Episode 2 Gareth's Invictus Choir

Years of conflict mean that Britain is home to

an army of the wounded and battle-scarred.

My right eye was down here somewhere,

-and the left eye was damaged.

-I was found in a ditch with

a radio antenna embedded in the back of my skull.

Let's get that right, come on!

Now, choirmaster Gareth Malone is putting himself on the front line.

I want to give a voice to the people who have served our country

and come back with shattered lives, who deserve to be heard

and who deserve to tell their stories.

He's joined forces with Prince Harry,

founder of the Invictus Games,

an international sports event for wounded veterans.

I think it's about providing new opportunities in their lives.

-So Gareth's formed an Invictus choir...

-Hello.

The goal is to inspire the world.

HE SINGS

-Whoa! Easy, tiger.

-..to help heal old wounds.

My best friend, who died in my arms.

I was sleeping in disused stairwells by choice,

-whilst my youngest was learning to crawl.

-Over the past three weeks...

-ALL:

-# Nobody, nobody. #

-Smooth.

..Gareth's grappled with troops who've never sung before...

# Twinkle, twinkle, little star... #

Not the greatest singer.

THEY SING

Yeah, it sounds like an accident at the moment.

..and helped them overcome huge hurdles.

This is shrapnel that was taken out of the back of my brain.

-Nearly killed me.

-Yes.

I'm not listening to what you're saying because it's painful

-in my head.

-I don't deal very well

with crowded places and lots of people.

-This will be full.

-OK.

-OK.

-There are so many things that are difficult about this.

So I'm feeling the pressure.

-ALL:

-# I've got a river for a soul... #

-But despite their difficulties...

-# Baby, you're my only reason... #

..the choir gave its first-ever public performance.

It wasn't perfect, but I'm very proud of them.

-That's a big achievement.

-# Nobody can drag me down. #

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

In just four weeks' time, they'll travel to America

to perform for a global audience at the opening ceremony

of the 2016 Invictus Games.

We are Invictus.

With the Games on the horizon,

Gareth needs to find the choir something to sing.

It has to be a great song.

It's going out live on television in America, so...

it's got to be big.

MUSIC: The Pretender by Foo Fighters

I can see people in Afghanistan in a tent, in Bastion,

listening to that kind of music.

I don't know that that will appeal to everyone.

I want the song to have a flavour of my guys and what they went through.

This Invictus Games is going to be huge.

There'll be flyovers, there'll be thousands

and thousands of people. Prince Harry and Michelle Obama.

It's grand. I don't want it to be them just standing there

and singing Jerusalem with an orchestra in the background.

That's not right.

MUSIC: The Climb by Miley Cyrus

Choosing a song for this group, that's difficult.

I'm not sure I've quite got it yet.

I need to keep looking.

For Gareth, a long night of deliberation.

The next day, his troops gather for the big reveal.

Good morning, Captain!

-How are we?

-Fine!

-Firstly, congratulations on your performance.

It was fantastic to come together as a unit.

This is Somerset House, they have lots of performances in this

very space that you're standing in.

When you next perform, it will be five times this space.

-Bloody hell.

-Try to imagine how many people that is.

It's a huge number of people.

And I want you to think very carefully about that because

I want to consider what song

can possibly do justice to your story.

# There ain't no mountain... #

Ain't No Mountain High Enough? OK, that's a great song.

But honestly, there's no song that absolutely, specifically

speaks about your stories,

so what I would like you to do is write your own song.

SHE LAUGHS

-Really?

-Yes.

That's what we're going to do.

-Should we do that now, then?

-As in including music?

Including music and words, it's going to be your song.

So we're going to come up with a song worthy of the occasion.

Follow me.

Time for a crash course in songwriting.

First thing, we're going to play some games.

Say our name and do an action.

Gaaaareth! And...

-ALL:

-Gaaaareth!

THEY MAKE BLUBBERING NOISES

THEY LAUGH

Frightening. Absolutely frightening. I've never written poetry.

Andy!

'I've never written words for a song,'

and it'll be interesting to see how we get that together.

OK, next thing we're going to do is tell Goldilocks And The Three Bears

through sound alone.

Their creativity isn't explored by the military in the way

I'm going to do it, but of course they're creative.

They just perhaps don't realise it.

HE MUTTERS

HE MUTTERS IN A HIGH-PITCHED VOICE

Jesus Christ!

-Oh, dear, he's having a moment.

-HE LAUGHS

No musical writing ability at all, so I'm quite worried at the moment.

Trained to keep their emotions in check,

these wounded warriors will need to dig deep.

What things do you remember from your life

that tell me about the journey?

Images, please.

-Just little photographs of something from along the way.

-A dark room.

Dark room.

-Medals gathering dust.

-Lovely.

What's great is we don't have anything, it's a

-really exciting place to be.

-Lost love.

-Lost love.

We don't have a song, but we've got this amazing opportunity

and we've got the most incredible group of people.

