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Shirley’s official X-Factor auditions photo when she went to try her luck at the Theatre of Dreams
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Pub singer Shelia has an X-Factor 'nightmare'
David Edwards8/ 5/2008
WHEN Middleton singer Shirley Heyes received an invitation to audition for hit TV show The X-Factor she felt her dream of stardom could soon be fulfilled.
But her hopes were soon to be dashed by an audition from hell.
Shirley, of Grimshaw Lane, Middleton Junction, had honed her singing skills in local pubs and clubs. Twice before she had auditioned for the X-Factor, but both times had been told she lacked confidence. Now, she felt, she had built up her confidence to face the judges again.
On the previous occasions she had auditioned in the luxurious surroundings of a Manchester hotel, so she was a bit surprised to be told the new auditions were being held at Manchester United's football ground.
"They call Old Trafford the 'theatre of dreams' but this was a nightmare," she said. "When I arrived there were thousands of hopefuls being herded through crowd control barriers into the stadium.
"We had to sit in the stands, unsheltered in the rain and wind to await our turn. I was sat there for nine hours before it was my turn. There was a girl of 14 sat behind me who had come all the way from Yorkshire. She was cold and hungry. She couldn't afford the £4 hotdogs they were trying to sell us along with X-Factor books and other souvenirs. All they gave us was a sweet and a bottle of water. In the end the poor girl left before her turn came."
And when Shirley's turn came there were no celebrity judges. Instead she had to go onto the pitch and audition behind a screen.
"There was this man, I've no idea who he was, sat on a stool under a giant X-Factor umbrella who told me to sing. I hadn't even finished the first verse before he said sorry and called for the next one to come on.
"It was a complete disaster. I was disgusted with the way I was treated and felt I had been let down big time. It was more like a money making exercise. I was charged £10 to park the car, £4 for a hotdog and £13 for an X-Factor book."
She said she had been a Simon Cowell fan but no longer. "If he had bothered to turn up I'd have told him what I thought of him."
It may have put her off the X-Factor but she still went for an aution to another of Simon's shows, Britain's Got Talent. Sadly she didn't quite make the grade, but at least the audition was in more comfortable surroundings - Blackpool's Imperial Hotel.
What's your view? Click on 'Submit comment' or write to Readers Letters, Middleton Guardian, 24A Fountain Street, Middleton, M24 1AH
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10/05/2008 at 20:10
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