The Shires surprise fans in Oxford Street on vintage pick-up truck
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The Shires looked close to bringing London’s Oxford Street to a standstill when they made a grand arrival ahead of an intimate performance.
The country duo – Ben Earle and Crissie Rhodes – hitched a lift on the back of a vintage American Chevy pick-up truck to take them to HMV.
Fans poured into the road in a bid to get a picture of the singers who took time to pose for selfies with the crowds before heading inside to perform a string of hits from their new album, My Universe.
The record is currently number three in the midweek UK Album Chart.
Speaking about the album, they said: "We are thrilled to see such a fantastic reaction to the release of our second album this week! It's a very exciting time for UK country music.
“Thank you to all our fans for their support - it was wonderful to see you at HMV and we can't wait to get back out on the road next month for our next UK Headline Tour."
The Shires – who are preparing for their upcoming tour – became the biggest-selling country act in 2015, a year which also marked their first performance at Glastonbury Festival.
Earle welcomed his "perfect son" River hours before they were due to headline the Acoustic stage.
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Speaking to the Standard about the "emotional" time Earle said: “He came eventually at 1.30 in the morning of the Glastonbury show. I got four hours’ sleep, went to see him and his mum [in hospital] and then just made it to the show.
"[The set] was pretty emotional. I had been awake for 36 hours. I was crying after one song. It was amazing. The whole thing was really overwhelming — he is beautiful and perfect.”
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