Episode 2 The Choir

Ten years ago, choirmaster Gareth Malone set out on a mission

to get Britain singing.

THEY SING

-I want to turn this school into a singing school.

-Well, you won't.

What have I taken on?

Since then, he's inspired hundreds of people...

APPLAUSE

Singing brings people together spiritually, socially, it's vital.

..and created 14 very different choirs across the country.

THEY SING

Now Gareth's got a new idea.

To mark the tenth anniversary of The Choir, he's tracking down members

from all the choirs he has formed over the years for a huge reunion.

What I really want is everyone to sing together in one

giant performance, that will be beautiful.

And along the way, he's discovering how being in one of his choirs

has changed people's lives.

Music was definitely a dream for me. Gareth just realised it.

It was just a moment in my life. I'll thank him for ever for that.

If I can sing in front of the Queen

on live telly, then I can pretty much do anything in my life.

But now, he's got two weeks left

to pull off his most ambitious challenge.

This is The Choir times 100.

Can he gather all his choirs together for one final

celebratory performance?

It's like holding a birthday party.

And I haven't got enough canapes.

Over the past two weeks,

Gareth's caught up with members from the first two choirs he created.

Ah! Mate.

Ex-pupils from Northolt High School.

I plan to have a reunion.

-Why not?

-Let's do it.

And those from The Lancaster School.

Boston, how are you?

Is that you?

But for his big reunion to truly represent the past decade,

there are still singers from the 12 remaining choirs to locate.

And he wants to create a super choir of the very best voices

to perform a song his first choir sang ten years ago -

Bridge Over Troubled Water.

At the heart of this reunion I want a fantastic performance.

So I want to contact all the stand-out people from each choir

and bring them together to make one choir of choirs,

something really special.

This is a performance representing ten years of my life.

It has to be fantastic, has to be memorable,

it has to be musically sound, it has to be...it has to be good.

So with just a fortnight to go,

Gareth's search continues with the third choir he created.

Back in 2008, Gareth set off to South Oxhey,

a working-class town in Hertfordshire,

for his biggest challenge to date.

South Oxhey this way.

I had wind in my sails, I'd had two successful projects in schools

and now it was time to take on a town, something bigger.

He spent eight months here trying to get the entire town singing,

after receiving a heartfelt invitation from the local vicar,

Pam Wise.

This is the precinct and you can see it used to be a main road.

It was a bustling high street.

-It's certainly not bustling at the moment.

-No.

The feeling is having been abandoned.

People have been abandoned.

This estate needs a boost.

I came here in 1948 and it's year 2008, right,

nothing's happened yet.

We just need someone or something to get hold of and pull us up.

Gareth's idea was to bring all parts of the community

together by forming one enormous choir that would put the town on

the map and give the people of South Oxhey something to be proud of.

As usual, he had his work cut out.

Can I interest any of you in singing at all?

No? No? No.

Are you interested in being in the community choir?

-No, definitely not.

-Absolutely no way?

-Not at all?

-Not at all.

-You hate singing?

-Yeah.

This is quite depressing.

There was quite a lot of suspicion when I arrived.

It took a little bit of time to wear them down and persuade them

that I was not going to make them look like fools.

Anyone interested in singing?

Anyone at all from South Oxhey interested in singing?

Even one person would be brilliant.

But after ten days of pounding the streets,

his dogged determination began to pay off.

-That's a yes.

-Yes, it is.

A yes! Woo!

I remember Gareth saying to me before the very first session,

"How many do you think would come?"

We were all taking bets beforehand.

I know I think I said about 75 people, hoping for 100.

That should be OK for now.

-LAUGHING:

-Over 300 turned up.

Oh, my goodness!

Good evening.

-Don't...

-THEY APPLAUD

-We're going to need a bigger boat.

-LAUGHTER

Discovering I had one of the biggest choirs in the country.

This will be the tune, this will be the harmony.

I'd never dealt with a choir of that size before.

