SUPERFANS
difference to being a fan,” Lisa explains.
“You can now interact with your favourite
band members very easily no matter where
you are based in the world.”
Numan looks after his own Facebook,
Twitter and Instagram accounts and says:
“Social media is the most important vehicle
in how I interact with the fans, and has
been for several years. But, I feel the need
for a discrete distance, that comes more
from the fans than from me. I think fans,
some of them anyway, like to hold on to a
small degree of mystery around the people
that they follow.”
I’M WAITING FOR THE FAN
There are many stories of fans getting once
in a lifetime opportunities thanks to social
media – from stars turning up to surprise
brides on their wedding days to fans being
invited to join their favourite musicians on
stage or at special meet-and-greets.
Lisa has travelled the world to see
her favourite band play live, including
attending half a dozen NKOTB cruises –
the fi rst of which she was lucky enough
to sing a duet on stage with singer Joey
McIntyre. She explains: “Joey asked fans
who were booked on the cruise to send
in videos of them singing and he would
choose a few fans to duet with him.
We sang Time After Time – incredible.”
Similarly, Danielle had a dream come
true when she got to sing on stage with
Take That’s Gary Barlow. “I was picked to
go on stage and have Gary sing to me on
his last tour. He heard my voice when
I was sat on his lap and he pushed the mic
over to me. It was a dream come true.”
Danielle, who has been to more than
100 Take That gigs, has taken her fandom
to extreme lengths, even getting a Take
That tattoo.
“I had them sign my back and had it
tattooed over,” she said. It’s a similar story
for Emily, who has numerous Manics’
tattoos, including one of frontman James
Dean Bradfi eld’s face on her leg.
Samantha, who has travelled all over
Europe to see Suede play live paid her
own tribute to the band she loves by
naming her son Brett, after the Suede
singer. She said: “My eldest son is called
Brett. He knows why he’s called Brett.
My son has met Brett three times now and
fi rst saw Suede live when he was fi ve years
old, at Latitude Festival.”
“Every genre includes a stereotypeof its own typical fans,” says Dr Duffett.
“Gender has somewhat shaped people’s
approaches to fandom. Historically, the
idea of being a fan has been freighted
with stereotypes that connect it to expected
aspects of traditional femininity. Take
fan screaming, for example; it is hard to
scream if you are a man, at least a mature,
heterosexual man, because ‘real men’ are
not licensed to do that by society. Women
have often created communal support for
each other through fan networks, while
male fans have focused on building and
displaying their expertise.”
Numan concludes: “Fans that let you
in to their lives but without becoming too
obsessed, those are the ones I like the
most. Fans that worship the ground you
walk on are a bit too much. It gives too
much importance to people like me, who
are no better than anyone else.”
Dr Duffett echoes this, adding: “Stardom
is a role, not a person, and it is a role
that is mutually endorsed by fans and
stars. At the end of the day, it’s great to
appreciate others’ gifts and creativity, but
you are as special as any star and they
are as ordinary as you; everyone is a
walking miracle.”“Fans that let you in to their lives but without
becoming too obsessed, those are the ones I like the
most. Fans that worship the ground you walk on are
a bit too much.” GARY NUMAN
Blockhead Lisa Vine fi nally got to
meet her favourite band in 2012