Hanging on by your fingertips, that kind of crevasse,

and you kind of being at the top, sliding down.

What's the difference between a crevice and a crevasse?

A crevice is between your bum cheeks and a crevasse is on a mountainside.

LAUGHTER

-OK, next, yeah.

-Pink mist.

-Pink mist.

It's a reference that soldiers use to describe a body being blown up.

We have something powerful,

and so if we can put that into a song, I think it will be terrific.

It's all very sombre, I think,

the whole business of defining all this...

misery that we've been through.

-Let's get on with our lives.

-Yes. So there's a kind of...

-Hope.

-Hope.

Oh, I love "hope". Shall we try and be positive now?

The holding of hands, you know, and knowing that that power,

that love's there, do you know what I mean?

Even the men would cuddle each other for reassurance, you know?

That's lovely. Because holding of hands

is a beautiful way of expressing

-the word love, but without saying...

-"Love".

While writing lyrics is new to most of the choir,

putting war into words is something ex-rifleman Paul has tried before.

Yeah, I've done some poetry.

The way that I do it, I create a story that flows into a poem and

it's about my time in Afghanistan and about the men that I lost.

Walking out of the gate of the FOB, forward operation base,

and going down Pharmacy Road, where I lost so many men.

-We may have some of your poems.

-You bastard!

Would you mind me reading it out?

OK, if you do it nice and clear in a bit of a man's voice.

THEY LAUGH

I'm just going to go look for my man's voice.

As I walk through the gates of hell on Devils Road

I look down this lonely, dusty track

Where so many lives have changed

Physically, or mentally, the damage is done...

We think of the Army as, you know, very tough, macho men in the Army.

Well, it's not all about that. And I write poetry.

We're all taught to be machines in the forces.

We've still got to find who we are as individuals.

After a youth spent in children's homes, Paul joined the Army at 17.

I found that it was my world.

I was born to be a green soldier and

I embarked on it and embraced it.

But his career was cut short by an explosive device in Afghanistan.

I can still taste the blood in my mouth.

I can still smell the gunfire.

I can still hear the screams.

One minute, I'm this soldier serving on the front line, I'm with my pals.

The next thing, I'm stuck in a hospital bed

and I can't see what's happening around me.

They had to remove shrapnel from my brain.

My right eye was surgically removed, my left eye,

they tried to save it as best they can. That was when I was scared.

To help him come to terms with his situation,

Paul began writing poetry.

On the day that I was injured, two chaps died.

I question it pretty much every other day.

You know, why did I survive with the injuries I sustained, you know?

And I've got to take that and do good with it.

Their spirits and souls flow across the sea, back to Blighty,

Where the country will salute them

And where the men who stood beside them will cry a tear

And never forget.

Rest in peace, my brothers.

I tell you what, Gareth, them words were spot on, mate.

For somebody who is the perpetual joker of the group, it is

very heartfelt and beautiful and sincere.

That is what we have to do, we have to create a song that now

speaks about all your personal experience.

Does anyone have something? Is there a tune?

# Don't turn your eyes away... #

I don't know what the song is, I'm trying to think.

There's something there, isn't it? # Don't turn your eyes away... #

Let's all sing that.

# Don't turn your eyes away. #

It's a thought, isn't it?

I quite like the idea because, if I'm brutally honest, I think

for a lot of people, there's a level of being uncomfortable with

disability or mental health, that you don't want to

look at it in the eye, you don't want to face up to it.

That's really poignant.

"Don't turn your eyes away and leave me in the dark."

# Don't turn your eyes away

# And leave me in the dark. #

That's nice. Let's leave that.

That's one nugget. Let's find another nugget.

-Gareth's troops are becoming songwriters.

-Someone else.

We've had Paul come up with one tune.

Gem, you've got a good voice.

I can't sing.

But not everyone is comfortable opening up.

GARETH SINGS

I'm really struggling to jump in with both feet.

It feels like a step too far to engage in that type of expression.

Music was once a passion for former army captain Gemma.

Music was huge. I mean, I studied music.

I perform, I used to write...

songs, fairly dreadful ones.

During her six years of service,

Gemma witnessed war crimes in Kosovo.

Since then, she's battled with post-traumatic stress.

We were observing the most horrendous ethnic cleansing,

wanting to help and yet being

utterly powerless to do anything that,

I believed, really made a difference.

The emotional baggage when you come home is exhausting.

The overwhelming guilt.

I struggled to readjust to life back here, reality back here,

walking around Tesco's, you know?

And in order to carry on, and in order to be a mum to three kids,

I've chosen to shut down that expressive part of me.

I sense that you're finding this more difficult than perhaps

-just singing a song.

-Yeah.

I've been quite surprised at how much pent-up emotion there is there.

-Yeah.

-I feel, in a way, I've held on so flipping tight for such

a long period of time just to keep going and to keep moving

forward and to kind of create some semblance of normality.

