Here's looking at you, Kiddo360

THE music industry can be a tough nut to crack.

But thanks to a lot of hard work, one Swansea band is planning on heading up the music charts.

Kiddo360 haven't been together 12 months, but they are already making waves in the world of live music.

The band is made up of Richard Owen and his sister Vikki, Phil Baglow and his brother Jof, Lee Vaughn and Jamie Williams — all from Swansea.

In the past year, Kiddo360 — who play a fusion of electro-funk, soul and grunge — have won two major live and unsigned awards.

The latest award to be added to the band's collection is the Vodafone Live and Unsigned award.

Earlier this month, Kiddo360 were acknowledged at a star-studded ceremony at the Carling Academy, in London.

The final vote for the category was decided by a public vote, which was a big boost for the band.

Base player Jof's idol Juliette Lewis presented them with their award.

He said: "It was unbelievable.

"I absolutely love Juliette Lewis, so to be presented with the award by her was amazing.

"We all have her making the announcement as our ringtone on our mobiles — it was the most fantastic night.

"As we got up on stage to pick up the award we looked back to see this sea of people in the crowd.

"It really meant a lot to us."

He added: "We had planned to be really sensible, write an acceptance speech and be really professional, but it ended up being a lot more rock'n'roll than that.

"Backstage it was a whirlwind.

"There were interviews with TV shows, radio interviews and we talked to Kerrang!

"I also had a chat with the Ting Tings."

Kiddo360's success at the Vodafone awards was thanks to another title they picked up earlier this year.

In June, Kiddo360 won UK Live and Unsigned — the most prestigious competition for artists without a record label. Band members battled it out with 10,000 other entrants to take home the crown, but it was no easy road to success.

Jof said: "In Live and Unsigned you have to prove you have a following.

"We took coachloads of people with us.

"We had to show that we had press cuttings, we had to send in MP3s and we had to do all the publicity work ourselves, including taking along the crowd."

The prize for winning UK Live and Unsigned was a £20,000 investment in the band.

Thanks to the cash, next week Kiddo360 are heading to Southampton to record their first single — the name of which is yet to be decided.

"We've got about 14 songs ready to go and we've got a couple of songs we're considering for the single, but we haven't made up our minds yet," Jof added.

"The single will be released spring next year, and the plans are for it to go top 20."

Jof has only been with the band since October 2007, but it has already taken over his life.

He said: "I have a full-time job, but I find it's getting more and more difficult, as do others in the band.

"For Richard, Vikki and Jamie, music is their life and they are full-time musicians."

And Jof, the self-proclaimed daddy in the band, is full of praise for his bandmates.

"They are all fantastic. Vikki has the most amazing voice, but is humble with it, and Richard is a born rock star," he said.

"We all work so hard, and as much as we want to record singles and albums, our main aim is to play the festivals next year."