The Global Battle of the Bands (GBOB) is a live music competition joined by bands from all continents around the world. It is open to amateur/professional bands of all music genres and ages; there are only two main prerequisites to joining: no cover songs and no pre-recorded tracks. All bands must play original compositions and play it live. Every year Local Qualifying Heats and National Finals take place in participating countries around the world. The winners of these go forward to the World Finals. The grand winner of the World Finals will be awarded a USD $100,000.00 worth of cash and band development packages in London, as well as a golden statuette engraved with the words "Best New Band in the World".
Starting in 2004 with 16 countries participating, 25 countries took part in 2006 and participation continues to grow in 2007 to 2010 with a frequent average of over 30 countries involved.
In 2016 the GBOB World Finals were held in Berlin, in club SO36. The winners were Sinoptik from Ukraine, while Hteththtemeth (Romania) got the second place and were "The Most Voted Band of the Finalists". BoW from Poland was on the third place. The Run (Australia) were voted the crowd favourite.
The Competition
The World Finals were held at the
London Astoria
The London Astoria was a music venue at 157 Charing Cross Road, in London, England.
Originally a warehouse during the 1920s, the building became a cinema and ballroom. It was converted for use as a theatre in the 1970s. After further develop ...
from 2004 to 2006. In 2007, the World Finals were held in Camden, London over a three-day period at two different venues. The first two days were held at the Camden Underground, followed by the Finals at the Camden
Electric Ballroom
The Electric Ballroom is a 1,500-capacity performance venue (primarily for rock bands) and indoor market located at 184 Camden High Street in Camden Town, London, England.
History
The Electric Ballroom started as an Irish ballroom in the 1930 ...
on December 6, 2007. The first two days served as a semi-finals. The World Finals 2008 were held at Astoria in London, while the finals in 2009 were held at
The Scala, also in London, after Astoria closed down.
2010 was the first time the World Finals were held outside UK - in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The 2010 World Finals was co-presented and televised nationwide by
Astro hitz, a Malaysian Music TV Channel.
Previous winners
Previous Judges
* Gary Helsinger (Universal Music Publishing)
* Joshua Freni (Virgin Records)
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Steve Lillywhite
Stephen Alan Lillywhite, (born 15 March 1955) is a British record producer. Since he began his career in 1977, Lillywhite has been credited on over 500 records, and has collaborated with a variety of musicians including new wave acts XTC, Bi ...
(Producer - U2, Iggy Pop, The Rolling Stones)
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Ben Adams
Benjamin “Ben” Edward Stephen Adams (born 22 November 1981) is a British singer and songwriter from Ascot, England, best known as a member of the British-Norwegian boy band A1.
Early life
Born in Ascot, Adams attended Westminster Under ...
(A1)
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Glen Matlock
Glen Matlock (born 27 August 1956) is an English musician, best known for being the bass guitarist in the original line-up of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols. He is credited as a songwriter on 10 of the 12 songs on the Sex Pistols' only albu ...
(Sex Pistols)
Countries
Since its start in 2004, bands from the following countries have participated in The Global Battle of the Bands:
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References
External links
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It's the final countdown in Global Battle of the Bands, The Malay MailThe Global Battle of the Bands - Finale, Nuffnang Malaysia
Icelandic Rockers in Global Battle of the Bands, Iceland Review Online{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120329134217/http://www.icelandreview.com/icelandreview/daily_news/Icelandic_rockers_in_Global_Battle_of_the_Bands_0_250104.news.aspx , date=2012-03-29
Dubtonic Kru Win Battle of the Bands, RJR News
Music competitions