Fans go Dappy for N-Dubz at Merry Hill

Chart toppers N-Dubz delighted an audience of 500 screaming fans at a behind-closed-doors gig at an otherwise deserted Black Country shopping centre.

The trio performed a 30-minute set at the Merry Hill Centre in Brierley Hill last night.

Dino 'Dappy' Contostavlos, Tula 'Tulisa' Contostavlos and Richard 'Fazer' Rawson raised the roof after taking to the stage in Fountain Square just before 7.45pm, hours after the shops closed and the centre emptied. Tickets had been awarded via a prize draw, with almost 2,000 people registering before the 500 names were drawn out of a hat.

Fans' favourites such as, I Need You and Strong Again, received rapturous receptions while a cover of The Script's, Breakeven, also went down well. Dappy told the crowd: "It sounds like there's 2,000 people in here."

Sisters Emma and Samantha Skelding, aged 11 and 14, were among the crowd. "They were really good," the pair, who attend Summerhill School in Lodge Lane, Kingswinford, said.

Samantha added "I've been listening to their stuff since their first single came out a couple of years ago. I like their music because it's different."

The band had earlier spoken about their plans to release a third album in November, with a first single from the record expected next month. Last night's show was a return to Merry Hill for the band. In June, hundreds of fans queued for more than three hours to greet N-Dubz when they were at the Merry Hill Centre to promote the release of a book chronicling their rise to fame.

Devoted fans painted the band's logo on their faces as they queued inside the shopping centre for a chance to meet them at Waterstones.