Sunderland has made a top 20 chart of Britain's musical hot spots. The rundown of rockers and ravers looked at the most musical cities across the country. Sunderland is the only North East location on the list, clocking in at number 12.

The list was compiled by the Performing Rights Society, known as PRS for Music, which used its 65,000-strong database to produce the chart rundown. The PRS looked at the birthplace of its members, with the figures weighted by population to give the country's musical hot spots.

Sunderland's musical big hitters include new talent Frankie and the Heartstrings, Field Music, and rockers The Futureheads, 80s punk band The Toy Dolls, Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics, Lauren Laverne, who sang with 90s punk band Kenickie, and Ruth Ann Boyle, lead singer with dance outfit Olive.

Top of the PRS for Music chart is Bristol, which produced trip-hop acts Tricky, Massive Attack and Portishead in the 1990s.

But Liverpool, hometown of The Beatles, could only manage eighteenth place, behind Sunderland and Swindon.

Story courtesy of The Sunderland Echo