Nuneaton grandad has nation in a spin with 'Hoop Guy' song

Nuneaton grandad has nation in a spin with 'Hoop Guy' song

Postby dutchman » Sun May 07, 2017 4:28 pm

A theme tune penned by a hula-hooping Nuneaton grandad has been on the lips of the nation since he appeared on Britain's Got Talent


Households across the country were last night (Saturday, May 6) were singing 'Hoop Guy' – the song John Parnell wrote for himself.

Even Simon Cowell admitted that the infectious tune was stuck in his head after John, who is known as 'Hoop Guy', appeared on the ITV1 show.

Amanda Holden stood up from the desk and sang and clapped along with the audience.

The grandad even got music mogul Cowell hula-hooping, as well as singer Alesha Dixon during his debut on the popular programme.

John, who also goes by the name of 'John the Juggler' was given the go-ahead into the next round, with Simon Cowell asking Alesha to sing the song in the semi-final!

The 63-year-old previously spoke to the News and he said it proved to be a long day at the end of January when decided to finally audition for the show.

"To be honest, for the past eleven years, I have watched it (Britain's Got Talent) religiously," he said.

"I like to watch it for research purposes, to see what works with audiences and what doesn't work, and get ideas so that I can be a better entertainer. But this year I thought 'This is the year to go for it, I will give it a try'."

He set off from his home in Nuneaton, that he shares with his wife Clare, at before 6am, so that he was in London by 8.30am. He was not prepared for what happened next.

"It was such a long day, when I got there I got asked to be interviewed, then they said that Stephen Mulhurn wanted to interview me, then I did another interview and I didn't actually go on stage until 6pm, then they asked me to be interviewed again, so I didn't leave til 11pm and didn't get back to Nuneaton until 1am."

Auditioning for the show was simply not just to fulfil an ambition, he also did it to raise awareness to the health benefits of hula-hooping.

"At the end of the day, the main reason I went on the show was because I run hula-hooping classes at schools across the Midlands and much further afield and I see the benefits it brings to children," he said.

"I have been to schools as far as Nottingham, Leeds, Manchester and Reading but sadly none in Nuneaton. I have had so many schools get in touch after I have visited to request more hoops because children have been queuing at break times to have a go. I just want to do my bit to help get children fitter and healthier and hula-hooping really works."

John, who is 63, only learned how to hula-hoop ten years ago but it has become a huge part of his life. He runs the 'Hoop Guy' sessions as well as an online store.

The grandad of 12, who runs adult hooping classes in hooping classes at St Nicolas Church in Nuneaton on Monday nights, is no stranger to television as he has also featured on the Sky One TV show, 'Got to Dance' in January 2011, ITV 'This Morning' show in March 2011, and the regional finals of 'Britain Does Variety' in April 2011.

He also regularly takes part in charity events and is part of the Christmas light switch on celebrations in Nuneaton and Bedworth.

But the Britain's Got Talent opportunity could be his biggest shot at the limelight yet: "I know that over the past few years it hasn't just been about singers, there have been magicians and other sorts of entertainment acts that have won Britain's Got Talent," he said.

"In a Saturday magazine before the start of the show, the judges were asked to pick out four acts to watch out for and I was one of them, hopefully they will see that I am an entertainer and can put on a good show."

"I haven't gone in it to win it, I just hope that people find it fun and see the health benefits that hula-hooping can bring," he concluded.

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