as "funky acid indie", filled the rest of the eclectic bill which certainly pleased the boisterous onlookers.

Waterfront will now feature on the bill at the National Music Show on November 27 with the chance of winning a recording contract.

Ryan added: "Congratulations to all the other bands, especially Cujo and their fans. They're great friends and it's a shame we both couldn't have made it to the final.

"Now we know we're at Wembley we've got something out of the competition. If we'd lost at this stage we wouldn't have had anything.

"It's going to be nerve-wracking at Wembley, but it's not about winning now - it's just a privilege to play there."

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