AS YORK recovered from the first wave of Royal Ascot visitors, attention turned to the more familiar experience of the city's Battle of the Bands competition.

Three more aspiring local groups went head to head last night at Fibbers, in the fourth heat of round two of the contest, keen to keep alive the dream of a £1,000 cash prize and a week in a recording studio.

Victorious on the night were Kiwis Ned - described as "probably York's strangest band" by compere Alexander King.

But the result was only secured after a tight three-way fight, in which the judges' 20 per cent vote proved crucial.

First on stage - but ultimately third in the voting - were Those In Favour, a five-man group, four of whom are Bootham School pupils.

Led by vocalist Luke Norman, the band gave a strong performance with some impressive keyboard playing by James Freeman, most notably in their fourth song, Apathy.

Backed by Sam Lambert on guitar, Laurie Ralph on drums and Sam Jackson on bass, the group delivered a varied set of public school rock, but didn't manage to woo the Fibbers crowd. Those In Favour? - Not enough unfortunately.

Next up were Kiwis Ned, who had no such problems winning over the crowd with their hard and fast rock, which veered into old-school punk at times.

With the charismatic Martin Parker on vocals, Phil Cole on drums, Rich Bell on bass, and Matt French and Mike Cole on guitar, the group delivered an eight-song set which clearly appealed to the voting public. Song three, Caesar's Been Killed, was arguably the pick of the bunch.

Last but not least was Bad Shots Reunion, a four-piece group led by vocalist Tom Daker.

The band had got the biggest shout of the three when they were introduced, and attracted a big crowd at the front of the stage. But the group were hit by misfortune when a lead broke during their first song, Complete Lack of Surprise.

When they did get going, even their large following couldn't swing the result. Bad Shots did pip Those In Favour to second place though, which means they still have a chance of reaching the third round as one of the best runners-up.

The final two second round heats take place at Fibbers next Tuesday and Wednesday.