Gary Barlow: On Her Majesty's Service The Queen's Diamond Jubilee

Six months ago, Andrew Lloyd Webber and I were given the honour of

writing a special song for the Queen to celebrate her Diamond Jubilee.

This is the story of the making of that song.

It would be really enjoyable to have something

-with these different sounds.

-I know.

Our mission was to capture the sounds

of the Queen's proudest achievement - the Commonwealth.

I could listen to that for hours.

I set out to find musicians from different cultures and backgrounds,

record them on their home turf and blend them into one record.

Wow! This is great fun. I want to be in your band!

I'd never done anything like this before

and I wasn't even sure it could be done.

A day to remember.

One I'll never forget.

'And my last stop would be the most nerve-wracking -

'playing our record to the Queen.'

No pressure!

# Listen as the wind blows to me

# I know the dreams will tell me

# And all it is is answers... #

This is the Silver Jubilee, 1977,

a garden party for the whole street in our back garden.

Both Nans are there.

Look, all the kids in the street.

Here we all are, celebrating.

Oh, there's me, wanting to be noticed.

I mean, a lot of those people, they're not people

we used to see every day - everyone just invited everybody.

It brought everybody together.

Do you think? Yeah...

I mean, it's nice.

Is it weird?

Well, I think, I don't know whether we need...it's very pretty.

Yeah, but we need a key word when we don't like each other's ideas,

so you should say, "That sounds great for the Platinum Jubilee,

"you should use that for the Platinum Jubilee." OK?

Yes, OK.

So do you think I should save that one for the Platinum Jubilee?

There's a touch of the Platinum there.

Ah, OK! So let's slow down a little touch.

ANDREW PLAYS A SEQUENCE OF CHORDS

# Listen to... #

BOTH LAUGH

OK, let me try this on top of it.

HE ADDS A MELODY LINE

And now to A flat.

-I like that.

-That's lovely, yeah.

And keep it going.

Yeah, yeah, that's nice.

# Ta da da-da... #

We're telling everyone today what we're doing.

We've been hiding it for so long.

# ..do dee-do. #

I quite like that.

Yeah.

'This is letting the country know'

we've been commissioned to do this,

we're taking it seriously, we're going on a journey,

and see you at the Jubilee.

So the reason you came in,

you're in charge of the official single for the Diamond Jubilee.

You're going to write it together and you embark upon Wednesday,

around the Commonwealth, looking for musical influences and people

to take part in that story and that journey, is that right?

-Exactly.

-Who else has been involved in the story so far?

I've heard rumours, whispers, of Prince Charles being involved.

We're hoping to try and get some guidance

from the family of the Queen to try and help us make this thing

something she's going to enjoy.

Are you nervous? Is it a great weight on the shoulders,

-or another fantastic opportunity?

-Great opportunity.

You look a bit more worried, Gary!

'This is quite big, so...'

It still puzzles me,

the whole idea of writing a song for an event like this,

such an important day in the Queen's life, and I want to get it right.

We're going to meet the Prince of Wales today,

so I'm slightly nervous and excited about that.

Young lad from Cheshire!

Your Highness!

-Is there a Gary Barlow in here?

-How are you?

I think I'm all right, thank you very much.

Thank you for inviting us to your house.

There's so much he's experienced around the world, musically,

that I want to find out about.

Here we are, the Click Song, let's see.

'Prince Charles was keen to play me some of the world music he'd heard on his travels.'

VOCAL SOUNDS ON RECORDING

That's right. You see - unng - you can't!

VOCAL MELODY WITH CLICKS

SOUNDS RESEMBLING A PLUCKED STRING INSTRUMENT

-That's the mouth making that noise?

-Yes, yes.

Amazing pictures. If we can see a fraction of this...

There's a well known musician here.

BOTH LAUGH

That's me in disguise.

Much better shaven.

The difficulty sometimes is digging out where these characters are

because they're not always in the main street,

but then you find marvellous things going on in little corners.

Yeah, well, we need to travel, clearly.

These instruments are fascinating.

Aren't they wonderful? Do you see, what IS that?

Actually, you must get these. It would be really enjoyable

-to have something with these different sounds.

-I know.

For me, it's about picking elements of this music,

-pulling it out and adding it to our record.

-Exactly.

Is it just one single?

It's one single.

But you could use all these people!

We could, actually. We could make an ensemble,

-a three-and-a-half minute ensemble. Absolutely we could.

-Fantastic.

It's daunting, but I like a challenge.

I'm going to go off travelling and find these amazing musicians.

You're really good to do it.

-Thank you, sir.

-The Queen will be thrilled you've taken such trouble.

-RADIO JINGLE:

-The Chris Evans Breakfast Show - good morning!

