Big time awaits Cherries

MUSIC'S big time beckons for a talented Morecambe percussionist as he and his band go from strength to strength. Ben Suthers, 25, from Bare has been performing with his band, The Cherrypickers, for 18-months.   Their unique brand of new country style music has filled venues through- out the north west including the Winter Gardens in Blackpool and Morecambe's Dome. The Cherrypickers is made up of Ben Suthers, John Browne, Alan Olive, James Bently and Emma Crane. Ben and the band are currently being watched by top music labels such as RCA and EMI. Ben hopes The Cherrypickers will be signed up by the end of the year as they are already booked to performing at Glastonbury in the summer. "We love performing live and always put 100 % into our gigs," said Ben. "We know our music is popular enough to be successful because people are already paying £6 a ticket at the moment to come and see us." The Cherrypickers try and keep their gigs well spaced out so that their music remains fresh. Ben believes that The Cherrypickers are popular because their music style is diverse. The songs can be fast, slow, long or short and they always tell a little story such as their song, Kings of the Reaper Barn (sic), which is about the early days of The Beatles. "The music is more interesting if there is a little story inside of it," said Ben. "It gives the music another dimension. "We will keep playing our music and hopefully we will get noticed." The Cherrypickers' next gig is at Blackpool's Winter Gardens on Saturday, April 6. More information about the band is available on their website at www.cherry-pickers.net