The Yorkshire County Cricket Club announced its Search for a Soundtrack to the 2010 Season competition in November and after the success of a similar hunt for quality music with a Yorkshire connection last summer. Music of all genres was requested to reflect the highs and lows of a Yorkshire cricket season.

The Yorkshire County Cricket Club announced its Search for a Soundtrack to the 2010 Season competition in November and after the success of a similar hunt for quality music with a Yorkshire connection last summer. Music of all genres was requested to reflect the highs and lows of a Yorkshire  cricket season.

The Club has been inundated with entries ever since and it’s been a tough task to choose a winner from all of the entries received. We’ve finally nailed our colours to the mast after a lot of head scratching and made our decision…

And the winner is: 1st Place: ODi

ODi are a four-piece band led by singer Claire Odlum whose nickname is Odi (hence the band’s name). Alongside Claire are Dave Redfearn (guitar, vocals and piano), Sean O’Leary (drums and percussion) and Lee Byrne (bass). The judges loved the songs provided by Odi and had no hesitation in making them this year’s winner.

Although Claire is Irish the Yorkshire connection stems from Dave. When his Mum was pregnant with him she was on holiday in Scotland, and his Grandad (Alex Clark) who was a lifelong member of Yorkshire County Cricket Club, swore that he'd hire a helicopter to take them all back to Leeds if needed so that Dave could be born in Yorkshire and therefore be eligible to play for Yorkshire County Cricket Club one day! Luckily one wasn’t needed in the end as they made it back home in good time for the birth!

Claire said: “We're all really excited to have been chosen as the winners of Yorkshire CCC’s Search for a Soundtrack for the 2010 Season competition. With a name like ODi, I think it was meant to be!”

Yorkshire supporters can expect to hear a lot more from ODi’s throughout the 2010 season. They have a single called 'A superman' which is being released in the UK in May and their debut album ‘Maslow’s Songbook’ is available from www.odimusic.co.uk now!

Runners Up: The Magi and Ian Huddlestone

The standard was high and we couldn’t separate these two entrants.

The Magi are a Sheffield Indie(ish) band with a great local following, and some well written tracks. They started out more than 2 years ago with a gig at The Boardwalk in Sheffield . Since then they have gone on to play at all Sheffield 's greatest Venue's. The Plug, The Academy and The Leadmill. They have also played around South Yorkshire, mostly Leeds and Barnsley, but have travelled further to play in Liverpool at the Cavern Club and to London to play in a couple of the more interesting venues. There are six in the band, although only five perform on stage – Jonno writes the Lyrics. Of the five on stage – Johnboy (vocals), Bob (lead guitar), Andy (rhythm guitar), Edd (bass guitar), Des (drums). Only Edd is not related – the others are three brothers and a cousin.  

Edd Watson from The Magi said: “We're all proper Yorkshire lads and proud to know that our music will be playing at the club this year. Some of us occasionally make it up for a match, so let’s hope this season is a great success. It's great to get some support from Yorkshire CCC and the extra exposure this will offer. We’re looking forward to the start of the season in April, but that'll be a busy time for us with a studio recording hopefully happening that month as we prepare for a big gig at the Leadmill in Sheffield in June.”

For further information on The Maji visit: www.myspace.com/wearethemagi

Ian Huddleston is a singer songwriter from Rotherham. In 2010 he is working with the Endcliffe Orchestra in Sheffield and is planning a concert for “something really special.”

Ian Huddleston said: “I’m delighted to have been chosen by Yorkshire CCC and feel as though this could be the start of a great relationship. I’ve got LOTS more music up my sleeve!!”

For further information on Ian Huddleston please visit: www.myspace.com/ianhuddleston

James Buttler, PR & Communications Manager at Yorkshire CCC, said: “We were overwhelmed with the number of entries and the quality of the tracks that were supplied to us as a result of this competition. We’d like to stay in touch with all of the bands that entered, but were particularly impressed with the winners this year. ODi oozed quality and everyone in the offices at Headingley Carnegie were really impressed. We hope to see ODi achieve a lot of success and if we can play a part in helping them we will.”