ONE hundred and sixty fans queued on Saturday morning for tickets for a surprise Foals gig in Oxford.

Mark Taylor started queueing from 6.30am outside Cowley Road’s O2 Academy to get tickets for the special gig.

He was the first in the queue to get his hands on £20 tickets to see Foals playing a one-off home town show at the venue on Saturday night.

Another 240 Foals fans snapped up tickets online minutes after they went on sale at 10am.

Mr Taylor, 43, who lives in Summertown, bought one ticket for himself and one for his 16-year-old niece Sophie, who lives in Hampton Poyle near Kidlington.

He said: “It is a show you just don’t want to miss. They’re one of the biggest indie bands in the world right now, playing in a smaller room than the last time they played here.”

Foals – made up of lead singer and guitarist Yannis Philippakis, drummer Jack Bevan, keyboard player Edwin Congreave, guitarist Jimmy Smith and bassist Walter Gervers – formed in Oxford in 2007.

The Academy’s promotions manager Katie Herring said: “I think we should definitely do more last-minute gigs like this.”