Episode 2 Tourettes: Let Me Entertain You

This programme contains very strong language

'Reggie Yates - on BBC Radio 1.

'The official chart with Reggie Yates.'

Yeah, number 15 is just around the corner,

we are getting closer and closer.

I present the official chart show on Radio 1 and host TV talent shows.

But now I'm taking on something completely different.

Condoms, syphilis, gonorrhoea,

Chlamydia, cat AIDS.

Ruth is one of 300,000 people in the UK with Tourette Syndrome.

Jellylegs!

Like Ruth, Steve lives with constant physical and verbal tics.

HE TICS

Look out.

But music has an extraordinary effect on their lives.

# Oh, no, I see

# A spider web and I'm caught in the middle... #

I was surprised to discover that when they perform,

their tics completely disappear.

# Lettuce, lettuce, lettuce Lettuce, lettuce... #

# Oooh, baby Don't you know I suffer?

# Ooh, baby Can you hear me moan? #

I'm staging a big musical event.

And I've scoured the country looking for young people

with Tourette's, who have real musical talent.

But it's been no ordinary journey.

Oop. God.

SCREAMS

Only when they all met each other

did I realise the enormity of the task I'd set myself.

Out the door, go.

To say I am anxious is a massive understatement.

But music is their passion, and hopefully

this will be the greatest performance of their lives.

# You will find him

# You'll find him next to me. #

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

It's eight weeks until the show

and I've brought all six performers to London for their first session

with vocal coach Jo Price and musical director Chris Egan.

If you ask anyone who puts on a show or gets people to perform,

eight weeks is a short space of time,

and the toughest thing is we're taking people

who haven't done this before, so over the eight weeks,

I think there will be a series of challenges

and today is the first step.

Let me show you the exercises that I like to use...

Like to use.

That was good.

And, er, we can take it from there and if there are any you don't

get on with, then you can think of something you'd prefer to do.

-Prefer!

-Then just tell me. All right?

-Yeah!

# Mimi mimi mimi mimi miiii... #

Just keep that straight line.

Through a series of warm-up exercises,

I've asked Jo to assess their vocal strengths and weaknesses.

# Mimi mimi mimi mimi mimi miiii... #

Your pitching's great, Ruth.

A great natural, raw instrument. Very nice.

-Because your voice is phat.

-PHAT!

# Dooby, dooby, dooby, dooby

# Dooby, dooby, dooby, dooby

# Booby, dooby, dooby, dooby... #

Booby! I keep saying booby. D'oh!

# Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh... #

Sometimes I can do it and at other times I can't!

It's because it's underused, because you never go there.

It quickly becomes clear that I've underestimated just how much they'll

need to develop if they're to sing live in front of hundreds of people.

-Argh!

-Why did you stop then?

I don't know, I have this confidence issue that

if I've done it wrong, I can't,

I just have a habit of just stopping.

# Nimini, nimini, nimini, nimini, nimini... #

Sorry about this!

-(HIGHER) # Nimini, nimini, nimini Nimini, nimini... #

-Last one.

(HIGHER) # Nimini, nimini, nimini Nimini, nimini... #

Sorry, it's just a really funny thing to be...

Beautiful. It's ridiculous, isn't it?

It's just, oh, it really makes me laugh. Nimini?

# Nimini! # Imagine someone walking on stage with a mic just going,

# Nimini, nimini, nimini Nimini, nimini... #

And you've got all these fucking...

As confidence is crucial, I want each of them to perform songs

which suit their voice and personality.

17-year-old student Tom had bought along his choice of tracks,

which he'd like to sing at the event.

They're all Michael Buble songs.

Not all of them!

No, no, they're not all originally Michael Buble though, are they?

No, but they're all...

-You've got a bit of a thing with Michael, haven't you?

-I have, yeah.

-Do you love him?

-I do, yeah, I'd love to meet him one day.

Have you never met him?

Nope, my aim is to be bigger and better than him though, even though

I love him, my aim is to get to his level and beyond,

-that's my aim in life.

-Is it?

# Me and Mrs Jones... #

Tom was diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome when he was 13 years old.

When I was first diagnosed, Mum used to say to me,

"Oh, you'll wake up tomorrow and it'll be gone."

And I'd wake up and I was still the same.

I've got a whole range of tics I keep going "uh" like that,

and I've had that for about two years.

My blinking is me when I've got too much energy,

I just blink loads. It tires me out loads.

I would like to have a day when I don't have to have Tourette's.

# We meet every day At the same cafe... #

# We meet every day At the same cafe

# 6.30, and no-one knows she'll be there... #

-We've got to burst this Buble bubble.

-Yeah.

You know, you're too attached to him, he's getting in the way

of you and you've got a brilliant instrument, some of the notes

in there and the tone you've got, beautiful, stunning,

but it's about being able to take those and make them yours,

so we need to just get away from bubble songs.

How would you feel, Tom, if we banned his name in all sessions,

-and I asked you not to listen to him, from now?

-All right. OK.

-Yeah?

-Yeah, OK, all right.

Coon.

I don't know quite what my voice sounds like, at the moment,

because obviously I sound a bit too much like

the guy who should not be mentioned.