Are you fearful that somehow this process might just unlock

the wrong door or something you've shut off?

-I am fearful of it, and yet I want it.

-Yeah, it's interesting.

I wouldn't be here if I didn't want it.

Group sessions can sometimes be difficult, so maybe for you,

you need to go off and scribble away and I come to your house or

something and we just sit around the piano and do it more privately.

I think I'm going to have to hold Gemma's hand,

but I think she is ready.

She's ready to dig deep and find something, something personal

and something revealing. OK, thank you, this is excellent first steps.

Next week, for me, is about gathering your ideas.

Send me your thoughts.

This is what this is all about, them telling their story.

We have made a start.

The notebook pages are filling up slowly but surely.

Over the next few days, the choir put pen to paper.

"Hope is my inner, inner voice of towering strength."

I don't even actually know whether that makes sense.

"I woke up rather shorter than I used to be

"Best foot forward, stiff upper lip

"Carry on walking from the hip."

Ex-military police officer Andy was the victim of an IRA car bomb.

In those first few days in hospital, it was dark.

I'd lost both legs.

They were grotesque.

"I have moved from a spiral of blackness to shades of colour."

The IRA nearly got me but they didn't, so I think it was my duty,

in a way, to just continue and get on, so I've got on ever since.

I've had ideas from everyone.

You read these words, there's anger and there's pain

and there's fear and there's a spiral of blackness, there's...

These are very, very moving.

It's the real, first-hand experience of people who've been

traumatised by war. It's all there, with all of them, it's all there.

It's just getting it out that's the difficult thing.

They're just not used to expressing themselves in this way.

Never written a song before.

I threw some ideas together and it reminded me of some poetry

that I'd written when I was in the combat stress treatment centre.

Will I ever

Laugh again, hope again

Dream again, play again

Smile again...

Desire again, joke again

Fly again, climb again?

This is Steve's poem.

I just think it's great and the rhythm of it, it feels like a song.

It feels like there's music in it.

I actually ended up painting one of these for real and, typical me,

I ended up down the medical centre cos I got paint in my eye.

Tours of Iraq, Kuwait and Bosnia

left ex-naval engineer Steve traumatised.

I was targeted by a sniper rifle.

The laser sight was..

..through the Land Rover windscreen and onto my chest.

The Croatian snipers would practise their skills.

Sometimes they would shoot, sometimes they wouldn't.

It got into my head.

After 15 years of service, he returned to civilian life

and things began to spiral out of control.

It would come back to me in nightmares.

I found myself withdrawing from everything

and everyone to the point where, a year later,

my house was repossessed and I ended up living on my sister's sofa.

Steve's relationship with his daughter Ellie suffered, too.

As I got worse and worse, she wanted to see me less.

I didn't understand what was wrong with me

and so I couldn't explain that to Ellie and I didn't...

I couldn't try to explain. It drove Ellie away from me for a while.

Hello!

But after being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder,

Steve has started to rebuild his life.

-How have you been?

-Oh, good. Better.

One of the best things

about when I was at the combat stress treatment centre

was Ellie came along.

It was nice to have her look at me in an understanding way

rather than being scared or confused by me

and she's been the focus in my wanting to get better and be better.

-I'll speak to you soon.

-OK.

-If you can't be good, be careful.

-Always.

-Bye!

Will I ever live again

Feel again, love again?

It's quite emotional. It's been a while since I read it.

And I look at that now

and I can see that the answer to virtually all of that is yes.

The Invictus Games are just three weeks away,

but the choir still don't have a song.

I'm going to go and see Gemma to start writing with her.

She's generally musically switched on

and yet has been musically switched off for years because of her PTSD.

# Don't turn your eyes away

# Don't leave me in the dark... #

Being part of the choir for Gemma has been hugely beneficial.

'I was a little bit apprehensive

'that opening up Pandora's box of PTSD

'could have been a negative experience.'

# Unstoppable

# And we shall break free... #

'But now the music is coming back and it's nice to see something'

she's so passionate about and so talented with

and making the most of her talent

and being able to share that with other people.

# And we shall break free. #

-Hi, how are you?

-Yeah, really good. Are you well?

-Feeling a bit more ready today?

-Yeah.

On Monday and Tuesday, Beth, my daughter,

-we just sat at the piano.

-Oh, great.

"Mum, you're singing," she went, "but just SING!"

I'm glad she's on my team.

She is on your team.

# Don't turn your eyes away

# And leave me in the dark... #

"I am not strong" cos that, to me, implicitly says "and that's OK".

That's great.

-BOTH:

-# I am not strong, da-da, da-da... #

You know, it's like "I have been weak".

-Can we have that instead?

-Yeah, yeah.

It's good.

'I think Gareth's right.

'To get a song that really reflects our stories and how we feel,

'we need to write it ourselves.'

I think, for me, that "hope" is a really fundamental word

-in all of this because without hope, there is no recovery.

-Yeah.

