Deb “Spoons” Perry: I'm queen of the spoons!

Her talent has taken the world by storm, but this WA farmer can do more than just cut it with cutlery.

Deb “Spoons” Perry loves her busy bush life with hubby Bill on their Bridgetown farm, three hours south of Perth. But only one thing can drag the 63-year-old away from re-vegetating, herding on the quad bike and sheep crutching – the call of the spoons!

“You’ve got to be the boss of the spoons; you can’t be wimpy,” says the nanna of two, who gained a legion of fans four years ago after making the final 12 on Australia’s Got Talent. “I know that what I do verges on a novelty act, but I’ve got this rhythm in me and it’s great to be able to get it out playing the spoons.” It was a nerve-racking and courageous public debut for the gyrating granny, but another more recent performance has shot Deb’s fan base into the stratosphere.

The silverware sensation was asked to lend her thigh-tapping skills to a song by US super group The Black Keys, and the resulting YouTube video has won almost a million fans. “It’s all a bit mind-blowing,” says Deb, who loves nothing more than analysing bird calls on her 120-hectare spread. “My girlfriends don’t understand what’s happening, so I stir them up by saying, ‘Don’t touch me – I’ve gone viral!'”

More than 100 emails a day are landing in Spoons’ mailbox and, while she reads them all, she admits that spraying weeds and fixing fences often win out over answering fan mail. “I’ve always thought I had a unique way of playing the spoons, and this is why I think the video clip has worked,” explains Deb, who has cracked, flattened and broken more than two dozen dessert spoons.