Past winnersPASTWINNERS

The Cambridge Band Competition began in 1985 as the Cambridge Rock Competition, launched at the city’s Guildhall. It made a noise straight away: Trevor Dann brought it to The Old Grey Whistle Test, and Colonel Gomez’s performance is said to have caused a national row and even questions in Parliament. First prize went to The Detective, a debatable call because they played to a backing track (though they had made the tapes themselves).

From the Guildhall it moved to the Corn Exchange, where heats and finals sold out, then to the Junction in the 1990s, which has hosted the final ever since. Along the way it has also passed through Lola Los, The Soul Tree and the Barfly. These days the heats are at the Portland Arms.

Strawberry Fair took over running the competition in 2010, by which point it had been a Cambridge fixture for 25 years. That year the Fair itself didn’t go ahead, but the band comp did. It’s run by volunteers and raises money for the Fair, and the finalists get to play it. An Under-18s competition started in 2012, inspired by that year’s winner Grace Sarah. Cambridge 105, now Cambridge Radio, has broadcast heats and finals live since at least 2012, and the Kimberley Rew Songwriting Prize now sits alongside the main award.

Plenty of acts have gone on from here. Ezio, the 1993 winners, were reportedly named Tony Blair’s favourite band and built an international following. Ben Miller, later of Armstrong & Miller, came third in 1990 with a trio called The Dear Johns. Robin Skinner, now known around the world as Cavetown, made the 2017 final. Not every year went to plan: in 2020 Covid stopped things after the first heat, and that competition was finally decided at the Junction in October 2021. In 2025 the competition ran even though the Fair itself was cancelled.

Parts of the story are still patchy. We don’t know who ran the competition before 2010 or exactly how it started, and one source even gives 1984 as the first year. If you have memories, photos, posters or recordings from any year, especially the early ones, we’d love to hear from you at bandcomp@strawberry-fair.org.uk.