Episode 4 The Choir: Gareth's Best in Britain

# Sometimes I feel like putting my hands up in the air... #

# Baby, tell me your name... #

Last year, Gareth Malone set out to find

the country's most gifted amateur a capella group.

# 21 seconds to go... #

The winner of the Naked Choir is The Sons Of Pitches.

SCREAMING

This year, Gareth's widened his search,

opening the contest to groups from all musical traditions...

# Way, haul away We'll haul away, Joe... #

..in a search for Britain's very best community choir.

# Oh, baby, baby How was I supposed to know? #

We are a singing nation...

# ..Lost in music... #

..and I'm looking for choirs that have heart and flavour and passion

that say something about what it is to be British.

-Hundreds of groups applied.

-# I want to be the only one... #

Now Gareth's travelling the length and breadth of Britain

to audition those who impressed him the most.

-Shall we go and meet Gareth?

-CHEERING

He's seeing choirs from four parts of the UK...

-Hello, Scotland!

-Hello!

-ALL:

-Sss...

# ..Out there... #

..and will pick just one from each of those areas...

-For the South-west.

-For the South-west.

..to go head-to-head in a national contest...

Good evening, London!

..where they'll battle it out

to be crowned Britain's best amateur choir.

The winner is...

MUSIC: LDN by Lily Allen

I love London. There's so many different types of music here,

there's so much going on.

I can't leave my front door without hearing someone singing in London.

What was I thinking?

Gareth's hitting the road in the South-east,

on the final leg of his search.

This has been an utterly epic journey. I've done over 3,000 miles

and I've seen so many different fantastic groups.

I'm looking for choirs that have got flavour and regional variety

and interest and colour and heart.

For his first stop, Gareth's heading to south London.

The Battersea Arts Centre has been nurturing local talent

for over 100 years.

Guys, just keep it in time, keep your energy up.

-We want to blow Gareth's socks off.

-Yeah, yeah.

The Beatbox Academy is the only choir in the competition

where beatboxers outnumber singers.

It was set up eight years ago by teacher Conrad.

After I left school, I had no GCSEs or qualifications or nothing

and it was my dream. My dream was to work here.

I live on an estate down the road

and I wanted it to be a bit more hip-hop, a bit more street,

to appeal to people like me.

There's no audition to come in. It's inclusive.

You don't need a classically trained musical background or lessons.

I'm really looking forward to this, to seeing a beatbox choir.

'I'm really keen to find groups that use singing as a tool

'to make themselves stand taller and say something about who they are.'

-Hello, good to meet you. You're the Beatbox Academy.

-ALL: Yeah.

Very excited to meet you.

Totally different from everything else I've seen on my travels.

-Let's hear some music.

-No, bruv.

-LAUGHTER

When people come in, they got to show us

-a bit of their beatboxing first.

-OK.

-We need to know where you're at.

-I'm actually... I'm now nervous.

-LAUGHTER

THEY BEATBOX

GARETH BEATBOXES

This is a massive deal for me, massive.

This is like my life's work.

It was my dream to start The Beatbox Academy

and now Gareth Malone is going to see what we're doing

and be able to help us develop and, hopefully,

be impressed by what we're doing because we love music.

# Ooh! Ooh!

THEY BEATBOX

GARETH BEATBOXES

APPLAUSE

It's really fun, isn't it? It's really fun.

Hearing other people's sounds, you're like, "I want to do that."

It's really good. Tell me a bit about your group.

I know people that have come with no qualifications, nothing,

that have been kicked out of school and they've come here

and been able to have something they can actually focus on.

If you've been told, "You're rubbish, you've got no grades",

when you come here, it's like, "You're great at something."

And it gives them that positive outlook.

Do you think it's that dramatic,

that music can pull people back from the edge like that?

Totally, totally. 100%.

We've had so many people come in, troublemakers,

and it's like their life has changed completely.

You could be talking about guns and drugs

and talking about peace and love now.

We're here to make music and also to be friends.

That must feel really good, to know that the group that you started

is making this kind of impact. Let's hear some music.

-# The scars of your love remind me of us

-Ooh, ooh

-# They keep me thinking that we almost had it all

-Ooh, ooh

-# The scars of your love They leave me breathless

-Ooh, ooh

-# I can't help feeling

-Ooh, ooh

# We could have had it all BEATBOXERS BACK LYRICS

# Rolling in the deep BEATBOXERS BACK LYRICS

# You had my heart inside of your hand BEATBOXERS BACK LYRICS

# And you played it to the beat. # BEATBOXERS BACK LYRICS

-Well done! Very good!

-APPLAUSE

This has been really good and it's lovely what you're doing, Conrad.

-I heartily, heartily applaud it.

-Cheers, thanks.

-Thank you. Bye-bye.

'This is where I hope to be - somewhere a little bit dusty'

in a community arts centre, finding people doing really good work.

Things that are good. This is all heart

and it's skill. It's got the two magic ingredients.

It's expressive, it's fun, it's contemporary.

I think it's great.

If we get called back, I will scream.

I will literally break down and be, like, "Argh!"

MUSIC: Anything Goes by Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga

GARETH WHISTLES

Next stop, London's vibrant West End.

-Morning.

-Hello, Gareth, how are you?

-I'm very well. How are you?

Brilliant, thank you, yeah.

-Song in your heart?

-Yes, very much so.

-That's good to hear.

We'll have to get together one day to do a black cab choir.

It would be the pride of London.

It's such an exciting place here. I really love it.

It's where dreams are made and broken.

The glitz and glamour of London's 39 theatres

attracts thousands of hopeful actors,

desperate for their big break.

Five of them have formed a group called The Littlewoods.

We've all wanted to be on the stage

or HAVE been on the stage at some point, haven't we?

The dream is definitely to act professionally.

