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A young Teesside band are preparing to play the biggest gig of their lives this weekend – in front of 80,000 music fans at Scotland's sold-out T In The Park festival.

Thornaby-based-based Cattle and Cane, whose folk-tinged sound has earned them a legion of live fans on Teesside, is thanking ´óÏó´«Ã½ Introducing Tees for setting them on the road to success, following a meteoric six-month rise to stardom.

In February this year, the band uploaded three of their songs to the ´óÏó´«Ã½ Introducing website – bbc.co.uk/introducing – an initiative for under the radar musicians to get more exposure for their music across the ´óÏó´«Ã½ Introducing Network.

The songs were heard by ´óÏó´«Ã½ Tees presenter Bob Fischer, whose weeknight ´óÏó´«Ã½ Introducing show regularly spotlights local bands.

"I was stunned by the quality of their song writing and musicianship, and couldn't believe this was a virtually unknown band from Teesside," says Bob.

"I played them on my show the next night, and immediately invited them to come into the studio and perform a live session. As soon as they started playing in the ´óÏó´«Ã½ Tees studio, I knew they were something special", he says.

The day after the session was broadcast, Bob was contacted by the ´óÏó´«Ã½ Introducing team, who were looking for new talent to showcase at this summer's major music festivals.

"I had no hesitation in putting Cattle and Cane forward as one of my suggestions", says Bob. "They'd just knocked me out the previous night".

Three anxious months later, Cattle and Cane received notification that they'd been selected from thousands of ´óÏó´«Ã½ Introducing artists to play at the long-running T In The Park festival – entertaining 80,000 music fans alongside chart-toppers Muse, Eminem and Kasabian.

The band's singer, Joe Hammill, says: "I couldn't believe it when we got the e-mail telling us we'd made it. I had no idea we'd even been put forward.

"´óÏó´«Ã½ Introducing has been amazing for us – I guess we're living proof that it really does work. It's been an incredible year so far and none of us can wait to get onstage at T In The Park".

Cattle and Cane are a real family affair, with several members of the Hammill family chipping in – including Joe's teenage sister, Helen, and brother, Frank. Paul Wilson (drums) and Liam Finn (violin) complete the line-up. The band has been together for less than a year.

Notes to Editors

´óÏó´«Ã½ Introducing is a multi-platform initiative across ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio 1, ´óÏó´«Ã½ 6 Music, ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio 1Xtra, ´óÏó´«Ã½ Asian Network, Switch, over 35 ´óÏó´«Ã½ local radio stations and at bbc.co.uk/introducing – all working together to provide an internal network dedicated to showcasing the hottest new talent from across the UK.

The ´óÏó´«Ã½ Introducing Stage is now present at key UK music festivals throughout the year, including Glastonbury, T In The Park and Reading and Leeds.

Musicians can upload their music at bbc.co.uk/introducing for the possible opportunity of being broadcast on ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio, which could lead to a slot on one of the ´óÏó´«Ã½ Introducing stages.

By supporting new music, over 500 bands have been showcased on a ´óÏó´«Ã½ Introducing festival stage since it began.

T In The Park takes place this weekend, Friday 9 to Sunday 11 July.

Bob Fischer presents new music and local arts every weeknight on ´óÏó´«Ã½ Introducing Tees from 8-10pm. Teesside bands can upload their songs to bbc.co.uk/introducing.

RF