Video of two phenomenal Derry singers watched half a million times

The pair did an impromptu performance in Spaghetti Junction, where Bruno was performing and Anne Marie was out for dinner and the video was put on Tik Tok shortly after.

Bruno Tamiozzo said: “I am the resident singer at Spaghetti Junction, the Italian restaurant in Derry. I play there every Saturday because people love Italian songs, especially those related to Italian music par excellence; Luciano Pavarotti, Andrea Bocelli and so on – the Opera . I also usually sing international songs, like Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Nat King Cole and much more, and people like it a lot.

”That evening, Anne Marie was there having dinner with some friends and after singing for two hours, a lady comes up to me and says ‘Bruno, why don't you sing along with this girl? The song by Andrea Bocelli and Celine Dion called The Prayer?’ I replied that I am very tired and that song is very difficult, but we did it anyway, because I like to make people happy. So we sang together and the unexpected result was great! Anne Marie is fantastic, her vocal technique is wonderful and I envy her a lot in this, moreover she is a person with a huge heart and is always available to everyone. Besides this, the people inside the restaurant were all standing, someone was even moved and Alison, the owner of the restaurant, posted the video on TikTok. In just a few hours, we reached over 100,000 views and today we are over 500,000. It’s incredible! Something unexpected for everyone, but this is the beauty that music can do, bring everyone together.

"These days I've finished recording a Christmas album with a friend ‘Cello Fella’ who often plays his cello on the streets of Derry and in shopping centres. He is a great professional and an exquisite person and immediately after we met a few weeks ago we had the idea of ​​recording a Christmas album. Now we are waiting for the 1500 copies for the promotion.”

Anne Marie said: “Spaghetti Junction is my local restaurant so we were just down for our dinner. I love all things Italian so I have been going there since it opened and have become friends with Alison and Aldo who own the restaurant. Myself and Bruno sang at Alison and Aldo’s wedding in July in the Cathedral. I’ve been singing a lifetime and Bruno’s voice is beautiful. It’s just a treat for me to sing with Bruno. Alison was working the night I was in for dinner and she asked me to sing. So, I sang for Alison. Bruno had been singing all day so his voice was tired but we did it anyway. ”I didn’t know someone was videoing us but, the next day, Alison showed me it was on Tik Tok and then it just grew and grew. I couldn’t get over it – half a million people seen it!”

"A lot of people have commented on the video saying they want me to sing at their wedding or funeral or other things so it’s really lovely to have an impact on someone’s life. People are so kind to actually take the time to comment. I do complain about the apps but there is transport for our voices all around the world. I have cousins in Australia who were contacting me after it went up. People were asking where they can hear us sing or whether we have concerts or not, and we don’t – I’m just someone from Derry who went out for dinner.

"I sing in St Eugene’s Cathedral, I have my own school of music, I went to James McCafferty’s School of Music and singing has taken me to some wonderful places. It has enabled me to meet some fantastic people and I appreciate the gift from God. I love singing and being from Derry and I’m so happy people enjoy my singing.”