80s festival launches talent hunt

The Human League will perform at the festival

Fans of 80s music The Human League and Bananarama have been given the chance to sing alongside their idols by the organisers of a new music festival.

Retrofest has invited singers and duos to send them MP3 samples of their songs.

One act will then be chosen to play a three-song set in front of 10,000 music lovers expected at the event.

The festival, which features a host of 80s legends, will be held at Culzean Castle, Ayrshire, in September.

Among the acts already confirmed for the two-day festival on 1 and 2 September are The Human League, Go West, ABC, Tony Hadley and Jimmy Somerville.

If someone's really bad, we might put them up as well Brad Snelling Retrofest promoter

Organisers also claimed to have been in negotiations with Michael Jackson and Culture Club for "some time" over appearing at the event.

Offering the chance for fans to take to the stage, Retrofest promoter Brad Snelling said entrants did not have to sing 80s songs, and urged aspiring musicians to be as creative as possible to stand out from the crowd.

He added: "Acts like The Proclaimers, Hue and Cry and The Eurythmics are all classic duos and the list of successful solo singer/songwriters is longer than the all the shoulder pads worn in the 80s so we're happy to help give someone a bit of exposure.

"And while only one act can play on stage, we may host a few more acts on the website if they are good and deserve an extra push.

"And if someone's really bad, we might put them up as well - after all that's half the appeal of the X Factor, American Idol and so on."

Retrofest appealed for MP3 entries of one or two songs, to reach them by the middle of July.