But obviously I need to work with Jo on creating my own, sort of, artist.

# The fire fades away

# Most of everyday

# Is full of tired excuses... #

15-year-old school girl Emilly has a lovely tone to her voice.

# I wish it was simple But we give up easily... #

But she looks terrified when she's singing.

# Close enough to see that

# You're the other side of the world to me. #

Oh, urgh.

Thank you very much!

Why did you make the scared noise at the end? That was so sweet.

Mmmm...

Were you scared all the way through?

There were moments when I felt like you were connecting with the lyrics

and there were moments when I thought you were just terrified.

Yeah. I don't know.

My biggest challenge is believing in myself,

because I kind of don't.

Emilly's tics include involuntary twitching

and uncontrollable falling to the ground.

Until the age of four, Emilly's mum, Brigitte,

didn't know what was wrong with her daughter.

When Emilly was first diagnosed with Tourette's,

it was like a great weight had been lifted,

because she'd actually been given a diagnosis.

Ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-itchy Ritchie. Like that!

Whereas doctors had kept saying she was attention seeking,

but it was quite obvious she wasn't attention seeking.

I dunno, a lot of people do know I have it

and teachers know I have it and stuff, and at school it's fine,

and if I'm out of school, just out and about,

people don't really ask,

because they're embarrassed or a bit freaked out sometimes, yep!

But, yeah.

MUSIC: "The City" by Ed Sheeran

Biscuits, crackers, custard creams, bourbons, rich teas, lesbians.

25-year-old Ruth was forced to quit

her university music course in 2008

because her Tourette's got in the way of attending lectures.

Vagina for sale, vagina for sale!

Hello.

Four years on, she's regained her confidence

and started to sing again.

# You could be the one who listens

# To my fears and inquisitions

# You could never be... #

I was amazed to find out that Ruth never tics when she's singing

-Hello!

-How are you?

-I'm good!

Let me take your things.

# Is there anyone out there

# Cos it's getting harder and harder to breathe

# Is there anyone out there

# Cos it's getting harder and harder to breathe

SHE TICS

Sorry, shitsticks.

SHE TICS BADLY

Sorry, shitsticks.

Are you OK, Ruth?

Yeah, just feeling quite ticy and that, shut up.

Why do you think you're feeling so ticy,

because you haven't really ticed before,

are you feeling slightly nervous?

Er, yeah, I feel like there's more riding on this now.

Why? Porquoi?

I don't know. I really do want to do well

and I really want to do it well.

Are you feeling as if you're

putting a bit of pressure upon yourself?

This is your first day with Jo, don't beat yourself up too much.

It's an opportunity to make mistakes this is the point when you

should be getting things wrong, so don't put pressure on yourself.

-So what are you worried about at the moment?

-Shrooms, shrooms.

I feel incredibly anxious for Ruth,

nerves have got in the way,

but if she's nervous now what's she going to be like

when she's in a big old frock on a stage,

cameras and live band behind her? That's kind of scary.

Do you feel better when you sing?

Yeah, but now I don't feel better.

It's because you're piling the pressure on

and you think there's a lot riding on it.

All right.

Am I helping, or making it worse?

No, it's true.

I know it's true, but it's easy for me to sit here

and say that, I don't do bullshit.

It's just I've never had that Tourette's like interrupt me

like that during a song, so that's,

I don't know if frightening is the word, I don't know.

It's annoying.

I'll get them... I'll get someone to give you my number

and I just want you to call me, or text me.

'Oooooh, that was difficult.'

It really worried me that she said her Tourette's interrupted her

and that hadn't happened before and I didn't focus on it,

I skipped over it really quickly.

But I really hope that isn't something

she's going to think about.

I've worked really hard to get past the point of...

..of being able to accept the fact I tic, and stuff.

In there I just felt like I went back,

regressed back to how I was when I first started ticing.

So... So, that? Not being able to get my words out.

I actually do want to get good in this time,

and be spectacular, just concerned now that I won't be able to do that.

I won't be able to deliver when it counts,

because I couldn't deliver when it counted up there,

slightly left me quite disheartened, you know.

At the end of a long day, it's the moment of truth.

Will they all be able to pull off a live performance?

What's your take on the where we are at this stage?

Emilly, I'm worried that she'll just be so scared.

Yes, she'll get on stage and she'll sing a song

from beginning to end, but will we be able

to get her to the point where she does dive in it

and she actually enjoys it?

Steve was awesome. I'm really chuffed with how well

he did in front of you, I mean you're the person...

-Gorgeous.

-He's got a really warm tone, hasn't he?

# Oh, no, I see

# A spider web It's tangled up with me

# And I lost my head... #

'Ooh, depth, the depth!

'Yeah, he's really comfortable in that singer-songwriter thing,'

which is great and it's loved by a lot of people,

but it would be nice to push him and get him to do something

slightly outside that, and see just how comfortable he gets.

I think that's a brilliant idea.

-You reckon?

-I think he'd nail whatever you gave him, to be honest.

-Yeah. How about little Jake, then?

-Ooh!

What do you wanna do, fella?

Erm, Lego House by Ed Sheeran.

All right. You know it?