But for retired lieutenant colonel Stewart,

the song shouldn't shy away

from the realities of life as a wounded veteran.

What's happened to me, I don't want that reduced and trivialised

into a three-minute song that doesn't actually reflect...

-The hardship?

-The hardship.

We haven't overcome adversity, stop -

the problems are still there. That will never change.

-It's not the end of the journey.

-Yeah.

I want everyone to have a line in there.

I want to make sure that everyone can sign up to it.

But how do we articulate all of what we want to say in a small song?

This is risky,

but I want this song to be about your collective identity.

I think it will be so much more powerful

if we get a song that you all feel,

"Actually, yeah, that's me. It feels personal."

I think Stewart's concerns are legitimate.

This doesn't want to be a trite,

Disney kind of version of their story.

It wants to be something that takes into account the fact

that they are still struggling and they've still got difficulties.

I didn't quite anticipate how difficult this would be for me,

just taking on board everyone's perspectives.

I've got various bits of the song

and I've got "hope" really well covered.

I think I've got a great idea for the end,

but what I don't want to do

is make it washed out and over-saccharine and nice.

It needs a bit of blood of guts.

It needs the truth and I'm going to go and see Paul.

He really went through it in Afghanistan

so I think he'll be the man to give me that.

So Paul's made the short train journey to meet Gareth in London.

Victoria train station for me has quite a significant feeling

because the last time I was here, with my two brothers,

Jamie and Joe, and that was the last time

I had sight in the United Kingdom. And, from my civvies,

I got into my combats and then went on the Underground

and got on my train to wherever I was going and flew out

to Afghanistan, never to come back as an able-bodied person.

# I am a warrior

# This is my song

# My brothers and sisters

# Hold on... #

It's become Dire Straits.

-Are you a Dire Straits fan?

-No.

We want people to be inspired by what you've achieved -

being blind and having to step out into the street with a white stick.

The way that you use a stick

is the same way that you use a thing called a Vallon,

which is a mine detector,

and that's what I did out in Afghanistan.

-I used to find IEDs.

-Oh, really?

I obviously wasn't very good!

I'd always lead. The man with the Vallon leads.

OK, I feel like I've got a great first line

about your experience of being blind.

# Stepping out to lead the line

# Sweeping sands, the men behind

# Ohh-ohh-ohh... #

And then it needs to be the poetic equivalent of a bomb.

It would be easy to take the blood out of this song

-and make it quite sanitised and nice.

-Yeah, yeah.

-And I think it wants to have a bit of...

-Guts and glory.

Guts and glory, exactly.

Was there a defining moment?

My best friend died in my arms.

You know, the shrapnel hit him in the brain,

but he was walking wounded.

I remember walking with him cos I was really upset,

do you know what I mean?

I'm holding him, sort of clutching him to my chest as you do

and, yeah, then there was a secondary device

and I got blown straight onto my face.

It's weird cos an explosion, it lifts you off your feet

and I remember skidding across

and I thought, "Oh, bloody hell, here we go," you know what I mean?

I managed to block myself in a position

and everybody else was in this firefight and I wasn't interested.

All I wanted to do was cradle him because I knew he didn't have long.

He just looked at me and I remember seeing them eyes, them blue eyes.

Once it was too late,

I left his body and carried on with the firefight.

That boy would have raised.

He was, yeah...

It's a big responsibility. I feel it very, very keenly.

Paul has shared with me something about the moment

when his friend died and he held him in his arms in Afghanistan.

That's what I care about.

And I feel a duty, frankly,

to do something that works...

..and that does the job that I think it needs to.

Oh, God.

Central London. After a long week for Gareth,

the choir assemble to hear their song for the first time.

-I'm expecting some sort of magic.

-We'll get the lift.

This song, just for us here today in this veterans' choir, is going

to mean something.

A bit of trepidation. I hope it is emotional.

I just don't want it to sound naff.

I'd like this song to say who we are, to show how we've

progressed and if it can represent our emotions, I'll be really happy.

It's from Gemma, it's direct from her experience,

it's direct from Paul's,

it's direct from Stewart's, it's direct from Bernie's,

it's their song.

My worry for today is that I haven't done justice to

all of their stories.

If the song isn't right, Stewart will rethink his place in the choir.

If he creates a song

and delivers what I think we all perhaps are after, then great.

If he doesn't, I would have to really consider

whether this is the right thing.

It could be a showstopper for me.

It needs to reflect that this is not over.

That leg will never grow back again. My brain won't improve.

Paul's eyesight won't get better.

I think this song really works.

I just don't know. I don't know what they are going to make of it.

-Hello.

-Morning. Lovely to see you, Gareth.

-Nice hair, sir.

Thank you, I've had a little... Slightly military.

LAUGHTER

-Welcome. Hello.

-ALL: Hello.

-It is very good to see you.

-Are you itching to hear it?

-ALL: Yes.

