THE winner of the 1998 Fibbers/Evening Press Battle of the Bands could end up opening the prestigious Phoenix Festival this summer.

Negotiations are at an advanced stage between Fibbers boss Tim Hornsby, Phoenix promoter Vince Power and Carlsberg-Tetley, who are sponsoring both events.

Whether or not this gig opportunity of a lifetime comes off, the winner will still take home £500, one week's recording time worth £750 at the all-digital Old Dairy Recording Studios in Haxby Road, York, and a mini-tour of five venues organised by Mr Hornsby.

The second prize is £250, the third, £100, and all semi-finalists will receive a video of their slot, recorded on Fibbers' static camera with a desk mix of the sound.

Fibbers, the newly-refurbished caf bar in Stonebow, York, will be packed to the rafters tonight for the first of eight heats leading to four semi-finals and the grand final on May 6.

As always, entries have poured in, and 24 acts have been selected to fight to follow in the victorious footsteps of Knaresborough's heavy-rocking schoolboys Brace, who won in 1997.

Since last May's victory, Brace have played a summer mini-tour, taking in Manchester and Stoke-on-Trent, and recorded their debut CD of six songs, entitled There And Back Again, which they use primarily for promotional purposes, but also sell privately.

Competing for a place in the final are: heat one, Cognac, Benson and The Urban Soul; heat two, Audiowerk, Subway, Green Star Project; heat three, Fluid, Houdini, Santos; heat four, Baggy Blue Sky, Loophole, The Shirts; heat five, Honeytrap, Breathe, Naked Daze; heat six, Sharabang, Fantastic Gristle Boy and Honeytone Cody; heat seven, Skirt, Seed, Resin; heat eight, Squiffy, An Infinite Amount Of Monkeys and Relish.

Each heat winner and the four best runners-up qualify for the semis, running on April 8, 15, 22 and 29, with the last four places not being known until after the last heat on April 1. Each semi-final winner will qualify for the final along with the highest-scoring runner-up from the semis. Voting up to the final will be by the audience; on May 6, a panel will judge the final five.

Admission is £2 for the heats, £3 for the semis and £4 for the final; the first band will be on stage at 8.45pm.

Carlsberg-Tetley's brewery in Leeds is sponsoring the event, while the Old Dairy Studios and MOR Music, in Fossgate are providing their regular support.

Keep an eye on the Evening Press for previews of each battle in Eight Days A Week and a report with pictures from the battle front every Thursday.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.