The Final was a great success with 10 pubs represented from all over the North of England. The pub managers had gone to considerable trouble to ensure that they had sufficient support for their contestants and so we had a full room at the Ireland Wood.
The Winner with unanimous voting from all 3 judges and a clear 12 point lead at the end was DEBBIE BUNN from the Whinmoor in Leeds. She stunned us all with her note perfect rendition of “Halleluiah” and we wish her well as she pursues her singing career with Q Factor as a launch pad. We hope to see some U-Tube footage very soon – that’s what the camcorder prize was for!
Very worthy Runner-up and again a clear 5 points clear of the other contestants was JACOB CRAWSHAW from the Junction Inn in Halifax. His version of “How to save a life” by the Fray was a fantastic 1st song for him.
The remaining contestants were all very close on points, although all the judges agreed on Debbie being the winner, they each chose different contestants as 2nd 3rd 4th and 5th so it really did come down to points and was extremely close which made for a fantastic night of entertainment. All singers should pat themselves on the back for having made it through to the final and being able to put on such a great show for us all. We were really pleasantly surprised by the high standards throughout and also the variety of styles of music chosen on the night.
The finalists are listed below in no particular order, we would like to thank all of them for coming along and taking part and would encourage them to enter again when we repeat the competition.
Special Thanks go to Paul & Anne from the Ireland Wood Club for hosting the event, providing the venue and dressing it up, the Karaoke DJ and donating Raffle Prizes. The whole event was run very smoothly and everyone had a fantastic night which is no small thanks to them. Thank you also to the Judges: Paul & Leanne representing Quality Taverns, and Sylvia from the Ireland Wood – they had a very tough job on the night, but did everything they had to in order to separate the contestants enough to have a clear 1st & 2nd Place.
The Pub managers also deserve a big pat on the back for organising themselves and their customers to come along in support of their singers: Dawn & Derek from the Bridge, Huddersfield / Anne from the Swan, Lockwood / Liz from the Rose & Crown, Longwood / Ian & Jill from the Joiners Arms, Middleton / Paula from the Highlander, Heywood / Sarah from the Whinmoor, Leeds / Julie from the Butchers Arms, Thurnscoe / Ann from the Ship, Wallsend
We believe that everyone had a great night and we look forward to the next time we run the competition ... watch this space!!!