Walk This Way For Official UK Air Guitar Championships 2007

The Second Official UK Air Guitar Championships will be held on Friday 3 August 2007 at the Carling Academy, Islington, London with the winner sent on to represent the nation and compete in the annual Air Guitar World Championships in Finland on 7 September 2007.

The organizers are once again calling guitar gods of all ages and sizes across the country to surrender their souls and dignity to the magic of music. They are invited to participate, battle, entertain, rock and guarantee immortality by joining an activity as old as time itself, if not older.

Ever since Adolph Rickenbacker invented the electric guitar, music changed, and the 20th Century was a hotbed of bubbling hubbling rock genres, inspiring generation after generation. In the shadow of this, quivering slightly, was Air Guitar. But the 21st Century has seen the duels, competitions and championships of this naissant faux rock scene develop into a force to be reckoned with.

The artform allowing mere mortals a taste of rock stardom has now swept the globe with 17 countries currently hosting National Championships. Soon to be released in cinemas across the UK, feature film ‘Air Guitar Nation’ chronicles the birth of the US Air Guitar Championships as legions of aspiring rock stars live out their dreams and battle out naked ambition on the national, and ultimately, world stage.

With no equipment or special skills required, Air Guitar is attainable by everybody, regardless of race, gender, age, social status or sexual orientation. The ideology behind the movement is that if everyone in the world held an Air Guitar, they could not simultaneously be holding a gun, therefore paving the way for world peace.

Seen as a form of musical self-expression, a competitive sport and performance art, Air Guitar combines the individuality of stand-up comedy with the expressionism and dirty freedom of rock ‘n’ roll.

Contestants at the Championships will be asked to perform for 60 seconds to a song of their choice without any actual visible instrument, judged on a combination of technical prowess, stage presence and ‘air-ness’ – defined as the extent to which the air guitar performance exceeds the imitation of playing guitar and becomes art form in and of itself.

Since the first Official UK Air Guitar Championships took place last year, regular Aireoke-fueled nights of mayhem entitled ‘Air Guitar Heroes’ have taken place across London and will be featured on BBC Arts ‘Imagine’ series, scheduled for broadcast in the coming months.

Says event organizer and the one and only twice-Air Guitar World Champion 2001/2002 Zac Monro, “Letting yourself go with the flow in front of thousands cheering Air Guitar fans is truly a purifying experience, an inner battle to beat your fears and finally free your mind.”

“The feeling on stage… I haven’t had a hard-on like that since I was 17” – Bad Blondie (aged 34).

The Official UK Air Guitar Championships: AIR GUITAR UK takes place on Friday 3 August 2007 from 7.30pm at Islington Academy, London N1. Organisers are donating merchandise proceeds to Teenage Cancer Trust.

For more information and entry into the Championships, visit Airguitaruk.com. All entries require purchase of ticket £9, on sale at Seetickets.com.

The UK winner will be flown to Oulu, Finland to compete in the World Championships on Friday 7 September 2007 Airguitarworldchampionships.com.

Get Your Rocks Off prior to the UK Championships at the next ‘Air Guitar Heroes’, taking place on Thursday 19 July at the Macbeth Pub, 70 Hoxton Street, London N1. Admission £3.50 after 8pm.

About The Official UK Air Guitar Championships 2007:

In the first round, contestants perform for one minute to a song of their choice, with those qualifying to the second round play the 60 seconds of a compulsory song. Visit Airguitaruk.com to view the complete Rules.

The winner of the Official UK Air Guitar Championships 2007 will receive a free trip (airfare and two nights’ accommodation) to the Air Guitar World Championships, held in Oulu, Finland on 7 September 2007.