London singer Lewis Codling made quite an impression on the ladies in the crowd when he stepped onstage on Britain’s Got Talent in an unbuttoned formal shirt. The well-built 27-year-old singer explained with a cheeky smile that he was there to sing for everyone, although there was a big surprise twist coming. He began singing Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On” acapella and showed off an impressive R&B voice, but soon he appeared to run into some technical difficulties with the mic.
A squad of four uniformed stagehands hit the stage and began fussing over the mic. But then a grooving bass line came out of the speakers and Codling launched into Bruno Mars’ “Runaway Baby” as the four “crew members” went into a high energy dance routine. Next, the “stagehands” ripped off their crew jackets, showing off matching outfits and the female audience members were just loving it. You can watch the steamy audition below, which has attracted 86 million views.
The five men, who are part of burlesque group Forbidden Nights, then performed a provocative synchronised dance number. Codling led the charge and definitely delivered the goods as frontman with his distinctive tenor vocals. The boys were not done yet though as two of the dancers stood right in front of the judges while all five of them ripped off their shirts, revealing plenty of muscle and six-pack abs, sending the crowd into overdrive.
Judge David Walliams was definitely getting a bit steamed up at this point, as one of the dancers gyrated right in front of him. The women in the crowd were screaming for more and they got it as the four dancers ended the song by tearing off their pants, revealing packages that’d make Robert Plant blush. A subsidiary group of Forbidden Nights, called The Forbidden, later appeared on the show and auditioned as well, which you can watch below. Ozzy the dancer appeared in both performances.
Forbidden Nights had one more surprise up their sleeve after performing “Runaway Baby”, as judge Alesha Dixon demanded to know why Codling’s pants were still on. The crowd clearly agreed and chanted “off” until the frontman obliged, tearing off his pants and revealing Union Jack briefs, which of course, got a very warm reception from the fans.
After the cheers died down, Dixon chimed in with “That was so crafty and so clever the way you did that Lewis. That was brilliant.” Simon Cowell then added “And you actually had me fooled. You’re a very good actor.”
One of the dancers seemed a bit dry in the throat at this point in the chat, which led to a classic Walliams moment where he went up to deliver a class of water and then took the chance to give all five of the lads a bit of a hug and a pat on the back, which played out almost like one of the skits in his show Little Britain. The crowd called for Walliams to strip as well at this point, but the funnyman declined. The group ended up passing their audition but were eliminated before the semi-finals.
If you would like to see more from Forbidden Nights, you can follow their Instagram. You can also visit their official website for more information.