When music fans start campaigning for a BBC Introducing show in their region, it shows that in little over two years Introducing has not only arrived but become an integral part of the independent music scene. Actually there are now only three BBC regions that don’t have a specialist Introducing show: Somerset, Cumbria and – bafflingly –  Tyne & Wear where BBC Newcastle’s reach covers most of Northumberland and County Durham – across a population of around 900,000.

It’s not as if there’s a shortage of new musical talent in the area. Forget The Animals, Lindisfarne, Bryan Ferry, Sting, Mark Knopfler, Neil Tennant and Prefab Sprout – or even more recent heroes such as Kubichek, The Futureheads, Golden Virgins, Maximo Park and Field Music. In the last two years we’ve been deluged on my BBC 6 Music show with fine new music from Newcastle and Sunderland – from the likes of Spies In Limbo, Viva City, Detroit Social Club, Sophie And Peter Johnston, Conelrad,  Deltasound, Lanterns On The Lake, Light Sleep/Heavy Dreams, Fritz, Lights On Moscow, VCO, Wolves At The Door, Sandhill, Widows, Little Comets, Motown Massacre, Jukebox Gypsy, Jumpers For Goalposts, Leon Thompson, Moths, Capote, Billy Bloodaxe and Beth Jeans Houghton… not to mention The Anglo Form, Let’s Buy Happiness and Black Cab Casino – of whom more anon – see link to the BBC Introducing blog  below.

Artists of this calibre shouldn’t need to send their music to London just to get it heard on the radio, and last weekend Tyneside-based music development agency Generator fired an opening salvo in a campaign to bring BBC Introducing to Newcastle. Billed as “NORTH EAST BEAT UNSIGNED – a celebration of new North East music” they staged a free showcase at the Discovery Museum with seven fine upcoming bands from the region.

Pic: Jazzy Lemon

They invited Claire Dupree, editor of the influential local music magazine NARC – plus Peter Brewis from Field Music – and myself to offer constructive encouragement to the less established acts within a non-competitive setting. But honestly none of them really needed to be lectured by the likes of us. No doubt Generator’s real reason for inviting Claire, Peter and myself was to remind us all just how high the local standards actually are these days.

The five “new” acts each played 20 minute sets
THE ILLUSTRATORS
THE ANGLO FORM
PINK LANE
VACATION PIONEERS
BLACK CAB CASINO

Then the tables and chairs were cleared to make way for half-hour sets by two more established bands – both hotly tipped by Generator for success next year.

LET’S BUY HAPPINESS
BRILLIANT MIND

For a description of what the various bands were like see my review of the event on the BBC Introducing Blog – while for a comprehensive set of pictures of the afternoon, see Jazzy Lemon‘s fine photoblog on Flickr

After the event, Generator’s Joe Frankland told me the bands we’d seen were only the tip of a massive  musical iceberg. For every band selected to play that afternoon, a further seven had been turned away. Nick Roberts at BBC Newcastle is doing a great job  squeezing as much new local music into The Evening Show as he can get away with. But if it’s not too cheeky for a rank outsider like myself to offer the suggestion,  BBC Newcastle could do themselves a big favour by giving him an extra, dedicated Introducing show of his own to reflect the huge and diverse musical community in the region.