A young Aitch superfan has finally got to meet his idol after a video of him at the rapper's concert went viral.
12-year-old Marlee Matthews was spotted by Aitch during a gig in Leicester last year after he saw him dancing and enjoying the concert by the accessibility balcony. In the clip, the Manchester rapper is seen smiling and pointing at Marlee for a few seconds before continuing with the show.
Ever since, Marlee, who has autism, has been 'so grateful' for the moment and has wanted to get a selfie with the star. Mum Chelsea told the M.E.N earlier this week that a talent management agency had been in touch with her to arrange a meet with Aitch during his headline slot at Parklife festival.
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The young fan was invited backstage at the Heaton Park festival on Saturday night (June 11) to meet Aitch and was able to spend a bit of time talking to him and getting selfies.
“They gave Marlee a meet-and-greet backstage at Parklife,” Chelsea told the M.E.N. “We went to his dressing room and met his manager, and then they went to get Aitch. Marlee then got nervous and kept asking ‘what do I do now?’.
“They had a chat together and he gave them two of his new t-shirts, which he signed for him. Marlee got to tell him some of his favourite dad jokes, which are appalling but Aitch loved and found them really funny. He said he wanted to see Marlee at every show as he wanted to hear more jokes.
“I said to him that now that he’s said this to Marlee, he’s going to bring his big book of jokes next time and read them to him for hours. Aitch was like ‘yes, let’s make that happen’. His favourite joke was ‘Why was the giraffe late to work? Because he was stuck in a giraffic jam’.
“He was also asking him if he believes in pineapple on pizza and what his favourite takeaway was. We found out that he doesn’t order pineapple on pizza but we haven’t found out if he agrees with it because Marlee is very against it. He’ll have to ask him next time!”
After the meet, the pair were invited to watch Aitch’s performance from the side of the stage, where Marlee got to meet two more of his favourite musicians.
“They just chatted and had some photos together and then they took us onto a viewing platform at the side of the stage to watch his performance,” Chelsea explained. “He also got to meet Ardee and AJ Tracey and was able to get pictures with them and they signed his shirt. They were so lovely.
“We caught Aitch at the end of the show and he asked Marlee if he enjoyed the show and told him he’d see him at the next show. He kept calling him ‘my guy’ and hugging him. It was an incredible experience.”
Chelsea says Marlee was ‘absolutely made up’ by the moment and couldn’t sleep on their way home to Leicester.
“It was a really big night for him,” she added. “He said to me it was the best day of his life and I’m the best mum ever. You could tell he was getting emotional as he was registering what had happened. He said ‘I actually gave Aitch a hug and he laughed at my dad jokes’.
“It was just a special moment and one he will never forget. We’re so grateful that his management team never forgot about him since that gig in October. Aitch knew who he was and knew his name, it was great.”
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