 | | The Cassettes |
Last Thursday, the Oldham four piece opened for INXS at the Apollo, after winning a contest on the band’s website, and while they were understandably excited about it, the initial reaction to the news was quite different. According to frontman Dyson, the band were simply "groggy". "Our drummer Chris had literally just rolled out of bed from a late night out when our mate phoned us telling us we had won, and that we had to be at the Apollo in four hours! "That feeling turned to elation. I was close to tears, Patrick was heard reaching for the nearest bucket, and Graham was faced with the prospect of closing down William Hill's early in order to make the gig. Thankfully, he found someone to cover his shift." Need you tonight Not that their victory should have come as that much of a shock, if they’d been listening to one of Dyson’s best friends, a huge INXS fan who "reckoned we'd go down well with their fans.
 | | INXS |
"He managed to track down the phone numbers of one of the main men behind the band and before long, our demo had been shipped over to New York for them to listen to it. "From there, we didn’t hear anything for a while, then all of a sudden we saw they had a competition running for UK bands to support them, and as they already had a copy of our demo, I think that helped them make up their minds." The gift So contest won and shifts sorted, the band rocked up at the venue, unsure of what to expect. What they found was a set of legends only too ready to ready to make them welcome, not least JD Fortune, the man who won the Rock Star competition the band ran to find a new frontman. | "It was such an amazing experience; to play your tunes out of two speakers the size of your house to a huge audience is incredible." | | Dyson on playing at the Apollo |
"From the moment we arrived, we were made to feel comfortable. Most of us headed straight for the canteen to go and grab some of the free food where we we're introduced to JD Fortune. "Not only was he the epitome of a rock god, he was a great laugh too. We managed to cheekily slip him one of our demos! The INXS guys were top blokes and gave us loads of confidence." New sensation But for all the advice and welcomes from the Australian megastars, it was still down to the Cassettes to actually put on a show and according to Dyson, they “were bricking it.
 | | The Cassettes at the Apollo |
"There were pictures on the walls of all the legendary bands that had played there before us; it made us wonder what on earth we were doing playing there. It’s the kind of venue that you can only dream of playing, and when you walk out onto the stage to a total silence and 2000 or so people staring at you, you just have to go for it! "It was such an amazing experience; to play your tunes out of two speakers the size of your house to a huge audience is incredible. We had the time of our lives on that stage, there's no better feeling." And did that feeling give them a taste for the big time? Understandably, the answer is a resounding yes or, as Dyson simply put it, "next stop Wembley!" | 
