[imagesource: Instagram / @RobLoud]

Doug James is clearly a believer in the saying, “you’re only as old as you feel”.

67 years young, James was filmed crowd surfing with a massive grin during a performance by The Killers in Manchester.

What’s all the more impressive is that James says he’s a first-time crowd surfer. Debuts don’t come much better than his effort on Saturday at the Old Trafford cricket ground, with the pensioner hailed as a rock’n’roll inspiration.

James, who hails from the northeast of England, was at the gig with his son, Barry.

Initially, there was concern for his well-being and the band’s frontman, Brandon Flowers, stopped the show when he saw James bleeding from the head.

Via The Guardian, James had been dropped on his noggin in the mosh pit:

He said he decided to crowd surf after watching the audience carry a girl in a wheelchair towards the front during the warm-up act, Blossoms.

“They lifted the wheelchair up so she could see and I think she was gradually making her way forward for the Killers coming on. So I said to this great bunch of lads: ‘Should we crowd surf?’ … Then up I go,” he said, describing how he was “swimming” on top of the crowd before he landed on his head: “Sadly I missed the beach and I hit a rock.”

…Afterwards, he said the experience made him feel “like his childhood is coming back” and it brought him “so much joy”.

The video below splices together a number of moments to show what transpired:

James has become a viral sensation over the past few days, appearing for multiple interviews:

You are never too old to start crowd surfing!!
67 year old Doug became the star of the show when he went to see #TheKillers and told #BBCBreakfast how it happenedhttps://t.co/K5zLG6Y9oz pic.twitter.com/x9Rvbr3DdM

— BBC Breakfast (@BBCBreakfast) June 14, 2022

His son, Barry, says he was somewhat concerned when his father was hoisted into the air:

“I was chasing him through the crowd as he was crowd-surfing and pretending to swim and all sorts. I was behind him going: ‘That’s my dad! Be careful with him!’”

Aside from a bump to the head, James is in fine spirits and has no regrets.

See you at Rocking the Daisies for a crowd surf, ooms?

[source:guardian]