PERFORMING a first gig is never an easy task, but to have the audience chanting ‘one more song’, it means you must have done something right.

For newly-formed band The Raymonds, where all of the band members are from Stockton Heath, that is exactly how its first gig went.

The four-piece band comprises 17-year-old’s Evan O’Toole on bass and drummer James Lynchehaun of Priestley College.

They are completed by Finn Richards, 16, on vocals and the guitar and Max Morrow, 17, on guitar, who both go to Sir John Deane’s Sixth Form College.

After practising upstairs in the Saracens Head for the past couple of months, they were introduced to Evan.

And last month, the band got the opportunity to do its opening gig there.

Finn said: “As first gigs go, it was really, really good and there was a lot of people that we knew down there.

“We did have a bit of the chanting.

“We are definitely inspired by that 80s era. The Duran Duran and The Police ones were the favourites from those who came down and we certainly absolutely love playing them.”

Of course, preparation wasn’t straightforward, as first gigs never are.

“We turned up two hours before the gig and all of the input systems fell out of the guitar," added Finn.

“There we are all looking at each other thinking ‘what are we going to do’ as all of our songs pretty much revolve around two guitars.

“James got on the phone to his mum and she brought his cousins guitar to play the gig with.

And as the audience asked for one more song, that was what they got.

Finn continued: “Evan’s not been with us very long and he was copying the chords I was playing on stage because we ran out of songs by the end of it. Because the audience wanted another song, we improvised and did Live Forever and it went pretty well.

“At the moment we are interested in doing pub scenarios and gigs and we are definitely interested in support gigs.

“We are pushing for opportunities and anything we can get our hands on.”

For more information on the band, visit www.theraymondsband.co.uk.