To mark the release of his debut album, the eponymous Lee Mead, Lee performed two tracks from it live to a large and highly enthusiastic crowd at HMV Oxford Street. Fans had come in far greater numbers than HMV management were expecting, travelling from all over the country for this, Lee's first live 'gig'!And when they'd listened to 'Gonna Make You a Star', waved their arms and sung along with 'Any Dream Will Do', they all wanted to meet him - as they waited patiently in a line that snaked up and down the aisles between the racks of CDs, Joseph stories were shared and fledgling friendships formed and strengthened.
I could never have imagined then how many of those friendships would not only survive the passage of time, but thrive, growing far beyond their shared admiration for a certain curly dude - an unexpected but very happy legacy.
There is video footage of the event on YouTube from GillianG - Part 1 and Part 2 - and, from a different angle amid the crowd, with apologies for the shaky hands, from the Timeline.
Last updated: 19 November 2014