Iconic NZ-Australian Tiktok Musical Comedy Star Makes The Recorder Cool Again On Britain’s Got Talent

Kiwi-Aussie musician, comedian and TikTok-er Richard Lindesay recently performed on British TV show, Britain’s Got Talent, to an uproarious response from the massive live audience, with the audience chanting his name and singing along, and a resounding “yes” from three of the four judges.

Richard flew to Manchester to join the 2024 cast. Performing a version of his viral hit song Recorder in the Corner, he added an extra verse dedicated to the judges, topped off with a hilarious dig aimed at “villain” judge Simon Cowell. Our hometown hero received an uproarious response from the audience on the night, who chanted “Richard! Richard!” and booed Bruno Tonioli when he hit the buzzer. With three out of four judges agreeing, Richard was voted through to the next round.

Richard expressed his gratitude at receiving such a surprised and positive response from the audience both on the night, and since on social media, with the video of his performance being the highest viewed of the season on Britain’s Got Talent’s TikTok just days after going to air, saying,

"Out of all the kids in my neighbourhood, they’d have never have guessed that the awkward kid with the recorder would end up on TV. The audience response was a surprise treat, from when I first started singing, to when they sang me off while I walked off stage.”

A truly unique comedy talent, since making his start performing stand-up comedy in Australia over a decade ago Richard has developed into an multi award-nominated comedian, reaching the finals of comedy competitions in Australia and the UK both for both stand-up and musical comedy. With a mixture of recorders and flutes, original songs, clown-like physical comedy, and sharp one-liner jokes in his act, Richard’s performances are clever, inclusive, inoffensive and joyous - in a somewhat similar vein to beloved quirky New Zealanders Flight of The Concords and Rhys Darby.

After many years honing his craft in comedy clubs and festivals throughout the UK and mainland Europe, Richard moved back to Australia when Covid hit, and began putting fun bite-sized comedy clips on social media. In June 2023 his first viral hit Recorder in the Corner amassed millions of views as well as over one million streams within a month on Spotify and other streaming services, where he continues to enjoy an average monthly download count of around fifty thousand. In September he was highlighted by YouTube as a ‘Creator on The Rise’ and featured on the platform’s ‘Home’, ‘Explore’ and ‘Trending’ pages. His songs have been used on TikTok by the Paralympics and USA Major League Baseball.

With the massive response to Richard’s BGT episode, broadcast last week to an audience of millions across Britain, when asked about future TV domination plans Richard, as always had a surprising reply!

“As a fan of the UK TV show Strictly Come Dancing, and enjoying ballroom dancing as a teen, it would be awesome to be on Dancing with the Stars. For years in the UK I enjoyed watching Taskmaster, and think I would be a contender on the hometown version.”

Proving his staying power with his 650,000 following on social media and weekly live sessions on TikTok, it’s clear Richard will continue to surprise and delight with whatever he ends up doing next!

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