IT’S been a busy year so far for York band The Pauper Kings.

They have released their first EP, been in the studio writing and rehearsing new material and to top it all won an internet competition to support McFly when they played their sell-out concert at York’s Barbican Centre in April.

On Friday, the “Paupers” – brothers Arthur (keyboard and vocals), Henry (guitar and vocals) and Jack Bird (guitar and vocals), Milo Mitchinson (bass) and Nick Miller (drums) – were back on home turf to played to an ever-growing army of enthusiastic fans at The Crescent.

First on stage though were Nottingham band The Money, led by charismatic frontman Paul “Stav” Mylonas, who won the York crowd over from the start. Their stadium rock sound and Stav’s confident presence rocked the Crescent from the first note. They did a stunning mix of their own Hendrix-inspired material and a brilliant cover of Play That Funky Music. I was bowled over.

Their energetic set put the crowd in good spirits for the “Paupers” who came on shortly after and had their fans on their feet dancing from the very start. The Crescent gig was an opportunity to unleash some new material, as well as play a few old favourites with some well-known covers thrown in too.

Opening with Tonight, their first track on their EP, the boys quickly moved on to some new tracks, including Tale Of Lost Love, Foot In The Door, Sound Of The Drums – was a perfect platform to showcase Miller’s talents.

Twins Jack and Arthur slowed it down it a bit with a harmonic duet, Beside Me, before brother Henry rocked it up again with excellent versions of Queen’s Fat Bottomed Girls, the Boomtown Rats’ I Don’t Like Mondays, The Knacks’ My Sharona and a superb cover of Take On Me, which suited their harmonies and was as good as, if not better, than Aha’s original.

The boys’ musical influences and inspirations include Def Leppard and Guns and Roses, bands that I grew up with as an ’80s rock child and I would have loved to have heard them belt out one of their songs.

They finished the set with their touching love song Forever, which always gives me goosebumps, and a rocking good version of Johnny B Goode.

The “Paupers” have amazing energy and vitality and their infectious harmonies and catchy tunes have, unsuprisingly, won them admirers from all over the country.

They all gifted musicians with bags of raw talent and a clean-cut modern image which should, hopefully, propel them to the very top in the not-so-distant future.

- Jayne Ritchie