'The order from the Palace said "we want you to include the Commonwealth".

'And so I'm actually going to go round the world

'recording unique musicians and adding them to this record,

and the very last thing...'

The Commonwealth is massive.

All right? Like, massive.

I mean, massive massive.

Antigua, Australia, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize.

No way on Earth we can get round all of these countries.

..Papua New Guinea, Rwanda, St Kitts and Nevis. I got married in Nevis.

Without counting every one, it looks like there's about 50.

The truth is it comes back to the record.

We've got to remember that's why we're going.

We're going to give this record

a feel that the Commonwealth's on there.

We want it to sound rich and, you know, full of personality.

There's musicians all over the world

and we've just got to dig them out.

We've got to dig them out and find them.

So with just a simple piano version of the melody

that Andrew and I have written, it's time to hit the road.

I've got to write some lyrics and find musicians

around the Commonwealth who can put their own stamp on this record.

I'm starting my journey near the equator in East Africa, in Kenya.

And there's a very special reason why I've chosen to start here.

I'm at the safari lodge, Treetops, at the very spot where

a young Princess Elizabeth spent the night on February 5th, 1952.

Whilst here, she learned her father had died, and she had become Queen.

I can't imagine being 25 and given this responsibility.

What a task, what a job.

What an undertaking for such a young person.

I thought today would be a brilliant time

to really start bashing the lyric around.

I've taken with me from my session with Andrew

the lyric Sing.

And I thought I'd soak up the environment here

and the historic nature of this site

and see if it brought up any new ideas.

# Sing it louder # Sing it louder

# Sing it # Sing it

# Sing it louder. #

'I couldn't think of anything more perfect, really,'

that we're starting to write the lyric of the song right here

in this historic place

where the Queen found out she was going to be the Queen.

With the lyrics in place, it's time to start recording.

I'm off to see an African children's choir at a remote school

two hours' drive from Nairobi.

I've spent 20 years recording things in dark studios with no light.

We're in Africa.

Look where we are, look at the landscape.

If I was to imagine African music, I think of those choirs singing

with their hands in the air.

That's it, that's what we want.

THEY SING IN THEIR NATIVE LANGUAGE

This is what we've come for.

Oh, yeah!

Wooo!

Wow. Hi!

ALL: Hi.

-How are you?

-ALL: We're fine, thank you.

Good. Do you do everything at the same time?

ALL: Yes.

-Your singing's amazing!

-Thank you.

It really is, it's beautiful.

Do you know about the Queen? Eunice?

She was born in 1926,

and also she made her first speech when she was 14 years old.

Eunice, how do you know that? Where did you learn this?

-School.

-At school?

She likes dogs and horses.

She definitely likes dogs and horses.

-Yes, you?

-She's a great swimmer.

She's a great swimmer? Do you know that for sure?

-Questions for me?

-Yes.

-That's not the deal, I ask the questions!

Are you in the band and at the same time you are singing?

Exactly, I'm in a band. There's four of us, sometimes five.

That could get confusing, so I won't explain that one!

I'm actually here today listening out for voices

hopefully to put on my record, so would you guys be up for trying out

some harmonies and some melodies?

ALL: Yes.

CHOIR SINGS

'This is why I wanted to do this trip,'

I wanted to be set up in the middle of nowhere on a desk,

with all our fantastic technology, battling against the elements.

Because we've had a horrible, windy day, there's dust in all our equipment.

Perfect. That's exactly how I wanted it to be!

'This is the most glamorous studio I've ever been to.'

You move in here. OK.

Now you guys at the back,

you come and fill the gaps in between their shoulders now.

The first line of the song I want you to sing

is the title of the song - Sing.

That's all you say - Sing.

But there's a melody.

The melody goes like this.

# Si-i-i-i-ing. #

So the end of the line each time goes down

and the second time goes up.

With a one, two, three!

# Just si-i-i-i-ing

# Just si-i-i-i-ing

# Just si-i-i-i-ing. #

'It's the feeling you get when you listen to them,

'because music's all about emotion.

'And the emotion that they gave me today was I just feel great.

'I feel great.'

It's good, sounds beautiful.

All of a sudden, I thought, wouldn't it be amazing

to get one of these kids to start the track?

Make sure you stay nice and close to the mic. That's it, here we go.

Some words...

# Some words they can't be spoken

# Only sung

'When Lydia started to sing I got really excited.

'Beautiful voice, really innocent, as well.

'And the little bit of pronunciation that tells you she's not American,'

she's not British, she's from somewhere else.

'And that's the flavour.

'We know we've got the Commonwealth now on this track.'

# So hear a thousand voices

# Shouting love. #

Gorgeous, absolutely beautiful.

