There are many musicians who have gone viral online, often for having the most insane chops or the coolest look, but 70-year-old Frank Watkinson just has one thing going for him. He can touch your soul with his beautiful and heartfelt music, and that’s been enough to make him a star on YouTube. The British retiree’s brilliant acoustic cover of Radiohead’s “Creep” is one of several of his viral covers that have conquered the hearts of music lovers worldwide.
Watkinson uploaded the video on January 8, 2024, and it features him playing an acoustic guitar and singing as his cat and dog play in the background. He completely revamps the song into a solo fingerstyle guitar arrangement and sings in a whispering tone that is completely different from Thom Yorke’s wailing tenor. Watkinson’s arrangement is perfect for bringing out the intense emotions of the alt-rock anthem, and he has a real knack for getting to the heart of a song with his covers.
Watkinson scored his first YouTube video with more than a million views three years ago. His 2024 cover of “Creep” is his most recent video to go viral and attracted 2.2 million views on the platform. The British musician noted in the video description that he decided to cover the Radiohead hit because his fans kept requesting it.
Watkinson’s fans were mighty impressed with what he achieved with the cover. They added comments such as “The emotion he puts in the lyrics is amazing. This is definitely the best cover of this song I’ve ever heard. He’s special” and “You can tell he’s replaying memories while singing. Such a heartfelt rendition of the song. Amazing!” So far, Watkinson’s biggest hit on YouTube is his acoustic cover of “Snuff,” which was written by metal icons Slipknot.
Watkinson has gained quite the fanbase on YouTube, and his channel currently has 918,000 subscribers. His channel reveals very few details about him, but he did an interview with University of Sydney student newspaper Honi Soit which revealed some interesting details about him.
The Music Man readers will note that the interview reveals Watkinson to be quite the humble gentleman, as he said he was really excited when he gained just 50 subscribers for the first time. He said that now that he has almost one million subscribers it “feels exactly the same. It’s just a number, isn’t it?” He continued in a humble vein when describing his surprise success online, saying that he’s “not anyone special.”
Watkinson’s channel bio reveals his motivation for continuing to create, saying “we can’t all be polished professionals, but that shouldn’t be a reason not to sing.”
If you would like to hear more from this talented guitarist you can subscribe to his YouTube Channel for more incredible music. You can also follow him on Instagram.