The first episode of BBC Two's Rock Till We Drop will air tonight (March 1), and will see two equally talented musicians embark on a talent journey different to any that have been televised before. Rock Till We Drop will follow Lady Leshurr and Martin Kemp as they search for incredible musicians to form a rock band.
Plenty of talent shows have graced our screens over the years. From the more conventional likes of The X Factor and Britain's Got Talent to the slightly wackier The Masked Singer, a lot of formats have been exhausted.
But these are not your regular rock bands that MOBO award winning artist Lady Leshurr and Spandau Ballet's Martin Kemp are forming. There's a requirement for joining: all members must be over the age of 64.
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The pair have just eight weeks to audition pensioners and recruit them into their rock bands. Once the bands have been formed, they will perform on the main stage of the Isle of Wight Festival.
And there will be an element of pressure, as both musicians will be bringing along some of their very talented friends. X-Factor winner Fleur East and The Darkness frontman Justin Hawkins will be dropping in as the competition heats up.
Lady Leshurr's band is composed of six musicians:
- Lead singer - 77-year-old Bette from Barnsley
- Guitarist - 67-year-old Martin from West Sussex
- Bass player - 72-year-old Carol from Manchester
- Back up guitar/bass - 65-year-old Brian from Winchester
- Keys - 68-year-old Steve from North London
- Drummer - 72-year-old Arty from Runcorn
Meanwhile, Martin Kemp is in charge of the following seven musicians:
- Lead singers - 72-year-old Jimmy from Lancashire, and 64-year-old Carmen from South London
- Guitarist - 64-year-old Leburn from Bath
- Bass player - 72-year-old Richard from Sunbury-on-Thames
- Keys - 80-year-old Ellen from Aberdeen
- Drummer - 95-year-old Roy from Bedfordshire
- Replacement drummer - 79-year-old Barry from Kent
Speaking about her favourite part of the series, Lady Leshurr said: "Meeting people from different walks of life - different ages, different accents - those that are older than me and have had so much experience within the music industry and their personal lives which is what has made them the person they are today.
"I think when I started choosing the people I wanted in my band and seeing them eventually meet was such a great thing to watch. I loved being there throughout to see their friendships blossom; I’m sure they have made friends for life!"
Martin Kemp has opened up on the challenges of putting a band together for the Isle of Wight Festival. He said: "The main challenge getting the bands ready to play the IOW was turning them from solo musicians that mostly played in their living rooms to a band and getting them to understand that being in a band wasn’t just about playing music together but living and working together and how give and take plays a big part of making a band work."
The first episode of Rock Till We Drop will air on BBC Two tonight (Tuesday, March 1) at 9pm.
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