'Today we've started the record. That's what's happened.'

All of a sudden, we have symmetry in our track and the Queen's life.

She started her reign here and our song's going to start here.

It's beautiful.

We've made a good start

but I've got many challenges ahead to make a record fit for the Queen.

I'm off now to the Great Rift Valley to visit a Maasai tribe.

This may sound stupid, but I'm a little bit nervous.

They're actually quite daunting, physically and the way they dress.

CHANTING AND SINGING

Wow!

Hello! Nice to meet you.

You're so very welcome.

Daniel, how old are you?

I'm 27 years old.

And do you get married here?

About the marriage, my father

and the father of the girl will arrange the marriage.

You'll pay 10 cows or 15 cows for one wife.

And if I want to get a second wife,

the second wife will be chosen by my first wife.

-Hang on, wait one second. So you've got one wife?

-Yeah.

Your father chooses you another wife?

No, my second wife will be chosen by my first wife.

OK.

THEY SING IN THEIR NATIVE LANGUAGE

Imagine if we could all have three wives who builds our houses

and milks our goats.

It's job done, innit?

Who's to say right or wrong? They're all happy.

It's been amazing to tiptoe into this.

The tribe were keen to be on the record,

so now it was time for them to show me what they could do.

I felt slightly intimidated, just because I didn't know what to do.

To try and describe the sound...

It was like a battle between the men and the women.

THEY SING

This was not going to be straightforward.

-I want to record just a few different things.

-Yeah.

Hopefully we can try and play it into the song somewhere.

It's very difficult to hear, though, because everybody sings at one time.

One, two.

# He-ey-ya. # You sing.

# He-ey-ya. #

Yeah, so here we go. One, two...

# He-ey-ya. #

# He-ey-ya. #

Ready? Wait. One, two...

I've no idea at all how I can use any of that in the record.

'It was just all too much for me to take in.'

It's been lovely, been great seeing this lifestyle

but I'm not on holiday here, I'm trying to make record.

So these next few days are critical for the record itself.

The Maasai have made me realise

just how much of a challenge I've taken on.

There's music everywhere in Africa,

and I'm determined to find a way to make it work on our record.

I want there to be people who've never played on a record on here

but I also want some professionals.

I want people who are well known, and when I researched Kenyan music

Ayub was one of the most successful musicians in this country.

So I'm looking forward to seeing what comes of this session today.

HE SINGS IN HIS NATIVE LANGUAGE

Oh, I loved his track. I loved it.

I could have listened to that for hours.

The only thing missing was I could have got a nice massage

as he was playing it.

That would've been spot on, then.

Hi.

I really hate interrupting you making music.

I'm so intrigued about your instrument.

The good old nyatiti. It's, er...

-What's it called again?

-Nyatiti.

Nyatiti?

-Nyatiti, which translates into "daughter of the clan".

-OK.

Have you spent some time in the UK?

-I busked for about four years in London.

-Did you really?

It was great for me because it gave me

four years to work through my instrument and perfect myself.

'It's a wacky old instrument'

but we've got to get it on this track.

'I play Ayub the piano melody,

'hoping he can add something special.'

RECORDING PLAYS

HE PICKS OUT SOME NOTES

HE PLAYS A VERSION OF THE MELODY LINE

Working with Gary was actually surprisingly easy.

He's very easy going, he's precise and he knows what he wants.

It flowed smoothly.

MELODY LINE REPEATS

I think the word is "save" at this point.

LAUGHTER

'Back in my hotel, and a chance to listen to what I've recorded.'

RECORDING OF AYUB PLAYS

How great was Ayub?

Who'd had ever thought we'd have got that instrument on this record?

And Lydia. I mean, what a star she was.

# Some words they can't be spoken

# Only sung. #

It's sweet, really nice.

Now I need to find some percussion to give the track its backbone.

My search brings me to Kibera.

Just three miles outside Nairobi,

it's one of the biggest slums in Africa.

Nobody knows how many hundreds of thousands of people

are crammed in here.

This is hard to describe. Real poverty at its lowest, lowest level.

It's pretty hard to take it in, I've got to be honest.

It's pretty hard to take it in.

And yet, from this poverty

springs a remarkable group of percussionists

who call themselves the Slum Drummers.

Where did these instruments come from? Have you made them yourselves?

-These are scrap metals.

-I see.

These are plastics that street children collect and sell.

So all of these instruments, it was just rubbish,

it was about to be thrown away?

Everything you have around you, it has music in it.

It has the potential to be an instrument.

It has the potential of music in it.

HE PLAYS A DESCENDING SCALE

Whose invention was this?

Who knew this could make this noise?

