Sheffield, February 2015

The 28th time I met Lewis was at the Leadmill in Sheffield on Saturday 14th February 2015, Valentine's Day!

This was the seventh and last date of Prides headline UK tour February 2015.

I was so excited to see Prides in Sheffield where I live! And to get to see my idol on Valentine's Day was a dream come true! I tweeted Lewis earlier in the day to wish him a happy Valentine's Day and he favourited my tweet! That was kind of him.

I met up with my boyfriend and a friend for some pre-Prides drinks in a bar near to the venue, but I decided to go and queue at my usual time of 5.30pm, as I hadn't noticed that the doors were opening half an hour later than the other nights of the tour.

So I left the bar and a minute later who did I see walking towards me... all of Prides and their team! I felt so embarrassed and said something stupid like "hi I'm not following you", which was probably the worst thing I could have said. And then I nearly tripped up.

While I was in the queue outside the Leadmill I saw a friend who I didn't know was going to be at the gig that night, so that was a lovely surprise!

When the Leadmill doors opened, I was shocked to see that it was the small stage! I am sure Prides could have easily sold out the main stage of the venue, it seemed a shame for them to be playing to a smaller audience. Although it was nice from a personal point of view to see them on the small stage as it meant I was so close to Lewis.

My twin sister came to the gig with me, which meant the world to me! Although she said she was only going to stay at the front with me for a couple of songs, she enjoyed Prides so much that she stayed there right till "Messiah", and she only went away then because she had to pop out for a minute.

Prides were so amazing! Nothing I say can do justice to how brilliant they were, but my friend Penny has written a lovely review of the gig, please read it here:
http://www.backseatmafia.com/2015/02/15/live-review-prides-leadmill-14th-february-2015

Here are some of Penny's amazing photos she took of Lewis during the gig:

Thank you Penny for giving me permission to use these in my blog.

After Prides had finished playing, I asked their tour manager if I could have Lewis' water bottle and he very kindly gave it to me. This was particularly nice of him after I stole Lewis' things at the Brighton gig, and in hindsight I did not deserve this kindness.

Prides came to the merchandise stand to meet fans, as always. I was so excited to introduce my sister to them! They were all really lovely to her.

When I met Lewis he gave me a hug and said Happy Valentine's Day! What a lovely thing to say to a fan, it made my life! I gave him a Valentine's card, but it wasn't a romantic card, obviously, I am not completely deluded! It was more just a thank you letter I'd written for him in a card I'd made. For the rest of the evening while he was meeting fans I could see him holding it. That made me so happy.

I showed Lewis my tattoo and he stroked my arm where it was. (I mean, because you could feel the raised area where the tattoo was healing.) He signed my tattoo appointment card for me too.

I was talking to Lewis with my sister, and I just kind of attached myself to him so I was stood hugging him and I felt like I could die there and then of happiness. Now I wish I had done. I don't mean that in a morbid way, but it was the happiest moment of my life.

When I was talking to Stewart, my sister said that I must be like a mascot for Prides because I'm at every gig. Stewart said I was like one of the family now. When I think of his words now, I cry.

Also, I didn't know this at the time, but at one point in the evening while I was talking to Lewis, my sister was talking to Callum and she said to thank Lewis for always being so kind to me. And Callum said "Why wouldn't we be kind? She's our number 1 fan". I can't even tell you what that means to me, especially now.

Later in the evening, I saw Lewis heading toward the backstage entrance, so I went to say goodbye to him. But the music was so loud he couldn't hear a word I was saying and I couldn't hear him. I didn't want the evening to end like that...

So I waited in the Leadmill to see if he came back out, but he didn't. I left the venue and was going to go home, but I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep, as I never can after a Prides gig, and I knew I'd just be sitting up thinking of my idol being just a few miles away...

So I decided to wait outside the venue where Prides' van was parked, so I could say goodbye to Lewis.

I'm not sure how long I waited, but the time passed quickly and I actually didn't feel cold because I was wearing my two Prides sweaters.

Eventually Prides came out and Lewis gave me a hug and he thanked me for my card and said it was lovely. That made my life! He really is so kind. Then he said Happy Valentine's Day again.