THEY CLICK RHYTHM ON FINGERS AND BANG CUPS

-I always used to want to be in Fame.

-Serena.

-Serena, yes!

-Yes!

-Serena from Fame.

I love the cheesy musicals, a bit of showbusiness - all that stuff.

THEY CLICK FINGERS AND TRILL

Although the starring role in the West End has so far eluded him,

usher Joshua still hasn't lost his determination

to make it as an actor.

Working in the theatre is bittersweet.

It's great to watch them, because it's what you love

but you get so angry when they do something that you could do better.

-Yes.

-And we could.

-We could.

-We could and we will.

-# When I'm gone

-When I'm gone

-When I'm gone

-When I'm gone... #

You've got to be motivated and you've got want it badly enough.

If you don't have the passion, it won't keep you going

through those years of people saying no

for that one person to say yes.

THEY CLICK FINGERS AND BANG CUPS ALL: # I'm gone

# You're gonna miss me when I'm gone, whoo! #

-Whay! How long did THAT take you to learn?

-Months!

-Can you teach it to me?

-Yeah, of course.

-I want to learn.

So, it goes clap, grab, hand, table, hold, grab, clap.

LAUGHTER

-I was close, right?

-Yes, so close.

-That's quite complicated, actually.

-Yeah.

So, do you all work in theatreland?

Yeah, we all met working at front of house at a theatre in the West End.

We were all ushers together before we started singing together.

Is it partly about just having some company

and still keeping your hand in?

I think, originally, it was just for fun,

but we loved it so much, it just carried on and snowballed

-and we thought, "Let's do this song."

-And it became a set.

And it became a show and people wanted to see us do it.

-Now it's a show?

-Now it's a full-blown show.

-Shall we see it?

-Yeah, sure.

-# Oh, I would wait forever

-Wait forever

-# Exalted in the scene

-Ooh, in the scene

-# Just as long as I am with you... #

-That's nice. That's nice.

-# My heart continues to beat

-My heart will beat

-# If you gave me a chance I would take it

-Ooh

-# It's a shot in the dark but I'll make it

-Ooh

-# Know with all of your heart you can't shake me

-Ooh

# When I am with you

# There's no place I'd rather be. #

-Thank you.

-LAUGHTER

You seem like a group of people well used to auditioning.

-Yeah.

-"Thank you for your time."

-Next.

'I think they've got potential as a group

'but they've taken a really upbeat, lively pop song'

and taken all the life out of it and I think that's a real shame.

When I walked in and they were doing the cup song, that was great.

The physical thing with the cup, to sing in harmony and it was together,

-I thought that was really good.

-I think it's time for a pizza.

LAUGHTER

For his third stop, Gareth's heading west to the outskirts of Reading

to meet the youngest choir to enter the competition.

I really enjoyed school choir. I loved it.

I miss it, actually. I miss singing every single morning.

But I think part of the reason I'm so evangelical

about singing and the effect that it can have on you

is the effect it had on me and that started when I was in school choir.

Right, let's get our bodies warmed up.

Let's do the funky chicken.

Set up two and a half years ago,

the Bulmershe Ensemble is a labour of love

for Sarah, the school's assistant head teacher.

That idea of taking a group of children

and inspiring them through music and through innovative arrangements,

making them love singing in a choir and making it cool and hip

was something that I've always wanted to be able to do.

The Bulmershe School is a mixed comprehensive

with over 1,000 pupils.

Its senior choir of 16 to 18-year-olds has won awards

locally and nationally.

We sing arrangements that they love

and songs that they love and we sing with a bit of attitude.

ALL: # One, two, three, four, five, four, three, two, one. #

Oh, my gosh, I'm meeting Gareth Malone today.

But I'm so excited. I'm not really nervous, I'm just excited.

All of the students I'm here to see today, in the choir,

are in the middle of their exams,

so they'll be hugely feeling the pressure

and I'm just here to add to that.

-Hello! Good morning!

-ALL: Morning.

Can you tell me a bit about yourselves? What makes you come...?

Presumably you do this of your own free will?

LAUGHTER

-Yeah?

-The reason I do it is because I don't have very much confidence

and it's a really positive atmosphere

cos lots of them do have lots of confidence

-and it's like a really good influence on me.

-Yeah.

-Has singing made a difference?

-Yeah.

-The fact that you're talking now...

-Is this big?

-That's big!

Here you are, talking to me. Well done.

Are you all in the middle of exams at the moment?

-I've got one at 1.30 today.

-You've got one at 1.30?

You're kidding! Let's crack on then.

HE PLAYS INTRO TO GHOST BY ELLA HENDERSON ON PIANO

# I keep going to the river to pray

# Cos I need something that can wash out the pain

-# And at most

-I'm sleeping all these demons away

# But your ghost

-# The ghost of you

-It keeps me awake

ALL: # I keep going to the river to pray

# Cos I need something that can wash out the pain

# And at most, I'm sleeping all these demons away

# Cos your ghost

# The ghost of you, it keeps me awake. #

-Wow!

-LAUGHTER

That was great!

That was really, really great.

Great choice of song, but you enhanced it, I thought.

You have a secret weapon there.

I heard a few little jazzy chords there. I was enjoying that.

Be aware of just overblowing at times, on the belt,

but that's a minor quibble.

'I found that very moving. When so many kids'

are wasting their time or wasting their teenage years,

they're actually making something of their school experience.

They volunteering to do it at lunchtime

and that's brilliant.

But can they actually hack it?

This is a lot of work for them if I put them through.

Group hug!

If we get the call to tell us we're through to the next round,

I'd be extremely proud. I have a habit

of screaming down the phone at people, so, um, beware.

There's such a romance about the sea - the smell of the salt

and the wind in your face. It's great!

It makes you glad to be alive, being out here. It's beautiful.