We ourselves, we invented it, because we just took a big, big pipe,

a very long pipe - we just hit.

You hit the end?

Yes, we hit at the end, and we heard that that can produce sound.

Goosebumps have happened for the first time

when they started to play.

Music is their lives.

This is their escape from where they live, how they've been brought up.

Yeah, I love music.

Music is in me.

Though everyone here loves music.

It's like a passion we have.

Michael's a sad story.

I didn't actually realise

when I first went to meet them all he was blind.

I guess he's needed music, more so now than ever before.

I was looking round as they were playing and he was lost.

He'd escaped somewhere

for those few minutes.

And, yeah, good on him.

No matter what you go through,

no matter what difficulties you have,

you still have to stay strong.

You don't have to break down

and give up on everything.

You need to keep your head up

and keep focusing on what you want to do.

You're reminded, wow, this is a language we all speak, this is.

How much fun did I have?!

You know, a drum-off! It was great.

Really, I loved it. Loved it.

I think I'll remember that, actually, for the rest of my life.

It was a beautiful moment, to be somewhere like this

which is so far removed from how and where I live.

That connection of music. I'm taking it home with me.

Woooo!

THEY LAUGH AND CHEER

Oh, yeah! Well done! Well done!

I think the problem is this.

THEY LAUGH

That's the problem!

Well done. Amazing. Amazing.

Wow, this is great fun!

I want to be in your band!

Yeah, that's why I was asking you if you'd been in a band.

-You need to give...

-I'm leaving that band!

Forget that band! I'm coming in this band.

Time to record the guys for the Queen.

HE TAPS OUT A RHYTHM

I record their instruments one by one.

I add them into the music on my computer,

working out where they'll fit in.

OK, I think I'm there.

So...I've put you in there.

MUSIC PLAYS

Like it?

Yeah, very much!

Music doesn't really need words for you to understand it.

# Just si-i-i-i-ing... #

THEY WHISTLE

It's like a legacy.

Even after we've gone,

it will be a record that will never be forgotten.

Genuinely, I've met some special people today

and they've really touched me.

And I feel great. I feel motivated now

to get on a plane and finish this record.

MUSIC: "Wonderful World, Beautiful People" by Jimmy Cliff

Next stop, I'm off to the Caribbean and to the realm Jamaica,

one of the 16 Commonwealth countries where the Queen is Head of State.

I've been really looking forward to coming here

and visiting the birthplace of so much music.

First time ever in Jamaica.

Never been here before.

It's pretty off the scale, this place, I've got to be honest.

REGGAE MUSIC PLAYS

We've just arrived here in this market

and already, you know,

the people working in the stalls, they're dancing.

There's music everywhere.

'Remembering what Prince Charles told me

'about digging out characters off the beaten track,

'I'm really keen to explore.

'I'm being led up to a Rastafarian village

'to meet some drummers in the Blue Mountains above Kingston.'

Every time I look up it's getting higher!

Higher and higher!

'I feel like I'm in the middle of nowhere.

'After a two-hour drive from town,

'and now a 45-minute hike up this mountain,

'I'm not sure what to expect.'

-Is this the start of the village?

-Yeah.

Hello, nice to meet you. Nice to meet you.

-He's also a singer.

-He sings as well?

A chanter, and play the drums.

But I'm the singer here.

THEY LAUGH

You're going to be! You're going to be!

Is it finished? Am I finished?

We're going back down!

No, no, you don't meet the priest yet!

He's the priest of the school now.

Oh, he's the priest? Nice to meet you.

There's a very nice smell in the air here.

Everything smells fresh and nice.

-I think it has to do with the altitude.

-Maybe.

-I think we are more than 5,000 feet above sea level here.

-OK.

How do I make one of these?

THEY LAUGH

I want one.

I am impressed by his personality, yes.

I see congeniality there in that person.

I need to try a bit harder.

THEY LAUGH

When I leave today, I'm going to start.

THEY LAUGH

Oh, it is a pleasure, sir.

Brilliant.

The drumming starts

and it's like nothing I've ever seen.

# Raise the voice. #

By special privilege and for royal purpose,

we want to send out a special blessing at this time

for the Kingdom of England.

'The drums are a key part of the Rastafarian religion,

'and I'd love to get a flavour of them on this record.'

It was incredible.

You know, small kids really hitting these instruments

like their hands must be made of steel.

I mean, it was passionate, it was from the heart.

It was brilliant.

One kid who does catch my eye is the priest's son,

12-year-old Selassie.

-Priest?

-Yes, sir?

-Can I see his hands?

-Selassie.

Wow. They play loud, very loud.

I would love to try and get him on the record.

Selassie was great.

His timing was amazing.

You watch the way his hands move

and touch the different parts of that drum.