Are you a fan of Ed?

Yeah! He's ginger!

# I'm gonna pick up the pieces

# And build a Lego house

# If things go wrong we can knock it down... #

Jake is 15 and was only diagnosed

with Tourette Syndrome two years ago.

I find it really hard to tell myself it's your Tourette's,

and I keep on telling myself I must be able to help it,

but I just couldn't.

I do spend quite a lot of time in the house,

because I don't always wanna go out because of my Tourette's.

If it's bad on a certain day then I feel like,

I don't want to go out and start ticing in front of everyone.

I take five tablets,

something called Aripiprazole, which is for my Tourette's.

I then also take another one called Concerta,

and two sleeping tablets a night. So, I take eight a day.

Like when I'm in school,

and I've got to sit inside a classroom all day,

and try to make it look like I'm not different to everyone else,

I just want to be, not the same as everyone else,

cos I know I'm never gonna be the same as everyone else,

but I just don't want everyone thinking and judging me.

# If things go wrong we can knock it down... #

It feels as if the songs that he is doing he can do,

but he doesn't ever look like he owns the songs that he's singing.

-It's a worry.

-Yeah.

-Oh, there's lots to worry about!

-Yeah, there really is,

and we've only got eight weeks to turn it around.

If Jo's worried, I'm worried.

I'm convinced the right song choice will give them

the confidence they need.

You could choose such a broad spectrum of artists for them

to look at, but the problem is deciding which direction

they want to go in, that's the really tough thing.

For someone like Tom, as well as doing something

that's a little soulful, I think it could be really awesome

for him to do something that's cool,

maybe even a little dancey, and possibly even a bit more current

in comparison to some of the stuff that he has been doing.

So, I think this could be quite a good idea.

This is a couple of years old now,

but still really fresh sounding, Sam Sparro - Black And Gold.

# Out of the sky

# And my tears rolled into the ocean... #

I've given each of our performers

a list of songs I'd like them to sing.

I'm hoping it will help Tom steer clear of Michael Buble.

A Song For You. I think I know this one.

-Hellooooo!

-Hello, how are you?

-I'm very well! How are you?

-I'm good thanks, nice to see you.

So, tell me about the song choices

that you've made from the list that Reg gave you.

I liked A Song For You because that's quite a big, powerful song.

I thought you'd like that, actually, you can show off with it.

But when I went to get the backing tracks the only version

that wasn't anything else was the Michael Buble.

We've given you a Donny Hathaway song,

and you've found the Michael Buble version?

I knew he did a Michael Buble version, I watched him do it!

There's no escaping, but I've also got Sam Sparro's song,

Black And Gold, cos I thought that one was quite a nice song

and I've been watching him on YouTube a lot.

# And all around these golden beacons

# I've seen nothing but black... #

Buble!

# I've been (MUMBLES) something beyond them

# I don't see what I can feel

# But vision is the only validation

# That most of my life is unreal... #

Right stop, that was all Buble!

"Validation, my name's Buble."

Sing it again, try and sing it differently.

# But vision is the only validation

# That most of my life is unreal... #

I don't think it's possible to de-Bublise Tom,

at this point in his life.

I think we've planted the seed, and that's great,

we've set him off into different directions,

which is great, but four sessions is not enough.

It's really important that we challenge all of our performers.

I was impressed with Steve in his first vocal session,

but I've sent him something different,

that I believe will be a great fit for his voice.

# No woman, no cry

# No woman, no cry... #

When I first found out I'd got diagnosed with Tourette's,

I was very...

I didn't know what to think about the actual word, what it meant.

Steve has had Tourette's since he was seven,

and lives at home with his mum, Jayne.

He'd come home and he'd say,

"There's something going on in my head and I can't help it."

I was like, what is this? I thought, is this what life's all about?

I wasn't excited about life, cos I'm a kid

and I need be all excited and I need to have some drive,

I should have loads of friends, I should be doing all these things.

Look out! It's got a lot worse. Fuck. Just ticing loads more.

# No woman, no cry

# No woman, no cry

# Hey, little sister

# Don't shed no tears

# No woman, no cry. #

You know when we were in London,

did you sing me a Coldplay track, or something?

Trouble.

And you could hear all the tone in your voice,

it was just sort of made for it, and I don't feel like...

-No Woman No Cry.

-..shows it.

I totally felt like that as well, to be honest with you,

but I just thought that was what I was stuck with

-and that's what I've got to do, so...

-Oh, no, nothing's set in stone.

I think we could something a little bit more creative or better,

-I don't know, really, it's a bit...

-I agree with you. Yeah, I agree.

It's now only six weeks until we'll all be here in this studio

in front of a live audience.

With Steve and Tom not as versatile as I'd hoped for,

Ruth ticing during her performance for the first time ever,

and Emilly's confidence on the floor, I'm hoping our youngest

singer, Jake, will be blossoming under pressure.

Have you tried Young Folks, Peter, Bjorn and John?

-I have, but I...

-Did you not like it?

-No.

Why did you not like it?

I don't know, I just really didn't like the song.

What's happened to your hand?

Tourette's punched the wall a couple of time, so...

