X Factor's Stereo Kicks: A number one would be 'unbelievable'

We meet Stereo Kicks in London, chilling out before the final gig on their UK tour.

"Every crowd has been brilliant," says Tom Mann, the writer of the band's first single Love Me So.

Despite being two months away from release, the ballad has already made it into the iTunes top 40 on pre-orders alone.

The eight piece boy band were put together on last year's X Factor and left the competition in week eight.

Cynics may have expected the band to split up once the show was over but Casey Johnson says they were "always" going to stay together.

The band have more than 270,000 Twitter followers and some fans camped out from 5am in the queue to their London show.

The words "surreal" and "amazing" get used a lot in the interview and Chris Leonard says it would be "unbelievable" to get a number one with their debut song.

Newsbeat sat down with all eight to find out how it's going.

"I wrote the single back in January. James came down to my house and we jumped in the studio and recorded it for a laugh. We played it to the boys on the X Factor tour and everyone fell in love with it.

"I wrote the single within a day. I can't come back to a song, I have to finish it.

"For me to have written our first single it's a massive honour that it's been chosen and everyone in the band loves it."

"I think it's better to be in a boy band rather than a solo artist.

"We were always going to stay together. There was something there , our management believed in us so that's why we're releasing a single.

"The most surreal moment for me so far was playing to 21,000 people in Manchester on the X Factor tour. I was standing there and literally couldn't believe it."

"We played the single on the first date of the tour and the fans loved it.

"After we came off stage it was trending everywhere within 30 minutes. I think there were 30,000 tweets and then a couple of days later the fans knew every word of the song.

"They know the lyrics quicker than us."

"After the gigs when we're driving away, we'd hit a red light and the tour bus would be surrounded by fans banging the windows.

"I thought it was just on TV but it actually happens in real life.

"We've known about the single for so long now and we feel it's finally coming together. We just need a number one now."

"If we get a number one that would be all our Christmases coming at once. That would be unbelievable.

"I had to put my microphone down to a fan last night because I got a bit stuck with the words and she helped me out with the lyrics.

"It's the best feeling in the world hearing our fans singing the song back to us."

"It's weird being in the position that we're in because the fans are waiting outside to see us. We appreciate them as much as they appreciate us.

"One of the best things about this tour we've done is that we got to pick our own set. On the X Factor tour we got to do a song and then go off for half an hour.

"It's nice to stand there and do the songs that we want to do and perform how we want to, instead of being told."

"Coming together as strangers at the start we were all in our shell but now we know each other inside and out.

"We're best mates now and we love being able to tour the country as best friends. It's quality.

"I know it's early days but I don't think we appreciate how much we've been and done so far as a band."

"We're bringing something out that shows off our vocals instead of being generic and releasing your classic up-tempo boy band song.

"We're trying to put our mark on the market and trying to be a really credible boy band."

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