It was exhilarating but it was daunting.

Two, three and...

# Ba ba ba ba Barbara Ann

Tenors.

# Ba ba ba ba Barbara Ann

-# Ba ba ba ba Barbara Ann

-Oh, Barbara Ann, take my hand

# Barbara Ann

And...

-ALL:

-# You got me rockin' and a rollin'

# Rockin' and a reelin', Barbara Ann

# Ba ba ba ba Barbara Ann. #

We're a choir. Almost.

APPLAUSE

That first session with Gareth, it would be difficult to

exaggerate the buzz at the end of that.

Something quite magical had happened that evening

From then on, the choir met every week.

# Higher and higher. #

You've got to get into that slightly, woo, gospel feel to it.

Ready? Two, three and one.

After a month, Gareth was ready to showcase his new choir to

the rest of the community, but he needed a soloist.

I'd spotted somebody quite early on who I thought could possibly

fit the bill.

Dee was very much on the fringes. You could sense she felt isolated.

She was one of the few black people in South Oxhey

and she was just very much on her own.

-Hello. I saw you skulking at the back.

-Hello.

-Hello, what's your name?

-I'm Dee.

-Hello.

Have you done any singing before?

Yeah, I sing in a church choir.

I strongly urge you to go and sit at that end

-because you'll be lost down this end.

-I am lost.

-Yeah.

-I really regret not being here now.

Come with me. I'll introduce you to someone.

Dee had recently moved into the area with her three children,

and events had left her feeling vulnerable.

I didn't know racism actually occurred until

I lived in South Oxhey.

The first year was just a nightmare.

It was more the teenagers at the back,

congregating at the back of my house,

throwing stones up at my window.

So yeah, not really enjoying living in South Oxhey.

-Thanks, Mummy.

-You're welcome.

I'm not saying everyone in South Oxhey is like that.

I know that's just a small minority.

I like to feel that if I needed to talk to someone,

I needed someone's help, I would like to think there would be someone

around here who I could do that with, that would be nice.

Everyone wants to be liked, don't they?

So, yeah.

I'd seen Dee come to rehearsal after rehearsal and not really

integrate with choir. I wanted her to join in more.

And I felt like the solo was a really good opportunity,

plus she could really sing it well.

-Do you want to have a go at it?

-I'll have a go.

Ladies and gentlemen, Dee.

APPLAUSE

# You know your love

-# Your love keeps lifting me

-Keeps on

# Love keeps lifting me

-# Lifting me

-Lifting me

# Higher and higher

# Now once I was down hearted

# Disappointment was my closest friend... #

My hunch was proved correct because she absolutely had the right style,

the kind of soul, gospel voice.

# And you know he never

-ALL:

-# Showed his face again. #

APPLAUSE

Everybody knew it was right, there was no question it was her.

-Are we in consensus that feels like the solo?

-ALL:

-Yes.

Very good.

APPLAUSE

For the choir's debut performance

Gareth chose the South Oxhey precinct.

It felt absolutely right that we should stand up and claim

the precinct as our rightful place to perform.

I wanted to make everyone in that choir feel a sense of like,

we live...this is our place.

Whatever happens, we keep going.

Even if somebody tries to take me out, OK.

LAUGHTER

Well, just you keep singing.

I knew Dee would be nervous because

she'd had a really difficult time in South Oxhey.

# Higher and higher and higher

-# Now once I was down hearted

-Ooh-ooh-ooh

-# Disappointment was my closest friend

-Ooh-ooh-ooh

-# But then you came and he soon departed

-Ooh-ooh-ooh

# And he never showed his face again... #

-Brilliant, absolutely brilliant.

-It was good, very good.

-Never seen so many people round South Oxhey.

-Yeah.

South Oxhey has got a community, I see now.

This is probably the longest time I've spent in this precinct as well.

Seven years after Dee sang her solo,

Gareth's heading back to South Oxhey.

I'm off to see Dee,

see if the choir made a difference to her feelings about the area.

