Young star of Brighton gig is unveiled

By Ben Parsons

A schoolboy's dreams came true when he was invited onto the stage at his favourite band's concert.

Ben Beauvallet was hoisted into the limelight at the Kaiser Chiefs' Brighton Centre gig on Sunday.

He spent several minutes on the stage with frontman Ricky Wilson, at one point leading the crowd in a chorus of the band's track Na Na Na Na Naa.

The 14-year-old Brighton College pupil was at the gig with a schoolfriend.

The band reeled off hits from their first album, Employment, and their second, Yours Truly, Angry Mob.

Ben, who has already seen the Kaiser Chiefs play in Paris, was lifted above fans' heads when he 'crowd-surfed' and was carried towards the stage.

Tonight he told The Argus going on stage was one of the high points of his young life so far.

He said: "I had a massive adrenalin rush.

"I don't know what the exact capacity of the Brighton Centre is but there were loads of people there.

"My friend Giles was really jealous."

He got down after a couple of songs, but when his name was mentioned between numbers the crowd hoisted him back onto the stage.

Later in the gig the band dedicated some more of their hits, including Oh My God, to Ben, and encouraged women in the audience to give him their attention.

Ben, who lives at Compton Road, Brighton, said singer Mr Wilson was an "amazing guy".

He said the Brighton gig - the band's last of 2007 - was better than the concert he had seen before.

Ben said: "They were much better, probably because it was the last gig of the tour."

While he is not at school to enjoy the kudos of his brush with stardom, Ben's friends have trawled the internet finding video footage and pictures of him on the stage.

Thanks to a string of hit singles, the Kaiser Chiefs have won popularity with the teenage audience.

They have replaced names such as Kings of Leon, The Libertines, The Velvet Underground and Art Brut as Ben's current favourites on the strength of their performance on Sunday.

Ben said: "A lot of people are listening to them.

"Pretty much everyone knows them, they're really famous."

Have you had a brush with fame like Ben? Leave your stories below.