A trio of music promoters want to boost Brighton and Hove's status in the global music industry and are on the lookout for home-grown talent.

Impresarios Bob James, Steve Gilmour and Scott Chester are all members of Asylum Management, a promotions and management company.

Having grown tired with life in London, the crew are looking to set a new musical agenda in Brighton and Hove.

Steve, 36, of New Church Road, Hove, who once remortgaged his house to set up boy band 911, said: "Everyone thinks you have got to be in London for this industry but it is not true.

"You can get a certain attitude in London where people expect to be famous and think they deserve it.

"Brighton is a very cool city, at the cutting edge of fashion and music, and people are not afraid to express themselves and be their own people. London tends to follow a set formula."

Bob, 40, of Milcote Avenue, Hove, said: "If you ask anyone what they think of Brighton, they will say it is a cool and vibrant place.

"They call it the Brighton Bubble because once people move down here they find it really difficult to leave.

"There is a hotbed of new talent with the likes of Electric Soft Parade and it is a good place to audition as people have less attitude than in London.

"We want to be the conduit between Brighton and Hove and the rest of the world."

The group already has songs written for both a boy band and a girl band but they do not want to follow the current trend.

Steve said: "Half the bands at the moment can't sing and we don't want to work that way.

"People are sick of all the reality TV shows, which was shown when the Girls Aloud tour had to be cancelled.

"We want a band with the same kind of appeal that Take That had. We are looking to create a Brighton band and to get people together from the same locality as it creates a different sort of band."

Steve said he was tired of people criticising "manufactured bands".

He said: "I really get on my soapbox on this one because every band is manufactured.

"If you're in a local band and you need a new guitarist then you advertise in the local paper, which amounts to the same thing. Even Elvis was created by his management company."

Bob added: "We are looking for people who deserve to be famous because they have the talent for it, not for people who just want to be famous for the sake of it.

"We have enough experience to be able to spot real talent a mile away and we get our kicks from creating and nurturing that new talent from the beginning.

"We have some of the best songwriters in the world and we are now looking for the stars to take the songs forward."

Scott, 26, who lives in Kent, and who masterminded European hits, including Starlight by Superman Lovers and Lou Bega's Mambo No 5, is responsible for the club side.

He said: "I'm actively looking for up-and-coming dance producers.

"There is a thriving club scene in Brighton and it is certainly what I'm looking for."

Send all demo tapes to Asylum Management, PO Box 121, Hove, BN3 7WP.