Ahoy there!

Totally ignored me!

With two more choirs in the South-east to audition,

Gareth's come to Portsmouth

to meet the second sea shanty group in the contest.

I have a soft spot in my heart for shanties

because they're songs of ordinary people.

Being down here, you can sense that. You see the old buildings...

You can just imagine this full of sails.

At one time, this would have been filled,

not with the sound of diesel, but with the sound of singing.

And there are still people singing shanties here today.

I'm off to meet a group who are keeping that tradition alive.

The Portsmouth Shantymen are a group of lifelong friends

who started singing shanties together in the 1970s.

It's really exciting to meet somebody like Gareth.

He comes across as a nice guy, which is a good start.

-I think there is a bit of steel in there.

-I'm sure there is.

The thing that worries me most is he might use terminology

-and we don't use names like "Notes".

-You mean musical terminology.

LAUGHTER

The latest member to climb aboard is 27-year-old barman Oliver.

I'm the youngest in the group, I don't know if you can tell.

But, yeah, it's been a great couple of years.

Singing shanties is not cool, I don't think.

'But it's really important to keep this alive, it really is.'

Really, we do it for the fun. We like the harmony that's in it,

and you just get one hell of a buzz.

Everyone loves to sing and it's all about the feeling

as well as the song, I guess.

For Gareth to select us to come this far and be part of this

is really an honour anyway, but to be doing it for Portsmouth,

there is a massive amount of pride.

ALL: # Sittin' by the river on the levee

# Waitin' for the steamer to come down

# Cotton mills are loadin' mighty heavy

# For miles and miles and miles around

# I thought I heard the steamer when she landed

# Landed on the levee below

# I'm sittin' by the river on the levee

# Waitin' for the steamer to come down

# Moses standin' by the Red Sea shore

# Smitin' that water with his two by four

-# Who built the ark?

-Brother Noah, Noah

# Brother Noah built the ark. #

Great! Very nice to meet you. How are you doing?

-Well, we think we're doing well for our ages.

-You are.

-Ollie's all right.

-He looks all right.

And what made you join these elder statesmen of the shanty world?

-We didn't MAKE him!

-Pete asked me a couple of years ago

to come and be the young blood, the new recruit.

-The next generation of Shantymen?

-Possibly, yeah.

I mean, it was very together.

You looked like you were having fun and that was charming.

Dynamically, it was all loud,

and I wonder if the shanties

and the kind of "Haul away" feel has infected your other bits of singing.

You don't actually need to shout the whole thing.

LAUGHTER

I love that they are doing this. I love the tradition of sea shanties.

-# Little Sally Racket

-Haul her away... #

I am looking for people that represent the region

and I feel like those guys absolutely represent this region.

They're from Portsmouth, they've got the right sound,

they are shantymen and they've been singing these shanties for 40 years.

-# ..Haul-e-high-o

-Haul her away. #

-Oh, it's not quite done.

-LAUGHTER

It's rough around the edges but what shanty was ever sung beautifully?

It's just whether or not I want that for the contest.

The final stop on Gareth's tour is in the garden county of Kent.

I'm hoping for one last gem today,

something a little bit different.

Darent Valley is a busy general hospital near Dartford,

serving around 340,000 people.

And thanks to a special group of singers,

the patients here have a reason to be cheerful.

Up, up, up. Let's go through everything we've done

over the last couple of months.

Deputy Director of Strategy Leslieann has been at the helm

of the hospital choir for just over two years.

I don't read music, I don't play an instrument,

I'm not the best of singers.

I don't really know how, but I ended up leading the choir.

I wanted it to be very inclusive,

so it didn't matter whether you could sing or not,

it didn't matter if you understood music.

If you just enjoyed singing along to a song in the shower

or humming a tune, come and join it.

This was about morale boosting.

It's just nice to mix with people who do other roles in the hospital.

They're not going to ask you for results or reports.

You get to spend some social time. It's actually quite good fun.

But today, we've all been a bag of nerves.

We can't believe it. We really are very excited.

-# Oh, what a night

-Ba-ba-ba-ba-ba

-# You know, I didn't even know her name

-Ba-ba-ba-ba-ba

-# But I was never gonna be the same

-Ba-ba-ba-ba-ba

# What a lady, what a night

# I felt a rush like a rolling ball of thunder

# Spinning my head around and taking my body under

# Oh, what a night

# Why did it take so long to see the light?

# Seemed so wrong but now it seems so right

-# What a lady, what a night

-Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo

# Doo-doo-doo, oh, what a night. #

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Very good! Thank you very much!

You're certainly livening up the hospital.

-How long's this been going?

-The choir, in this format,

-has been going probably for about four or five years now.

-Great.

Historically, we've performed at Christmas time.

It's probably the most stressful and busiest time of the year.

-Because it's winter?

-Winter, and people get sicker and it's busier.

It's always different if you come in as a patient.

-Have you been patients here?

-Mmm.

-Have you?

I am a specialist midwife, recently diagnosed with breast cancer,

and now receiving care from the wonderful NHS that I love dearly

and I know they are doing the best, the best they can.

What is it like, at the moment, to work in the NHS?

It is a really difficult environment to work in.

It's stressful, resources are stretched thinly,

we are short of staff, but morale remains high

because everyone is so passionate about the work that we do.

If you won the lottery tomorrow, you'd still come to work?

-Probably.

-Maybe not full-time, in all fairness, but we'd still come.

-Now and again, yeah.

-LAUGHTER

I certainly know that a few of us will have really tough days,

but you know you've got the choir to look forward to at lunchtime

-and it's an hour when you can forget and...

-Cut loose.

-Yeah.

"Cheer up" is the message of this choir, isn't it?

"Cheer up, don't worry about it. We're here and we're here for you!"

And that's very clear. Stick at it cos it's lovely.

-ALL: Thank you.

-Keep up the good work.

Good luck to you.

'I walked in'

and I saw their faces and I saw their dancing,

and I saw all the people around,

stood smiling and watching them and enjoying it,

and I thought, "This is lovely. This is just... This is just lovely."

-NHS.

-ALL: NHS! CHEERING

When you go into hospital, it can be desperate

and you meet people there who are so dedicated to you

and that's so wonderful, and seeing them sing

and have fun and let off a bit of steam, I can't not like it.

It would be wrong, it would be wrong to not like that.

It would mean everything to us. We have worked so hard

and to represent the NHS would be just absolutely fabulous.

With all five auditions from the South-east complete,

Gareth must now pick which three he wants to hear sing again.

'This has been a big week.

'The standard's been very high in the South-east.'

-# She pawned my best blue jacket

-Haul her away... #

There's been a huge variety of groups,

from very traditional to ultra-modern.

# ..I can see you crystal clear... #

'And it's just been great fun to get out there

'and meet these community groups

'that are singing with such a sense of purpose and integrity.'

# December, 1963... #

'It's great for my final week of going round the UK

'to find these groups who are actually managing to surprise me.'

-# Yeah

-Yeah...#

'The difficulty now is that I've got to choose one of those

'to represent this region.'

That's not an easy decision to make.

I think each one has something to offer.

What a great space!

-HE CLAPS

-# Ah. #

What I want is a group that gets better under the pressure

and some of them will. Someone will fly today.

Gareth has invited his three favourite choirs

to Stanley Hall in south London.

He's looking for the most promising to mentor,

as they go forward in the contest.

The first place in the sing-off goes to a group

who I think did something rhythmically incredibly complicated,

whilst also singing in five parts at the same time.

Really impressed me with their level of security as performers.

That is The Littlewoods.

We didn't start competitive, but the further we get,

-the more we're like, "No."

-We can do this.

-We really want this now.

The next group that I'm bringing back

surprised me with some of their sounds.

They've got a real tight musical ensemble.

And that's The Beatbox Academy.

We're feeling pride and pressure because it's our patch.

This is just down the road for all of us,

so we need to nail it.

The third group that I've chosen, I was not expecting to be great.

They really surprised me.

Great vocals, they'd chosen a great song, really good vibes,

and that is the Bulmershe Ensemble.

Being down to the last three in the South-east is amazing.

To go on to represent the South-east would just be unbelievable.

Today, I want a high level of performance,

but I also want great skill.

I want to see things really musically polished.

-Hello!

-CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

-Hello!

-All: Hello!

-Congratulations to you all.

It's very good to see you. Are you ready to blow me away today?

ALL: Yes!

The fact that you are here at this stage

means you've done incredibly well, because hundreds applied

and it now comes down to you three in this region.

Today is where it starts to get serious and competitive.

Bulmershe Ensemble, Beatbox Academy, off you go,

because, Littlewoods, you are up first.

Coming here and, in the cold light of day,

standing in a room you don't know

and performing without accompaniment,

that's a real challenge, and so that means it's wide open.

THEY CLICK RHYTHM ON FINGERS AND PAT RHYTHM ON THIGHS

# I live my day as if it was the last

# I live my day as if there was no past

-# Doin' it

-All night, all summer

-# Doin' it

-The way I wanna

# I'm-a dance my heart out till the dawn

# But I won't be done when morning comes

-# Doin' it

-All night, all summer

-# Gonna spend it

-Like no other

ALL: # Whoa

# Whoa

# I'm-a dance my heart out till the dawn

# But I won't be done when morning comes

# Doin' it all night, all summer

# Gonna spend it like no other

# A-a-a-ah

-# A-a-a-ah

-Second time is one too late. #

Great, well done. Thank you so much. Off you go.

I thought there were lots of things to be positive about there.

There was a good energy, lots of ideas.

Maybe one or two too many.

Did everyone get the harmonies at the end?

I don't know if the routine was a bit too crazy and a bit too much.

We really, really want to go through, so I hope he liked it.

The next group hoping to impress Gareth, The Beatbox Academy.

BEATBOXED RHYTHM

# Can you feel it coming in the air tonight?

# Oh, Lord

# I've been waiting for this moment for all my life

# Ooh

# I was there when I saw what you did

-# I saw you with my own two eyes... #

-They're so good.

-# But wipe off that grin

-Ooh

-# I know where you've been

-Ooh

-# It's all been a pack of lies

-Ooh

BEATBOXED "DRUMBEAT"

# I can feel it coming in the air tonight

# Oh, Lord

# Ooh. #

GARETH BEATBOXES

LAUGHTER

Thank you very much. Well done.

HE BEATBOXES THE RHYTHM OF 'COMING IN THE AIR TONIGHT' BY PHIL COLLINS

Loved it! Brilliant! I mean, not perfect.

It started a little bit shakily, but it really has got something.

-Whoa!

-Well done, guys.

Take us on, take us on, Gareth.

Last to perform, the Bulmershe Ensemble.

THEY BEAT OUT RHYTHM ON LEGS AND THE FLOOR

ALL: # Come take my hand

# I won't let you go

# I'll be your friend

# I will love you so deeply

# I will be the one to kiss you at night

# I will love you till the end of time

# Get up on it Show me that you really want it

# I wanna be the one to love you Baby, let's go

# Whoa, whoa

# Say you'll never let me

# Say you'll never let me

-# Say you'll never let me go

-Say you'll never let me

-# Say you'll love me

-Say you'll never let me

-# Till the end of time

-Say you'll never let me

-# Come take my hand, I won't let you go

-Say you'll never let me

-# I'll be your friend

-Say you'll never let me

-# I will love you so deeply

-Say you'll never let me

-# Come take my hand

-Say you'll never let me

-# Take you away

-Say you'll never let me

-# From here

-Say you'll never let me

# Say you'll never let me go

# Say you'll never let me go

# Say you'll never let me go. #

Finished? Well done. Thank you. Very good!

Their harmonies are great, their ideas are great,

they've got an incredible energy, they're really buzzing

and they're, they're hungry.

I don't think it was perfect and I don't think

anyone has delivered a perfect performance today.

This is difficult, to come in here and give your absolute A game

is really hard, and that's what the contest is for.

I couldn't have believed this time last week

that would sound like that.

We can do this. I really have a faith and a belief in this group

and I'd love to be given the chance to do it.

I always think I know exactly how this is going to go,

but you can never tell till you're actually in the room.

I think, with Littlewoods, I really like them. They had god harmonies,

they hung together well as a performance.

It's just not really grabbing me.

I thought Beatbox Academy started a little bit sketchily.

The harmony didn't quite gel and then in came Alisha

with this fabulous solo. Really good.

CHEERING

I thought Bulmershe - some of them are completely unafraid

and some of them look petrified.

I mean, I don't quite know how you fix that.

It's just about which performance made me think,

"I want to work with that group." That's what I'm looking for.

'Who's got the most potential to go on to represent the region?'

-Hello, how are you doing?

-MURMURS AND APPLAUSE

I think the challenge for you is to find simplicity.

I thought that the song, it was good but it wasn't sung with great heart.

The beatboxing's working so well, the solos are working well,

but you need a bit of expertise in the middle.

I've had a really good think. It was a difficult decision today

because there were some very good performances.

I've decided...

..I'm not going to take you on to the next stage.

But thank you so much and I'm sorry to disappoint you.

-That's OK.

-Thanks for having us.

-It's been great to have you

and keep singing.

-We will.

-Well done. Thank you. Bye-bye.

-Bye.

We worked really hard to get here

but what's great is it's pulled us together as a group anyway.

This was a wonderful experience

and we've learnt so much from it and it was worth every second of it.

I love you guys. You are great. You are doing fantastic things.

There were lots of things that I liked about it.

The harmonies didn't totally gel all the time,

but when they did they were good.

I just felt like it was a little polite today,

a little held back.

I'm not going to take you forward to the next stage.

You've just been pipped to the post. I'm really sorry.

But well done. Love you guys. Thank you very much for being part of it.

I really do appreciate the effort and I shall watch with interest.

-Thank you.

-Well done. Bye, guys.

-We were close, but you know...

-It WAS close. There was three of us.

LAUGHTER

Probably a better group won, but, I mean, power to them.

At the end of the day, we're going to keep doing what we do well.

And, yeah, we're proud of what we've done.

This is another memory now for all the guys.

I've been thinking very hard about it

and the good news is that I would like to take you through

-to the next stage.

-CHEERING AND EXCLAMATIONS

Well done!

Don't get overexcited because this means

you are now in the main contest.

I want you to prove to me that I made the right choice.

And that means lots and lots of hard work and improvement ahead,

so I'm going to issue you with your first challenge right now.

I'm tasking you to learn a song that you will perform

in your home town in four weeks' time.

The lyrics, I think, are about your stage of life.

It's about looking forward to the future and embracing it.

-Would you like to know what it is?

-ALL: Yes!

Play the tune.

MUSIC: Intro to Wings by Little Mix

# Mama told me not to waste my life

# She said, "Spread your wings"... #

It's Wings by Little Mix.

-You know it?

-ALL: Yeah.

-Have you done it before?

-ALL: No.

-Good.

Good choice? I'm going to come to your school in about ten days' time

and I will expect you to have something to show me.

So, please get to work.

-Well done!

-CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

For us to make it through against such stiff competition,

so excited, so pleased.

It's been a great day. I'm delighted with the Bulmershe Ensemble.

I think they're really good and they'll produce something fantastic.

That's a great song for them. It's going to be fun for them

but it's also really challenging.

But who doesn't love a challenge? I think they're going to relish it.

MUSIC: Fives by Dylan Rippon

SCHOOL BELL RINGS

The Bulmershe School is a comprehensive school

on the outskirts of Reading.

There's about 1,100 students here.

It's a wonderful school and we've worked really hard

in the last couple of years to carry on improving the school

and the image it has in the local community.

When you think of a school choir,

you normally think of private schools. We're not a private school.

We're a state, open-entry, inclusive school

and we sing as well as anybody else

and it's very important that we show that.

The choir was set up two and a half years ago

by music and maths teacher Sarah.

I realised there were quite a few talented kids in the school

who could sing, and thought we could put together

a gospel-esque choir and enter a local competition.

Miss Lant came running in in her normal style, all overexcited,

and said, "I've found a choir competition I want to join,"

and Miss Lant says everything so excitable,

and so in your face, that really there's no choice to say no.

So, I was in the rehearsal that afternoon, I think, so...

They've had a meteoric rise,

winning awards in national competitions,

but it's performing in the local community

-that's had the most impact on the school.

-Especially when we started,

the Bulmershe School didn't have the greatest reputation.

So when they said some Bulmershe kids were going to sing,

it was, like, "Oh, my God, this is going to be

"another long one to listen to."

When they hear the kids, they realise the amount of dedication

and pride that they've got in their school.

It doesn't feel like school when we're doing this.

It feels like we're a group of friends singing in a choir.

-I've got a brand-new warm-up for you today.

-Ooh!

# Many men, many men, Many men, men, men... #

In the weeks since the sing-off,

the choir has been preparing for Gareth's visit.

I'm at the Bulmershe School for the first time since I put them through.

Now it's time to knuckle down and I want to make changes to the group

and make suggestions and I'm going to talk to Sarah

about how they'll deal with that

cos she's their teacher and knows them well.

I want them to really stand a chance in the contest

and there's a bit of work ahead before they're ready.

The last question, crucially... Oh, hello!

Good afternoon! Would you like to come in and join our maths lesson?

We've got a bit of an indices rap going on that we remember.

When you times the powers, you add the powers

When you divide the powers, you minus the powers.

-Does this help?

-(No).

-No?

Very good. Well done, guys. Very good, Tom.

There we are, miss. There's my work.

-I can't believe you gatecrashed my maths class.

-I did.

-That was pretty traumatic. I had sweaty palms.

-Did you?

-How are the group doing? Are they OK?

-They're doing well.

The pressure will notch up now, now we're into the actual contest.

-How do you think they'll deal with that?

-Some of them are confident,

others of them are confident on the outside

but inside, they're in inner turmoil.

-They're teenagers.

-Yeah.

-And teenagers today, you know, anxiety,

body confidence imaging, all massive parts of being a teenager.

I think all the ones in the choir really want to be more confident.

-Let's go and see how they're doing.

-Yeah, let's go!

-OK.

I'm excited to see Bulmershe,

because they're so fun, young and exuberant.

But the challenge with them is that they don't have

all the emotional experience and maturity

of all the adult groups they're up against.

That's going to be very difficult for them.

-Hello!

-ALL: Hello!

-How are you doing?

Why don't we start by you singing to me and I'll see what we've got.

ALL: # The words don't mean a thing

# I'm not listening

# Keep talking, all I know is

# Mama told me not to waste my life

# She said, "Spread your wings, my little butterfly"... #

I think I've given them a gift of a song.

It's called Wings by Little Mix and it's about growing up.

It's about standing on your own two feet,

being yourself in the face of naysayers,

and I think that's a song that they can connect with

and pour their hearts into.

# And they can't detain you

# These wings are made to fly. #

-Is that as far as you've got?

-Yeah.

That's good. Lots and lots of good ideas there. Well done.

Do you want to sit down actually? Really, what I want to see

is a commitment to the meaning of the song from very single person

and thinking about it as you're singing.

And it's not just about getting meaning across to the audience.

It's about how you communicate it between yourselves

and how comfortable you feel

singing emotionally in front of each other.

What do you think?

When I sing, I sing to enjoy it. I don't think about emoting

when I'm singing. When I listen to it, I think about emotions,

but when I'm doing it, I don't.

-OK. I mean, it slightly comes across.

-Yeah.

How about you, Emily? You have a solo there.

Try to, but I think a lot of it is just kind of performing.

Is anyone thinking about what it means?

-What are you thinking about? Lunch?

-LAUGHTER

-Not sure.

-Not even sure.

'I told them why I picked the song when I last saw them.

'I said it's about the beginning'

of your life, your future and all of that.

And so I think they feel that that box has been ticked.

But that's not really what it means to sing a song, I don't think.

You have to know each single individual phrase

why you're singing it,

and that has to be at the forefront of your mind.

I just don't want them to turn out boring performances.

What goes on at home? When you get told off, what's it like? Scary?

Show me scary. One, two, three, and...

-# Mama told me not to waste my life

-Ooh, ooh, ah-ooh... #

Tell me off. Don't sing, tell me off.

-# Spread your wings, my little butterfly

-Ah-ooh

-# Don't let what they say keep you up at night

-Ah-ooh

-# And if they give you

-Ssh

-Then you can walk on by. #

-Ssh!

Good, yeah, that's great.

Suddenly, from lots of you, the energy is going in one direction

and it's clear. # Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh. #

Rather than, "Ooh, ooh, ooh." Shifty eyes. "Ooh, ooh, what am I singing?"

"Ooh, ooh, ooh." And the difference between the angry time

that you did it there and the time you first sang it

is enormous. It shouldn't be frightening.

Putting your heart and soul into a song is good for you

and nothing to be afraid of.

You're doing the solo. You did the solo last time.

You're doing the arranging. Can you stay behind?

The rest of you, class dismissed. You may leave. Thank you, well done.

Katie admitted that she never thinks about the words at all.

She just likes singing. That's level one.

The next stage is for them to think about what they're doing.

It's not such a frightening thing, once you embrace it.

But I think it is frightening when you're 16.

Right now, it's a lot to do all at once -

learning it and trying to remember the words

and trying to connect it to how you feel

is quite a lot when I'm just trying to remember what note comes next.

Does what I said make sense to you,

-about how you perform the song?

-I used to be bullied

and I think everyone's been bullied in their life

and there's always people that say, "Don't worry about what they say,

"Be yourself", things like that. I think that's how I feel

the song relates back to me.

I can totally relate to that.

I found being sort of 14 to 16 quite difficult,

but once I was into sixth form and I started to find musical things

that I could enjoy and express myself to,

then life got a bit easier.

I had two friends at school and we were like best friends,

and they split off. Sorry, it makes me sad.

They split off with different people.

And I was kind of on my own.

It's a hard time of life. As you're talking, I'm just...

I don't know. It's awful. It's a long time ago for me now,

but I remember it like it was yesterday.

It was horrible at the time

but it does get better, yeah.

Just get the group to have a discussion about each bit,

what each line means to people,

and then bam, go for it.

I feel like I'm looking at my teenage years from a great distance.

It's a difficult time of life

and you're very inhibited and very unsure of yourself

and they've got big life decisions hanging over them

and that's what the song's about.

It's a lot for them to contend with.

MUSIC: Inferno by Dylan Rippon

As well as carefully selecting their song,

Gareth has chosen a poignant date for the choir to perform -

their last day at Bulmershe.

It's kind of like a big sendoff.

This is our last kind of choir performance

with all the people in it now that we'll do,

so to do at school is absolutely fab.

It's going to be really special after seven years

and to do it in front of all our teachers and students,

it's going to be nerve-racking,

but I'm excited to leave school this way.