I want to start by thanking you all for your emotional honesty.

I have put my heart into this, so if you hate it, you can all...

Here we go. This is your song.

-This is OUR song?

-Our song.

This is our song. OK, here it is.

# Stepping out to lead the line

# Stared into my brother's eyes

# Sweeping sands, the men behind

# We are made of flesh and blood

# Frozen in the morning light

# An image I don't recognise

# Mirror shows me broken, bound

# But I will learn to run again

# Don't turn your eyes away and leave me in the dark

# Don't turn your eyes away

# I have been strong I have been weak

# And I've had days I could not breathe

# But from the dust and through the snow

# We come together now

# I will learn to love again

# To dream again

# To hope again

# I will learn to walk again

# To run again, to fly again

# And from the dust and through the snow

# We come together to love again. #

-It's amazing, honestly. It's amazing.

-You get two thumbs.

-I've got to admit, I was worried.

-You and me both.

99% of songs for this sort of thing, they are normally crap.

-But that stands up as a song.

-Good.

That was quite something. It dawned on me,

that's kind of familiar.

Steve? I was really powerfully struck by your poem.

For me, it was an absolute eureka moment.

I wrote that four years ago when I was really low and dark

and you've made it, "Yeah, I will, I can."

I felt that was so right for Invictus Games,

so I hope you are OK with that.

Yeah.

It's been a long time since I felt proud of myself.

-Yeah, I do feel proud.

-I was well impressed with that, mate.

Now I've had a chance to take it in and understand it,

this is something that I know I will be very proud to sing.

Gareth, you've bloody done it.

The song has received the choir's seal of approval.

-Now Gareth's thoughts turn to the big event.

-Wow.

This is the last Invictus Games.

It's just huge. Oh, dear.

It's going to be broadcast around the world.

There's going to be a big stage, 12,000 people in the audience.

I don't want to get swallowed up by that.

Can this unlikely band of brothers come up with something that is

weighty enough to stand on that stage and make an impact

when there's only ten of them?

The difficulty is I've got three basses, a load of tenors,

and three women.

It's just not balanced at all.

That's my biggest worry.

So Gareth casts around for new recruits.

# I want it that way... #

He's not amazing, but I think he'll be fine.

# Ain't no sunshine when she's gone

# Any time she goes away. #

Great. She's an alto, which is perfect.

Two extra people is going to make a big difference,

but it still leaves me with the slight feeling that it's not enough.

We are going to America in two weeks

and we're singing a song that splits into lots of different parts.

So, I would like to introduce you to two more wounded, injured

and sick veterans.

Drumroll, please.

Here they are. This is Charlie and James.

I was a trainee pilot, I had an injury that's going to

result in me being discharged from the Naval Service.

I used to be in the Household Cavalry mounted regiment.

I was medically discharged for testicular cancer.

That's not the reason I can sing high, but...

LAUGHTER

He's in. He's definitely in.

Up to now, I've been the friendly choirmaster,

but it's time to be a field marshal.

One, two, three and...

# I have been strong

# Ooh-ooh... #

I will be giving orders. And they will be obeying.

# Learn to run again. #

That's six notes there.

-I think you're making an assumption that we can all read music.

-Fine.

-I agree with him, I'm the same.

-It's an imperfect choir.

We have people, some of whom really struggle to learn music.

Which bits are humming and which bits are singing? I'm just...

Cos you're obviously flapping your hands around.

We've got people that can't see, people with emotional problems

and people that can't learn and remember because of a brain problem.

But I know that they can do it.

# I have been strong

# We come together now... #

Get in there, Stevie, my lad.

We've all come on a journey all bonded together.

We've all come from different levels of the Armed Forces,

from different ranks.

We are a team.

# We come together now... #

We are feeding off each other,

so if you are low, everyone else is there to kind of pick you up.

-# Oh-oh. #

-Do that bit one more time.

-Christ, yeah.

I know all the other choir members have got my back.

# Come together to love... #

We're not professional singers.

And yet, collectively, I think it's a really extraordinary bunch.

I think this could be a catalyst. I'm feeling ready to step forward.

Shall we echo each other?

-# Ah-ah

-Ah-ah

-Ah-ah. #

-I don't know how else to do this.

-Slap him.

At the age of 18, when I joined the Army,

they told me to read and write.

Looking at all this music, it's been hard for me to grasp.

But everybody has been there to help.

# But from the dust... #

Ah, Geoffrey. I could kiss you!

This has just cheered me up, you know.

I've got all the banter back, met a great bunch of people.

We're all a team, aren't we?

For Dave, the company of fellow soldiers is something he has missed.

When I left the Army, I distanced myself from the regiment.

For some strange reason, I had this notion in my head that

no-one in the regiment would want to know me anyway.

Because I feel I cocked up in some way.

I was almost 18 when I joined, young and stupid. No sense.

I look at photos of myself now

and I think, "What were they thinking of

"giving that child a rifle?"

