by Rasbert Turner, STAR Writer

Romain Virgo, 2007 winner of the Digicel Rising Stars talent competition was mobbed by overzealous female fans at a performance at the Old Harbour Fish and Bammy Festival on the weekend. - Winston Sill

spanish town, st. catherine

Digicel Rising Stars winner Romain Virgo left the Old Harbour Fish and Bammy Festival on Sunday visibly shaken after overzealous female fans mobbed the artiste.

The spectacle unfolded following Rising Stars finalist Jodian Pantry's exhilarating performance. Pantry, who worked the stage well delivered Marcia Griffith's, Feel like Jumping, Send Me The Pillow, Gregory Isaac's Overdue and Rihanna's Umbrella, which was apt on the rainy day.

However, after Pantry's set, Virgo, also known as the 'Rum Ram' kid was called to the stage.

The crowd erupted when his voice belted through the speakers.

'How you feelin'

"How you feelin'?" Virgo asked the crowd of which a section raced to the stage to get a closer look.

Wasting no time, he sang I've got a Date and I'm Still in Love with You. By this time the screams intensified and ladies, even the more mature among them, crawled on to the stage. He continued into Maxi Priest's, Just a Little Bit Longer, he then announced suddenly, "Mi done mi gone."

But the fans would have none of it. They called for an encore and Virgo obliged with Percy Sledge's anthem, It Tears Me Up. The song did nothing less than to send the ladies into a heightened frenzy.

Several began to shed tears shouting his name. "Romain!" "Romain!" and it got worst when he gave them Marvin Gaye's Lets Get It On, accompanied by his trade mark Rum Ram.

After the set, frenzied women clawed and groped Virgo as he tried to descend the stairs but was forcibly dragged back to the stage.

The ladies were about to climb on top of him when he jumped into a truck behind the stage. In trying to avoid the mob, he rushed back on stage and was bulldozed through the crowd with the assistance of several burly men.

The ladies still managed to lay hold of him and it took a great effort to place him in a waiting motor car with the females still hovering around the vehicle. They eventually relented after several minutes and a shocked Virgo exited the venue.

The entertainment continued as did the rain and scores of patrons remained to see deejay Assassin who was left to perform.