He really owned that instrument.

Mm, rise up, rise up!

SELASSIE DRUMS

OK. OK.

He's commissioned by the Queen.

I don't think she could have found anyone more equipped

to deal with this work that he is doing.

That's my personal opinion of the brethren.

I'm off on my travels now.

-OK, sir. Guidance, protection and blessings.

-Thank you.

A day to remember.

One I'll never forget.

Bye, everyone!

THEY SHOUT GOODBYES

Now I've got to work out how I use the drums on the record.

The little boy.

DRUM RECORDING PLAYS

Sounds great.

If I just sneak the verse in...

SONG PLAYS

It's good. It's going to work well.

Uhh! Say wha'?

Listen, market! Wow!

# I drink up me rum # And me tongue be dumb

# Me no wan' no girl # Complain at me. #

Jamaica's music is every bit as rich

and authentic as I hoped it would be.

# Iron ball # An iron ball

# Iron ball # An iron ball

# Iron ball # An iron ball

# Me no wan' no girl # Complain at me

# I went upstairs # But the door was locked... #

I'm not the only Brit to be enjoying the culture of Jamaica.

Prince Harry is also here

on his Diamond Jubilee tour of the Caribbean.

I join him at a community project in downtown Kingston

and I'm intrigued to see how Jamaican people respond

when royalty's in town.

The whole street outside, everyone's going crazy.

Reminds me of my old days in a boy band.

We're starting our recording.

We've done some already this morning for the Diamond Jubilee song.

-Yeah?

-Yeah. We're here all week

and we're hoping to get you on the track tomorrow.

Erm, last time I checked, I can't sing!

-Tambourine?

-Oh, you want me to do a tune?

-There's got to be some tambourine.

-OK, well...

-Just one hit?

-One hit, I don't know.

It's going to cost you!

Bob Marley's One Love.

THEY PLAY "ONE LOVE"

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

I think it must be lovely for him to come out here

and see this reaction.

People love the Royal Family here. There's no question about it.

They've turned out in their droves.

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

After all the excitement, I catch up for a quiet chat with the prince.

How are you? You all right?

-Yeah, not too bad.

-Good.

It's a pretty big year for your family, isn't it?

It's a massive year, yes.

I can't speak for the rest of my family,

but I've slightly taken my grandmother for granted

over the years and this tour has really opened my eyes

to the achievements that she's done.

The response to people celebrating the Queen's Diamond Jubilee

has been absolutely amazing, it really has.

I have to ask, just because I've got you here,

but we are in charge of doing this song for the Diamond Jubilee.

Any tips from you, as to what your grandmother likes musically, or...?

It's been a very difficult challenge, this has, for us.

I don't know whether to say that honestly or not!

Other than drum and bass, is there anything else she...?

-If it spans across cultures, she's going to love it.

-Yes.

If it's really, really loud and modern music,

-then she's probably not.

-OK.

She's an amazing woman and she'll love anything.

-She's seen it all.

-Of course.

And so you couldn't surprise her.

Or maybe you could, I don't know. Try!

I'm desperate to get you on this record.

I want you to play on it.

I've got a tambourine here.

It's going to be painless, believe me!

All I want is two tambourine hits.

One like this.

Like what? Like...

Literally that. Just that. Literally one tap.

And one more like this.

Nice! That was the ring.

I've loved this week.

I've loved getting out there and going to places

I know, as a tourist, I'd never have been to or seen.

There's music definitely I've found here

I'd have never heard before.

I've opened my ears to Jamaica and what they've got to offer.

Music superstar Gary Barlow has arrived back in Australia.

First stop in here at Sunrise.

Tell us about the trips.

You've been to Jamaica, to Kenya, you're now here in Australia.

Yes, we're on a mission at the moment

because we're doing a one-off, unique song for the Diamond Jubilee.

It's going to be a lot of influences from all over the world,

and it's going to have this worldly sound to it.

-Good to see you, Gary.

-Nice to see you.

-Safe travel!

Still ahead, when she was a he...

'Driving through the outskirts of Sydney,

'there was one house I couldn't miss.'

Look at this!

Oh, my goodness!

Wow!

HE LAUGHS

Prince Charles sat in his seat.

Oh, this is class.

Shall we knock on? This way.

Between the Beefeaters.

-I think I'm looking for Janet.

-Hello!

Hello, I'm Gary. Nice to meet you.

-Pleased to meet you. Welcome here.

-Thank you, thank you.

-And I'm Philip.

-Philip?

-Yes.

-That's a royal name.

-It certainly is!

Oh, my goodness!

You are officially royal mad.

I'm a nutter.

Wow.

Yeah.

Every cupboard in this house, if I open, has royalty in it.