So I'm really glad I did wait that extra time outside to see him. It was such a lovely ending to what I can honestly say was the best evening ever of my whole life.

Thank you Prides for all the lovely kind things you said to me that night, you made me so happy and I am so very grateful for everything. It was beyond anything I could ever have dreamed of.

Nottingham, February 2015

The 27th time I met Lewis was at the Bodega in Nottingham on Friday 13th February 2015.

This was the sixth date of Prides headline UK tour February 2015.

It was lovely for me to see Prides in Nottingham as I grew up there.  Also, it was a very special day for me as I was getting my tattoo of Lewis' signature done!

When I was doing a google search for tattoo studios in Nottingham, the first search result was Bodycraft. They have 3 Nottingham studios, one of which is opposite the Bodega, so it seemed like the perfect choice! So when I got to Nottingham I went straight there and they booked an appointment for me that afternoon. I was so excited!

Bodycraft is such a lovely studio and the people there are all so friendly. My tattooist, Dan, was really nice. When I showed him my arm, he asked what it was and I proudly explained that it was Lewis' signature and that Prides were playing in the venue across the road that night! I was trying to persuade everyone in the studio to come to the gig, but I don't think they did. They did however let me listen to Prides while I was having the tattoo done. They'd never heard of them before, but they looked them up on Spotify, and although it wasn't the kind of music they usually listened to, I think they liked it!

My tattoo only took about 5 minutes and it didn't hurt at all!  Dan is a brilliant tattooist and he followed Lewis' signature precisely, so it was exactly as Lewis had signed my arm, I was so happy!

I really wanted to show it to Lewis straight away, although it was wrapped up in cling-film for now. So I went to the bar across the road from the Bodega, so I could see when Prides arrived. When I saw their van, I went outside and spoke to Stewart. He said they'd all been saying that they should go and get tattooed! He went inside the venue and I could hear him tell Lewis I was there... Then Lewis came outside and I showed him my tattoo. I thanked him for picking a non-painful part of my arm to sign! He said he thought I'd be used to getting tattooed by now. He seemed impressed that I'd actually had it done!

Then I went back to the bar across the road, and then I moved to the Bodega's bar, which is a really nice place to have a drink. While I was in there Prides came in to do an interview, I think. I was trying not to look at them, but I couldn't help but look over. How could I not when my favourite band were in the same bar as me! When they were getting up to leave, I went and asked Lewis for a photo. He said 'of course, why not!' It was very kind of him.

I met up with a couple of friends in the bar and it was so lovely to see them. Then in the queue for the gig I met one of my friends from twitter who recognised me as 'Lewis Prides Fan'!

The Bodega is a nice intimate venue, I think it was my favourite of the whole tour. The staff were lovely and friendly too. The stage was small and I had such a wonderful view of Lewis throughout the gig.  He looked even more handsome than ever and I think I fell in love with him a bit more that night.

My lovely friend, Penny, took some amazing photos of Lewis during the gig.  She has very kindly said I can share them on here.

Thank you so much Penny for those gorgeous photos!

After the gig I met Stewart's mum, which was a nice surprise! She recognised me from twitter and said she likes reading my tweets when Prides are on tour to keep up to date with what they're doing. That meant so much to me. She is really lovely, just like her son!

Then I met Callum and he said I was Prides' most enthusiastic fan, which made me so happy!

When I met Lewis, he gave me a hug and he had another look at my tattoo. He asked me to send him a photo of it when I took the cling-film off!

I got some nice photos with him.

Penny took some lovely photos of me meeting him too..

Thank you so much Penny for the use of these photos!

I was saying to Lewis that I thought they'd be playing stadiums soon and that they were just on the edge of getting really huge and famous. He thanked me and said it was nice of me to say that. It's true!

Then I asked Lewis if he'd still remember me now he was getting more and more famous. He said of course he'd remember me and how could he ever forget me. That was the loveliest thing he could have said, and it meant the world to me.

When we left the venue, I met Rory, Grant, and Kieran, of Model Aeroplanes and they are such lovely people, some of the nicest band members I have ever met.

Sadly Ben wasn't around, but he has promised me I can have a photo next time I see them!

Then I had a very cold journey back to Sheffield, but I was with my friends, so it was fun, and we were all looking forward to seeing Prides again the next day!