I did two tours of Belfast.

This particular day,

two gunman opened up with Armalite rifles on automatic.

The corporal, my mate, I thought he'd dived down, but he'd been shot.

I dragged him out the way.

Unfortunately, he died about three days later, I think. Lovely bloke.

Every day, I still think about him.

Despite being deeply affected by the incident,

it was 34 years before Dave was diagnosed with PTSD.

I didn't get shot and I almost feel like I have to justify myself.

It's not my fault I'm still here, you know what I mean?

But the choir coming along, it's given me a kick in the pants

and connecting with people and the camaraderie.

No-one has to say if they're not well

or if they don't want to speak to you. We understand.

It's done me a power of good.

You wouldn't believe the good it's done me.

I sat down the other day and I actually felt cheerful.

That hasn't happened for over 30 years.

I sat there and felt cheerful. Great.

# Again... #

The choir travel to the United States in 14 days' time.

# To feel again, to love again. #

-Morning, troops.

-Good morning.

-How are you?

I love that you are already rehearsing.

It is the sound of people who are afraid.

Hello, good morning.

-ALL: Good morning.

-How are we all feeling?

-Anxious.

-Anxious?

-Are you, why?

-To get this right.

-Good.

I love to see a choir under pressure. Let's talk about solos.

Who fancies a solo? It's a big thing.

-Gemma, you didn't put your hand up.

-Yeah, I was...

-Was it a tiny hand?

It was like that.

Choosing the right soloist, for me, is about choosing the person

whose sentiment and personality matches the lyric.

# Sweeping sands, the men behind

# We are made of flesh and blood. #

You have a lovely way of drawing people to you.

-Are you up for the challenge?

-Yeah, absolutely.

-Good. That's yours.

CHEERING

To sing Steve's lyrics, Gareth needs a second soloist.

# To hope again... #

-Yeah. It's the Boyzone version.

-It's the Irish way.

# I will learn to love again

# To dream again, to hope again. #

Maurillia, how do you feel about doing a solo?

-Whatever pleases you, Mr Gareth.

-Your voice pleases me.

It would be my honour.

CHEERING

# You take me up, you make me strong... #

Maurillia began singing with her sisters as a girl

in her native Trinidad & Tobago.

My mum realised that we had been given a gift.

And from three, she got us together

and taught us how to hold a tune.

All she said was, "Just sing after Mummy." And we did.

And it just stayed with me all my life.

A visit to the islands by the Queen made a lasting impression.

I was seven years old, she waved at all the students,

but I thought she was waving at me.

Seeing all the soldiers march behind her,

I knew straight away what I wanted to do.

So I moved to England and I became a soldier.

Maurillia spent 13 years in the British Army.

While serving in Iraq, she was buried alive by a mortar attack.

I just heard the whistle,

saw it and all I had the time to say was "incoming".

And I hit the floor. It was so dark where I was.

I honestly thought I was dead.

20 years ago, my mum gave me a song

and she said no matter what happens,

just remember His Eye Is On The Sparrow

and He's going to look after you.

I was underneath this rubble and the only song I could remember

was His Eye Is On The Sparrow.

And that got me through it.

So far, the choir has only performed to 150 people.

This is Queens Park Rangers, who are, I believe, a football team!

Now Gareth wants to prepare them for a much bigger stage.

When we get to Orlando, we will be performing to 12,000 people.

Everyone will be excited backstage, everyone will be high-fiving you.

Then you get that stomach-churning moment of someone saying,

"And now, all the way from the UK, it is the Invictus Choir!"

And we walk out.

That is sickening always.

It is trying to turn that in your head

from something to fear into something to relish.

This is the psychological preparation,

getting them match-ready so they are ready to walk out

into a place like this full of people.

# But from the dust, ah-ah

# And through the snow

# We come together now

# I will learn to live... #

Suddenly, I was there having a real lurch of nerves,

but that was quite useful to try and get that cracked

and dealt with before it happens on the day.

The tenors definitely need to practise.

It isn't second nature yet. But it will be.

# I will be strong... #

I was a bit lost for words.

It didn't come out.

It was like stage fright.

The space, it's a stadium,

it's realising that we are only 11 or 12 people.

Some of them really struggled just going to a train station.

This is a much more intimidating environment to go into.

I would like them

to actually engage with just how scary this is going to be.

It will be frightening. They need to face up to that.

# We come together to love again

# Ah-ah-ah. #

Paul, that's the first time

you've got the whole of the first half of the phrase right,

then you've just descended and were tempted by the tenors.

It's the hardest part of singing in a choir,

is to just stick to your guns.

Last time I stuck to a gun, I got blown up.

That doesn't generally happen in choirs!

Fingers crossed.

Rehearsals continue with earnest.

But from the dust.

# Ah. #

HE GASPS

But one person is missing.

Ex-private, Dave.

I had to go to the American Embassy to sort out a visa

and unfortunately I have a police caution going back eight years

and due to this, it would take six months

for the paperwork to come through.

