Newcastle

Leaving aside luminaries such as Maximo Park (although frontman Paul Smith actually hails from nearby Billingham), Newcastle is also home to a legion of lesser known, but no less exciting bands, such as The Week That Was, whose frontman also moonlights in local legends Field Music. The beauty of Newcastle's scene is that everyone knows each other. There’s are earnest, clued-up music lovers wherever you go, with a common leaning toward the leftfield.
Alumni: The Animals, The Wildhearts, Dire Straits, Maximo Park, Kathryn Williams.
Pub fact: Jimi Hendrix spent long periods of his early career in Newcastle. He often busked in the Heaton area of the city.