Here.

Every time you eat, they're sat with you.

They're not much company, I can tell you.

Just in case. Just in case.

Oh, here we go.

That is wonderful.

All just for a laugh.

And you use this for real?

-Of course you do!

-Of course you do, it's a throne!

It's got a royal flush!

I get this (SHE SIGHS) real feel about when I see the Queen.

I can be anywhere in the house and the television will be on

and anything to do with Harry or anything, I'm down here.

Just give us an idea of this whole collection, what...?

?The cost of it?

Oh, Philip, I think you're needed.

Philip, you're needed over there.

You go over there.

It has to be hundreds of thousands. Don't tell him, for God's sake!

-400,000 or 500,000?

-Oh, it would have to be!

-More?

-Yeah.

-Do you think it's worth it?

Course it is, every penny of it!

Janet's astonishing collection is a reminder

that the Queen is also Australia's monarch

and is held in affection by many people here.

Time to get some Aussie music.

I'm heading deep into the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney.

I've arranged to meet with Gurrumul,

an aboriginal musician who's been blind since birth.

He's a unique performer with an unusual voice,

and I'm really looking forward to seeing him play.

GURRUMUL SINGS TRADITIONAL SONG

'Gurrumul's friend Michael travels everywhere with him.'

Are you Gurrumul's translator?

Does Gurrumul speak English?

Gunga - which means a little bit.

A little bit, OK. Does he understand everything I'm saying?

Yeah, most of it.

I need to tell him that experience was absolutely gorgeous,

listening to him sing, it really was. I wanted to join in, actually.

I listen to your song and I obviously couldn't understand

any of the words, but it just sounds so beautiful.

-It's such a flowing, lyrical, beautiful language, you know?

-Yep.

Some languages are quite harsh, I think.

I know that Gurrumul has played for the Queen before.

-Yeah, a couple of times.

-A couple of times?!

Yeah, aboriginal people love the Queen. She's such a constant.

They love structure and hierarchy

and things that don't change so much.

And for her head to be on the currency,

you know, that speaks a lot.

I was fascinated to see what he was going to do with our track.

It was very emotional when he played.

He made the classic acoustic guitar feel like...

a really different instrument.

Yeah, I was absolutely drawn in.

But then when he sings, oh, my goodness.

It's actually not a loud voice but it's high

and it's, oh, so passionate, it's gorgeous.

He warmed to me a little bit.

I couldn't get any words out of him at the start

but he was starting to have a little laugh and a giggle by the end.

If you just sing those two lines over and over...

Over and over.

...what I can do is make tracks of them

-so it sounds like there's six of you singing it. It'll sound big.

-OK.

Really nice for me to sit and record with him, sat next to each other,

because he's done that classic trick

where he knows more English than he cracks on to know.

Which is good, it's a good way of being. The French are like that!

Meeting Gurrumul in the mountains

was one of the most uplifting experiences I've had on this trip.

But now, I've got a special appointment

in one of the most iconic buildings in the world.

When I think of the Commonwealth, I always think of Australia,

and when I think of Australia, I think of the Sydney Opera House.

And the fact that we're here today,

recording the Sydney Symphony Orchestra,

it's just a big milestone for our record.

(Check this out.)

It's so important to me that the record has a rich, orchestral feel,

so I've had a score written for 50 instruments.

The whole time we've been planning the track

the one thing we always said was, "Wouldn't it be a dream

"to go to Sydney and record in the Opera House?"

And so it's such a pleasure for us to be here today.

So thank you, everybody, for coming.

ORCHESTRA PLAYS SWEEPING MELODY

The most amazing bit of being here is if I remind myself

of being stood on the edge of that slum, recording the Slum Drummers,

this is another world to them.

This place doesn't exist.

I feel lucky every time I record an orchestra because it's such a treat.

People pay money for tickets like this, and we're front row.

It's just brilliant, I love it.

If I could do this every day, I would.

These moments, these are the golden moments.

The track's building

so you're interested to then start experimenting

with some of the instruments we've already got, like Ayub.

How's he going to work?

Sounds great.

You wonder, what's the Slum Drummers going to sound like in there?

There they are,

on their instruments made of rubbish.

Here comes Gurrumul.

It's all working.

First and foremost, I was a musician when I started.

My one passion was playing the piano. I absolutely loved it.

I used to rush home from school at lunchtime, play for an hour,

go back to school, get home from school, play all night.

And when I look back now, the day I started to sing,

I kind of lost it.

I lost the musician in me somewhere.

Being a part of this has given what I do a bit more validity

and it makes me feel like we've done something really good here.

And it's something I'll remember in my career forever.

My final stop is one of the most remote places I've even been.

