HUNDREDS of young girls have descended on Southampton this lunchtime, desperate to catch a glimpse of their pop idols.

Queues of excited fans currently snake from HMV all the way down to Primark as they wait for their chance to meet Union J.

Jaymi, Josh, JJ and George, made famous on the X-Factor, are currently appearing in the music store where they are signing copies of their new single, Tonight (We live forever).

The single, which is the first from their second studio album, was released on Sunday.

The Southampton visit is part of their nationwide tour of HMV stores to publicise their new track.

As fans  waited anxiously outside, the Daily Echo was able to sneak backstage and have a quick word with the band as they prepared to come out and greet their adoring fans.

They told us it's their first trip to the city since forming on ITV's X Factor two years ago.

Since then they've had a whirlwind of success and are now on a national tour before releasing their album later this year.

Singer Josh Cuthbert said: "I was actually born in Portsmouth so I have a bit of a soft spot for Southampton.

 "We'd just like to say a massive thank you, we've been away for eight months so thank you to all our fans for sticking with us and believing in us, we can't thank you guys enough.

Fellow band member JJ Hamblett added: "We've never been to Southampton before so we're really exited to meet all our fans on the South."

When the boys appeared, screams filled the streets of Southampton City Centre as the Union J signing got underway.

Some of the girls in the queue tell us they have been waiting to meet the band since 10pm last night.

Danielle Thomas, 15 and Ashley Burton, 15 from Hedge End are still waiting in the queue as excitement levels rise.

They said: "It's amazing that they are coming to see us and I'm so excited to see them. We have been such big fans of them and this is so surreal."

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