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"It’s my annual countdown of my favourite acts from the last 12 months - and what a year it’s been...

"Since the March lockdown - 231,422 tracks have been sent into ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Music Introducing! And while the world’s been a lot more creative, naturally the quality of sound has diminished with more people using domestic equipment to record their work and collaborate digitally rather than in person.

"It’s also been the year of the virtual gig; not only have musicians embraced audio and visual streaming platforms - but music fans have flocked to such services as the hunger to be entertained hit an all-time high. The lack of human contact has also seen the comeback of raves, the birth of drive-in gigs (like at the Abbey Stadium in Redditch) and the creation of socially-distanced events - such as the Worcester Disco Festival. Who would have thought our first large-scale outdoor gathering wouldn’t be until the end of the summer? But it’s also cost us venues like the Artrix in Bromsgrove and the Worcester Arts Workshop, who simply weren’t able to pay the bills.

"Our biggest-selling songwriters have continued to reach new heights. Kington’s Ellie Goulding achieved another #1 album, Bewdley’s Becky Hill spent more than a year in the album charts with her debut release - as did Redditch/Evesham’s Harry Styles with his album Fine Line. We’ve also seen the meteoric rise to fame by Weobley’s 220 Kid, whose debut single dominated the charts for a large swathe of the lockdown. Malvern’s Paul Farrer rewrote the theme to the Weakest Link, which was relaunched in America, and enjoyed heightened success with Michael McIntyre, The Chase and Dancing On Ice.

"But with the astonishing volume of new music, we’ve also lost some of biggest movers and shakers in our area. 2020 was the year we said goodbye to Jez Cole - who run the Worcester School of Rock & Performance, Ian King - who split his time between writing folk music and composing for Worcester Cathedral, and ‘The Rev’ Genghis Memphis - the energetic and humorous frontman of the Worcester band Massive Head Trauma. After a year of Redditch musicians campaigning for a reduction in knife crime, we tragically lost one of our most up-and-coming artists to that very issue - Colton Bryan.

"The biggest problem, as we move into the next 12 months, is that of money. Music has become one of the most consumable products but with so many of our creatives having to take up other jobs to make ends meet, it’s high time we find a fairer system where musicians aren’t treated like premiership footballers or Sunday league players - all or nothing. People have never been more willing to support the arts - we just need those platforms to follow suit. Quite how that happens - I think the whole industry is open to ideas..."

Andrew Marston

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