THERE will be "axe-wielding" aplenty at Dyson Perrins CE High School next week, as bands from across Worcestershire battle for supremacy.

Eight bands from six schools and a youth group will converge on the Yates Hay Road school on Friday, June 28, for the Worcestershire Battle of the Bands 2002, organised by Worcestershire Arts Education (WAE).

Two groups from Dysons and a band from Malvern Youth Centre will represent the town against outfits from Kingsley College, Redditch; Wolverley High School, Kidderminster; Trinity High School, Redditch; St Anne's Middle School, Bewdley; and Bishop Perowne CE High School, Worcester.

The all-day event will see each band play a 15-minute set of three or four songs, cheered on by a group of supporters from each school.

The competition is the brainchild of John Cleary, head of music at Dyson Perrins and organiser of the event on behalf of WAE.

"I was speaking with the music people at the Worcester Arts Education about the potential opportunities for contemporary musicians and I just felt that there ought to be more outlets for them," he said.

The winners of the competition will appear in the Worcester Voices and Visions Music Showcase on Friday, July 5, at the Malvern Theatres. They will also receive a day in a studio with industry producer Vo Fletcher and media coverage on Wyvern FM.

"It gives them recognition on a wider platform than is often available to them," Mr Cleary said. "I'm certain that they are going to enjoy themselves."