THEY have nearly 60,000 Twitter followers, supported number one star Example, and have now played a sell-out concert in Basingstoke in front of hundreds of devoted – and screaming – fans.

When The Gazette first met Nathan Gittens, Ben Selley, Matt Goodenough, Scott Dicks and Karim Newton in December 2011, they were five teenage students at Queen Mary’s College, with a dream of making it in the music industry. In just over a year, they have transformed into a pop sensation, adored by a mass of young teenage girls.

Two days after their sell-out concert at The Haymarket, the lads were gathered at one of their homes eating bacon sandwiches during a rare moment of down-time. Having performed another gig the previous night for Teenage Cancer Trust in Bristol, they hadn’t had the time to reflect on the success of their home town show, which sold out before the promotional fliers had even been printed.

Karim, 19, said: “You never get a chance to sit down and go ‘wow’. But when you do stop and think about it, you can’t help but smile.”

Matt, 19, added: “I couldn’t sleep for hours after. We wanted to do it all over again.”

The lads, from Basingstoke and Tadley, are keen to point out that their success has been down to a lot of hard work. Matt said: “I think the way we have done it is a lot more rewarding.”

Ben, 18, whose cousin is Harry Styles of One Direction/X Factor fame, added: “At this point, anything is possible. We have worked so hard to get here.”

Karim agreed, adding: “I think you learn your craft a lot better this way. Shows like the X Factor elevates you very quickly but you don’t learn about the industry you are going into.”

The band have used clever tactics to build up their fan base, posting YouTube clips on Twitter to their target audience – and it’s clearly paid off. Fans travelled miles to watch the group in Basingstoke, and were rewarded with an hour-and-a-half meet-and-greet after the show.

Concept are clearly positive role models for these young girls. Having all completed their college courses, they come across as five polite, friendly, intelligent, articulate, well-rounded individuals. Nathan, 18, said: “We could have easily dropped out. But I wanted to do A-levels. We can do everything else after.”

Having already released two of their own songs, Concept are now planning to write more of their own material. Karim said: “Covers helped us get to grips with performing on stage and figuring out what we are capable of vocally. It is a lot easier to write our own songs now we know what we like.”

Concept have a steady stream of events lined up, including Soccer Six in Bolton and Reading and a performance at a Milestones event, in Basingstoke, on April 21.

Although their star is rising rapidly, the lads are adamant that their friendship will always remain a priority. Scott, 19, said: “No matter how much money we make, or how successful we become, we are friends and it started as a friendship.” Ben added: “The friendship is always going to be bigger than the band.”