IF you didn't catch their 'farewell' gig last night in the Bobbin it's a fair bet you may just have to wait a while to see young rockers The Bottlenecks round these parts again. And if they ever do return to Lancaster, the chances are you may be paying top ticket prices to catch their act because these five lads have their sights set on stardom. Together for three years and still with an average age of only 20, they have been honing their brand of commercial alt-rock with a heady schedule of gigs and recordings, racking up 110 live performances in the last 12 months that has taken them from Edinburgh to London and just about everywhere in between. Now they are off down south to try and break the big-time, and with several record companies both here and in Japan chasing their signatures they may soon be swapping the pub and university circuit for Donnington and stadium sized success. According to guitarist Paul James the move became inevitable if they really wanted to make the band work as a full-time proposition. "We've been doing a lot of gigs around London and over in places like Huddersfield and Bradford and people am picking up on what we are doing but to be honest there aren't that many gigs to be had around here so we knew we had to move away if we were serious about this" says Paul. The Bottlenecks - comprising Paul James and Martin Fleming on guitars, Anthony Gregson on bass, drummer Dom Clayton and vocalist, Si Thornton - have also been busy in the studio, working with former Asia members John Paine and Geoff Power on their new EP 'Who Needs An Introduction?', the follow- up to their debut EP 'Escape From The Asylum'. They already have live dates lined-up in London including playing two Paradise FM roadshows, which attract crowds of up to 15,000. But despite all the pressure of moving away The Bottlenecks remain entirely focused. "We are very determined," says Paul. "We have done a lot in a very short space of time and we still don't expect it to happen overnight but we have no doubt about our potential."