Britain's Got Talent has featured several amazing characters over its fourteen seasons, the latest being 76-year-old Crissy Lee, who will be playing her drums on its latest episode Saturday, May 16.
In an exclusive interview with The Daily Mail, Lee shared,"'I just love what I do, and I can't stop really. Yes, I've slowed down a little bit, but I just love my life, and that's why I was so happy to go on BGT." She added that she's already semi-retired and considered her upcoming BGT appearance as her swan song.
Lee also told The Mail that she has started drumming since she was four, in her hometown of Colchester, Essex in England. She also joined a Salvation Army band, playing drums at the age of six.
However, the highlight of her career was supporting The Beatles during the Spanish stop of the Liverpool quartet's 1965 European tour. Crissy Lee played for a 60s band, the Beat Chics. She shared that her group flew with The Fab Four on their private jet, calling it an "experience and a half."
Spain was the last stop of The Beatles' European tour, with two July shows in the Plaza de Toros in Madrid and Barcelona.
Lee also figured in a romance rumor with the legendary Paul McCartney, now 77. When asked by the British newspaper about her supposed engagement to Macca himself, Lee quipped: "Apparently I was engaged to Paul. I wouldn't have minded being engaged to Paul because, at the time, he was my favorite."
While a female drummer was rare in the 1960s, Miss Lee continued to hone her craft by listening to and watching other drummers perform and practicing by herself whenever possible. Her professional career included tours that had her work with big acts such as Sir Tom Jones, Al Jarreau, Dinah Washington, and Maynard Ferguson.
In her BGT appearance later Saturday, May 16, Miss Lee will be supported by her partner Nina, her stepchildren and young stepgrandchildren four and six years of age. "Britain's Got Talent" is set to air 8 PM BST on ITV.
First created by Simon Cowell, "Britain's Got Talent" started airing back in 2007 and was presented the comedy hosting duo Ant & Dec. The show has then spawned a global franchise with spinoffs in more than 68 countries as of late 2019. In 2014, it was recognized by the Guinness World Records as the "World's Most Successful Reality-TV Format," beating the "Idol" and "The X Factor" franchises.
The reality talent show, which allows contestants to showcase any talent they have to earn the approval of the judges, has produced a variety of stars - from Scottish opera singer Susan Boyle to performing dog Pudsey and her owner Ashleigh. In its twelfth season, the stand-up comedian, known as the Lost Voice Guy, won the competition. Lee Ridley, a man with cerebral palsy and speaks through a synthesizer, snagged more than a fifth of the final votes and went home with the grand prize.
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