[Red Moon]

X Factor's Ruth Lorenzo and Diana Vickers thrill fans

X FACTOR fever hit Banks at the weekend as stars of the top-rated ITV1 show, Diana Vickers and Ruth Lorenzo, arrived for a concert at the village’s Leisure Centre.

Fans flocked to the sell-out gig to see performances by local stars as well as X Factor favourites.

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Rebecca Jenkins, the winner of Southport’s recent talent competition, Pop Sensation 2008 and former Eton Road star Danny Morris were among the acts singing to a packed crowd, with X Factor contestants Diana and Ruth headlining the show. The show was compered by Dune 107.9’s Karen Johnson and Paul Tasker.

Diana said: “Things have been really crazy since I left The X Factor. I’ve been doing loads of gigs and just having the time of my life. I’ve been so busy doing two, three gigs a day. I’ve just had a break for Christmas so I’ve just started to get back into the habit of gigging and then I’ve got the tour coming up.

“For Christmas I went home back to Accrington and spent it with my family. I’ve been quite ill so I just had a bit of a quiet time.”

Fans of the glamorous pair, who stayed behind after the show to sign autographs, were delighted to see their idols in the flesh.

Georgia Linnell from Banks came along with her friend Lauren Forshaw from Parbold.

Georgia said: “I love Diana. I like her voice, it’s just different. She’s really stylish. I was ecstatic when I heard she was coming to Banks.”

Lauren added: “I would like to see her bring out some albums and do her own tour – I would definitely go and see it!”

Self-confessed Ruth Lorenzo fans Katie and Lyndsay said: “It’s brilliant to see the X Factor stars here in Banks. They’re so used to going to stadiums so it’s great they come to a small place like this.

“We get left out a bit round here so it’s nice to have something like this in town.”

Ruth, who admits to being a little starstruck herself, laughed: “It was so strange to meet Take That and Mariah Carey – oh my gosh! I came home from X Factor and I was sitting in the kitchen having a cup of tea and I thought, what did just happen? I met Mariah Carey!”

And Southport hasn’t seen the last of Ruth.

The show’s organiser, Kevin Peet told us: “I really enjoyed putting the event on, it was very successful.

“I’m looking to do another show with Ruth Lorenzo in Southport in the next few weeks, so watch this space!”

Visit our website for a video report and photo gallery of Ruth and Diana’s concert in Banks

Source:Southport Visitor