Push aside the X-Factor with all of it's hype and gimmicks. I was hooked by "MobileAct Unsigned" on Channel 4, Saturday at 10.30am. New bands with fresh sounds who write their own songs and are not afraid to graft. Judges are Jo Wiley and a couple of blokes - not sure why they brought in Lilly Allen as a guest judge for one part because she came across as a bit empty headed.

My favourite band of the day was The Headliners. The judges liked this band weren't keen that they seemed to be mostly in it for fun, but that's how Slade started (and remained). The Headliners have a totally entertaining sound and remind me of an updated Small Faces. The audience loved them, but they didn't make the final.

Two others to watch in this series are The Gingerbread Men and Bad Robots.

In this show it's actually about the bands and the music, more than about the judges. Well worth checking out.

Just noticed that it was a repeat. Not sure when it was first shown, but it's new to me and still worth watching.

The show did raise a valid point. The judges were not impressed when one band said they wanted to get signed because they needed the money to be able to promote themselves better. One judge said it shouldn't be about money, but I think that in todays multi media world the only advantage of being signed by a major label is the promotion and sponsorship they provide - in other words, financial support - i.e. money.

A band no longer needs to be signed by a major label before they can release an album or make the charts.