Hysteria gripped Wolverhampton as Simon Cowell and his X Factor boy band One Direction shut down the city centre for an exclusive gig.

Thousands of fans braved -2C (38F) temperatures to swamp the city’s Queen Square last night. Some had queued for more than seven hours to get a place at the front of the stage for the show that lasted just 14 minutes.

West Midlands Ambulance Service today confirmed 35 people were treated for a range of minor problems.

These included crush injuries and suffering because of the temperature.

Young girls wearing fur-lined coats and ear muffs, teenagers braving the cold with strappy tops and skimpy shirts, mothers in thick coats waving flags and posters, and teenage boys reluctantly accompanying their girlfriends filled the makeshift arena.

Fans surged through the steel barriers when police and security staff opened the gates, while some who had the foresight to take up a warm vantage point within KFC watched the excitement unfold.

Chants erupted at about 7pm before Wolverhampton Mayor councillor Malcolm Gwinnett arrived on stage 10 minutes later to tell the crowd: “I got a call on Friday night to ask if we could stage this in Wolverhampton. I said ‘yes, yes, yes’ to everything. Let’s get this show on.”

Spirits were still high when fans were told the band would be on stage within 10 minutes and they broke into screams after spotting the teenage heartthrobs, including Bushbury’s Liam Payne, waving from a top window of Beatties where they had been holed up before the show.

But the cheers turned to boos of frustration from the shivering crowd, still waiting at 7.45pm. Music mogul Cowell finally strutted on stage at 7.55pm and his sheer star power immediately won the fans over.

“This is a fantastic turnout,” he said. “Are you going to vote on Saturday? Who are you going to vote for? Who is gonna win?

He introduced his proteges, who performed live three of the songs that have helped cement their place in the X Factor final. The band praised the “amazing” fans who had waited in the cold to see them.