It’s almost like a homecoming whenever Jedward perform in Glasgow. Sure, they’re from Dublin, and still live there, and the vast majority of their work since the start of their career started has been in London; but Glasgow is where it all began, with them first stepping out onto the X Factor stage and John saying, “Glasgow! How you feeling tonight!”
And even though that was a very long time ago – 13 years even – Glasgow certainly took John and Edward to their hearts, and their love was evident last night when they performed at G2 at The Garage, in Sauchiehall Street.
While the set list for the show was much the same as the previous two, there were some distinct Scottish elements, including a rousing all audience rendition of The Proclaimers’ classic, ‘500 Miles’, a snippet of The Bay City Rollers’ hit, ‘Bye Bye Baby’, and a drink of a can of Irn Bru.
Many fans had travelled to Glasgow for last night’s show, quite a lot had attended all three, while some went directly from Manchester, due to not having got tickets for London, or choosing to have a break in between. Still others attended London and Glasgow back to back; but regardless of how many concerts or which the fans attended, they were there, reunited, as if the three long years since they’d seen each other, and of course their faves, John and Edward. While the Jedward fandom is largely social-media based, with their fans making firm friendships with other likeminded people from all over the world, there’s no substitute for meeting in person. Having said that, many of the audience shared their view of the show on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok, so those who couldn’t make it would still be able to feel part of the community. Much has been said about Jedward, but for those who *get* them, and *love* them, they become like family, and this extends to the fans too. While the fans all know each other, John and Edward know, or at least try to know, each and every one of them. The Jedward fandom is in essence actually a multitude of different, individual fandoms, with each having their own relationship with the twins, that might be slightly different to everyone else’s, but no less valid.
There’s no greater example of this relationship than their meet and greets that happen before each show. These started last night shortly after 4pm, and were still going at nearly 7. Never once did they slow down, or complain about how many people were there, but instead, they remembered personal points about each person, and chatted, while photos were taken. They gave each person their own experience, and made them feel special. After all, they’ve not seen us for 3 years either!
Special mention must go to the two girls who won tickets to last night’s show courtesy of a competition on Jedward’s TikTok account. The pair were so keen to be in the front row that they stood outside for the 3 hours of the meet and greets, just to be at the barricade. That’s Jedication!
Jedward mentioned that there will be further concerts in November. With their fifth album set for release this autumn, there’s certainly a lot of Jedward content on the horizon, and we can’t wait!
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