-So effectively, I couldn't go.

-Oh, you're kidding!

-I'm not kidding.

-Oh...

-No!

-I'm gutted.

-Got to make it happen.

I'm more gutted about leaving you guys.

You're still here.

-Yeah, you're still here.

-Sit down and get singing.

-Shall I?

Please, yes.

As far as I'm concerned, you are a part of this choir

and you shall remain so. You helped create this song.

Let's keep a little bit of hope. But please stick with us.

-That's lovely, thank you.

-No, not at all.

OK, let's move forward. So...

I'm feeling extremely down about it.

But I'm part of the team,

I know they will carry on and do a great job.

I just feel gutted that I won't be with them.

You know, it's been great, I've really bonded with these guys.

# Oooh-ooh-ooh... #

Frankly, I will be slightly lost without him.

If he's not able to be there, that is a real loss to the choir

and to me personally.

# Ooh-ooh-aah. #

There's got to be something we can do. He must be there.

With just eight days until the choir flies to America,

the show must go on.

# I have been strong. #

# Ooh-ooh. #

# Ooh-ooh-ooh. #

To prepare for a stadium performance,

Gareth needs to add some finishing touches.

So, today we are recording the backing track for

when we get to Florida so that

when we get there, we are riding on the wave of that sound.

# Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh

# Again. #

He has also secured the services of award-winning

classical singer Laura Wright.

-Hello.

-Hi.

Laura is a wonderful soprano and she sang at the last Invictus Games

so I thought it would be great if she came and sang

on the end section of our song as a little high, floating soprano.

-A little?

-Yeah, we were never going to get there.

LAURA SINGS SOPRANO

That classical sound that Laura has got will just give us

something otherworldly.

Wow, it's going to add a little something, a little finesse.

# I have been strong

# I have been weak... #

It feels like the whole thing is coming together now. I can hear it.

Today, Gareth's wounded warriors start their tour of duty.

Hello, everyone, show me your passports.

And no man is left behind.

-What are you doing here?!

-Come here, you big bugger!

-You're legal, you're literally...?

-Yeah!

-Yes!

Show me your passport.

Yes!

THEY CHEER

It's brilliant, I got my visa through. I feel amazing.

I'm back with the gang!

Can you not do anything like this ever again, please?

Good news. Really happy that Dave is coming because he is a great singer

and he's one of the team.

Brilliant, well done. When did you know?

-Late last night.

-Seriously?

-Yeah.

I'm so chuffed David has made it. We're buddies -

it would have been totally wrong to leave that man behind.

-Shall we go to America?

-ALL: Yeah!

-Come on.

Buzzing because we've actually got the full team together.

Orlando, Florida.

The Champion Stadium.

-Wow, look at this.

-Wow! My goodness.

In just 48 hours,

the choir will take to the stage at the opening ceremony

of the 2016 Invictus Games

in front of 12,000 athletes and spectators.

-Are you excited?

-Yeah.

Pretty impressive.

But first, a well-wisher.

-Oh, my God.

-Hello!

How are you doing, sir? Are you all right?

How are you guys?

-We're in the zone.

-In the zone.

-Are we in the zone?

-Totally.

-This is the opening of the Games.

Don't underestimate it, it's going to be...

It's a big thing, and blow everybody else out of the water.

That's actually my plan.

Right, I'm going to leave you to it. Cheers, guys.

I hope now you feel massively part of this. Let's go and do it.

Gareth has one last-minute tweak to the performance.

This is an international event.

This needs to be a performance that packs a punch.

So, with your permission,

I would like to invite in a group of US veterans and serving personnel

to come and sing the finale with us and the last section.

Is that OK with you?

-ALL: Yeah.

-They are outside.

Hey, guys.

Come and say hi, come and introduce yourselves.

-We are here to back you up.

-Well, I'll tell you what, we need it.

As a veteran, as an injured soldier, I have been in their shoes.

Your cue is going to be "we come together now".

What I'm really looking for is that feeling of

everyone coming together. This is one of the big themes of the song.

-And Britain's going to win.

-And Britain's going to win!

Let's not get into rivalry just yet.

Sorry, friends.

You can take a guy out of the Army...

Let's try that.

# I will learn to walk again

# To fly again

-# I have been strong

-I will learn to live again

-# I have been weak

-To feel again

# And I've had days I could not breathe

-# To love again

-Oh. #

There's a little bit of "it's our song".

But then the song's for all of us, all veterans,

and we are all coming together just like the song.

# But from the dust... #

I just feel that it was that big punch that we just needed,

the brother in arms, sister in arms. It works, it works.

# Come together now. #

Off!

OK. Well done.

-Do you want to have a little cry?

-Sorry, guys.

Don't worry, it's fine.

It's so beautiful and...

I have been through this struggle that you have been through.

You guys are representing...

..us.

