Fuze find a fan in McFly

This week, Pop rockers McFly will begin their nationwide, 26-date, theatre tour, which sees them travelling across the length and breadth of Britain performing to all their fans. As the band travel to York on the 17th April, they will be joined by a very talented Essex band.

Fuze, made up of Ed Alston - lead vocalist and guitarist, George Kirchner - lead guitarist, Jack Goldsmith - bass guitarist, and Keir Adamson - drummer, beat hundreds of other hopefuls to the position.

From left: George, Keir, Ed, Jack

From November of last year, McFly begun their Battle of the Bands competition, looking for fresh and under-the-radar artists to support them on their tour. With many acts across the country entering videos of themselves to the website, the public had a chance to vote online over a 3 month period for their favourite.

The top 50 were then whittled down to 26 as McFly, made up of Tom, Danny, Dougie, as well as Essex's very own Harry Judd, picked the bands they wished to appear alongside them.

Having been crowned Chelmsford's YFest winners in August 2011, as well as giving regular performances at live music venues across the county including The Box in Chelmsford, Fuze are very much prepared for a live audience. However, with a sell-out gig at The Barbican theatre in York, the group will have to adjust to a 1,500-strong crowd - a spectacular experience for any artist

Lead guitarist, George is filled with excitement at the prospect of their upcoming gig. "It will be the biggest gig we've ever played. To have this opportunity to perform to 1,500 McFly fans, as well as McFly themselves, will be so awesome."

After receiving a call from an unknown US number at the start of February, George was ecstatic to hear the voice of McFly's manager Richard Rashman, with "the words [he] had been waiting for months to hear".

"My heart literary started to beat faster than ever before, I couldn't breathe and I just knew that we made it on to the tour! As soon as I got off the phone, I went to scream at the top of my voice but nothing came out! I then ran down stairs and told my mum, phoning the other guys in the band shortly after."

In order to prepare for their supporting slot at the chart toppers' gig, Fuze will be hosting a warm up gig on 13th April. Starting at 7:30 at The Box, Fuze welcome anybody to attend to support them in preparing for this once-in-a-lifetime show.

In recent months, Fuze's album has been available to buy on iTunes and Amazon, with the band's latest single, 'By Your Side', available to download for 89p on iTunes. The four-piece have also recorded a video to accompany the single, which is also available.

If you wish to find out more about Fuze, head to their official YouTube page FuzeBandTV to see some clips of Ed, George, Jack and Keir performing live, as well as a sneak preview of the latest video, or visit the Fuze Facebook page

Fuze's 'By Your Side' is available to download now

2011 Essex Round-Up!

As we draw close to the end of 2011, reflecting upon the year, Essex has played a bigger role in the media than ever before.

With the continuous influence of The Only Way is Essex in the media, or TOWIE as it is better known, Essex has been finding common ground in day-to-day life across the country. ‘Shuuut-Up’, ‘well jel’, and who could forget Joey Essex’s signature word ‘reem’ have all been widely recognised not just in Essex but throughout England and the UK. It’s difficult to watch the television for one week and not see one of the TOWIE characters popping up on chat shows or game shows. Some of our favourite TOWIE characters have even left the show to appear on reality TV, with Amy Childs appearing on Celebrity Big Brother, placing fourth, and of course Mark Wright just losing out to McFly’s Dougie in the I’m A Celebrity final.

Dougie’s bandmate Harry Judd, born in Chelmsford, had a very successful 2011 as he lifted the Strictly Come Dancing glitterball this month. Alongside dance partner Aliona Vilani, he fought off competition from Waterloo Road’s Chelsee Healey and Jason Donovan to claim the top spot.

This year has seen the country fall further in love with Essex boy Olly Murs as he jumps from one success to the next. Starting off the year by trekking across the Kaisut desert in Kenya for Comic Relief alongside 8 other celebrities, including fellow Essex boy Dermot O’Leary, Murs’ year began with a bang. The sound of the summer was Olly’s ‘Heart Skips a Beat’ featuring Rizzle Kicks, which reached the number 1 spot in August. Olly’s third number 1 single came in December with ‘Dance With Me Tonight’, which he also performed on The X Factor this year. One of Olly’s biggest successes this year would be his weekly role on ITV2’s ‘The Xtra Factor’ alongside Caroline Flack. The pair have been heavily praised by the media for what many people would argue has been the best series of Xtra Factor to date. 2012 should be an even bigger year for Witham’s Murs as he starts his first ever Arena tour in February, which kicks off in Cardiff before moving to The O2 Arena.

Another huge success story from Essex in 2011 has come from Romford, birthplace of popstar Jessie J. After starting the year as BBC Sound of 2011 and as the Brits Critic’s Choice, big things were predicted for Jessie J. With 4 Mobo awards and a #1 single in ‘Price Tag’, these predictions were very true. It has been recently announced that Price Tag was in the Top 3 of the most downloaded songs of the year. It was also announced this year that Jessie J would star as a judge on new BBC One talent show ‘The Voice’, where she will star alongside Tom Jones, Will.I.Am and Danny O’Donoghue in the new year.

Other Essex singers who have been successful this year include Pixie Lott, whose single ‘All About Tonight’ entered the chart at #1. Also, Matt Cardle has had a successful year following winning the X Factor in 2010, with The Guardian calling his album ‘Letters’ the best of 2011. 

Each year the X Factor gives us a fantastic contestant from Essex, with Matt Cardle, Olly Murs and Stacey Solomon coming to mind, and this year has been no exception with one quarter of winners Little Mix coming from Essex. Jesy Nelson, from Romford, was put together with Perrie, Leigh-Anne and Jade at bootcamp and was mentored by Tulisa.

2012 is set to be an even bigger year for Braintree’s Louie Spence, who was this year announced to be a judge on ITV’s Dancing on Ice. The new series is set to begin in January.

Lets hope that this time next year, there will be even more news about these Essex stars and many more new faces who will appear across 2012. Happy New Year to everyone in Essex and beyond!