And I'd like to persuade her to come and join my choir of choirs.

I think she was a great singer. Really good voice. She'll be good.

-Hello, you're still here.

-Hello! I am still here.

-Still in South Oxhey?

-Nice to see you.

-I'm still in South Oxhey, still here.

-Good, nice to see you.

-Come in, come in.

-Thank you.

How's it been? What have you been up to?

Still doing my gospel singing.

Going around to events, church events.

-Oh, right, really doing it?

-Proper - leading it.

-Leading?

-Yeah.

You seem a lot more confident now.

When I first met you, I don't think you were in a

terribly happy place, were you?

I think appearing in The Choir made me feel

more confident about the community.

Like, being around 150 people from South Oxhey...

-Who were OK.

-Exactly.

They embracing me for who I was gave me the confidence.

Now I know that I'm not alone.

That's good, that's nice to hear.

The racial harassment did gradually get better.

-That's why I'm still here.

-Fine, OK.

-It's getting better.

-Yeah. Good.

What I'm planning is to put together a choir of choirs.

I would love to have you come and sing with this super choir.

Would you be up for doing some singing as part of that choir?

-Sounds fun.

-Great, OK.

BOTH: # I'll be there. #

-Oh. We're singing a different one.

-What one are you singing?

I'm singing...

# I'll be there with a love... # Four Tops.

I've not heard of that one.

What?

OK, well, come along and I'll educate you.

Dee seems happy and that's not something I really saw before.

I wouldn't like to claim that The Choir changed her life,

but I think it had an impact on Dee.

And it set things in motion for her.

And that's great, that's all you can ask for.

For Gareth, it was important that every part of the community

was represented in the South Oxhey Choir.

Next, he turned his attention to the town's children.

He started at Colnbrook - a special-needs school.

Hello. We're picking up people. Hi, how are you?

I've never been so popular.

# Under the sea

# In an octopus' garden

# In a... #

The children had a range of learning difficulties,

from speech and language problems to autism.

It was here that he met a promising young singer - Sibel.

I liked Sibel immediately, because she had a nice voice,

she sang well, she obviously got a lot from it.

Ready, here we go. Let's go together. And...

# I'll ask my friends to come and see. #

Well done!

I remember having this lovely honest conversation about how

she felt about school, how she felt about learning.

-How old are you, Sibel?

-Ten.

And what sort of things do you find difficult?

A little bit of speech and language problem.

Really? Hmm, you don't sound like it.

No, but my mum says I don't... You know, I don't understand, I think.

-Long sentences.

-Yeah.

But you understand me asking a question.

Yeah, I understand.

But if I start telling you something very complicated

-and long, involved and difficult, you don't...

-Just like that.

-And what happens in your brain?

-Oooooh! I get mixed up.

-What would you like to do when you grow up?

-Be a doctor.

He was a person I could, like, express my feelings to.

How confident I was, what I want to do in the future,

what I want to become.

'Like talking to a complete stranger

'but they can understand where you're coming from as well.'

You know there's a choir that I started?

Does that sound like something you would be interested in?

I'll see you soon.

Yeah, I'll speak to you soon.

-Bye, Sibel.

-Bye.

After recruiting 80 children from across six schools,

Gareth created a children's choir.

And over the next few weeks, the kids from the different schools

began to get to know each other.

# Shake your mama

# Shake, shake your mama

# Gareth, he touches the ground

# Gareth, he turns around

# Gareth, he shakes his hips

# And he parties. #

Really fantastic.

They've got so much spirit and so much enjoyment.

They're really starting to bond together.

And you've got to have that as a choir.

# Sibel, she's off the ground

# Sibel, she turns around. #

It was like one big family really to me.

You could socialise with other people as well,

that you don't know.

I wanted Sibel to be the soloist in the children's first performance,

but I didn't know how she would react to that sort of pressure.

-Hello. Hi.

-I've brought Sibel.

-Brilliant.

Sibel, come over here. How are you? Thank you, Richard.