Yet even here, their Head of State is our Queen.

I'm on one of 1,000 islands dotted in the Pacific Ocean

that make up the Solomon Islands.

And I'm feeling a long way from home.

Ah, the rain.

It hasn't stopped raining since we've arrived.

But not just rain. I'm used to rain. I come from the north-west, right?

I'm used to lots of rain.

But this is like someone's just throwing buckets from the sky.

Tourism, it doesn't exist, really. People don't come here on holiday.

Of course, they only told us that once we got here.

I can't remember the last time I slept in a single bed, actually.

I've arranged to meet the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force Band.

They're the only brass band in the country

and play at all State events.

THEY PLAY "THE FINAL COUNTDOWN"

Today, they're rehearsing for a visit by Prince William and Kate

as part of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

One thing's for sure,

they're very serious about their job.

It's fair to say they've taken the idea of marching

and made it their own, adding a few tasty moves.

One of the joys of being on the other side of the world

is finding the unexpected.

I'll take that little dance routine home with me.

Lullaby, making small babies go to bed, sleep.

Now that bit I do like.

I love children when they go to sleep.

It's the best time of the day!

'There's no doubt about it,

'I live most of my life not in the real world.'

It's been just nice going and meeting strangers, talking to them.

-Let's go again. So you've got the baby...

-You've got the baby.

Dum-dum-dum... Oh, my wife's gonna love this.

I think that's been the piece I've enjoyed most of all.

Thank you.

The rain lets up for a bit,

and I'm drawn to an astonishing sound coming from inside a church.

CHOIR SING POWERFULLY AND MELODICALLY

I haven't heard anything like that,

I haven't heard voices like that,

I haven't heard volume like that. Ever.

OK, good, I think we're going to try and do some recording now,

so I would love,

I would love that sort of volume that you all sang with.

It's such a fantastic, powerful sound. One, two, three.

# We have to celebrate... #

I like working with choirs.

I don't really know what I'm doing, if I'm honest,

but I kind of know what I want.

Smile and loud. Two, three, four.

# Ooh-way ooh-way ooh-way... #

When they're a good choir, like these guys,

they really picked up stuff quickly.

And, yeah, I thought it was enjoyable.

It was really good and we got all the results we wanted today.

The one thing I've really loved to see

is how much the people we've met and recorded,

how much they love music.

I was there when I started.

That's why I played an instrument,

that's why I used to get up and sing - because I loved it,

absolutely loved it.

I've fallen in and out of love with music...

..because I exist in a business.

I'm signed to a major record company.

There's money they build into their profits

because of what I do for them.

And so I remind myself that, now and again,

I need to just play music and enjoy it.

I'm determined...

to try and find that spot again.

LOUD SHOUTING

Oh, my good...

Oh!

Woah, woah!

MAN SPEAKS MALAITAN

MAN RESPONDS IN MALAITAN

Well, we've had some welcomes!

Wow.

Now I feel like we're in the Solomon Islands.

I'm in the rainforest on the island of Malaita.

The tribe have brought me to their village, called Oterama.

This is the welcome song for us into the village.

They seem to think we're somebody important.

I'm going to play along with it so they keep playing.

-ALL:

-Wooo!

'The journey here was six hours on a boat,'

places, you know, way, way, way off the beaten track.

There's no tourists have been here.

Yeah, I feel lucky to have seen what we've seen today.

Mm, gorgeous.

I've been round the world and this is the moment I've been waiting for.

For a feast on the Solomon Islands.

I'll definitely come back.

Even though I have some necklaces,

you seem to have a better necklace than me.

-These are human teeth.

-Human teeth?

-Whose teeth are they?

-Of our ancestors.

Beautiful. Mine doesn't look so good now.

The music's been exceptional.

Everywhere we've been, I think we've got...

incredible players and people on this record.

So many interesting lives we've met and touched, and they've touched us.

We've got to be taking all this home.

Great.

Great. Thank you. Thank you, everyone.

Back in the UK, I'm heading to the famous Abbey Road Studios

in London, to put the finishing touches to the record.

And I'm bringing a few friends with me.

Gareth Malone's Military Wives Choir is perfect

to take the lead vocals.

Abbey Road is my favourite recording studio.

I feel the history in the walls here.

If you were going to finish a record somewhere, have your last day here.

Gary Barlow's here.

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

Is it like that everywhere you go?

I feel like we've found the sound of the Commonwealth

and brought it to this record.

And what better now than to put something really, truly British

on the top of this record?

-Which is where you guys come in!

-ALL:

-Yeah!

For the Military Wives,

who are absolutely red, white and blue right the way through,

to sing for the Queen, for her Jubilee...

