Sunderland man's dance performance at socially distanced Patrick Topping gig takes social media by storm

Matthew Eltringham was at the Virgin Money Unity Arena at Newcastle Racecourse for the DJ’s live performance, when his quick-moving antics were caught on camera.

The video of Matthew dancing to Be Sharp Say Nowt – his favourite Patrick Topping song – has now swept Facebook and Instagram, being shared on a number of fan pages for both the artist and the genre.

Matthew, who lives in Sunderland and works in recruitment for EPG in the city, told the Echo he only became aware of the footage’s popularity when his friends overseas revealed they had seen it online.

To date, the video has been watched more than 169,000 times on Instagram fan account @only_patrick_topping.

Matthew, 28, said: “I am a big fan of Patrick Topping and the song in the video is my favourite song [of his] by a country mile. I couldn’t wait to hear it.

"I’m known in my friendship group for losing my head like that. I couldn’t help it when I heard the song.”

Matthew went to university in Newcastle and worked as a dancer in bar Idols – which closed in 2016 – when he was a student.

He has praised the rules in place at the outdoor gig site, which calls itself the UK’s first socially-distanced music venue, and said its location in the North East was something to be proud of.

Artists set to perform in the coming weeks include Maximo Park, The Libertines and Frank Turner.

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