A pub in Oldham town centre is set to burst with indie and alternative rock this weekend in a bid to showcase up-and-coming talent.

The Bank Top Tavern alehouse on King Street is currently preparing for a big night of local rock and indie talent with three bands announced to take over the stage.

First on the line-up is Shelf, a band which formed in the summer of 2023 and hails from Saddleworth.

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Described as a "chilled out 90s style" band, attendees can look forward to their live performance of "provoking visuals" and "spellbinding vocals".

Shelf is currently self-recording a collection of songs, which will soon be available on streaming platforms and social media.

Next up is another Oldham four-piece, a post-punk grunge band, One Dimensional Creatures, which was born out of lockdown.

Frontman Ste Wilson spent most of his time writing and recording tracks about the UK, politics and the way the world dealt with the pandemic.

When lockdown restrictions lifted, he met up with an old schoolmate for a pint and soon drafted Ollie Chapman to the band after he had listened to the demo.

The Oldham Times:

Chris Tighe and Adam Heap then joined the group, forming the 'One Dimes' to deliver "heavy distorted guitar" with "flowing edgy lead lines, driving beats, solid drums and powerful lyrics" - that are often explicit. 

The group currently has four singles, 'Media Mass', 'Bleed the Markets', 'Peter Pan' and 'My Noose' which draws on a range of influences such as Idles, Nirvana, Pixies and Sonic Youth.

Ste Wilson added: "The One Dimes are looking forward to playing a home town gig after playing around the north west.

"We always give a little bit more for the Oldham crew." 

Finally, Hostile Foreign Powers, fronted by Ulysses Oliver, will take to the stage.

Ulysses has apparently been in "at least" 15 bands from the late 1980s to around 2003, but his latest incarnation comes fresh from the studio as the Bank Top Tavern will be the band's first official gig.

With no lead singer, the band will use "other vocal means".

Ulysses explained: "As we don't have a singer, we take samples from archive material and edit film footage to create a live light show behind the band while they play live.

"My intention was to take things back to the post-punk times but more upbeat like Public Image Ltd, Gang of Four and early Killing Joke."

Revellers have been told to expect a 'Cold War' theme with 50s and 60s government warnings and 'misinformation samples' to "keep you on your toes".

The gig, brought by Tactile Promotions, kicks off at the pub this Saturday (April 27) and is free to attend from 8pm onwards. 

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