by Gerry Warren

gwarren@thekmgroup.co.uk

They admit to looking more like refugees from Woodstock than popular Saturday night talent search television stars.

But a 'grunge’ music-loving duo from Canterbury will be thrust into the limelight in front of more than nine million viewers this weekend in the new BBC 1 hit show The Voice.

Chef Matt Clubb and teaching assistant, Sueleen Fletcher, both 34, are an acoustic guitar harmony duo who play in a well-known local band called Amber Room.

On their MySpace site they say: “No hype or clever gimmicks, no rehearsed stage performances, no egos, trendy clothes or glossy hair styles. Just pure songwriting, communication, integrity and above all.....fun.”

But just the two of them will sing on Saturday night in the new show in which the judging panel, including Tom Jones and Jessie J, have their backs to the performers and choose them purely on the sound of their voices.

Matt, who works at the Cherry Tree pub in Jewry Lane, said: “We saw an advert and applied for the show because it’s all about the voice and not being a celebrity wannabe.”

He and Sueleen, a teaching assistant at Bridge and Patrixbourne School, have been a couple for 15 years and their vocal harmonies are inspired by the grunge music of the 90s.

Acoustic guitarist Matt said: “Although we gig and have played venues like Lounge on the Farm, it was a totally new experience for us – terrifying but a huge buzz at the same time.
“It’s a massive opportunity for a lot of people to hear us and although we write our own songs we have done cover versions for the show.”

Matt could not reveal what song they choose but did say they were picked by one of the judges to be coached and mentored through to the next round.

He added: “With those viewing figures we will probably wake up a bit more famous on Sunday morning.”

The programme is at 7pm on Saturday on BBC 1.