A STEVENAGE singer who appeared with his band on the X Factor last weekend has said that he’s been inundated with phone calls, offers and Facebook friend requests ever since.

Billy Humphreys, a former Thomas Alleyne student who grew up in Chancellors Road, appeared with his band Brooklyn on ITV2 show the Xtra Factor last Saturday.

They were interviewed by presenters Olly Murs and Caroline Flack, before launching into their rendition of Cee Lo Green’s Forget You.

“I wasn’t actually in when it was on TV. Of all the nights I stayed in glued to the telly, it would have to be the one I wasn’t there,” said 24-year-old Billy.

“My phone didn’t stop going off for ages. I had about 50 friend requests on Facebook, and our Twitter following went right up. It was strange.

“The other members of the band rang me - they were all watching the TV. It was overwhelming - I just keep watching it over and over.

“We’ve got quite a lot of offers off the back of it. Stevenage Christmas lights organisers have asked us to play, and Luton Christmas lights may want us too. There are a few charity events we are doing, and quite a few schools have got in touch.”

The group got three ‘yeses’ from judges Louis, Tulisa and Gary, with only Kelly showing some reservations.

But it was enough to send the group through to Bootcamp, which will hit TV screens tonight (Saturday) and tomorrow (Sunday).

“Kelly said there was a little bit of work to do, but the other judges said they liked us,” added Billy.

“I think because they showed us in the Xtra Factor, there is more chance they will show us on there again at Bootcamp.

“They [the producers] put us up in a big golf spa resort in East Croydon. There were about 200 of us, and they made a cut straight away.

“They then put us in groups, and we sang a couple of songs. The audience were amazing. It was held in the hotel where we stayed, but we drove to Wembley Arena too.”

At the time of going to press, the band’s audition had 24,000 hits on YouTube.

Anyone who wants to see Billy and his band play can get in touch via the website www.brooklynofficial.com