You're kidding me? Oh, man, what have you done?

-Have you fractured something?

-No I've just bruised it.

-Whoa, whoa.

-OK. Fuck off.

We're not making this worse, are we, in any way,

-by stressing you out and all this?

-No, no.

-Are you sure?

-No, it's just like the song

I just can't get it to suit my voice,

like, I find it really hard.

What were the other songs that we were looking at, Jo?

We've got The A Team, Ed Sheeran,

what do you think about that? Let's have a go at that.

You sing an Ed Sheeran anyway, don't you?

I've seen you sing an Ed Sheeran song before.

What do you normally sing?

I sing all his, like Lego House and, what's it, Wake Me Up.

Oh, that's beautiful! Have you heard him do that?

Yeah, no, I've not heard Jake sing that.

I'd love to hear A Team, as well.

# White lips, pale face

# Breathing in snowflakes

# Burnt lungs, sour taste

# Light's gone, day's end

# Struggling to pay rent... #

At last! This is really encouraging.

Jake's clearly a massive Ed Sheeran fan,

and I've got to admit he's doing a pretty good job.

# Sells love to another man

# It's too cold outside

# For angels to fly

# To fly

# To fly

# Angels to die. #

Jake lives in Bristol with his dad and his mum, Julie.

Most of his friends at school probably don't ever see him tic,

but then he comes home from school,

and obviously he has to release those tics. It's like fireworks night.

He goes off like a rocket.

HE TICS

He doesn't have to put up any front in front of us,

but it's hard, you want to protect them at all costs,

and sometimes you can't, that decision is taken out of your hands.

-You need to get your hair cut.

-Cunt.

-It's getting way too long.

-Cunt.

I'm not feeling really nervous about the show,

I'm actually really looking forward to it.

When I first found out about it I was a bit stressed out,

because I was a bit nervous about everything,

the cameras and meeting Reggie and stuff,

but you just get used to it, and it's all good.

Cunt.

I've started to really question if I've asked them all

to take on too much.

I've decided to call in on Ruth and see how

she is after her first voice coaching session didn't go so well.

-Hello, how you doing?

-Very well. Come in, you Jew.

Hi, Ruth! Watch that.

The last time you were with Jo, things got a bit difficult,

because you were ticing while you were singing.

What's going to be different this next time you'll meet up with Jo?

I'm think I'm actually looking forward to it,

I think I'm ready for it, I just feel like

I don't wanna waste any more time! That's the kind of feeling I have.

Was you not looking forward to the first meeting with Jo?

I was, but I was so exhausted, by the time that it came round

I was absolutely shattered where I'd been ticing so much

that day, and I think I then put so much pressure on myself,

because I was so tired, that I was like,

"Right, I need to be OK and raring to go

"and argh, like that,"

and it just didn't go to plan like that.

Ruth has reminded me why I started this journey and how important it is

that I, too, don't get disheartened when things aren't going well.

I've got to find the right song for her.

This is a beautiful song

that's been covered a million and one times,

and I think that if she nails it, it could be really special.

# My love has come along... #

You can just imagine everyone going "Oh,"

that is if she hits the note properly.

The problem with songs like this is that they're so recognisable

they're actually risky, but when you do it right, it's beautiful.

-Helloo!

-Hello. How are you, lady?

Good! Good to see you!

BOTH: To see you nice!

SHE TICS

# At last... #

SLIGHTLY OUT OF TIME

Nice! Lovely!

# My love has come along

OK, from the top, erm and keep it open, so rather than "aeet laeeest,"

which is your tendency, "aeet laeeest,"

keep it open...

# At last... # SHE HOLDS THE NOTE

Obviously not like that. Better than that, obviously,

but, you know, just keep it open.

# At last

# My love has come along

# My lonely days are gone... #

Very nice.

'I'm really relieved her Tourette's didn't interrupt her.'

I'm really thrilled for her, but for me, selfishly, I'm relieved,

it's like she just drew a line under the first session,

that was what happened,

and today she's arrived with a fresh attitude,

and she does a lot of unnecessary embellishing, I think,

and when I called her on that,

she agreed, and I could tell by the look in her eye

that I'd hit the nail on the head, really.

You really need to focus on that diction, think about the words,

make sure we can hear every word that you're singing,

because it's really important, especially right at the beginning.

-Raaah!

-There it goes again!

I've also recruited a drummer for the show and Chris,

our musical director, has been working with 18-year-old student

-Greg from Yorkshire.

-Eight to the hi-hat,

two and four on snare and kick on one and three.

-Kick on one and three?

-Yeah.

-Do you mean...?

HE PLAYS

-Yeah.

-Just keep going?

-Yeah, and do a groove with me, but mean it.

-OK.

Do you know what I mean? That thing that we talked about earlier,

make every one of it count.

He's a good player and he obviously works really hard,

he's a very impressive player. He's not that solid,

he tends to drift a little bit, and to be fair he's knows it,

he mentioned it himself a few times,

so we worked on a few things like that,

but when it comes to playing with the band, for the concert,

he's going to need to be much more solid.

HE SCREAMS

Greg's symptoms first appeared at the age of three,

but he wasn't diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome

until three years later.

