When Harry Churchill auditioned for Britain’s Got Talent, the 11-year-old had no idea that he’d catch the attention of his idol, Queen guitarist Sir Brian May.
Now not only has the rock legend reacted to his performance, sharing how blown away he was by Harry’s strumming skills, but he’s also invited the schoolboy to perform alongside him for the experience of a lifetime.
The Queen guitarist, 75, was full of praise when he surprised the schoolboy on a Zoom call, explaining how it was his intonation that impressed him the most on the ITV talent show, alongside his confidence and style.
On the recent Zoom call, the BGT star was waiting for who he thought was his agent to appear… only for Sir Brian to pop up from behind a chair. Metro reports.
‘Right, Harry. The bad news is I’m not your agent,’ the musician said, as Harry repeatedly uttered: ‘Oh my god.’
Sir Brian continued: ‘I just wanted to talk to you really. I was thinking I wonder what we could do, because the show is one thing, but it’s not all of what’s out there. And I had this crazy idea.’
He explained that he’s putting on a tribute act for his own hero, James Burton, who was ‘one of the first people to actually bend strings like we do’, as he added: ‘So he’s an influence on all of us.’
James, 83, will be in attendance at the tribute performance at The London Palladium.
Sir Brian invited Harry to the event… but then also offered him the chance to come up on stage too.
‘I thought you might like to come, and I also thought you might like to play,’ he said.
‘What?!’ Harry exclaimed in shock.
‘So if you’re up for it, that’s a deal,’ the Queen rocker added.Of course, Harry agreed to the offer, laughing as he said: ‘Yeah, that’s pretty good.’
The pair then shared a virtual high-five over the Zoom call, but hopefully they’ll soon get to share a real one in person.
Harry was sent through to the Britain’s Got Talent live semi-finals after initially wowing the judges during his first audition.
Sir Brian shared a clip of Harry’s first audition on social media, writing in his caption: ‘arry Rocks !!!! Had to post this … congratulations Harry Churchill @harrysguitartime on smashing it tonight on @bgt !!! Go kill’em !!! Thanks @taliadean for the tip-off ! Bri.’
Harry responded on Instagram, commenting: ‘@brianmayforreal I don’t know what to say – you are my guitar hero so this means EVERYTHING – I still can’t believe you have watched me play guitar – thank you so much for taking the time to share my audition and thanks for everyone’s kind comments – oh and @taliadean you are a legend🔥🤘🎸👑.’
While he rocked the house down yet again at the semi-final, he finished in third place after the public vote and missed out on the grand final.
The tribute to James at The London Palladium is taking place on the same night as the BGT final, with performances from artists including Van Morrison, Paul Shaffer and Toby Lee.
