Boyzone take to the stage in Telford

That was the message from Boyzone's Shane Lynch to thousands of screaming fans at Telford Town Park.

The 38-year-old was on stage with his bandmates Ronan Keating, Shane Lynch, Mikey Graham, Keith Duffy when he tweeted the video post at the borough's much-anticipated outdoor summer gig.

It's been more than 20 years since the foursome along with the late Stephen Gately arrived on the scene as Boyzone.

But Shropshire proved the pop icons have still got what it takes to draw in the crowds as more than 7,000 fans — old and young — poured onto the QEII Fields on Saturday (JUNE 27).

They enjoyed performances by Telford band The Rooz and X Factor judge Alesha Dixon before the Irish foursome stormed on to the stage with songs that spanned their whole career in the music industry.

Self-professed Boyzone super-fan Karen Horseborough travelled to the venue from Newcastle with her friends for her hen party.

She said: "I absolutely adore Keith Duffy. I'm a really, really big Boyzone fan. My friends got me the ticket for this as a surprise for my hen party — it was the best surprise ever."

During the show the bandmates paid tribute to the late Mr Gately, who died in 2009, and Every Day I Love You was performed by them with Stephen's lead vocals.

The band, from North Dublin, have been around since 1993 and had 16 consecutive top five singles including Love Me For A Reason and Picture of You, as well as six number ones including A Different Beat, No Matter What and When The Going Gets Tough.

Kaleigh Foster-Thomas, from Birmingham , got to the gig early on to grab a spot near the stage.

The 29-year-old said: "Ronan is lovely and so are the rest of the band. The sun is shining and Alesha is here – what could be better?"

Donna Price, of Wellington, was lucky enough to meet the band and Alesha, who she said were "lovely", as part of a competition.

She said: "What an awesome night. Boyzone and Alesha were amazing.

"I was absolutely delighted to hear I was the winner of the meet and greet Boyzone and Alesha competition in Telford Town Park. I have followed Boyzone's career from the early days when they started out in 1994.

"Having a child on the autistic spectrum, I very much admire the good charitable work that Keith Duffy does to raise awareness of children with ASD – it was also good to see him take part recently on ITV's Splash. I am also a big fan of Alesha Dixon and love her new single."

Some surprise performances of the night included Boyzone's rendition of Motown classic Reach Out I'll Be There and Ronan's hit solo single Life Is A Rollercoaster, while Alesha included Scandalous, a single released by her former band Mis-Teeq.

Despite touring the UK numerous times this was the first time that Boyzone performed in Shropshire.

Stephanie Gilbert, from Wolverhampton, said the highlight of the show for her was Boyzone's performance of Gave It All Away.

The 25-year-old said: "I just can't believe I remember all the words to all the songs from years go. It was fantastic, I'd definitely see them again."