A soul band whose youngest member is just 11 years old is on the verge of the big time.

The Yellow and Blues Band was formed when most of its members were pupils at Russell Hall Primary School in Queensbury. The young musicians have now moved up to Queensbury School but continue weekly rehearsals at Russell Hall with head teacher Michael Ford, who plays rhythm guitar.

Singing classic soul and rhythm and blues songs by the likes of Curtis Mayfield and Otis Reading, the band wowed local audiences at its first few gigs and landed a prestigious slot at an international festival in Colne.

There, the young band played to a capacity crowd, including veteran blues performers, and was named one of the seven best acts by a national blues magazine. Now the band has produced its first CD, called Young, Foolish and Happy, and is looking forward to performing a live slot on national radio in the New Year.

The tracks on the CD were selected from the band's live set by fans, who voted for their favourites on a website.

And the band showed how much it values its army of fans by inviting around 30 of them to the CD recording session to watch and even join in one of the songs.

The gruelling session took place over two days, seven hours a day, at a studio in Whitworth, Lancashire.

Drummer Amy Kenny, and at 11 the youngest member of the band, said: "It was the best experience ever. The rest of the band thinks so too."

Vocalist Kim Lee, 12, added: "It was hard and tiring, but what an experience. I didn't realise it would be so tough, but when I heard the songs afterwards I knew it was worth every minute."

Studio owner Pete Troughton was impressed with the youngsters' sound.

"It's very unusual to see kids with such a feel for this kind of music," he said. "They're a very talented bunch."

Headteacher Michael Ford, who gave the band its first live gig at his daughter's wedding, said: "I am so proud of them. They sang and played beautifully, even when they were exhausted. The CD sounds great and we're looking forward to sharing it with our fans."

The other band members are Tamara Cole, 13 (vocals), Heidi Bland, 12 (brass), Joe Ball, 13 (brass, keyboard, guitar) and James Roe, 12 (bass guitar and vocals).

More information is available on the band's website, www.yellowandbluesband.com

The CD costs £8 and is available through the school on (01274) 882116 or via the website