British schoolgirl, 8, wows guitarists with Stratovarius YouTube video

An eight-year-old British schoolgirl whose guitar skills have made her a global internet sensation has stunned musicians with a video of her performing a Stratovarius track

Zoe Thomson, from Thatcham, Berks, plays in a child group called Mini Band which was catapulted to fame last year with a cover of Metallica’s Enter Sandman.

But the youngster’s latest offering has won her hundreds of thousands more fans, showing her shredding her way through the solo of the Stratovarius’s Stratosphere.

The track by the Finnish symphonic metal band demonstrates her unusual talent for such a young musician and has been viewed more than 500,000 times on YouTube.

Miss Thomson has been playing the guitar ever since she was able to hold the instrument and the latest video charts her meteoric progress since she began recording her performances two years ago.

Earlier this month, she was signed up to the guitar company Daisy Rock’s artist roster.

Zoe’s mother Collette said: “Zoe is really excited; she is overjoyed. For someone of her age to get an endorsement is a massive achievement. I think you have to have something special to be endorsed, and it's really nice that someone has recognised her talent.”

After watching her latest video internet one user commented: “Excellent right hand, excellent left hand. She's exceptionally good. Every good guitarist will find this absolutely amazing."

Another added: “Holy guitar prodigy batman! Outstanding :) Eddie Van Halen has nothing on you!”

Mini Band, which is made up eight and 10-year-olds racked up more than three million hits with their video cover version of Enter Sandman.

Metallica were so impressed that they posted the video online, praising the children’s abilities.