Funked Up Win Silver in National Final

A Walsall College band made up of Music students recently won the silver medal in the final of the World Skills UK Popular Music Competition, confirming their place as one of the region’s new rising stars.

Members of the band, ‘Funked Up’, initially impressed the industry professional judges at the recent regional heats at Derby College before being selected to perform at the national final of the competition held at Walsall College on Thursday 26th May.

During the competition, which is run in association with UK Skills, each band had to select and rehearse two songs of their choice and were assessed on a range of factors, including communication, difficulty, dynamics, musicality, presentation / showmanship, professionalism and technical accuracy.

The eleven bands competing in the final were the highest scorers from across the country, making the competition particularly fierce.

The members of ‘Funked Up’ are Mica Barton, Rosanna Lefevre, Tom Southall, Calum Harrison, Charlie Stackhouse and Liam Bridgen, who offer their own unique blend of funky rock harmony.

Vocalist Mica commented: “We are so pleased to have won the silver medal in final against some very tough competition. Taking part in the World Skills competition has been a great experience and has definitely given me more confidence for when I go on to study at the Vocal Institute in London”.

Music Lecturer Ray Johnson added: “We are delighted a group of our students have won the silver medal in the national World Skills competition. The standard of entries was extremely high and success on this level proves they have a huge amount of skill and talent.”