A SWINDON rock trio could be propelled into stardom, after winning a top London studio’s music competition.

YVES was one of four bands to claim victory in Pirate Studios’ Prodigy programme. The three-piece triumphed in a public vote, after a panel of judges whittled down 2,000 bands to just 10.

The band will now get mentoring from big name producers and PR executives, along with free recording studio slots, music festival appearances and the chance to play in front of label bosses.

Bassist Mitch Dodson, 22, from Blunsdon, said of winning: “It’s such a great opportunity that we can’t wait to make the most of. The real hard work starts now. We’re looking forward to a busy summer of festivals, kicking off with the Isle of Wight Festival.”

Winning the competition required YVES to score thousands of votes online.

Frontman Harry Roke, 21, also from Blunsdon, thanked fans for the support. He said: “It’s amazing. I don’t think we ever expected to win it. We never really think that we’re good enough. We found out last week that we’d won, but we weren’t allowed to say anything.”

The win could see the band, who have already recorded a score of singles, pushed into the indie rock limelight. “We’ve tried to put ourselves in front of the most amount of people we can,” said Harry. “We’ll take everything we can get from it. We just really want to hit the ground running, build as much as we can and make noise as much as we can.”

Pirate Studios said more than 50,000 public votes had been cast in the competition.

The studio’s Robbie Duncan said: “What makes the Pirate Prodigy programme different is Pirate Studios’ ethos of being on the artist’s side, waiving the rights to any ownership of the winners and their material.

“Together with the team of all-star industry mentors they will be concentrating on accelerating the careers of the four winners over the next 12 months, starting with featured slots at this year’s Isle of Wight Festival.”

Brit Award-winner Kate Nash, who was on the judging panel, said she was excited to have been involved in the competition: “What Pirate Studios are doing for the music scene is the most supportive and coolest thing I’ve seen in years.”

YVES played their first headline UK tour this year. While they plan to make a number of festival appearances over the summer, it will be autumn before fans can see them in Swindon.