MORE SCREAMING

I got bullied, I had problems being in class,

doing the work, I'd be working, I'd snap my pencil.

Quite a lot of the time I can shout out really weird things -

the favourite one at the moment is "chicken."

There's a chicken!

I want to live, not be stuck as,

"Oh, look, the guy with Tourette's,"

I want to be Greg, with Tourette's on the side,

something nobody really cares about.

HE TICS

Today I've got something pretty cool planned.

'I've organised a master class with top drummer Josh McKenzie,

'to get Greg ready for the show.'

Well, obviously we've had you play with Chris,

and, you know, you're starting to get a bit of momentum going,

but I figured what could really help you be to play with a drummer

who I like, I really respect, and I think could teach you a lot.

HE TICS IN EXCITEMENT

I take that as a good thing.

Let's see how we can work it out.

Josh has played with some great artists -

Tinie Tempah, Lily Allen and Duffy, amongst others.

So, how do you find it with the bass drum standing up?

There's a lot of dancing going on! Back here, you know...

-Drumming is dancing though, isn't it?

-Oh, yeah.

Today we've dropped in on his rehearsal for Wretch 32's Tour.

Sorry, I'm in a little world of daze here.

This is better than being high.

I've never been high, but I'm sure this is better.

Well, all right, cool!

We're getting high right now, so let's just go deeper.

-Get high on drums.

-Yeah, that's it, baby!

HE TICS

HE MIMES A DRUM BEAT

On our first gap. Two, three, four.

The opening line, two, three four.

HE MIMES THE DRUMBEAT

-Yeah?

-OK.

All right, let's do it. Here we go, one, two, three, four.

Two, three, four!

Two, three, four!

-That was awesome!

-You don't need me at all.

-I do.

-No, you don't.

You're very daring, you've just got it in you,

you say you've been playing for three years,

you're a bit more daring than expected!

You're a bit fearless on here.

I think that's a good trait to have, being a drummer.

You're spamming on these things man,

you could do this all day, bruv!

Oh, yeah! I really could! Thank you very much.

You're pretty incredible, man. I mean, in three years...

I think we should hang out a lot more.

Oh, that would be nice!

I think we should do that. That'd be really helpful.

# It's empty in the valley of your heart

# The sun, it rises slowly as you walk... #

I have to admit that ever since I gave up trying to push Steve

into a radically different musical style he's improved massively.

# But I will hold on hope

# And I won't let you choke

# On the noose around your neck

# Cos I'll find strength in pain

# And I will change my ways

# Know my name as it's called again. #

Hopefully I can just relax

and just enjoy every moment of it really, I'm buzzing about it,

can't wait, so excited. I'm just like, "Fuck, come on!

"Come on!"

It's four weeks until the live show

and as individuals they're making real progress,

but there's one more challenge our show needs a group finale.

MUSIC: "Someone Like You" by Adele

Today's definitely going to be an important day

in what we're trying to achieve,

because we're trying to nail that finale,

get that final song sorted.

Now the end of the show is normally the thing

that most people remember, you know,

it's the thing that people leave with, so it has to be good.

Yeah, to say I'm a little bit scared about that

would be an understatement.

# I hate to turn up out of the blue uninvited

# But I couldn't stay away I couldn't fight it... #

Together with Jo and Chris,

I've put together a shortlist of songs for them to try.

Do you know this one?

# I see you driving round town With the girl I love

# And I'm like Forget you, ooh-ooh-ooh

# I guess the change in my pocket

# Wasn't enough, I'm like

# Forget you and forget her too

# Although there's pain in my chest... #

-Touching her breasts.

-Breasts!

# Forget you Ooh-ooh-ooh... #

Cunt, twats.

-What did you think about that?

-Are you not into it, Steve?

No, I like it, but it's just been played

so much that... It's killed it.

-Roadkill.

-Ha, ha, roadkill!

I eat roadkill!

# So I'm waiting

# I put on a show

# Now I make it

# You say I'm a kid

# My ego is big

# I don't give a shit... #

-Shit!

-Shit!

MUSIC: "One Day Like This" by Elbow

-Elbow!

-Elbow!

-Elbow!

-Elbow!

-Elbow!

-Elbow!

This is going to be harder than I imagined.

I hadn't thought about the fact that they all tic

during the quiet sections of the songs.

# Laugh politely and repeat...

Holy cow!

# Holy cow, I love your eyes... #

-Not keen on that one?

-No. Stay down.

-It stays the same.

-It's not a group song!

It's like that ain't it...

I hate this song. Fat cunt.

-Do you really hate this song?

-It's all right.

It's a great song, Steve, what are you talking about?

It is a good song.

-You just don't like Take That?

-I do, it's just, I dunno...

# Today, this could be

# The greatest day of our lives!

# Stay close to me

# Stay close to me

# Watch the world come alive tonight

# Today, this could be... #

Take That's Greatest Day looks like the best option so far.

They manage to get through most of the song before the ticing starts.

# Ooh, and the world comes alive

# And the world comes alive

# The world comes alive tonight

# Stay close to me, whoa... #

Fuck off!

It just feels like we're pulling out the Disney club.

