Jedward went to Leeds Festival, met Soft Play, campaigned for the climate

29 August, 2023

Jedward perform live

Jedward have been spotted at this year’s edition of Reading & Leeds, catching up with Soft Play and campaigning against climate change.

The Irish duo – brothers John and Edward Grimes – are most famous for their appearance on talent show X Factor back in 2009, where they donned the group name Jedward and caught the nation’s eye with their signature bleach-blonde quiffs.

Now, 14 years after they first came into the spotlight, the siblings have been spotted at Leeds festival, where they raised awareness for climate change, held a performance and caught up with some famous faces.

“I just think climate is important,” Edward said while taking part in some environmental discussions at the festival site (via BBC). “Sometimes people feel like they don’t know everything about everything but it’s about just educating yourself and moving forward.”

Identical twin brother John agreed, adding: “All you’ve got to do is be a tryer.”

Jedward perform live
Jedward perform live. CREDIT: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

According to reports, dozens of punters queued up to meet the singing duo, after the brothers performed on the Climate Live: Bus Stage. They were also heard performing a cover of ‘Mr Brightside’ just hours before The Killers went to headline on Sunday (August 27).

Soft Play – formerly going by Slaves – also shared footage of them meeting Jedward at the Bramham Park site on their social media pages. Here, the X post showed Laurie Vincent bumping fists with both brothers – who were wearing gold suits and had their signature hairstyles firmly in place – before hitting the stage on the final day of the festival.

“Aaaand thank you Leeds,” the caption read. “ Jepic energy. Love you loads.” Check out the update below.

This year’s Reading & Leeds festival was headlined by Billie Eilish, The 1975, Sam Fender and Imagine Dragons. Others on the line-up included Sleep Token, Rina Sawayama, Central Cee, Loyle Carner and Palaye Royale.

Since their famous X Factor appearance, Jedward have released four albums together and represented Ireland twice at the Eurovision Song Contest.

Last year, they claimed to have received death threats after expressing a series of anti-monarchy views online in the wake of the Queen’s death.

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