Rock Of The Town

VH-1 experts will decide this weekend which UK city is the best for music.

It doesn't matter whether it's Franz Ferdinand, Travis or Darius, everybody loves to see a star act from their home town doing well.

But this weekend the argument over which city is the rock capital of the UK will be settled.

Eight locations across Britain and Ireland are doing battle in a head-to-head contest on VH-1.

Glasgow, home to Travis, Wet, Wet, Wet, Simple Minds among others, is the only Scottish contender in the VH1 Nation's Favourite Music City and is taking on Birmingham, Dublin, London, Sheffield, Manchester, Liverpool, Blackwood and surrounding areas in Wales.

Experts will compare the success of artists and calculate the winning location by seeing which city's stars have amassed the most No.1s in the last 20 years. Here is a guide to the country's most successful rock cities

GLASGOW

AS the only Scottish representative, we need to hope that the combined skills of Darius, Michelle McManus and Wet Wet Wet take Glasgow over the top.

With two of the best live venues - King Tut's Wah Wah Hut and The Barrowland Ballroom - Glasgow has a proud tradition of rocking out and is in with a decent shout.

Primal Scream, Fairground Attraction, Edwyn Collins, The Bluebells, The Fratellis, Franz Ferdinand, Simple Minds, Texas, Altered Images, Travis and Belle and Sebastian all hail from Glasgow. While Lanarkshire acts like Soup Dragons and The Jesus and Mary Chain get a shout and Paisley's Paolo Nutini and Gerry Rafferty are included by proximity.

Former Altered Images singer Clare Grogan said: "I've got a soft spot for all the Glasgow jangley guitar types - Orange Juice, Aztec Camera, Franz Ferdinand and new band BriColage.

"Music is a way of life in Glasgow."

DUBLIN

The Irish capital has had a huge influence on music in the British Isles and around the world, enjoying some incredible chart-topping acts, as well as a seeming monopoly on clean-cut boy-band stars.

U2 are the worldwide kings of rock 'n' roll, while Sinead O' Connor, The Corrs, Samantha Mumba, and even Enya have all done well.

In terms of manufactured pop acts, the Fair City is also home to B*Witched, Boyzone, Westlife and solo efforts from Ronan Keating and Brian McFadden.

Boyzone's Shane Lynch said: "I think Dublin should be crowned the nation's favourite music city because of the large amount of bands that have been successful worldwide."

LIVERPOOL

If it was a poll of all-time number one stars, then Liverpool would be the clear winner thanks to the Fab Four.

But since The Beatles are no longer with us, it's down to the more modern Liverpool-born pop stars to carry on the proud tradition.

Atomic Kitten, Sonia, The La's, The Farm, The Zutons, Lightning Seeds, OMD and Melanie C are all flying the Merseyside flag.

Ex-Atomic Kitten singer Liz McClarnon said: "We have had more Number Ones (56 to be precise) than any other city in the world."

MANCHESTER

The rivalry between the two major cities of north-west England will be fuelled here.

Oasis have been the biggest Manchester band for the last 10 years but the entire Madchester sound will be able to stick their oar in as well.

The Stone Roses, Happy Mondays, Black Grape, The Smiths, Morrissey, New Order, James, Simply Red, Take That and Joy Division are some of its top acts.

SHEFFIELD

THE former steel capital has become a bit of an indie rock hotspot in recent years as home to uber hip rockers Arctic Monkeys.

They are following in the footsteps of Pulp, Moloko, Def Leppard, Joe Cocker, Heaven 17 and Human League.

Human League's Susan Sulley said: "Sheffield has diversity, vibrancy and good old solid northern working class that makes people stand up and listen. From the 60s to now, and every decade in between, we make music like our steel, strong and it stands the test of time."

BLACKWOOD (WALES)

Blackwood is being highlighted for the vote as it's the home town of Manic Street Preachers. But as Welsh pop acts are so spread around, all bands from Wales are also being considered under the umbrella entry. So as well as the Manics, the success of Catatonia, Tom Jones, the Stereophonics, Goldie Lookin' Chain, Feeder, Super Furry Animals and The Automatic can also be counted as the experts consider the success of our Celtic cousins.

LONDON

As one of the biggest, busiest and most cosmopolitan cities in the world, London has also spawned countless generations of great popstars. Classic acts like David Bowie, The Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Who all hail from London, while the last two decades have seen hits from bands and singers like Sugababes, East 17, Blur, Madness and Lily Allen.

Blur's Alex James said: "I think London should be crowned the nation's favourite music city because it's obvious."

BIRMINGHAM

As the second largest city in the UK, the Midlands metropolis has produced a pretty diverse batch of musicians over the years, from reggae to pop, heavy metal to dance. Duran Duran, Jamelia, Ozzy Osbourne and his band Black Sabbath, The Streets, Ocean Colour Scene, The Wonder Stuff and UB40 are just some of their favourite sons. Miles Hunt of The Wonderstuff argues their case: "I think Birmingham should be crowned the nation's favourite music city because we didn't pollute the world with the God awful B**tles."

The Nation's Favourite Music City is on VH1, Saturday, May 26, at 7pm.

Source: www.dailyrecord.co.uk