The school of rock and pop

The stage was set again at the Bahrain Rugby Club for the St Christopher's Senior School Annual Rock and Pop Concert after sudden gale force winds blew away plans last weekend.

And, the only thing brewing up a storm on Saturday was the music performed by students and members of staff.

Nick Wilson, head teacher of the senior school and vocalist of participating band, The W&F Co-operative, said: "This event is really about the students' talent although it is nice to see the teachers get up and perform.

"We have been organising the Rock and Pop Concert since 2001. It is a fantastic event and every year we have amazing musicians playing a wide range of music in front of a sizeable audience."

The event kicked off with the band Shadow Arson, all dressed in black, creating a lot of noise on stage with their heavy metal music - Anarchy in the UK by the Sex Pistols, Angel of Death by Slayer and Cowboys from Hell by Pantera.

Soon after the tone of the show changed as bands and individual musicians took turns in truly showcasing their skills with their instruments and strong vocals.

Nikhil Varghese strummed up his guitar and sang a ballad, Lost for Words, his own composition. He recently sang the song live on concert compere Krazy Kevin's Radio Bahrain show.

F.A.I.L. took the stage donned in colourful headgear and imaginative masks and impressed the cheering audience with their delivery of Sweet Child O' Mine by Guns N' Roses and The Kill by 30 Seconds to Mars.

Beaten Gold, Crimson Fall, Sanjana and Valerie performed their versions of rock tunes sung originally by internationally-acclaimed rock stars.

Legion Five's band members - Karim, Saif and Daryl - all Year 7 students, were the youngest rock musicians at the event. They performed two songs A Thousand Suns and Save Me, which were both Daryl's compositions and teamed with Year 9 pupil, Sam Geddes at the piano and played Apologise by One Republic featuring Timbaland.

Joint staff and student bands - Saints & Sinners, Triple Trouble and The W&F Co-operative - had members of the audience rocking and rolling with tunes from Led Zeppelin, Ozzy Osbourne, Double Trouble, The Killers and Journey.

One student in the crowd said: "It is strange but nice to see our teachers perform on stage especially songs that we listen to!"

Ian Fellows, head teacher of St Christopher's Infant School and drummer of the band, The W&F Co-operative, said: "Every year Mr Wilson and I hook up with people to play with at the 'rock and pop' but we only have two weeks to rehearse for the event."

Mr Wilson added: "I enjoy singing and have been doing so ever since I was a young boy and the feedback we get from performing on stage is always fun!"

The strangely named '& The Centurions' stole the show with their superb stage presence. Along with performing their own song Black Light they played singles by ColdPlay (Yellow) and Franz Ferdinand (Take Me Out) and featured two different vocalists, Carys and Noor who sang You Got the Love and Sunday Morning.

& the Centurions won second prize in last year's nationwide talent competition, Nescafe Show 'Em What You Got, and are currently the most popular band at the school.

Band members Mazen, Vish, Kanaan and Sohrab, all sixth form students, provided a fitting end to an event that promises to come back next year with even more talent on display.