08 May 2025
Electric Umbrella’s Tommy Waterhart is hoping to turn St Albans yellow in support of their semi-finals appearance on Britain’s Got Talent.
The rock group – which actively welcomes people with neurodivergence or disabilities – performed an original song called ‘Acceptance’ in the heats, and received an unprecedented extra Golden Buzzer from judge Simon Cowell.
Musician Tommy, who appears on stage with the group, has spent this week plastering yellow posters in pubs across St Albans calling for the public’s support on Saturday night.
He has also arranged special watch parties at The Farmer’s Boy, The Boot and The Mermaid, with people encouraged to come along and watch the programme live.
He told the St Albans Times: “At this point I have a mixture of emotions – we’re all working our bums off. We’ve known for a little while when our audition was so we’ve been rehearsing, painting instruments yellow and learning all the signing and the new song we’re doing, which we’re keeping it a secret until the day.
“The levels of excitement are building, and the main thing now is hitting the socials and getting the posters out, but it’s also about using our exposure on BGT to raise awareness of the charity and encouraging people to Be More Electric Umbrella.
“We’re hoping that not only will people vote for us but they will also think about how they can become more inclusive.
“We went on the show to highlight who we are and what our members do every day of the year as a lot of it is behind closed doors. It’s an opportunity to change perceptions of people with learning disabilities.
“Getting onto the show and being televised was the point of applying, and even if we hadn’t gone through to the next round it would still have been millions of people seeing us.
“The emotional bit for me was after our first rehearsal on stage when we pulled off what we’d been rehearsing for ages – that was when I got choked up and had a little cry. I let it all out then and so when we got the Golden Buzzer I was already a bit drained.
“Getting through to the semi-finals means we can now do it again and play a different song, and if we get through again it’s another song. The more we can provide a platform for our members then that’s a win.”
Born and bred in St Albans, and attending Oakwood and Beaumont schools, Tommy joins St Albans singer-songwriter Sinéad Quinn on stage with Electric Umbrella.
The group are regular performers in St Albans, appearing at the likes of Pub in the Park, the M Festival and various city centre street events. They will be at St Albans Cathedral on June 24 for ‘Shine A Light, an event bringing together young people from across Hertfordshire and beyond to sing and make music together, fostering integration, unity, and creativity.
Ros Kintu, landlady of The Farmer’s Boy, one of the pubs hosting a watch party, explained how they were backing the band: “We are planning on showing the event on the TV in the garden.
“Five Fold Kiss are playing a garden gig in the afternoon, and I’m sure quite a few will stay on afterwards to watch the event and cast their votes.
“We have always had the support of Electric Umbrella’s Sinéad Quinn, Tommy Waterhart and Tom Billington throughout the 17 years of running The Farmer’s and holding regular music events, and are delighted that they have made it through to the semi finals. Everyone at The Farmer’s wishes them luck and will be routing for them on the day!”
To vote online for Electric Umbrella:
- Visit itv.com/vote/bgt
- Register your mobile number.
- Enter the four letter authorisation code you are sent by text.
- Create your own four character passcode
(you can use this to log in for future voting).
Vote for Electric Umbrella – you can use all five free votes for the same act!
