Making waves with their indie sound

IT’S go, go, go for Ok Broken as the popular Oldham indie rockers gear up for by far their biggest gig so far.

The band — Gaz Wright (vocals/guitar), Dave Furnival (vocals/guitar), Phil McArdle (bass) and Adam Heap (drums) — have made it through to the final of the prestigious nationwide talent competition Sound Waves, and now plans are being made to make sure Saturday, January 16, at the O2 Academy in Leeds proves to be a night to savour.

After making their way through a number of qualifying stages — which have included playing original tracks in front of judges, a showcase gig and a video presentation filmed by Tom Melrose — Ok Broken will feature on final night in Leeds alongside 12 other hopeful artists who will all be gunning for terrific prizes.

Bassist McArdle beamed: “We were waiting for ages for a reply to our final entry, but once the email popped through to say we’d made Leeds, we were buzzing. It’s been all go from then on.

“We’re all made up, we’ve been telling everyone our news and the phones have been ringing off the hook.

“We’ve shared the news on social media and loads of people have mentioned it.

“We need to set the wheels in motion for the night itself now.

“We’ll be booking a coach and stuff like that. That’s going to be a right party bus.”

There will undoubtedly be strong competition to win the top prize, but the Ok Broken lads are confident that they, and their army of fans on the night, will make the ultimate impact.

McArdle added: “We weren’t expecting to get this far, so the fact that we have obviously means we’re doing something right.

“I can’t see a reason why anyone else deserves it more than us.

“We’ve put the work in to get there, and already we’ve sold a load of tickets for the final.

“It’s looking like we’re going to sell out the 70-seater bus and I don’t think there will be many of the other bands who will do that.

“We’ve done everything we can. It’s just about letting the music do the talking on the night now.”

Prizes up for grabs for winning Sound Waves are certainly nothing to be sniffed at.

They include recording studio time, a photo and video shoot, a local press and broadcast package, plus the opportunity to support an “established act” at the Leeds O2 Academy next year.

Wright, however, is happy for any eventuality now, considering Ok Broken have already made it down to the final 13 acts out of more than 300 that initially entered the competition.

Wright added: “To be honest we feel like we’re already winners, and though there is going to be that competition there on the day, we’ll have a buzz about us.

“We’ll be confident of getting up there and doing the business.

“It’s going to be a real pleasure just to get up on that stage at such a big and prestigious venue.

“It’ll give us a taste of the big side of things and that can only be good for us going forward.”

Before the final, Ok Broken are set to play gigs at Manchester’s Live Room on Saturday, then they star at the Pre March of the Mods charity showpiece event at the Stanley House Masonic Hall, in Audenshaw, on November 28.

They will also be filming further scenes for Dean Dermody’s soundtrack-backed full-length silent film, “Invisible”, before Christmas.



LISTEN to Simon Smedley’s exclusive audio interview with Gaz, Phil and Adam from Ok Broken: