Photos of 2013 when Gabriella Cilmi played an intimate gig in Oxford

It was the year when pensioners were handed Maundy coins by the Queen in a special ceremony at Christ Church.

Oxford Mail: The Queen waves in the quad at Christ Church in 2013

And Australian pop star Gabriella Cilmi called in to see some youngsters in Wolvercote.

READ AGAIN: Oxfordshire songwriter penned Tina Turner hit

She knocked on the door to perform an intimate gig for a group of young competition winners.

She played three of her songs to eight very excited children after they won a prize offered in the Oxford Mail.

Linda Williams, who entered the competition and in whose house the songstress performed, said at the time: “The children were absolutely delighted when they found out they had won and it was a good story to tell at school as well.

“This was a bit of a surreal afternoon, like when you say ‘yes’ to something and it takes a while for the penny to drop.

“I was wondering whether I needed to tidy the house or not.”

Gabriella’s three-song set, which included one of her new songs Symmetry, was well-received by the audience of children, who attended Wolvercote Primary School and St Aloysius.

Oxford Mail:

Mrs Williams’ nine-year-old daughter Hannah said: “I really enjoyed it but it is very unusual having her perform in our living room.”

Her friend, Ruby Atkinson, aged 10, added: “I was really excited. When my mum told me, I literally screamed. We put lots of her songs on and were practising.”

Ms Cilmi came to Oxford in 2013 from a gig in Brighton before leaving for London after performing in Mere Road.

The singer, who performed with a band, said: “It was really nice to be playing to a different type of audience. We played On A Mission, which we hadn’t played for a few years, but they were very forgiving.

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“We went for a little walk around Christ Church Meadow but unfortunately I was wearing high heels which weren’t very appropriate.”

Gabriella Cilmi was discovered at the age of 13 singing Led Zeppelin and Rolling Stones covers with a Melbourne band.

She signed for Island Records and, aged 15, moved to London to work with Brian Higgins from Xenomania.

In 2008, she gained worldwide fame with her song Sweet About Me, which was top 10 in 16 countries, spent 37 weeks in the UK charts and has been seen almost 24 million times on YouTube.

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