Bristol Uni A Capella group, The Bristol Suspensions, wins UK finals
The ‘Pitch Perfect’ group is off to the world championships
Eoin RollinsBristol Uni’s own A Capella group, the Bristol Suspensions, have won the UK finals of the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA).
The competition, made famous by the Pitch Perfect films, saw Bristol defeat old rivals like Bath and Imperial by over 50 points, teams who usually just beat them.
The Bristol Suspensions are now off to the world championships, which were supposed to be held in New York, but are online this year due to the pandemic.
The Bristol Suspensions also won the Special Award for Outstanding Arrangement at both the quarterfinals and semi-finals of the ICCA, along with the Outstanding Vocal Percussion and Outstanding Mix at the quarterfinals.
Group marketing manager and Bristol Uni languages student, Alessia Doyle said: “It’s absolutely mind-blowing. We’ve competed in the competition for years so to win is incredible and completely shocking!
“We were on a video call when they announced it and you could see our jaws drop in unison.”
The winning song was a cover of The Heartburn Song by Lawrence, in which the band eats a series of spicy foods.
The Suspensions decided to pay homage to this, and each ate a spicy chili pepper in their own video!
The group had to do all recording online this year due to the pandemic
Due to the pandemic, the team could not compete in person at all this year, which meant rehearsing and performing all 17 parts in bedrooms and lounges around the country.
They will also not be able to travel to New York where the finals are normally held, and it will take place online instead.
The Bristol Suspensions are fundraising £5,000 to produce a professional album following the release of two singles this year.
Musical director and Bristol Uni biology student Robbie Armstrong said: “We’re really looking forward to recording our music this summer – it will serve as a time capsule of the amazing talent we have in the group this year, which will be especially nice to do in our most successful year to date! We have some great songs lined up to record.”
The International Finals of the ICCA will be live streamed on May 8th.
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