Perth indie rock group head home from London with music award

Fair City band The Crom are bowled over at winning Best Indie Rock Act at last week’s WigWam Online Radio Awards.

The award ceremony night held at The Bedford, a London live music venue, brought together bands from around the world whose music has got airplay on WigWam Radio.

Having had a finalist certificate sent unexpectedly to Perth, The Crom’s songwriter, frontman and train driver, Alan Sweeney, decided it might be worth booking a trip to London for the award ceremony on January 19. The winners would be decided by WigWam Radio's discerning DJs.

Thursday night saw three of the four-man band get the drinks in at The Bedford as they waited to hear their fate.

The Crom celebrate getting the award for best indie rock act at the 2022 WigWam Online Radio Awards in London on January 19 (supplied by Alan Sweeney)

The Perth band won Battle of The Bands at the Twa Tams last year and played for their large local following at the Craigie Hill Festival in September.

Their debut album, Right On Cue, was nominated for the 2022 The SAY Award.

The indie musicians found they got their tunes heard globally thanks to the online broadcasters, Radio WigWam.

And The Crom charted at number one on another online station, Prospect Radio, no less than five times in 2022, with the latest number one Let’s Go holding the top spot over Christmas.

Alan reported the band was jubilantly returning to Perth on Friday having discovered the night before that they had been named WigWam’s best Indie Rock act and called on stage to receive their award.

“Travelling to London to take part in the Radio WigWam Awards was exciting enough, but to be nominated, and win, means everything to us,” he beamed.

The glass trophy came back with The Crom to Perth (Alan Sweeney)

“We were honoured to be nominated in the first place and the fact we won, in front of some of the best unsigned artists in the world, will take a long time to sink in.

“We met so many great people. And it’s funny, having travelled so far, we ended up having a ball with two bands from Glasgow. The Gastown Panic and The Gilhoolys.”

Waiting to meet them back home was drummer and singer Lee Fitzpatrick who had to stay behind.

Lee said: “We will never be able to put into words what this win means to us. This is just the beginning.”