THANK you, thank you so much for queuing up to buy your JLS tickets; we promise we won't disappoint and we can't wait to see you guys on Monday.

IPSWICH: Thank you, thank you so much for queuing up to buy your JLS tickets; we promise we won't disappoint and we can't wait to see you guys on Monday.

That was group member JB's heartfelt message to fans eagerly counting down the days to their gig at the Regent, on Monday.

He said preparations for the super boyband's first headlining tour have gone fantastically well and they can't wait to hit the road.

“We've always been support acts, special guests or something like that so it's nice to be striking out on our own. We hope people are going to enjoy what we've put together.

“We never would've dreamed we'd be in the position where we were doing our own tour and things like that, but thankfully we've had such a fantastic year we're in a position to do it,” added JB - aka Jonathan Benjamin Gill.

It's not the first time he, Orits� Williams, Aston Merrygold and Marvin Humes have visited Ipswich.

“We were on the Lemar tour as special guests and we're looking forward to coming back. To be honest we didn't hang around that time, back in March. We were so, so busy with promoting the single and trying to get the album written. We had to shoot off to do promos and different bits and bobs. This time we're going to come down and hopefully see a piece of Ipswich at the same time,” he added.

So, what can fans expect?

“A lot of energy to say the least,” promises JB. “We've chosen select songs from our album and we've got a couple of surprises in there as well, so hopefully people should be entertained.

“You know, we've really put a lot into this tour because it's our first and because we really want the standard to be high in terms of moving forward as well. Hopefully people are going to enjoy what they see and want to come to watch JLS in concert some more.”

In an industry increasingly littered with the broken dreams of TV talent show contestants, JLS have not only proven themselves one of the most successful acts to ever come out of the phenomenon that is The X Factor but that they're going to be around for a long time.

With two Mobo and three Brits nominations to their name, as well as two number one singles and their debut album flying off shelves, what's next for JLS?

“Our third single, One Shot, is officially out on February 22 and available to download from iTunes now. It's a track we did with producers Soulshock and Karlin from the states who flew over and recorded it with us,” says JB.

“We're really excited about this track because it's slightly different, it's got a bit of a twist to it, a little bit of a dance element to it and obviously keeps in with the pop and R&B stuff we love. It makes it a little bit exciting and we're looking forward to seeing how it does.”

They are also involved in the Simon Cowell masterminded cover of REM's Everybody Hurts in aid of the Haiti earthquake victims, lining up alongside big names such as Kylie Minogue, Susan Boyle, Rod Stewart and former X Factor winners Leona Lewis and Joe McElderry to name a few.

Fans disappointed at missing their pop heroes' visit to Suffolk needn't worry though, JB reveals.

“What's even greater is we've actually got an arena tour lined up as well so there's that for us to look forward to, but obviously first things first and we're just looking forward to getting on the road.”

JLS perform at the Ipswich Regent on Monday - don't miss our special poster of the boys in that day's Evening Star.

n JLS are Orits� Williams, Jonathan “JB” Benjamin Gill, Aston Merrygold and Marvin Humes;

n The name stands for Jack the Lad Swing, a mix of their cheeky onstage persona and the US music genre New Jack Swing of which they're fans;

n They are up for three Brits at this year's awards - best band, best breakthrough act and best single for Beat Again;

n Formed two summers ago by Orits�, they hit the big-time in 2008 thanks to the hit ITV1 show The X Factor; finishing runners-up to Alexandra Burke - amazingly, they almost didn't enter the TV talent contest;

n Their celebrity fans include Beyonce, Rihanna, Pet Shop Boys, Tinchy Stryder and Dame Judi Dench.