Wonderful that we have been joined by the Americans

and my goodness, the outpouring of emotion from them is something

that frankly we are just not used to.

It was a whole lot of, "What's this going on in my chest? I can't..."

There was a beautiful connection there today.

It took me back. It was a really strange moment.

After spending all this time with British veterans who are all

zipped up, and it just poured out of them all.

What I would say is don't underestimate how

powerful it's going to be, having you sing these words.

TRY and get a grip.

Yeah? Try and...

It's a really difficult balance but I think we've done really

good work here today in just sort of preparing ourselves.

One Brit has been taken by surprise.

Andy lost both legs in an IRA car bomb back in the '80s.

I've probably bottled things up for a long time

and this has just brought a few things out that I thought

I had parked away and accepted.

But it's... It's brought it out, it's brought it out.

I'm not just slightly injured,

I'm disabled and I'm in a bloody wheelchair all the time and it's...

It's not going to change.

You OK?

Even after 26 years, recovery is ongoing.

This singing is making me recover.

I don't know, it's just the power of music and...

It's extraordinary, isn't it?

It's joy but it's bloody tears and it's...

You know, everybody is going to come together, it's going to be great.

But...

..it just takes you back through so much, really.

The big day has arrived.

'Do you feel confident about it?'

Yeah, yeah.

I'm going to stand up there, chest out, sing my heart out.

'Good luck and I'll be thinking of you.'

I'm really nervous.

I'll just sing it like I did when we were round the piano.

-'Just let it all out.'

-All right, darling.

I thought I should tidy myself up a bit.

I was looking a bit frayed round the edges.

When we get on the stage tonight, I think it's going to go well.

I shouldn't say that. I shouldn't tempt fate, really, should I?

You know, I'll get up there

and my pants will fall down or something.

The opening ceremony to the 2016 Invictus Games is about to begin.

It's happening, the game is afoot.

Look at that - 12,000 people.

I've seen the crowds outside. They're massive.

You have faced so much worse, all of you, than this.

So go for it, let it all out.

-I'd like to say something, if that's all right.

-Of course.

I haven't cried personally in seven years.

I haven't cried since I lost my best friend on the battlefield

and I can feel myself choking up already

because I know it's going to happen out there. To me it is

quite an emotional day, so we must remember why we are here.

It's for our country, it's for our fallen, it's for our wounded,

So go out there and feel proud.

-ANNOUNCER:

-Please welcome the First Lady of the United States,

Michelle Obama.

I'm petrified.

Absolutely petrified.

A little bit ahead of schedule so as soon as you're ready,

let's get into line and get ready to head down.

-ANNOUNCER:

-Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Prince Harry.

I had to create the Invictus Games to build a platform

for all those who have served.

This choir of wounded warriors has been together for just seven weeks.

Over the next four days,

you will see people who by rights should have died on the battlefield.

Now they perform for a global audience.

It all comes down to a three-minute song.

They've got this one moment to make a very, very bold statement.

Let's put on a hell of a show in memory of all of our fallen comrades

who didn't make it.

We are Invictus.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

# Stepping out to lead the line

# I stare into my brother's eyes

# Sweeping sands, the men behind

# We are made of flesh and blood

# Frozen in the morning light

# An image I don't recognise

# The mirror shows me broken, bound

# But I will learn to run again

# Don't turn your eyes away and leave me in the dark

# Don't turn your eyes away

# I have been strong

# I have been weak

# And I've had days I could not breathe

# But from the dust

# And through the snow

# We come together now

# Now the walls are closing in

# I can hear the cries begin

# Will I ever make it through?

# You take me by the hand again

# I will live to laugh again

# To dream again

# To hope again

# I will learn to live again

# To feel again

# To love again

# I will learn to live again

# To feel again

# To love again

-# I have been strong

-I will learn to live again

-# I have been weak

-To feel again

# And there were days I could not breathe

-# To love again

-Oh

-# But from the dust

-I will learn to live again

-# And through the snow

-To feel

# We come together to love again. #

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Great solo.

-We did it!

-THEY CHEER

-Sweet as a nut.

-Well done, boss.

-Well done.

I had to hold back the tears. Oh...

It was brilliant, mate. Thank you.

It has done so much for us all, it really has.

I thought Gareth was a bit of a maniac, deciding to write a song

just weeks before needing to deliver it to an audience of that size.

I'm massively proud of what we have done

and I think it is a really good song.

I hope that in the Invictus Games to come that this song will live on.

It deserves to be heard, so we are going to release it as a single.

Any proceeds will go to Invictus.

I just feel so proud of having stood up there with everybody

and told that story.

-I am a singer.

-Yes, you are!

Those three minutes I can remember for the rest of my life

and they are three minutes of being incredibly proud of what I've done.

Incredibly proud of who I now am.

It's what we have built up for and it was over

and done in the blink of an eye.

I'm going to miss this. I am going to miss this.

MUSIC: Clair De Lune by Claude Debussy