FIVE more acts made it through to the final of the region’s own X-Factor style competition last night.

Apr 18 2008 by Paul Loraine, The Journal

The second semi-final of the Music Means Life event, organised to raise funds for a new teenage cancer unit at Newcastle’s Royal Victoria Infirmary, took place at Rainton Meadows Arena, Rainton, in County Durham.

More than £1m is still needed to complete the new unit and last night’s crowd were shown a video highlighting the experiences of teenage cancer victims. Among the judges at the Teenage Cancer Trust event were two young North East women who were diagnosed with cancer in their teens but are now in remission.

One of them, Catherine Rhatigan, 18, from Middlesbrough, said: “I was diagnosed with soft tissue sarcoma in 2004. It’s been really good to be involved in helping something that will make such a big difference.

“I just want to be sure that teenagers in the future get the same level of treatment, or better, that I did.” Also on the judges panel were Big Brother winner Anthony Hutton, Pop Idol finalist Zoe Birkett and Journey South – a Teesside duo made famous on TV show X-Factor. Ms Birkett, who along with Journey South entertained the crowd half-way through the evening, said: “I have been amazed at the talent we’ve seen – it’s been fantastic.

“It will be my first time judging and it’s weird after being judged. It’s quite nerve-racking but we are going to be very supportive because they are all amazing.”

The five acts to make it through last night were local duo Definitive, 16-year-old Sunderland singer Amber Glover, Wearside three-piece Squares, Joe McElderry, 16, and Dead Miles – a five-piece outfit from Newcastle who are all in their early 20s.

They will join the five acts that made it through last week in the grand final in Rainton next Thursday.

Gary Thompson, the founder of Music Means Life, said he was delighted with how the fundraising effort was going but revealed plans to come back bigger and better next year. “We hope to have a brand that can be used every year to promote a different charity,” he said. “The whole idea of this was to raise awareness of the Teenage Cancer Trust but in the process we are seeing that the North East has some fantastic unsigned talent.”