I mean, it's a good job we didn't talk too much about that

because I think they would have been in tears. Patriotic tears.

-Good morning, New York.

-Hi.

How is everybody this morning?

Three and...

# Sing it louder # Sing it clearer

# Knowing everyone will hear. #

-Now we've arrived!

-That's national isn't it, yeah?

Good. Right, well, you're in. You got the job. Well done.

It's a joy for me to work with Gary.

It's interesting for me. I come from the classical world

and I think that's been quite a happy marriage, actually.

And what an honour, Gary Barlow called me up

and said, "Do you want to be on a single?" Unbelievable.

# Just sing

# Just sing... #

It's gone brilliantly today. It's very smooth.

Gareth really rehearsed everybody and...

No, it's good.

# Just sing

# Just sing... #

It sounds really big. 70 voices, this is what we need,

this is what the lyric relates to,

it's about standing shoulder to shoulder, saying, "Thanks".

# Just sing... #

I think that sounds great.

Well done, ladies. Round of applause!

I'm shaking!

It's this simple, really - we finish the vocals today,

we mix it tonight and the next person we play it to is the Queen.

No pressure.

I tell you what it is about London -

when I was little and we were going there on our holiday,

it was because the Queen lived there.

That's why it was so exciting.

And I remember distinctly

holding those bars and those railings

and looking through at the house where the Queen lived.

It just seemed untouchable when we looked at the Palace.

There was never any point in my life

I'd ever be the other side of those gates.

How mad is this?

I'm about to meet the Queen.

It's a massive thing for me just to be able to meet the Queen.

It would be for anyone.

Feels like the journey's really coming to its end now.

Gareth and Andrew are here with me today.

They've been a big part of this.

Your Majesty, this is Gary Barlow, who co-wrote the song.

-Good morning.

-Nice to meet you, Your Majesty. Andrew Lloyd Webber.

'We're very excited to tell you about what we've been up to.'

We've actually had tremendous fun. It seemed like a big mission

to start with, but we've had a great time, actually.

-Now I actually went to Treetops.

-Oh, did you?

I thought it would be a lovely place to start.

We found a girl called Lydia.

Her beautiful voice opens and closes the record.

They're called the Slum Drummers and they live in the Kibera slums

and they basically make all their instruments out of litter.

I was so excited to spend the day with these guys

and, actually, they've sort of stayed with me, in a way.

They were really amazing.

I think you've heard Gurrumul before. He's Aborigine,

he's been blind from birth

Oh, yes, I do remember him, yes.

And we sat on this beautiful precipice

-and he played amazingly.

-That's very brave of him.

It is!

So we've had a really exceptional journey.

On a three-minute piece of music, we have about 200 people,

so it's getting rather full.

-So we thought we should play it to you.

-Right.

So, if you don't mind, we're gonna play you the song.

OK, here we go.

# Some words they can't be spoken

# Only sung

# So hear a thousand voices

# Shouting love

# There's a place # There's a time

# In this life

# When you sing # What you are feeling

# Find your feet # Stand your ground

# Don't you see right now # The world is listening

# To what we say

# Sing it louder # Sing it clearer

# Knowing everyone will hear ya

# Make some noise # Find your voice tonight

# Sing it stronger # Sing together

# Make this moment last forever

# Old and young # Shouting love tonight

# To sing we've had # A lifetime to wait

# Wait, wait, wait

# And see a thousand faces celebrate... #

'Today's been amazing.'

It's so much more than a three-minute song, this,

it's a whole story.

To be able to have the time to tell her about that's been great.

-Well, we hope you've enjoyed it.

-Yes, very much so.

There's some beautiful stories and some gorgeous people we've met,

so it's my job, really, to come here and tell her about them.

I would like to present, on behalf of Gary and I,

a copy of the original score.

It's splendid, isn't it? I hope it's a great success, too.

What a great ending.

# Sing it louder # Sing it clearer

# Knowing everyone will hear ya

# Make some noise # Find your voice tonight

# Sing it stronger # Sing together

# Make this moment last forever

# Old and young # Shouting love tonight

# Some words they can't be spoken

# Only sung... #

I feel a lot of things right now. I feel very privileged,

very honoured and very lucky that we've got to do this

and I've got to have seen what I've seen and heard what I've heard.

Because it'll be a part of our lives forever.

# Just si-i-i-i-ing

# Just si-i-i-i-ing

# Just si-i-i-i-ing

# Just si-i-i-i-ing

# Come on and sing it louder # Sing it clearer

# Knowing everyone will hear ya

# Make some noise # Find your voice tonight

# Sing it stronger # Sing together

# Make this moment last forever

# Old and young # Shouting love tonight

# Hear a thousand voices

# Shouting love. #