-I'm gonna cock someone.

-Hey, I'm a chicken.

What do you think, guys?

Ruth's saying it sounds like a Disney Club.

It's like we're coming out...

I used to be on Disney Club, and it definitely doesn't,

because we couldn't sing!

-Fuck off.

-Fuck off.

Maybe we should chat about what could work with your voices.

Yeah, shall we have a break?

-Have a break.

-Have a Kit Kat!

I would rather do Maroon 5, but that one it just feels like...

It feels like...

-I don't like Rolling In The Deep.

-You know.. I don't like Adele.

Too girly.

-You don't like Adele!

-Fuck off.

-Tree.

# Hello! Penis, penis.

-# I want a penis and I want one now. #

-I'll have a wee!

I'll have a pooh.

What sounded best to you guys? What did you like most?

Tax evasion.

We're kind of saying Moves Like Jagger.

OK, and what was your least favourite

-from the songs that we tried?

-Greatest Day!

I didn't like Greatest Day really or, I dunno.

What is it about that song that you don't like?

We were saying that the actual feeling of the song...

Greatest Day, specifically?

Yeah, Greatest Day. ..was just too...

Sympathetic.

Yeah, "look at us, we've got Tourette's,

"we want loads of sympathy."

When I first saw the title, the first thing I thought was,

"Oh, look, bless em."

Whenever I hear that it rubs me up the wrong way a bit, because...

Rub it the right way, then!

If I could, I would, Ruth!

But I think that the last thing I'd want is for this to be

a "didn't they do well?" type of situation.

You need to look at look at our what our criteria is based on,

and that is, is it could or not? Do you sound good singing it?

You know, vocally, I think this one would show us off,

because of the range, Greatest Day, because of the range in it...

-Fuck off.

-..it would allow voices to do that,

but will people get to know us enough to see past all the movement,

and all the sounds to say, "you know what, they're bloody good singers,"

rather than, you know, "Well done, they got there in the end."?

If you continue to allow what you think other people

might think about you, to decide what you do or don't do,

I think this whole process has almost been completely meaningless.

We don't want to be ruled by other people's, you know, opinions,

-we want to have our own...

-Cunt.

We want to be us, not what other people want us to be.

# Today, this could be

# The greatest day of our lives

# Before it all ends

# Before we run out of time... #

-Steve, can I ask could you play this on the piano?

-Can I?

-No!

-Yeah. Yeah, probably. I'd have to learn it.

-Yeah. That's cool.

-Can you play it on your penis?

-Maybe.

TICS TRUMPET SOUND

I think it's probably worth...

What the fuck!

..when your working on it at home,

if there are any harmonies that jump at you,

and that naturally you go towards, then come back with those next time.

I can't believe it, individually they've come on,

but together it's really not working.

Crap.

I don't know, I'm surprised it's this hard.

-I thought this was the easy bit.

-Did you really?

I thought we'd come in with some songs,

they were gonna sound great. We'd have a group number...

No, you've not been with 'em all.

..then we'd go and have a big lunch.

And it hasn't worked out like that.

This process with singers will be difficult,

but the process with singers who have Tourette's

is three times as hard,

because there's so much stuff to take into account, you know

their emotions, their egos and their Tourette's,

how their tics affect their performance,

how their tics affect each other,

there is so much to think about and I almost feel as if

I've taken for granted how difficult this process really is.

You ready? Ha, ha!

Yeah, you are. Come on it's only us love, it's only us!

# I get so... # No, I'm sorry.

-Tell me what's the matter.

-I just... I dunno.

I just don't want to do it.

Do you want to take a minute? Come and have a minute with me. Come on.

'This is getting worse.

'Not only is the group song a shambles,

'but now Emilly's confidence is on the floor again.

'With the live event fast approaching,

'I really need to think of something

'that's going to boost their confidence

'and take their performances to the next level.'

# They say she's in the class A Team... #

Jake hasn't quite nailed the Ed Sheeran song,

so I've arranged a helping hand for him.

How you doin'? Good to see you, Ed, you all right? Nice.

Grab a seat, fella. Thank you so much for coming down.

'Double Brit Award-winner Ed Sheeran

'has been performing since he was 14 years old.'

-How was it?

-Yeah, it was good, did Empire State Of Mind, Jay-Z.

Oh, really?!

Just through there, down that corridor,

there's a little recording studio

that we've got a young guy called Jake in,

who's having a session with our vocal coach, Jo.

Now, the show that we're doing it's about young people with Tourette's

and Jake obviously has Tourette's,

like I spoke to you on the phone about,

and he's been working on your song for a long time

and he's a huge, huge fan.

-Any advice you could give the lad I think would be amazing.

-Course.

Shall we go and surprise him and try not to make him jump too much?

Of course, let's do it.

# White lips, pale face Breathing in snowflakes

# Burnt lungs, sour taste

# Loose change, bank notes Weary eye, dry throat

# Call girl, no phone

# And they say she's in the class A Team

# Stuck in her daydream

# Been this way since 18... #

Didn't want to disturb you there, Jake,

you seemed like you were kinda busy.

I saw everyone laugh and I couldn't believe it!

-How you doing, man?

