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29
Apr
Yungblud superfan celebrates Harrogate encounter with autograph tattoo
Yungblud’s visit to Harrogate at the weekend will live forever in some people’s memories, but for one superfan it will live forever on her skin.
Laura Shakesby met the Grammy-winning rockstar on Sunday, when he worked a shift pulling pints of Guinness at Johnny’s Bar and Parlour – a bar owned by his sister – and asked him to sign her arm.
Once her arm was marked, she had the autograph tattooed as a permanent memento of the encounter.
The transformation of Yungblud's autograph into Laura's tattoo.
But rather than doing it on a whim, it was actually the fulfilment of a long-held plan.
Laura told the Stray Ferret:
I went to see [Yungblud] for the first time live in Leeds with my partner the other week and had an amazing night. I met another fan who was going to throw some M&S knickers at him, but he didn’t come close enough!
I managed to touch his arm then, but I didn’t manage to get a selfie or a signature for a tattoo, so I was determined to meet him at some point again!
So when she got wind of Yungblud’s planned appearance in Harrogate, she turned up armed with a red pen – a last-minute purchase from Morrisons.
She said:
I was nervous meeting him. There was a lot of waiting around and adrenaline! When we met him outside, he just smiled at us and asked if we were OK. Then I asked him to sign my arm, as I wanted to get a tattoo.
Afterwards, Yungblud – also known as Dominic Harrison, but known to his friends as Dom – spent some time pulling pints of Guinness, which Johnny’s Bar was giving away free.
Laura said:
I met someone in the queue, so we went up together and Dom smiled at us and poured us the Guinness. Then he said 'love you's to us both, and I just said ‘me too’ back.
Later, Dom was sat near us with friends and family so we could hear him talking. He was really nice! It was really nice seeing him relax with friends and family after all the gigs he’s done.
Yungblud pulled pints for half the afternoon. Photo: Carla Rushworth-Clarke.
Laura lost no time in having the red pen squiggle transformed into a tattoo, and is very happy with the result. She’s even hoping to add more Yungblud-themed tattoos to it.
She said:
I love it! Really glad I got it done. It’s an amazing memory just to be there and I didn’t think I'd get the chance so soon after missing the opportunity in Leeds. But I saw the opportunity and thought there would be more chance of meeting him there.”
My mum and friends are happy for me, and some are fans too and wish they had come with me now.
I've posted the pictures on a few Yungblud Facebook groups and everyone’s been really nice and are happy for me that I got to meet him.
She and other fans will have to wait a while for another chance to meet their idol. He's now headed off across the Atlantic for the 26-date American leg of his Yungblud: Idols world tour, which started in Ireland this month, and is not due back in Europe until the end of June, when he will play Bludfest in Czechia.
Laura added:
I'd really love to see him again, but won’t be able to make it over to America or Bludfest in Prague. But as soon as he is back here touring, I'll be there – even if I go on my own.
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