Boyband District 3 shot to fame last year in ITV talent show The X Factor. They have spent the past few months writing and recording their debut EP but just don’t compare them to One Direction, as Kathryn Tye reports.

Don’t dismiss District 3 as just another manufactured boyband. That is the plea of member Dan Ferrari-Lane, as he and his bandmates Micky Parsons and Greg West prepare for their first national tour.

“We write all of our music ourselves and we have been friends for years, since we met at school. We weren’t put together.”

Dan, 20, originally from south Wales, met 18-year-olds Micky, from Cleethorpes and Greg, from Essex, at the Sylvia Young Theatre School in London. They formed the band, originally called GMD3, in 2010 but it was only last year that they got their big break on ITV’s X Factor.

They were chosen by Louis Walsh to go through to the live shows, before being eliminated after losing a sing-off against fellow boyband Union J.

Dan said: “The show was fun but it was also hard because the song choices were not really the music we do. It’s a family show and they wanted the battle of the boybands.

“It was a great experience but it’s also so
stressful. The X Factor tour was definitely more
fun than the show, as we just enjoyed
performing.”

The trio will be using their experience of performing live in front of more than 200,000 people with their fellow X Factor stars as they set out on their own tour, District 3 Live - Get Your 3eek On, which will be stopping in Kent this week.

Dan said: “It’s daunting but exciting. Our fans can see us in an intimate setting and we will be performing our own music. There aren’t any dancers, though Micky might do a few moves!”

As well as rehearsing for their tour, the boys have been writing and recording their debut EP in London and in LA and their show in Folkestone will be a preview of what they hope will be their future chart hits.

Dan said: “Our sound is definitely more mature than what we performed on the X Factor. Some R&B but also a bit of dubstep and trap music.

“We also have a song called Dead To Me which is quite a dark ballad.”

The group has been described as the next One Direction, fellow X Factor alumni who have gained huge success around the world but Dan is keen to stress that they are a different type of boyband.

“To be compared to One Direction is massive but musically we are really different. Their music’s great but vocally we would like to think we are more like Boyz II Men.

“That is what is great about being in the rehearsal studio. We are writing and recording our own music, not just doing covers.”

District 3 have a huge army of followers for their sound, known as ‘3eeks’, racking up an impressive seven million YouTube views and gaining nearly a million Twitter followers.

Dan added: “Before the X Factor, we were sitting in a room recording songs on YouTube. Now we have proper studio sessions and we have fans. It’s really exciting.”

District 3 will be at Folkestone’s Quarterhouse on Saturday, June 1. Standard tickets are priced £17.50 and include an hour performance and question and answer session after the show. Doors open at 7pm. VIP tickets are available priced £35. Call 01303 858500.