As queues stretch around Newcastle University’s Students Union before doors open at New Hope Club’s headline show on Friday night, the 1500 teenage pop fans arriving well ahead of time have heard that Denis Coleman is opening up.
If you needed any proof of that fact, the echoes of ‘Denis’ as the lights dim at 7 pm on the dot is emphatic. Bounding on stage with a smirk, it’s a trend the 16-year-old is starting to get used to. An opening slot with New Hope Club follows stints alongside the likes of The Vamps and HRVY, another with Why Don’t We in the calendar for the end of this month – Denis Coleman is now a name being mentioned in the same sentences as those chart-toppers.
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Indeed, as he chats backstage to CelebMix fresh off featuring on BBC Radio 1’s Best New Pop that morning, it’s a rapid rise that even Coleman can’t quite believe.
“When I started out with The Vamps, no-one in the entire universe knew who I was. Every time you start a new tour, you’re going to be a bit of an unknown. But at every show with New Hope Club people have known the songs and sung along which is cool.”
Having burst onto the scene with The Vamps on their arena tour earlier this year, the 30k+ followers that Coleman has to his name have come flooding in, not over a number of years, but months. The O2 Arena, Birmingham Arena, M&S Bank Arena Liverpool and Shepherd’s Bush Empire have all been crossed off the teen’s list – a huge set at the prestigious Eventim Apollo coming later this month. And as he jumps into the thudding synths of ‘Imperfect‘ underground at Newcastle University, it’s clear these are tracks that young pop fans are spinning. You wouldn’t be blamed for thinking that Coleman is the headliner for the evening with the amount of energy one group of fans is putting into screaming “I’ll be perfectly imperfect for you” from the back of the crowd.
Headlining is something very much on the singer’s mind too having recently announcing three solo shows at Birmingham’s O2 Institute, Manchester’s Academy and London’s O2 Islington for December.
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“I can’t say too much about what I’ve got planned, but it will be very cool. Obviously, support sets have been 20 minutes which has been very short, but this will be longer. I’ll be able to get some more instruments in. I play violin, piano and guitar so I can incorporate more acoustic moments, and hopefully there’ll be some cool support acts to be announced too.”
For now, it’s honing those sets in a supporting role. A cover of Ed Sheeran and Travis Scott’s ‘Antisocial’ is dropped halfway through the evening and packs a punch before finishing on tropical latest single ‘All I Wanna Know‘. Big things are to come from pop’s latest hotshot.
Have you seen Denis Coleman on the road this year? Are you heading down to one of his headline shows this December? Let us know @CelebMix on Twitter.