-# Mama told me not to waste my life

-Ah-ooh... #

There are seven days to go.

I think we've got a lot of work to do going forward.

We knew we did. We're up for that challenge.

I think we've got to work on tuning

and getting the emotion of the song, of course.

While the choir is working on bringing

meaning and emotion to their song,

classically-trained pianist Warren has the job

of working out the accompaniment.

Most rehearsals, she's always asking me to play something,

to just put something together in the space of five minutes,

like I'm able to do something like that magically -

which I'm not!

LAUGHTER

ALL: # I don't need no-one saying hey, hey, hey, hey... #

He's never heard that before.... so just give him a second.

He's a talented musician

but Warren's not known for his reliability.

The others get frustrated with him

because he's a bit unpredictable sometimes.

However, I always feel quite confident that he's going to turn up

and going to perform and do what we need him to do.

If you don't have your eye on him, like, all day,

he would disappear if you look away for a second.

"Where's Warren?" is a bit of a phrase, like "Where's Wally?"

LAUGHTER

-I just need to practise it.

-OK.

Cos it's just bits and pieces that I just thought about.

-That's what you're going to do for the ending?

-Yeah.

-Have you got time to do that by tomorrow?

-Yeah.

I don't feel too stressed. I feel a little bit relaxed,

not like some others.

I'm just trying to get this finished.

If he was no good, then it would be annoying,

but he's good, so... He's great.

WARREN PLAYS PIANO

'I thought I might go and have a little chat with Warren'

because it's not unusual to have unreliable

or unpredictable members of a choir,

but the others are relying on him,

so I think I need to gee him up a bit.

Are you an "It'll be all right on the night" sort of person?

-Yeah.

-Oh! That... And if I just asked you to play, like,

just improvise on Happy Birthday or something like that,

-could you just do that?

-Yeah.

-Go on then.

WARREN PLAYS 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY'

HE IMPROVISES CREATIVELY WITH THE TUNE OF 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY'

-So you can do that?

-Yeah.

-Just like that, and that's no effort?

-Yeah.

-This is a talent that people would kill to have.

-I would say so.

-Yeah.

-How has your commitment been to...?

-They want to kill me sometimes.

-Do they? Yeah, I think

-I

-would.

I feel like you are the bedrock on which everything sits.

-Yeah.

-What I would always say to people

is that it's about trust and it's about being reliable

and dependable for rehearsals. Rehearsals are massively important.

-Go and knuckle down.

-Yeah.

-Thanks.

-See you soon.

-See you later.

There is a danger that he won't pull it off.

Things haven't gone disastrously wrong for him ever

cos he can fumble his way out of it, because he's got natural talent.

But there's a time when that runs out

and I hope it's not on Wednesday.

INDISTINGUISHABLE CHATTER

Although many of the sixth formers have finished their exams,

the competition means they can only partially relax.

After today, it'll be only two days till we're performing to everyone

so it's nerve-racking, but I think we're going to have it down by then.

Yeah, two days until our big performance.

The whole auditorium will be full,

so there'll be a lot of people here to watch

but I'm looking forward to it. I think everyone will like it

and we've made a lot of progress with what we've done,

so I think we'll be ready.

Oh!

It's the biggest thing we've ever done. It's really exciting,

but it's so nerve-racking as well.

-Going up!

-Yeah!

-Yeah!

-APPLAUSE

There are two days to go and this will be the last performance

before they go up against the adults in the contest.

We've put a lot of work into connecting with the lyrics.

I think some of them are doing it by being taught to do it,

others are probably feeling it a little bit more than others.

Being young is a disadvantage for two reasons -

one is lacking the emotional maturity to connect with the song

and the other is confidence, and that's my next task.

ALL: # No matter what you say, it won't hurt me

# Don't matter if I fall from the sky

# These wings are made to fly. #

-Hello, everyone.

-ALL: Hello.

-How are you?

-Great.

-Nervous?

ALL: Yeah.

-We are missing... Where's Warren on the keys?

-In France.

-In France?

He's coming back. We're expecting him at some point today, hopefully.

All right. OK, well, let's move on with or without Warren.

The major thing for me, as you go forward into the contest,

and you're going up against groups

that are much older and more experienced,

is that everyone has to be on the same level of confidence

about standing on stage and being yourself and singing the song.

So, I want to take you out of school

and issue you with a challenge, a performing challenge.

-Are you with me?

-ALL: Yes.

-Are you with me?

-ALL SHOUT: Yes!

Road trip!

I think a lot of people join choirs

cos they think, "I'm not doing a solo,

"I'll be in the background and no-one will notice me!"

But when there's only 15 of you, everyone is important,

everyone's noticed, everybody's got to be confident.

MUSIC: Challenge by Theo Vidgen

Right here, now, we have no audience whatsoever,

and I'd like to see if you, collectively,

can create an audience on your own from nothing.

This is the challenge part.

I would like you each to sing something on your own.

It's shrugging off the sort of bashfulness that you have at school

and singing like adults.

-Shall we try it?

-Yeah.

-Yes?

-ALL: Yes.

Right, come on then. Welcome. This is the Bulmershe Ensemble

and this is pretty impromptu. They're going to busk for you.

You've got two claps already.

GARETH PLAYS INTRO TO ROAR BY KATY PERRY

# I used to... I had a choice...

# Pushed me past the breaking point

# But... # I don't know the words.

Ah, do you want to get the words? Get the words on your phone.

Don't worry. Why don't we get the words on my phone?

Don't worry about it. It's all right. Ready?

Yes?

# I used to bite my tongue and hold my breath

# Scared to rock the boat and make a mess

# So I sat quietly

# Agreed politely

# I guess that I forgot I had a choice

# Let you push me past the breaking point

# I stood for nothing

# So I fell for everything

ALL: # You're gonna hear me roar. #

-APPLAUSE

-Well done!

