Thank you Lewis

I'm writing this post as a thank you to Lewis...

Before I became a fan of Prides, my life was so empty.  I had social anxiety disorder, which had ruined my life for years.  When I was younger there were lots of bands I loved and, despite everything, I went to see their gigs because they meant so much to me and helped me escape from how I felt.

But I hadn't felt like this in years, and I lost even more confidence in myself, especially after I was cyber-bullied about my appearance very badly.

Then in June 2014 a wonderful band came into my life... a band who made the most beautiful, uplifting music, a band who I could believe in, and who had the most amazing drummer I'd ever seen...

This band was of course Prides.  The first song I heard of theirs was 'Messiah' and it was love at first listen.

I've always been a fan of drummers in bands, and Lewis is by far the best drummer I've ever seen. I've never seen anyone else with his talent, energy, enthusiasm and passion before. He is the most amazing drummer to watch and listen to!

So I went to Lainfest to see Prides (as described in one of my earlier blogs) and I met Lewis. Since then I have been to so many Prides gigs and I've met Lewis every time and he's always been so kind to me.  Also, I set up a fan twitter for him, and he often replies to me or favourites my tweets, and it means the world to me.

I am such a huge fan of Lewis, he is my favourite drummer ever, my favourite member of my favourite band, my favourite producer, my idol and my hero! He is so lovely, and that he is so nice to me, especially after what I've been through in the past, it means everything to me.

So thank you so much Lewis.  I can never thank you enough, but I hope you know what a difference you made to my life, and, because of you, every day I have something to be happy about.  Thank you so much.

Lewis Prides News: New Video

Breaking news! Prides are filming their new video today!

There are no more details about it yet, I don't even know what song it is. But I'm very excited as I love all their songs, and their videos are always amazing!

Update: Some behind the scenes pictures from the video shoot... it all looks very exciting!

Camden, December 2014 / January 2015

The twenty-first time I met Lewis was when Prides played at Club NME at KOKO in Camden, London, at New Year.

Prides performed at 11.15pm on December 31st 2014, and then I met Lewis in the early hours of the morning on January 1st 2015.

I felt lonely being out by myself on New Year's Eve, but it was so worth it to get to see Prides. I cried all the way through their performance, but still sang along and enjoyed every minute of it. They were amazing as always, and I'm so happy that the last thing I did in 2014 was see my favourite band.

Afterwards, Lewis had said I could have a photo with him, but the venue was so crowded, I couldn't find him. So I went outside the venue and decided I'd just wait there till Prides left, but then Lewis came out of the stage door, I was so happy! He came to talk to me and gave me a hug. He asked me if I'd had a nice night and a nice Christmas, and he was telling me about his Christmas. I got a photo with him and then he said he'd see me on the February tour and it would be really good.

Then I went to get a taxi, but a drunk man came up to me and wouldn't leave me alone, he said he was going to go wherever I went and would get in my taxi with me. I didn't know what to do, but I could see Lewis was still outside the venue, so I went back to him and asked for his help. He stood with me and flagged down a taxi for me and made sure the drunk guy didn't try to get in it with me. He was my hero, my real life messiah!

And then something so lovely happened! Lewis sent me a twitter dm and said he hoped I made it back to my hotel ok and wished me a happy new year. How lovely is that, that he would care about a fan so much and look after me when I needed his help. I know I've said this a lot in my blog, but honestly he is the most lovely and amazing person ever, and all the times I've met him have made me happier than anything ever!

Thank you so much Lewis for everything.

Glasgow, December 2014

The twentieth time I met Lewis was when Prides did a headline gig at The Arches in Glasgow on Saturday December 6th 2014.

I got to the venue in the afternoon to meet up with a couple of friends and we queued for 5 hours! It was nice because we were able to queue inside the venue and we kept seeing members of Prides walk past and we could hear their soundcheck. It was so exciting when I saw Lewis through the glass doors!

Then we saw Ally McCrae and he came to talk to us. He was so friendly and lovely, as always. He introduced us to Prides' other manager Joel Mark. I'd never met Joel before, but he recognised my Lewis Prides t-shirt and knew who I was from twitter. He was so lovely and he asked to have a photo with me, which was a huge honour for me.

It really means a lot to me that both of Prides' managers are so nice to me.

Then the queue started to get very busy, and we were talking to some other Prides fans who were lovely too.

When the doors opened, me and my friends got to the front centre of the barrier and so had the best view of the gig.

Jack Garratt was the support act. I'd seen him before at Leeds festival and really enjoyed him, and he was brilliant again tonight. My favourite song of his is 'Worry' and he did such a lovely performance of it.

Then it was time for Prides and they did the most wonderful show ever. Their lighting was so spectacular, it looked beautiful! It was the best live performance I'd ever seen. They opened with 'I Should Know You Better' and Lewis looked so gorgeous. His drumming was so perfect, and he did his famous 'drumface' and he was so amazing.

After 'Out Of The Blue', Prides went off stage and we were all cheering for them to do an encore and then the whole crowd started singing 'Messiah'. It was such a lovely atmosphere to be there with so many Prides fans.

The final song of the night was Messiah and it was so brilliant! Stewart stage dived into the crowd which was very exciting. At the end Lewis stood up on his drum kit and then he came and stood at the front of the stage. He was right in front of me and it was so wonderful!

Afterwards, my friends and I went to the merchandise stand to meet Prides, and I couldn't believe who I saw! It was Ian of Something Something productions; he is one of the producers of Prides' music videos, and also he starred in 'Messiah' as one of the priests, and 'I Should Know You Better' as the Yeti. I'm a big fan of his work and he's so funny; it was so lovely to get to meet him!

Then I saw Lewis was at the merchandise stand, so I went to meet him and he gave me a hug. He said he saw me at the front during the gig, which made me so happy to think that he'd actually noticed me there! He really is the loveliest person ever and so kind to all us fans. He signed my new t-shirt I'd bought and said I must have a lot of them by now!

Then I met Callum and Stewart who were both really lovely too, as always.

And then I saw Neil from The Wild Curve was there! I was so happy to see him again!

I got another photo with Lewis and I think it's my very favourite photo of me and him.

Then security told everyone to leave the venue, so me and my friends went to say goodbye to Lewis and he gave us each a hug.

We went and stood outside the venue for a bit, and Neil came to talk to us all, which was really nice.

Then I went back to my hotel and I felt like the happiest person alive. It was the best gig I'd ever been to, I'd met so many nice people, and most importantly I got to spend lots of time with my idol Lewis. It had been, I think, the best evening ever of my life!

Paisley, November 2014

The nineteenth time I met Lewis was when Prides performed at the Christmas lights switch on in Paisley on Saturday 15th November 2014.

Shortly after I got there, I saw Prides walking towards the stage and Lewis said hi Greer.
Then they went to do their soundcheck, and when Lewis was up on stage he smiled at me. That made me so happy!

I got talking to a couple of Union J fans, and they very kindly said I could share their place on the front row while Prides were on stage. I was telling them how much I like Lewis, and then one of them shouted to Lewis 'she's your biggest fan' and he said 'I know'! That made my life!

When it was time for Prides to perform, the Union J fans let me squeeze onto the front row, which meant I had a perfect view of Lewis and I'm so grateful to them for that. Prides were brilliant and it was so lovely to see them at a Christmas event. Lewis was wearing a coat on stage and then part-way through the set he took it off and he was wearing a vest underneath and the crowd loved it!

Afterwards, Prides did a short interview on stage and were talking about their plans for Christmas and New Year.

I met up with a couple of Prides fans, who were really lovely. We waited around for a bit to see if we could meet Prides, but they'd already had to leave. But that didn't matter, it had been such a wonderful afternoon!

Newcastle, October 2014

The eighteenth time I met Lewis was when Prides supported Lisbon at the Riverside in Newcastle on Saturday 25th October 2014.

This was the day after Prides' headline tour ended, and it was lovely to get to see them again so soon.

 I got chatting to some people who had been fans of Lewis when he was in Drive-By Argument, and it was nice to hear about his early days of being in a band.

Although Prides were the support band that night, it felt like they were the headliner, they were so good. They didn't do the full set I'd got used to on their tour, but they were on stage for longer than I'd expected and they played all my favourite songs. It felt weird not being at a gig full of Prides fans, but the crowd really enjoyed them and I think they gained lots of new fans.

Afterwards, I got to meet Lewis inside the venue and had a quick chat and got a photo.

Then I went and waited outside, as I wanted to say goodbye to all of Prides. After a while they came outside and I thanked them for such a lovely tour. Stewart said I'd seen them at their best and their worst, but honestly I only ever saw their best because they were always so brilliant! They all thanked me for coming to the tour, which was really nice of them.

Bristol, October 2014

The seventeenth time I met Lewis was at The Old Bookshop in Bristol on Friday 24th October 2014.

This was the sixth and final night of Prides' headline UK tour in October. I felt very emotional as I didn't want the tour to end.

The evening got off to a lovely start when The Wild Curve dedicated 'Foreverever' (my favourite song of theirs) to me! They were on stage and their singer, Neil, said how I'd been to every show of the tour. That really meant a lot to me. As this was the sixth time I'd seen The Wild Curve, I now knew and loved all their songs very much. Tonight was my favourite time of seeing them.

Then it was time for Prides and they were so brilliant. The stage was so tiny but that didn't stop them from being their usual energetic selves. Their music sounded even more beautiful than ever, Stewart's voice so gorgeous, and Lewis' drumming was utter perfection.

I loved every minute of the gig so much, I never wanted it to end. When it got to 'Messiah' and Lewis stood on his drum kit and he looked so handsome... it was just the most wonderful moment.

After the gig, Lewis gave me a hug and asked if I was ok and we had a nice chat.

Then I went outside the venue to spend time with The Wild Curve. Kieran was teaching me about a drum rudiment in the street, and then Lewis came outside and he and Kieran were talking drumming again and I felt so in awe of them!

Then Lewis signed all my t-shirts and CD's I'd brought with me. He stayed to chat with me for a bit, and we were talking about band vests and him going to the gym, and other stuff, and it was really lovely to have such a long chat with him. He said he liked my t-shirt again, which meant so much to me. I told him that it was my birthday on Halloween and he said he'd send me a birthday tweet (which he did)! Then he said goodbye.

After that, The Wild Curve very kindly invited me for some end of tour drinks with them, which was lots of fun! Callum from Prides joined us for a bit too, which was lovely.

It was such an amazing end to the tour and I had the best time. I have the most lovely memories that will stay with me forever.