AMERICAN IDOL - IDOLS OUT ALL NIGHT AS HICKS JOINS HIS OLD BAND FOR BAR GIG

IDOLS OUT ALL NIGHT AS HICKS JOINS HIS OLD BAND FOR BAR GIG

Revellers at a tiny country blues bar in Charlotte, North Carolina were treated to a late-night AMERICAN IDOL concert on Tuesday (01AUG06) when TV talent show winner TAYLOR HICKS joined his old band for a surprise gig. Hicks was fronting THE TAYLOR HICKS BAND when he first auditioned for Idol last year (05) and when he heard his former bandmates were playing near an Idols Live tour stop, he couldn't resist joining them for old times sake. So the silver-haired crooner headed down to Coyote Joe's - and took fellow Idols ELLIOT YAMIN, ACE YOUNG and BUCKY COVINGTON with him. Hicks' former bandmates, now called the LITTLE MEMPHIS BLUES ORCHESTRA, planned the Coyote Joe's gig to coincide with the Idols Live concert at nearby Bobcats Arena in downtown Charlotte - but they had no idea their ex-frontman would be paying them a visit. The American Idol star joined his old band on stage for most of the night, and was joined by Yamin for a handful of numbers. A stunned diner says, "Ace spent the entire time taking pictures with fans and signing autographs and Bucky Covington spent most of the evening chain smoking, drinking and dancing to Taylor's music. They seemed to have as much fun as everyone else in the place. "They arrived in their own chauffeur-driven town cars along with assorted body guards and tag-alongs and everyone's mouths just dropped when they walked through the door." Police and bar staff then cleared the parking lot of Idol fans so the stars and the regulars could party well into the morning. The Idols then headed for a remote Waffle House in nearby Belmont to get an early start on breakfast before heading back to their hotel.