Lime Garden on meeting Hayley Williams and finding out she's a fan: “We were freaking out”
29 July 2026, 18:05 | Updated: 30 July 2026, 13:00
Lime Garden - Cross My Heart and Downtown Lover session | Radio X On The Beach
The Brighton-formed outfit told Dan O’Connell how they met the Paramore rocker at a festival and “hounded her down,” but were shocked to find she knew who they were.
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Lime Garden have described their recent encounter with Hayley Williams as a "bucket list" moment.
Singer Chloe Howard and drummer Annabel Whittle from the band spoke to Dan O’Connell ahead of their set supporting The Maccabees at Radio X’s On The Beach 2026 and revealed some of the biggest pinch me moments in their career so far.
Asked about the artist they would most like to meet, Chloe replied: “Well, actually, we recently ticked off a big bucket list moment of meeting Hayley Williams, and she said she was a fan”.
They went on to reveal how the band met the Paramore rocker at a festival in the Netherlands and skulked around the Parachute singer until they built up the courage to talk to her.
“We like… hounded her down,” admitted Chloe, with Annabel confirming: “All day we were just lurking.”
She went on: “Finally when she was about to leave, we got the courage to be— to go up to her and she knew who we were and we were just— we were freaking out. It was amazing!”
Watch our interview with the band, plus their performance of Cross My Heart and Downtown Lover, above.
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When it comes to other artists they'd like to tick off on their proverbial list, the band - completed by Leila Deeley and Tippi Morgan - have their hearts set on a meeting a certain helmet-clad duo.
“I’d love to meet Daft Punk without the helmets on. That would be nice,” said Chloe.
But when the Radio X DJ remarked that one half of the duo Thomas Bangalter had been playing shows recently, she replied: “I want both of them. [..] I don't want just one.”
“We want to do a song with them,” clarified Annabel.
When it comes to where they've set their eyes on to perform at, the Chloe added: "We always say Ally Pally would be iconic venue to play."
The band were also asked what awards they would like to win and joked that the "sky's the limit".
"I mean, well, I I'm gonna say it," Chloe began. "Mercury [Prize]. We want a Mercury Award."
"Yeah, but we don't want to win it," Annabel chimed in as Chloe clarified: "We want to get nominated."
The band also added a BRIT, a GRAMMY, An Ivor Novello and an Oscar for good measure.
"We're going into acting," joked Annabel. "So all of them really. All of them".
