The Pistolas

After fighting off stiff competition from more than 80 entries last year, The Pistolas got just the leg up they needed and went on to win the prestigious televised Diesel U Music Awards earlier this year. Having played alongside the likes of the Magic Numbers and with record deals and national tours on the horizon, the four-piece are proof that this competition isn't your average talent contest.

Pistolas singer and bassist Naomi Cousins said: “We've definitely come a long way since winning last year. We've started playing regular gigs in London, we've signed a management deal and we've won the Diesel U Music Awards, which was absolutely fantastic for us.

“We're going to be playing at Manchester In The City next month on the XFM stage and we're due to release a single with Fierce Panda early next year.

“After winning recording time with the Next Big Thing competition, we recorded the demos which got us noticed by the Diesel U Music judges.

“When you're practicing four times a week and holding down two minimum wage jobs, things like this make it all worthwhile. The free recording time was a great part of last year's prize but the competition also helped us get a lot of press exposure and we got a lot more people to our gigs.”

Liam Hart, guitarist, said: “The competition gave us a push up and we’ve done well off the back of it. Some talent competitions can be very cheesy, so you have to make sure you enter the right ones. At the moment we’re trying to play live as much as possible and we’re hoping to do a national tour soon.”

Next Big Thing 2004 - listen to tracks from the winners and the finalists