FOUR-PIECE Neon Kicks, based at Durham and Leeds, have won a national competition for student bands and will now have a fourtrack EP released on next month's cover of music magazine Artrocker.

Natalie Graham, vocals, Rob Peck and John Williamson, who share duties on bass, synths and guitar, and drummer Chloe Elliott were one of 300 bands to enter The JD Set Unsigned contest, sponsored by Jack Daniel's, back in November.

Neon Kicks, who play indie and electro songs, were one of nine qualifiers after judge David Gedge, of The Wedding Present, said: "For me, they were the best unsigned band of the lot.

They had a distinctive sound and the lead singer had a unique voice. I can definitely see them going places."

He was right.

The band gained some one-toone help from an expert panel from the music industry and the Durham/Leeds outfit beat off the challenge of Newcastle's Odd Shaped Head and Warwick's The Fanclub and clinched the 2009 title at The JD Set in Manchester.

On August 13 the band are playing at Islington's famous Hope and Anchor pub where the unsigned outfit will undoubtedly hope to be checked out by the industry's talent spotters.