Londoner ‘pulled sequins off The Queen’s dress’ when he was 2

A Londoner currently appearing on Britain’s Got Talent with the London Community Gospel Choir says he tried to pull the sequins off The Queen’s gown “one by one” when he met her aged two. Leonn Meade’s dad Bazil, who founded the choir, brought his son on stage at a gig to celebrate her 60th birthday.

At the 1986 event in the Royal Festival Hall, Leonn told The Mirror he remembers being “fascinated” with Her Majesty ‘s shiny dress and tried to take them off “one by one”. More than three decades later, Leonn is now in charge of the choir and the group are semi-finalists in ITV’s talent competition.

The choir is also part of The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations as they sang on the Jubilee anthem, EIIR: The Platinum Record, which was released last month, and will sing the National Anthem alongside Ed Sheeran at the Jubilee Pageant.

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Remembering his first royal encounter, Leonn said: “It was the Royal Family who requested that I come on stage. I remember being there on the stage, touching people’s hands and when we got to meet The Queen, being fascinated by her shiny dress. As a kid you don’t realise that she’s The Queen, for you it’s just a person wearing sequins.

“My dad was really embarrassed, trying to stop me, but I was so into those sequins, trying to get them off The Queen one by one. I don’t know if we’re going to get to meet her again during the Jubilee celebrations, at the Royal Variety if we win, but if I do I’ll definitely say to her, ‘Do you remember me? I took the sequins off your dress 36 years ago!’”

The choir’s BGT and Jubilee performances aren’t the only big shows they have put on. The group has performed for Nelson Mandela, backed Madonna at Hyde Park, joined George Michael for his Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert, and performed the traditional pre-match hymn Abide With Me at the FA Cup Final at Wembley in 2009. In 2018, Leonn’s dad Bazil received an MBE.

It all began in 1982 with Bazil holding rehearsals in his home in Leyton. His idea was to put on a one-off concert but the event was such a success, newly married Bazil quit his day job as an engineer, even though he had three young children.

This year though, Bazil, who the group know as Rev, will be handing over the reins to Leonn who said: “My dad is 71. We sat down and had a long talk about how we’re going to move the choir forward for another 40 years, give us a youthful touch, possibly chart again.”

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