FOUR of this year's brightest new acts rolled into Manchester -- but not all lived up to the hype.

All was not well with Scousers The Coral. Swaying between punky ideas and laid-back indie, their quirky style had loads of scope. But frontman James Skelly had problems.

Sometimes flat, sometimes out of key, only the fact that they were first on allowed them the benefit of the doubt. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, on the other hand, were simply brilliant.

The trio's Mary Chain-influenced wall of guitar feedback was cemented together with bass riff after riff.

As they reached the climax with a passionate rendition of Whatever To My Rock and Roll (Punk song), they had already steamed their way into many of the hearts of the sell-out crowd.

The Lost Prophets got the youth vote. While the kids in the mosh pit went wild with the metal energy, just below the surface were some surprisingly intelligent melodies.

Flop of the night was Andrew WK, whose shambolic set deserved the lack of interest he received.