Do you mind singing in front of lots of other people on your own

or do you not get nervous?

I sometimes get nervous but I don't mind.

-What makes you nervous?

-Sometimes I'm a little bit scared.

But if you get scared, do you do it anyway or do you...?

If I get scared, I will still do it.

That's very impressive. Excellent. Thank you, Sibel.

You can go back to your class. Do you need to be taken back?

-No, no, I know my way.

-You know where you're going? OK.

See ya.

She's a lovely kid. She is getting a lot out of this.

I think she could do the solo.

When he chose me that day to sing a solo,

it was an amazing thing in my life.

I mean, I've never been chosen to actually sing

a solo in front of a lot of people.

I was nervous for the kids on that first performance

because there were 250 people in the audience

and I didn't know how they were going to react.

But all those doubts went out of my mind as soon as Sibel sang,

because she was incredibly confident

and I think she showed the other kids how to be confident too.

# Would you know my name

# If I saw you in Heaven? #

It was a really amazing experience to have on stage

with all those audience just looking at me.

# I carry on

# Cos I know I don't belong

# Here in Heaven. #

Today, Sibel is 17 and studying childcare at college.

Being in the choir, it helped me to gain confidence,

which I didn't have.

It helped me a lot in class. I gained a lot and I progressed a lot.

And with Sibel agreeing to sing at his reunion,

Gareth's clocked up another member for his super choir.

Shhhh!

This is a really, really exciting rehearsal.

By the spring of 2009, Gareth was ready to pull all

the sections of his choir together for the first time.

OK, you happy? Yeah.

Next can I have the tenors from the choir, tenors.

Not in a blue seat, that way.

The children's choir, follow me.

With 250 members, it was one of the biggest community choirs in Britain.

This is my South Oxhey choir, this is the dream,

and this is the vision.

When I looked out at that choir,

it was a huge cross section of that community.

I really wanted to celebrate that because I felt very proud of it.

And I wanted all of South Oxhey to be able to see it.

And that meant having a festival where you could get thousands

of people to come and be an audience.

And on the day of the festival, the locals turned up

in their hundreds to support their community choir.

There's a great atmosphere out there.

People want this to work.

South Oxhey wants this to work, because if they didn't,

they wouldn't have turned up.

And they're all out there.

There's a lot of people out there.

SHE LAUGHS

Have you seen the crowd?

-SHE LAUGHS

-That's like, OK!

APPLAUSE

Hello!

CHEERING

Ladies and gentleman, the South Oxhey Community Choir.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

MUSIC: Walking On Sunshine

# I used to think maybe you loved me Now, baby, I'm sure

# Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo

# And I don't want to spend my whole life just a-waiting for you

THEY HARMONISE

# Now, I don't want you back for the weekend, not back for a day

# All right now... #

That day was awesome. Like, everyone was on such a high.

# And I want you to stay... #

We went out there and we just had fun. We just had pure, pure fun.

# I'm walking on sunshine, whoa

# I'm walking on sunshine, whoa

# And don't it feel good. #

Six years later, the South Oxhey Community Choir is still thriving.

Still very strong, very active.

It's a huge, wonderful legacy from Gareth really.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE MUSIC CONTINUES

OK, South Oxhey, put your hands in the air!

That was a great moment.

There was the choir, there was the community,

everybody clapping along, everyone singing, it felt joyous.

# I'm walking on sunshine, whoa

# I'm walking on sunshine, whoa

# And don't it feel good. #

That was community. It felt like I'd done it.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Thank you very much, South Oxhey. Goodbye.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

With his big reunion drawing closer,

Gareth's choir of choirs is slowly coming together.

Today, he's meeting perhaps his most famous soloist - Sam Stevenson.

Sam was somebody who had always sung though her life and

really reconnected with it though doing the Military Wives Choir.

And then had this unbelievable exposure.

Everyone knew who Sam was - the one with the tattoos.

I hope she's still singing and that sort of started something.

