FOUR music students from Burnley are heading for the top in the battle of the bands.

The friends - Necessary Elvis - are currently half way through taking their BTec national diploma in popular music. Their busy summer schedule includes a fate-holding gig for the next round of the hotly contested nationwide Band Nation competition.

The group was created when drummer Ben Walker and bass guitarist Lee Rogerson decided to continue their studies in performing arts and enrolled for the BTec course.

They soon teamed up with guitarist Jon-Paul Keenan, who became lead vocalist, and lead guitarist James Spence.

The foursome write all their own material, and their melodic alternative rock has already earned them an enthusiastic following.

They won the Burnley heat for the battle of the bands when they played at the Sidewalk pub. Future appearances include sessions in Blackburn, Halifax and Hebden Bridge, and at an open air concert on August 17 for Accrington Sounds 97.

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