Southport journalist Martin Hovden writes: I'm so honoured to have been asked to be a guest judge for Southport Battle of the Bands, which launches this Friday (July1).

I'll be there for the whole of the competition, which offers a top prize of £1,000, and to celebrate the return of exciting live music in abundance in the town after the Covid lockdown, I'm going to bring back my old music column, Live Sounds. I stopped writing the column more than three years ago, but I can't think of a better reason to bring it back on social media for this fantastic event.

The contest is being organised by Southport live music stalwarts Dave Aston, Martin White and Hayden Birch, and will be held in the Banff (formerly Alpine/Underground) in West Street.

I started Live Sounds in the Southport Champion nearly 20 years ago. It put the spotlight on new and established local musicians as well as listing forthcoming gigs and band news. It also appeared in the Southport Visiter.

I also hosted weekly radio versions of Live Sounds on Southport Community Radio, Dune FM and Mighty Radio, providing a much-appreciated platform for local musicians to showcase their songs.

As the former editor of weekly newspapers all over Merseyside, I've judged a wide range of events over the years including talent shows, most beautiful baby contests (never again, young mums can be very aggressive), public speaking events (one competitor was a very young Channel 4 News presenter Krishnan Guru-Murthy and from memory I think he won) and of course battle of the bands competitions. I also hosted Hesketh Bank's annual “mini-Glastonbury” Manor Farm Music Festival for several years.

I celebrated my 70th birthday last month and I know I'll be the oldest person in the Banff for the contest, but you can't beat live music which is fresh, exciting and hugely entertaining, appealing to all ages.