MAKING a sharp exit would be easy if, while playing a gig, all the lights, equipment and PA cut out. But Exit Avenue proved they have staying power by playing on stage until the end of the night. Tom Hargreaves, 20, one of the band s guitarists, recalls:

MAKING a sharp exit would be easy if, while playing a gig, all the lights, equipment and PA cut out.

But Exit Avenue proved they have staying power by playing on stage until the end of the night.

Tom Hargreaves, 20, one of the band's guitarists, recalls: "A couple of weeks ago we played Hitchin Football Club, it was all set to be an awesome show.

"The venue was full to capacity and all the other bands had done their thing. We got halfway through the first song, Sleepless Nights and all the power shut off.

"We had to play the rest of the show with no stage lights and only half the PA. We were really grateful to the crowd that night. They all got their phones out to light the stage and stuck around until the end of the night. That meant a lot to us."

Band members Sam Watson, 19, drums, Nick Meeks, 19, guitar, Mitch, 18, bass, Neil Barrat, 19, lead vox and electronics, and Tom, recently recorded their debut EP Made For The Arcade and have been promoting and playing since then.

The name Exit Avenue was suggested by Mitch's mum.

Tom said: "You'd have to ask her to really find the inspiration behind it!"

As to the future, the guitarist said: "We're looking to play more shows, hopefully we'll get a tour together at some point. We're currently putting dates together in March. We never stop writing material so we'll probably be back in the studio at some point in the near future too."

And what makes people not want to 'exit' their shows? Tom said: "We really pride ourselves on our live performances, anything that's on our EP is in the live show.

"We don't drop backing vocals or any of the electronics. We also make sure it's a performance and love to go a bit crazy. We just try and make it as enjoyable as possible for the audience and ourselves," he said.

All tracks are available from Itunes, shows, CD Heaven in Hitchin, or from the online store. Check out www.mys pace.com/exitavenue.