Unsigned band’s dreams come true as they go from performing in their garden to playing at Wembley stadium
- Pop band Only the Young performed its first-ever stadium gig as part of Vodafone Firsts
- The group appeared alongside Pharrell and Miley Cyrus at Capital’s Summertime Ball
- The band recorded a crowd-sourced music video using footage captured on audience smartphones and tablets
Four pop newcomers this weekend saw their dreams become a reality as they performed at London’s Wembley Stadium, thanks to the Vodafone Firsts programme.
Only the Young, which is made up of Parisa Tarjomani, 20, Mikey Bromley,19, Betsy-Blue English,18, and Charlie George,17, was put forward for a public vote alongside three other emerging acts. The band, which received more than 7,000 online votes, won the chance to perform at Capital’s Summertime Ball, which was attended by 80,000 people, and create a crowd-sourced music video.
The group performed a cover of Avicii’s hit ‘Wake Me Up’ in a four-minute set. Their performance has been captured in a film to be shown from Monday 23 June on Firsts.com, along with the crowd-sourced music video, which has been created using smartphone and tablet-captured footage taken by the band on Vodafone devices, their social media fans and the audience at Capital’s Summertime Ball. The band documented their experience, from rehearsals to the moment they walked out on stage, some of which will be included in the music video.
Only the Young, who say they are inspired by bands McFly and OneRepublic, said they rehearsed constantly to prepare for their big moment – with performances in the garden, as well as the parks and streets of their home town of Margate, Kent. In the past week, they have been given their first taste of pop stardom, preparing for the show with regular choreography sessions and spending time with a professional stylist.
Only the Young’s #First Stadium Show was made possible by the Vodafone Firsts programme, which enables people to do remarkable things for the first time using mobile technology. Vodafone is also asking people what they would like to do for the first time through its Pitch Your First competition on Firsts.com.
Band member Parisa Tarjomani said: “It is impossible to take in that we went from performing in our garden to being on stage at Wembley. We were so excited and also massively nervous but it was an amazing feeling. All of the hard work we have put in for the last year and a half has finally paid off. One day, we’d love to return and have the audience know our own songs and sing them back to us.”
Vodafone Group’s Brand Director Barbara Haase said: “With so much musical talent competing for recognition, we’re delighted to help the careers of young newcomers Only the Young get a much-deserved boost, thanks to Vodafone Firsts. It is exciting to be able to use mobile technology to create a crowd-sourced music video to capture the band and the audience’s reaction to the latest Vodafone First.”
The short film about Only the Young’s big moment, from unknown to playing Wembley Stadium, will appear on firsts.com. To find out more about Pitch Your First, including information on the entry terms and conditions, visit www.firsts.com
For more information, contact:
Vodafone Group Media Relations
www.vodafone.com/media/contact
Ogilvy London
Ceri.Bevan@wpptvf.com
Note to Editors
The Vodafone Firsts programme has already helped people around the world do remarkable things, including surfer Tom Lowe ride his first 40ft wave in Mexico’s Todos Santos, Dutch grandmothers An and Ria take their first-ever flight and Olympic Boxer Mary Kom help women in India learn self-defence techniques. For more information about Vodafone Firsts, visit:
About Vodafone Firsts
Vodafone Firsts is Vodafone’s global brand programme, activated across the world from 2014. A social media-led programme, Vodafone Firsts is about inspiring people to do something remarkable for the first time using mobile technology. Vodafone began by recruiting a series of inspirational people to help them achieve their Firsts. Vodafone is also asking people what they would like to do for the first time, helping to make their ambitions a reality.
About Vodafone
Vodafone is one of the world’s largest telecommunications companies and provides a range of services including voice, messaging, data and fixed communications. Vodafone has mobile operations in 27 countries, partners with mobile networks in 48 more, and fixed broadband operations in 17 markets. As of 31 March 2014, Vodafone had 434 million mobile customers and 9 million fixed broadband customers. For more information, please visit: www.vodafone.com
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