May 25, 2006 2:10

NME New Music Tour ends in style

Boy Kill Boy singer Chris Peck makes sure it goes out with a bang

The NME New Music Tour came to a close in London tonight (May 24) with Boy Kill Boy singer Chris Peck ending the three week jaunt by stagediving into the crowd.

It was a fitting ending to the tour which has seen up-and-coming bands The Automatic, iForward, Russia!, The Long Blondes and Howling Bells tearing around the UK.

Kicking off the final night of the tour at the Camden Electric Ballroom, the Sheffield five-piece played a 30 minute set which included the likes of 'Appropriation', 'Lust In the Movies' and 'Giddy Stratospheres'.

Like Peck, iForward, Russia! singer Tom Woodhead also found himself ending-up in the audience during a frantic rendition of 'Fifteen Part 2' from the Leeds four-piece's newly released debut 'Give Me A Wall.'

The Automatic introduced themselves to the stage by playing the theme from 1990s life guard drama Baywatch, which had most of the crowd singing along.

Introducing 'Recover' from their forthcoming debut album , singer Rob Hawkins declared: "This is the last night of the NME tour. Are you gonna fucking go for it or what?".

The Welsh outfit also threw new track 'Time=Money' into their 40 minute set, which also included fan favourites 'Raoul' and 'Rats'.

Finishing off with a storming rendition of new single 'Monster', keyboardist Alex Pennie mounted the speaker stack at the side of the stage and left his mic dangling from the ceiling.

The gig came to a climax with headliners Boy Kill Boy taking to the stage for a 50 minute set which included songs from their debut album 'Civilian', released earlier this week.

The band urged the crowd to go "fucking mental" for a live video shoot of their next single 'Civil Sin', while Peck also found himself showered with shoes onstage.

"What happened to good old fashioned bras and knickers? I end up with a fucking shoe!" he joked as the crowd went wild for recent single 'Suzie'.

Summing up the jaunt, iForward, Russia!'s Whiskas told NME.COM: "The best thing about this whole tour has been playing to a lot of people who want to see new bands. They may not be here to see any band in particular but basically its kids who read the NME who've heard about the bands playing but may not have had the chance to see them play yet. There is a lot to take in but there's something for everyone."