The 16-year-old was the viral hit of the summer when he was pulled out of the crowd to perform alongside his hero, the rapper Dave. Then came modelling, abuse – and his own single
Of all the events at this year’s Glastonbury festival – Stormzy’s headline set, David Attenborough giving a speech on the climate crisis to thousands gathered at the Pyramid stage – it was 16-year-old Alex Mann who became the viral star of the festival. The video clip of the fan being summoned onstage by his hero, the rapper Dave, to perform Dave’s track Thiago Silva with bar to bar perfection, spread like wildfire. It was soon trending on social media with the hashtag #AlexFromGlasto, ultimately leading a sleep-deprived Mann to appear on Good Morning
Britain to awkwardly resurrect his bars for Piers Morgan, a modelling deal with retailer BooHoo and the release of his own track, What Ya Kno Bout That Bro?
“I can hardly remember any of it now, there was so much adrenaline going through me when I was on stage,” Mann says from his home in Somerset. “Dave is one of my top three rappers and as soon as he said he wanted someone from the crowd to come up and rap AJ Tracey’s verse, I got straight on my friend’s shoulders and was shouting for his attention.” It just so happened that Mann was wearing a Thiago Silva football shirt and was spotted. “All I remember is Dave asking if I knew the words and then telling me to go for it,” he says. “The reaction from the crowd at the end was one of the best feelings I’ve ever had in my life, but then the security guard took me straight back down and I didn’t think much more of it.”