Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Guitar World
Guitar World
Entertainment
Jackson Maxwell

11-year-old guitarist brings literal shred fireworks and Marty McFly-flavored tapping to Britain's Got Talent stage

11-year-old Harry Churchill wields an Epiphone Les Paul laden with sparklers on the stage of Britain's Got Talent

Last month, 11-year-old Britain's Got Talent contestant Harry Churchill captivated his studio audience, and the rest of the world, with a phenomenal medley of Queen classics that got an enthusiastic nod of approval from no less than Brian May himself.

Churchill's showmanship and skill – he cleanly executed some behind-the-head shredding at one point – earned him a unanimous vote onto the next round of the competition, and even some kind words from the notoriously picky Simon Cowell.

Perhaps the one downside of Churchill's viral performance was that it'd be tough for him to match later on in the competition. But boy did he ever match it in the recent Britain's Got Talent semifinal, and then some.

Channeling his inner Ace Frehley, Churchill highlighted his rendition of AC/DC's none-more-classic Back in Black by shooting fireworks out of the headstock of his trusty Epiphone Les Paul

Kids, for legal reasons, please do not try this at home. 

Elsewhere in his performance – which, unlike his turn in the previous round, was aided by a live backing band – Churchill blended the worlds of '50s and '80s rock together with some Johnny B. Goode á la Back to the Future

After nailing the "duck walk" made famous by the song's author, electric guitar pioneer Chuck Berry, Churchill spiced up the Eisenhower-era touchstone with some well-executed tapping, getting a much better reaction from his audience than the time-traveling Marty McFly got from his when getting his shred on in his version of Johnny B. Goode from the classic '80s film.

Sadly, though his performance earned further praise – and a couple more votes – from the show's judges, Churchill missed qualifying for Britain's Got Talent's final round by a hair, and was eliminated from the competition.

If we had to bet, though, this won't be the last time we hear from this talented young guitarist. Is that a signature Gibson Les Paul we see in the distant horizon?

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.