Ceci est le tout premier article de presse sur Albion. Il a été publié le 29/07/2006 dans Evening Gazette (Middlesbrough).
Par Dave Robson.
Singer Alistair Griffin is ready to put the ghost of Fame Academy to bed when appearing at Stockton's Riverside Festival with his new band.
Exactly three years to the day since the Castleton musician entered the hit TV show's house, he will kick off a new assault on the music scene by performing at the Stockton Riverside Fringe Festival. Only this time, it's with a new band – Albion.
The name has been bandied around for months, but has only now been confirmed. They have already played the odd gig, including last month's Black Sheep Brewery Festival at Masham where, with the band still not ready to confirm their identity, they bizarrely performed as Rockdapussy. But on August 6 at the festival's Riverside stage, the Albion era begins in earnest.
Alistair acknowledges it has been an almost surreal three years, with the highs of reaching the Fame Academy final, scoring a top five single "Bring It On" and a top 20 album being followed by the frustrations of trying to maintain that success.
But, buoyed by a small army of fans who have remained loyal since FA, he hopes Albion can soon make their mark.
Asked to describe his rollercoaster three years, he said simply: "Tempestuous." He said: "But really, it's what happens now that's important. You've always got to look to the future and find the positives."
Albion – Alistair, brothers Tom and James Martin, Walter Laybourne and Simon Waggott – are currently recording songs, although the eagerly-awaited album is some way off yet. Meanwhile, they intend putting some snippets on the Myspace.com website and setting up their own site.
Of Stockton, he said: "It'll be good to be gigging back on our doorstep and launching something like Albion. It's not like it's a small gig in the back room of a pub, it's a good stage to set things off on."
* Albion are due to perform on Sunday, August 6, at 7.15pm at the festival's Riverside stage. Other acts on Sunday's bill include The Hitchers, Paul Weller Trilogy, The Clashed and, at 8.15pm, Suspiciously Elvis. For full festival details, visit www.fringefestival.co.uk.
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