-Pleased to meet you.

Jake, I was thinking when I heard you rehearse last time

that it would be kinda nice for you to maybe get a bit of advice

from somebody who knows that song quite well,

so I figured I'd bring Ed down.

What do you think about young Jake?

I think he sounds great, man, it's really cool

and I love way you're putting the song together, it's really cool.

Are you all right there, are you going to fall over?

-No, I just can't believe it!

-Come over here, let's have a seat.

Jake, why don't you - oh, sorry, Jo -

why don't you tell Ed a little bit about your Tourette's? Sit down.

Tell him a bit about your Tourette's and as well as that

tell him about how important singing has been to you.

Yeah, I've had Tourette's since 2009, but I've had tics since I was three.

And every time I sing,

my Tourette's sort of goes away and I don't tic at all.

I actually had a stammer from the age of around four or five

to the age of 11 until I started singing,

and it did exactly the same thing,

I, kind of, didn't stammer at all when I was singing

and the more I did it, it actually acted as a kind of therapy

and now I don't stammer at all

so it can actually act as a good help, as you can see.

# And they say she's in the class A Team

# Stuck in her daydream

# Been this way since 18 But lately

# Her face seems slowly sinking, wasting

# Crumbling like pastries They scream... #

I'm really impressed with Jake -

if he can sing like this in front of Ed himself

he shouldn't have any problem

performing in front of a live audience.

# It's too cold outside

# For angels to fly

# To fly, to fly

# For angels to die. #

Yes, Jake! Nicely done.

Nicely done, fella.

It's probably a really tough question to ask,

cos obviously it's your song,

but how does someone like Jake make that his own?

-JAKE TICS

-It's all about...

Well, for one, the "It's too cold" -

singing that in full voice

is something I haven't heard a lot of times,

and that's a very cool thing, so thank you for doing that.

But, you know, just his whole vocal tone...

-JAKE TICS

-..and his approach on the song

would be making that his own, I guess.

# Kiss me like you wanna be loved

# You wanna be loved

# You wanna be loved

# This feels like falling in love

# I've fallen in love

# Fall in love. #

Nicely done, fella. Nicely done!

I've just met Ed Sheeran and he played the guitar for me.

I touched his guitar and I sang with him, and now my life is complete.

I think he's taken something from today

and that was the whole point of it,

not just for him to meet someone he likes,

but to learn how to sing that song better and to make his performance,

for what we're trying to pull off, all the more strong.

So today's been a good day.

# Someone like you

-# Oh-oh, whoa-oh. #

-Ooh.

I love it when you sing straight like that

and you can just hear the pureness of your tone and the quality...

It sends shivers down my spine, I just love it.

# Oh, oh-oh

# Whoa-oh

# I've been roaming around Always looking down at all I see... #

Lovely.

Did you work on control with Ruth or something?

Cos it almost seems like it's a much more measured performance now.

I think I just used a few carefully placed words.

You commanded me! By the Force! JO LAUGHS

'It's my last session with Jo and I'm feeling a little bit sad

'cos it's the end of it! What am I going to do now without Jo?!'

I've come on so far in such a short space of time,

from me starting off in there

and actually not being able to sing at points...

SHE TICS ..and my tics interfering with that

and then sometimes knowing I could potentially do well,

but not being able to show it when it counted

and that really got me frustrated and more mad,

but I've finally managed to just let go and enjoy the process...

SHE TICS ..and if I start doing it now

I just feel like I'm going like that

and so, come the live show, I'm really excited for that.

# Pack up your troubles In your old kit bag

# And bury them beneath the sea... #

Jo's got Emilly in front of a mic again

singing Eliza Doolittle's Pack Up.

She's sounding good but I'm still worried that her lack of confidence

will get in the way of her performance on the night.

# Tweet tweet-tweet-tweet Tweet-tweet-tweet... #

Hidden in the control room watching Emilly sing, I've got Eliza herself.

You could do more there.

# Pack up your troubles in your old kit bag

# Don't worry 'bout the cavalry

# I don't care... #

-Do you want to say hello?

-Hello!

-Eliza, meet Emilly.

Hello! Nice to meet you!

I've been in there for the last five or ten minutes

and you sound amazing.

-You sound brilliant.

-Thank you.

-Your voice is beautiful.

Did you, for quite a while,

get really nervous on stage then, when you performed?

Yeah, I'd totally hide behind my hair now I try and wear it up

and try and be a bit more, like, shoulders back and just sing,

but I used to really like... I was almost quite emo with it,

I was just like...

But, yeah, I'm still trying to get over lots of that

and trying to just be myself, and be happy to be me, you know?

Is there any way you could help Emilly with another rehearsal?

Sure, I wouldn't know what to say, though,

because, honestly, you're almost there -

I think it's just about knowing that you're good,

I think that's just all you need.

I've never seen you just grab the mic and hold it.

Do you not like to do that? It frees you up a little bit more.

Yeah, I guess, because I like to hide behind the stand, in a way, I guess.

Well, then you're definitely have to have the mic.

This is the new challenge.

What do you do about movement, then, Eliza?