-# If the sky... #

-LAUGHTER

# I look upon

# Should crumble and fall

# And the mountains should crumble

# To the sea

# I won't cry, I won't cry

# No, I won't shed a tear

# Just as long as you stand

ALL: # Stand by me, stand by me

# La, la, la, la, la

-# La, la, la, la... #

-LAUGHTER

Sorry, I won't...

-APPLAUSE

-Well done, everyone. That's good.

-Do you all hate me now or...?

-I enjoyed it.

-You enjoyed it?

-Yeah.

-When you start to kind of

look up and connect and be in the song,

I feel like I'm watching a singer,

and as soon as you start thinking, "I don't sound good,"

I'm watching someone who's terrified and you've got a choice.

Are you going to be frightened or are you going to be brave?

When you're in the choir, like when we're in our semicircle,

you have the comfort blanket kind of thing,

and when you have to stand out of that, it's a bit disorientating,

like, "OK, I'm by myself now."

I feel like I've done my bit

and I've questioned their lack of confidence

and I've made them think about it and I've challenged them here today

and, hopefully, the penny will start to drop and they'll go for it

but, frankly, only on Wednesday will I actually know whether it's worked.

It's the day of the big performance

and for the sixth formers, their last day at school.

The choir's been such a big part of our experience in the school

that actually being able to sing on the last day WITH the choir

is a great thing to do. It's like a final hurrah.

We thought it's only fair to give "The most likely to cause

"a stunned silence with their amazing arrangements", that's Abi.

CHEERING

It's emotional because we are a very tight group.

With a lot of us leaving, we don't want to say goodbye,

so we're holding off for as long as we can.

That's amazing, guys. Thank you very much!

I am sad to see these guys go

and it will be difficult coming back in September without them.

This afternoon is a really good opportunity

for the choir to show Gareth and all their teachers and their peers

that they are good enough to be in this competition

and that they deserve to be in the last four.

"Where's Warren?"

LAUGHTER

The choir will be singing for 400 pupils, friends and family members.

We just really want them to do well and perform at their best

and, hopefully, they haven't got too many nerves.

I just feel really proud. I can't believe it's my daughter singing.

To see the whole choir grow from nothing

has been really exciting and you feel part of the journey with them.

I think I would have preferred a little longer with Warren.

I'm still not convinced that the choir are entirely happy

with his piano-playing.

I'm just hoping they can pull it out the bag.

-Hello! Hello!

-CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Hello, hello! Good afternoon, Bulmershe!

So wonderful to see so many of you lovely people here today,

on this, the very last day of school!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Loosen your school ties, throw your blazers in the air

for the Bulmershe Ensemble!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

THEY CHANT: Bulmershe! Bulmershe!

ALL: # Da, da, da, da, da

-# Mama told me not to waste my life

-Ooh, ooh, ah-ooh, ooh

-# She said, "Spread your wings

-Ah-ooh, ooh

-# "My little butterfly"

-Ah-ooh, ooh

-# Don't matter what they say

-Ah-ooh, ooh

-# Can't keep you up at night

-Ah-ooh, ooh

-# And if they give you

-Shh

-Then they can walk on by

-Ooh

-# My feet, feet can't touch the ground

-Da, da, da, da, da

-# And I can't hear a sound

-Da, da, da, da, da, da

# But you just keep on running up your mouth, yeah

-# Walk, walk on over there

-Da, da, da, da, da, da

-# Cos I'm too fly to care

-Da, da, da, da, da, da

-# Oh, yeah

-Da, da, da

# I don't need no-one saying hey, hey, hey, hey

-# I don't hear no one saying

-Hey

-Hey

-Hey

-Hey

-Hey

# Your words don't mean a thing

# I'm not listening

# They're just like water off my wings

# Mama told me not to waste my life

# She said, "Spread your wings, my little butterfly"

# Don't let what they say keep you up at night

# And they can't detain you

# These wings are made to fly

# And we'll let nobody bring us down

# No matter what you say, it won't hurt me

# Don't matter if I fall from the sky

# These wings are made to

-# Fly

-These wings are made to

# These wings are made to fly

# Butterfly, butterfly, butterfly, butterfly

# Fly. #

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Ladies and gentlemen, the utterly brilliant Bulmershe Ensemble!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

It just felt so good performing with people I love so much.

It was absolutely amazing.

-Proud?

-Very proud.

-Good, I'm sure.

-Very proud.

-She's learnt to smile when she sings.

-You've got to smile.

-SHE SHRIEKS

-Sorry, sorry!

I'm well proud of you!

-THEY LAUGH

-Sorry!

-They kind of just grew.

-Yeah, you could see that kind of,

"Oh, yeah, we've really done this." They loved it.

We all enjoyed it. We all had an amazing time on that stage today,

and for these last few weeks, it just sums it up.

I thought that was great. There was a big leap in confidence.

They looked like adults on that stage.

It was much better, really emotional and invested.

How do you think the performance went? Go!

THEY CHEER

That's it. I've got my four groups and they're four great groups.

I've got mums, I've got the gospel choir, I've got a school choir

and I've got a university a capella group,

so it makes it a very exciting and interesting competition.

I've really enjoyed working with them

and I'm looking forward to pushing them SO hard next time.

In the next stage of the contest...

-Hello, my regional champions!

-CHEERING

..Gareth's four chosen choirs come together at boot camp.

-Do you love me or do you hate me?

-We love you!

Oh, thank God!

They'll face intensive mentoring...

How are we going to get this to performance level?

We're working so hard.

..ahead of a semifinal sing-off that will send one group home.

The group that they felt should take the final place in the contest is...

MUSIC: Challenge by Theo Vidgen