IT'S a cold, dark, rainy evening on an industrial estate in Poole. Just a few hours earlier this place was a hive of activity, but now it lies silent and deserted. However, this silence won't last.

At a carpet and flooring warehouse in a far corner of the trading park, a drum kit is set up, amps are plugged in and guitars are tuned - a band prepares to break the silence.

And what better way to shatter the serenity of a dormant trading estate by ripping into Black Night by Deep Purple? As the band launches into the tune by the legendary rockers, the distorted chords, beefy bassline and thumping drum beat echo around the warehouse. This is Confusion, one of Dorset's newest bands.

Formed in July last year, Confusion are certainly not your average band. When they got together eight months ago most of them had never met each other and they barely knew how to hold guitars, let alone play one. So how did this group of people come together to form a band?

"We wrote to the parents of children in the Youth Orchestras and bands and asked if they would like to go from playing air guitar to playing the real thing at a gig at the Royal Albert Hall," explains David Kenyon, head of Dorset Music Service.

"We formed those who responded into six bands, they received instruments and were given some tuition to get them on the road. And Confusion is one of those bands."

And you can tell they've been practising. Naturally as you'd expect with a band so new, occasional notes are missed but they are tight and can stick to a beat, which considering air guitar was all they could play last year is pretty impressive.

"We practise at the warehouse about twice a week," says drummer Graham Walker, 63. "It's nice to come here because when I'm playing in the garage at home I have to be conscious of the neighbours. When the lady at the end of the road is saying "you've got a bit of a beat now" you feel a bit guilty."

This isn't such a worry for Confusion guitarists, Dave Johnstone, 40 and wife Andrea, 38. Their new found love of playing music has transformed their home life, especially as daughters Cristina, 15 and Bethany, 13 are also keen musicians (Cristina plays flute and saxophone and Bethany plays violin and guitar).

"We used to watch TV when we got home from work and now we haven't seen it for months. It's brought us closer together," explains Dave. "The whole family gets involved and we find ourselves playing for hours."

And it's a similar story in the Kenyon residence.

"I have to do all the cooking now," chuckles David, whose wife Stephanie, 45 plays bass. "All she does is play the guitar."

However on Friday night all the practice should pay off when Confusion plays the biggest gig of their music careers at the Albert Hall. The event, entitled Dorset Rocks, will see 1,200 amateur artists - young and not so young - from across the county share a stage for the night to perform music.

Towards the end of the evening the six bands will play a couple of numbers each before coming together for a rendition of Deep Purple's Smoke On The Water.

"We're not too nervous yet," explains Dave. "We'd actually pay to do a gig, the buzz you get is better than any fair ground ride that's for sure."

According to AC/DC, it's a long way to the top if you want to rock n roll, but the guys in Confusion are proving it's never too late to try.