Brummies flood X factor auditions
THOUSANDS of Brummie hopefuls queued in the sunshine outside Villa Park for their shot at fame.
Queues of wannabe stars formed around the ground, causing chaos on the roads, yesterday morning as they waited to audition for ITV talent show X Factor.
More than 10,000 came from all over the city and beyond, many from as early as 4am.
Among those bidding for stardom was 52-year-old criminal defence lawyer Laurie Neale, from Warwick Road, in Solihull.
Dad-of-two Laurie waited outside the ground for three hours, having turned up at 7.45am.
"There's quite a good, friendly atmosphere here," he said.
Laurie planned to wow the judges with his take on Michael Buble's You Don't Know Me.
But further waiting in the historic Holte End was in store for the thronging hordes of potential stars desperate to follow in the footsteps of Gareth Gates and Will Young.
Acts were given a three-minute audition in front of a panel of 12 judges, which at this initial stage didn't include the likes of Simon Cowell. Singers performed on the side of the pitch in front of other acts.
Successful acts were asked to come back to perform again for the judges today. Those who impress a second time will be asked to audition a third time at a venue yet to confirmed, with Mr Cowell a possible judge.
But Laurie failed to make it past the first hurdle.
"I'm disappointed not to get through -but it wasn't a problem with my singing because they said it wasn't what they were looking for."
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