ROVERS superstar Marcus Bent tuned up for the new Premiership season by conducting nearly 5,000 school singers as they raised the roof at Ewood Park.

Striker Marcus scored a massive hit with cheering pupils from 60 Blackburn and Darwen schools, who were taking part in the biggest schools musical event ever staged in East Lancashire.

And close-season Rovers signing Gordon Greer struck a chord, too, with thousands of his new young fans. He and Marcus had turned up see the culmination of three years' work by the Blackburn-with-Darwen Music Service.

Said Marcus: "It's impressive. The kids are really great."

Rob Nash, music service co-ordinator, said: "The pupils have put in a lot of hard work. It's an incredible event.

"There were times when we thought, 'Why on earth are we doing this?' But this has made it all worth while."

Conductor Joan Hall, who teaches at Oakhill College in Whalley, said it was important that primary school pupils had a good grounding in music as they went on to secondary school. "They'll all remember this day," she added.

And she praised the music service's Tina Wilkins, who had played a major part in planning the event - even though she only works one day a week.

Mahfooz Hussain, executive member for education and lifelong learning. said: "The Blackburn-with-Darwen Music Service does an incredible job. Not only has it co-ordinated this event, but it has put a lot of effort into developing challenging, exciting ways of learning about music for pupils.

"Music today encompasses so many sounds, and the service successfully combines the old and new, traditional and alternative to cater for all musical tastes and abilities.

"There is an abundance of musically-talented children. We should be proud of them."

Meanwhile, Rovers soccer steward Jerry Wilson, of Rockcliffe Street, said he had been shepherding fans at Ewood for 23 years. "But I've never seen anything like this," he said.