AN INDIE rock band hailing from the North-East is hoping for stardom after being snapped up by a manager whose life in the industry has featured in an award-nominated film.

The Voluntears, which has roots in County Durham, Darlington and Newcastle, has already played some of its biggest gigs this summer but could be on track to further success if business takes off as a result of its new and first management deal.

Paul 'Dixie' Dixon and Sally Cinnamon, of Svengali Music Management, signed the five-man outfit only last month after just catching the last two songs of the set at Hardwick Live, in Sedgefield.

The inspiration behind 2013 British comedy Svengali, starring Martin Freeman, Mr Dixon formerly managed The Pocket Devils, and decided to get back into the trade following its release - with The Voluntears as the second band to be backed to date.

Mark Dunn, guitarist and vocals, said: "It's amazing. The proof is in the pudding with the film (Svengali). Every weekend these two (Mr Dixon and Ms Cinnamon) will be out and either at a gig or festival - they live and breathe music.

"It's what we in the band called 'live'. They're 'live' people. We've had hundreds of offers and when it gets to the nitty gritty, we find they are just behind lap tops.

So far the band, which has only been together for three years, has been managing itself.

In the past two months the group has enjoyed a number of high profile performances - playing ahead of the Brand New Heavies and Gabrielle on the Discovery Stage at Hardwick Live and in the support line-up for James at Live from Times Square, in Newcastle.

They have also played their own concert to a sell-out crowd at Newcastle's O2 Academy, have in the past year had increasing international radio plays and have more than 3,000 followers on Facebook.

But it is joining forces with the likes of Mr Dixon, sparked from a mere conversation over Facebook, that has got the band dreaming of the big time.

"We've had a great year and we've done it all ourselves," added Mr Dunn, of Trimdon Village. "There's a buzz in the air now.

"We know we're quite good and we're just loving it. These are massive things for the band and we're hoping we're going towards stardom."

The next port of call for the band is an all-star football tournament in London this month alongside the likes of The Darkness.

They also hope to record an EP in the near future with Gavin Monaghan and have their fingers crossed for possible support tours in Europe and Japan.