TALKING ABOUT HIS GENERATION

AFTER YEARS OF TOURING, BGT HAS LAUNCHED THE PIANO PRODIGY INTO THE SPOTLIGHT

Britain’s Got Talent winner Tokio Myers has made a big splash. And now the dread-headed North Londoner – real name Torville Jones – is showing the breadth of his ambition on his Top 10 solo album debut Our Generation. And he recently made a show-stopping appearance at the Royal Variety Show, too.

Torville, 33, who witnessed the fatal stabbing of his headmaster Philip Lawrence at the tough North London School he attended as 11-year-old, never thought he’d get to play such an event.

“Definitely not,” he smiles. “It was something I watched every year with my family when I was young. I was in awe of all of the performers doing their thing in front of the Royal Family. I want my music to touch all generations and this is what the Royal Variety Show is about. It was also a real honour and very special to play.”

Meeting the royal pair Wills and Kate afterwards was an added bonus for the singer.

“I was impressed by how clued up they were on my life! I wasn’t expecting that, they definitely did their homework,” he reveals.

“I liked their vibe, very chilled and interesting with it.”

Tokio had previously supported stars such as Amy Winehouse,

The Police, Kanye West and Lianne La Havas before entering BGT. Was he reluctant to take the reality TV route to success?

“I think there’s always going to be a reluctance for anyone entering a talent show but I just wanted to give myself a different challenge, almost uncomfortably so, and just go for it,” he says.

“I wanted to play music I’d be proud to play beyond the show and I’m thankful to be doing that.”

Tokio’s winning combination of awesome musical skills and vibrant personality have given him a large audience and he’s not about to take it for granted.

“If anyone stops me in the street and congratulates me, I am so grateful,” he admits. “It was the public vote that got me here today and I will always be forever thankful for this. The last few months have been a whirlwind. My family are, and always will be, my rock. It’s been amazing to bring my mum and dad down to the studio. It was thanks to them that I started learning the piano.”

With his high-flying success and royal popularity, maybe Tokio will be in line to play a little something for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s nuptials next May?

“Hah, we’ll see!” he grins. “They seem like a laugh, so maybe I’d start with something chilled then do a mash up into a hip-hop track.”

Tokio plays Belfast’s SSE Arena on April 14 next year

‘Wills and Kate seemed really clued up on me’