FOLLOWERS OF TAKE THAT, SUEDE, THE
MANICS AND NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK
TELL CLASSIC POP HOW THEY WENT
FROM FANS TO SUPERFANS
Danielle Fice – Take That
“I was 10 or 11 years old and already loved NKOTB, but
then Take That came along and that was it. I had to have
everything of theirs. I was so young, so had to rely on
my parents for getting me stuff. My fi rst Take That gig
was in Chelmsford, Essex, in 1993. We got the coach up,
me, my mum and two of my friends. It was outdoors in
a big fi eld. I would have been 12. We found a spot to sit,
but once it started we left my mum with the bags and
coats and made our way closer to the front; my friends
were slowing me down, I had to be closer – and fast – so
I ditched them and ducked and swooped till I was about
10m from the front. Robbie was singing a slow version of
Could It Be Magic and I just cried my eyes out.”Emily Hyatt – Manic
Street Preachers
“I initially got into them at the end of 1995
after reading an interview with Nicky and
Richey. It featured the stunning photos of
the two of them glammed up, taken by Kevin
Cummins. It was love at fi rst sight and I had
to know more. I went straight out to HMV
and bought the fi rst thing I could fi nd by
them – the She Is Suffering CD single.
I loved it, so The Holy Bible followed and
then I picked some Gold Against The Soul-
era vinyl up from a car boot sale and I was
well away. I loved them for years and then
career, alcoholism and a bit of a rubbish
relationship saw me stop listening to
music and going to gigs. My best friend and
I decided to book to see them on their Holy
Bible 20 Tour in Manchester in 2014. I’d just
quit drinking by then and was looking for
something in my life and the second I saw
James walk on stage I knew what it was.
I fell back in love with them. Hard.”Samantha Hand –
Suede
“Back in 1993 while at
university, I joined the
Britannia Music Club.
It was basically a way
to buy cassettes at a
discounted price by mail
order and discover new
music. Suede’s debut
album was one of the
fi rst records I bought
through it. In 1994, I was
in a student nightclub
and a Suede song began
playing, its effect was
so powerful that I froze
until it had fi nished, then
I ran to the DJ booth
and asked which track it
was. The next morning,
as the hangover wore
off, I couldn’t remember
the name of the song
but I knew it was Suede,
so I headed to my local
record shop; I asked for
every single by Suede,
took the CDs to the
listening post and played
each one until I heard the
opening bars of Killing Of
A Flashboy. From that
point I went from liking
Suede to falling in love
with them and that’s
where my obsession
began. It really was a
life-changing moment.”