10,000 Things

2004 Road To V Winners

• Sam Riley - vocals
• Will Newman - guitar & vocals
• George Riley -bass & vocals
• Davro -guitar
• Stobb - drums & percussion

Compared to both the New York Dolls and Rage Against the Machine, this volatile punk band from Leeds made a name for themselves with boisterous lyrics and stylish dress. Since winning the first Road to V in 2004, 10,000 things have lost both their drummer Stobb and lead singer Sam Riley, who has gone on to star as Ian Curtis in the upcoming Joy Division film, 'Control'. However, reports suggest a return in late 2007.

After winning Road to V, the band played 'Unity Day' in Hyde Park, memorable due to the bands dancing on stage with a band called Oochi wearing day-glo outfits. Their self titled debut was released in April 2005, accompanied by three singles, the first of which 'Dogsbody' charted on the Radio 1 Rock Chart at number three. The band received support from NME and BBC and headlined the Kill Bill 2 launch party in London, however this didn't stop Polydor records from dropping them in September 2005.

10,000 Things maintain a political stance and took their name from a quote by the Zen Master Dogen: "To study Buddhism is to study the self. To study the self is to forget the self. To forget the self is to be awakened by the 10,000 things." In light of their success, let's hope they haven't forgotten themselves and return to us soon.

Look out for the band's second album later in 2007.