I think I always try and move around quite a lot, especially on stage,

because you're trying to get to the whole audience

and I love making eye contact with people

because whether it freaks them out

or they just want to jump up on stage with you,

it's just so much fun to, like,

tell the story to every person you see

and try to reach every single person in the audience.

We'll be the audience, and why don't you guys perform to us

and you can, sort of, help her move around a bit.

Well, yeah, I don't exactly do 'N Sync-like dance moves either,

but just, like, feel it,

I can see you're feeling it when you're singing it,

so I guess it's just about, kind of, just feeling it.

You don't have to break into a dance routine or anything.

Right, let's have a go, then,

and if you want to do a dance routine, it's fine.

I'd love that, that'd be amazin'.

# Pack up your troubles In your old kit bag

# Don't worry 'bout the cavalry

# I don't care what the whisperers say

# Cos they whisper too loud for me. #

-Change the a dance move!

-I can't! THEY LAUGH

Give her another one, Eliza, she's mastered that!

Keep going for the chorus, something else for the chorus.

There you go, two moves for the whole song.

Keep going, keep going.

# Pack up your troubles in your old kit bag

-# Don't worry 'bout the cavalry. #

-The arm's moving, the arm's moving!

Keep moving the arms!

THEY LAUGH

Do you know what, though?

some people don't, like, just aren't, like, movers at all,

but you actually can move, though, so you should use it if you want!

'I was so much more confident today,

'I sung it all the way through.'

I wasn't so self-critical, I actually moved

and I, kind of, I guess, felt like I had to step it up

because she was there,

because I didn't want to look stupid in front of her. It was good.

# Well, I need a dollar, dollar A dollar is what I need... #

Jo's hardest job has been the de-Bublising of Tom -

unbelievably, I think she's almost there,

but I'm hoping Brit Award nominee Aloe Blacc might just help him out.

# Said I need a dollar, a dollar A dollar is what I need

# Who can help me take away my sorrow?

# Maybe it's inside the bottle...

# Maybe it's inside the bottle... #

-Yeah!

-THEY LAUGH

I saw you in the f...

I didn't know... Oh, my God.

Well, look, Tom you've been working on this song for so long

I figured why not get someone

who could definitely give you some advice

when it comes to performing it,

-the man who wrote it himself, Aloe Blacc?

-How you doin'?

How are you feeling about the song at the moment?

Cos, I mean, the actual show isn't that far away, mate,

and if ever there was a time to get some advice

to get your performance nailed, it's now.

So is there anything you want to ask this man?

Erm, if you were in my shoes,

if you really wanted to show it off, like, what would you give in,

give into it to really show that you've got it,

if you know what I mean.

The most important thing is to be yourself,

to sing the songs that you feel represent you.

The voice that I hear is unique,

so let's not hear someone else's voice when you sing.

-That was?

-Yes, that was unique.

That was something that I think was very you, OK?

Stick with that and remember, when you're singing, you're in control!

-We're here to see you!

-Nice one.

-Mate, thanks ever so much.

-Yeah.

# Well, I need a dollar, dollar A dollar is what I need

# Hey, hey, I need a dollar, dollar A dollar is what I need... #

'It was the first time they've heard Tom,'

it wasn't a Michael Buble-sounding song.

Obviously if I want to make a career out of this

you have to be yourself, you have to find your own personal market

and you have to wow the people out there, the public,

with something completely brand-new

cos that's what will make them want to listen to you

and that's when you start to make it.

# Today this could be

# The greatest day of our lives... #

'Suddenly things seem to be clicking into place.

'Confidence levels are up and the show's two weeks away -

'now we only need to sort the group song for the finale.

'I just hope it's more successful than the last time we got together.'

THEY TIC

# Today this could be

# The greatest day of our lives

# Stay close to me

# Watch the world come alive tonight

# Stay close to me

# Tonight this could be

# The greatest night of our lives

# Tonight

# Tonight

# Stay close to me. #

Cool.

We need to get a hold of that outro.

And it's kind of dying on its arse a bit.

-Aren't you happy with it, Jo

-No!

-You're not?

-No, I'm not!

It can get better, Jo, don't make them feel awful!

-It's going to get there, though, right?

-It's the outro.

Yeah, I sort of noticed that it seems when you guys aren't singing,

-you're ticking, which is strange...

-THEY TIC

..because when you're singing on your own that doesn't happen at all.

-THEY TIC

-Why do you think you're ticking

-when you're not singing?

-Cos we've got Tourette's.

THEY TIC

There's your answer!

I love you so much. I love you so much, that's brilliant.

'The Take That song that we're working on at the moment'

doesn't sound great, so we've got to find a new song,

get everyone comfortable with it,

and we're only going to have about half a day to rehearse it.

I don't know what song we're going to choose

and I don't know who's going to sing what part,

but I do know it's got to change.

Next time, it's show time.

But there's a crisis.

Do you think she's actually going to get to perform?

I don't know.

Oh, man!

Time's run out...

..and now they must put on the performance of their lives.

Shut up.

I don't know which way this is going to go.

# We could have had it all

# Rolling in the deep

# You had my heart inside your hand

# But you played it You played it, you played it

# You played it to the beat. #

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd