A North East-based band have spoken of their joy in having received an unbelievable amount of attention following an guest appearance from a well-known TV personality. 

North East duo The Optics kicked off the new year with a gig at The Badger pub and restaurant in Ponteland, Northumberland when they were joined by Geordie TV personality Declan Donnelly.

The 48-year-old who is from Newcastle joined the band to perform a rendition of Piano Man by Billy Joel.

Alice Tomlinson from Consett, and Drew Conley from Sunderland started their musical duo The Optics last year and have been performing at various venues in the North East in attempts to promote their music. 

The Northern Echo: The duo booked the New Year Eve gig in October and had no idea they would be performing Billy

Alice said: “We were amazed to see our band in the national news, we got a phone call from a friend letting us know we were in the papers, and we couldn’t believe it at all.”

The duo booked the New Year's Eve gig in October and had no idea it would lead to them performing alongside the I’m a Celebrity presenter.

Alice said: “We saw him walk in and both did a double take.

“The last thing we thought would happen that night would be us performing some of our favourite songs with one of the most famous Geordies in the world.”

Recommended Reading:

After posting a short video of the interaction on various social media sites The Optics received 60,000 likes and over 650,000 views on TikTok.

The band have also gained a larger following on Instagram and hope the viral experience will have gained them a few more fans and opportunities in 2024. 

The Optics are currently performing covers at their gigs and plan to book plenty more this new year. They are also currently recording original songs which they hope to release soon.

You can find The Optics on social media sites Instagram and TikTok .