Georgia Lowbridge, 17, Emma Bentley, 16, and Courtney Croft, 16, arrive to meet 5SOS bearing gifts.
by Lauren Wafer-Kiddle
Hundreds of teenage girls swarmed Leeds city centre to meet pop heartthrobs 5 Seconds of Summer – dubbed Australia’s answer to One Direction.
5SOS, who this week soared to number one on the mid-week chart with She Looks So Perfect, held a meet and greet yesterday at Leeds HMV.
Super fan Megan Bellwood, 17, of Leeds, had been waiting since midday at HMV Leeds to meet the band for the first time after seeing them perform as a supporting act for One Direction last year.
Megan said: “It is really exciting. We got here before 2pm. We cannot put into words how excited we are.”
Tickets for the event – free if fans bought the 5SOS EP – were available online but after the HMV website crashed they were being sold on Twitter for up to £70.
Emily Carter, 16, of Leeds, was distraught after being told a ticket she obtained from HMV was invalid.
But her mother Sandra Carter, 47, of Leeds, said: “We didn’t get the right tickets but fortunately a girl named Caitlyn gave us a ticket after applying for too many. We were really lucky.”
HMV live event manager Simon Eltringham said: “Like any hugely popular band, demand will always outstrip supply as was the case here and unfortunately, some will seek to capitalise on that. That said, from discussing with fans across many events this week and monitoring ticket redemptions, we’ve discovered that such occurrences have only happened on a couple of occasions. It’s also worth noting that Twitter has been something of a platform for some quite outlandish rumours and counter rumours, which we’ve been monitoring and responding to when required.”
“I’m pleased to confirm that yesterday was another fantastic event at HMV Leeds this time with 5 Seconds Of Summer. The band are proving to be a huge draw everywhere they go, with 600 lucky fans nabbing free tickets to attend and get copies of their brand new single “She’s So Perfect” signed. There were tears, hugs and lots of presents, with everyone heading home in a happy daze.”
See the crowds for yourself…