-Hello!

-Hello.

-Bring it in, bring it in.

-Aww, hello!

-Long time no see.

-Three years.

You've got new tattoos.

-I've got new tattoos.

-How many?

-Please don't ask.

-Hundreds.

-Too many, too many to count.

-You look well.

-You too! You look better without the beard.

-No beard. Yeah, let's not talk about the beard.

-Yeah.

The burning question for me is, how's the singing?

-I'm still singing.

-Phew!

I didn't put you off?

SHE LAUGHS

No, no, no. I'm still singing in a military wives choir.

Up in Lossiemouth.

Will you come and sing with my reunion choir?

-Of course I will.

-Good.

-I can't say no to you.

Shall we sing Wherever You Are for old time's sake?

My Lord. I've not sung this for years.

I can't remember it!

You remember this bit.

SHE VOCALISES

SHE LAUGHS

THEY VOCALISE

That's it.

# Wherever you are

# My love will keep you safe

# My heart will build a bridge of light

# Across both time and space... #

Gareth first met Sam four years ago when he became choir master

at the Royal Marines Barracks at Chivenor, Devon.

Five, four, three, two, one.

It was a training base for the Royal Marines, the Army, and the RAF.

Major Williams...

But within three weeks of his arrival, 600 men left on a

six-month tour of duty in Afghanistan,

including Sam's husband, John, a Royal Engineer,

leaving her in charge of their two young children.

-Words cannot explain how much...

-SHE SIGHS

How much I just want him to come home and it to be all over

and us to be just a family again.

I really want time to go as quick as it can.

The Afghanistan war was in its tenth year, and stories were coming

back all the time about people being injured or dying.

And these women had their husbands out there.

You can imagine what fear existed in that place.

Shall we go to the park?

I wanted to shine a light on military wives,

and show what they were going through.

Give them a voice, give them a chance to sing

and actually just lift their spirits.

I'm here to pick you up and the most important thing,

to have an opportunity to bring your voices together to be heard.

First song that we're going to sing is Guns N' Roses well-known

choral classic Sweet Child O' Mine.

PIANO PLAYS INTRO

We're going to do it quite energised. Shall we stand up?

I'm assuming you just know it, so give it a go.

# She's got a smile that it seems to me

# Reminds me of childhood memories... #

I could hear potential, but I could also hear vulnerability

and a lack of confidence.

Their husbands were away at that very moment,

so of course they were emotionally vulnerable,

which made singing all the more difficult.

# As fresh as the bright blue sky

# Bright blue, bright blue sky. #

Stop. Can you just sing me that last note together? Go.

THEY VOCALISE

They should have, "Aaaaa!"

Thank you very much. How was that?

-INDISTINCT MURMURING

-Hard?

That was quite stressful. Didn't enjoy that.

So I'm a bit flustered and I need a drink.

Go on in. Go on in. Hello. Morning, Emma.

But the women persevered and the weekly rehearsals soon became

an important fixture in their routines.

Right, you've got to look alive.

And if you're not singing at the beginning,

-you've got to look like you might.

-LAUGHTER

People are like this, "What's going to happen? Who's going to sing?"

You are.

# She's got a smile that it seems to me

# Reminds me of childhood... #

I think people dismiss singing too easily as being something

rather frivolous. Singing's really important.

You tell those women that it's frivolous.

It was the thing that held them together.

One, two, three.

# Her hair reminds me of a warm safe place... #

As the weeks went on, I think we all let our guard down,

and we became so close that you would trust each other

and you would just speak about anything that was going on.

It was almost like an extension of family.

# ..pass me by. #

Sit down, well done.

APPLAUSE

After a month of rehearsals, the choir was ready to

give their first public performance in the Pannier Market,

in the local town of Barnstaple.

Ladies and gentlemen, it gives me enormous pleasure to

introduce you the RMB Chivenor Military Wives Choir.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

And it was Nicky, a Royal Engineer's wife, who sang the opening solo.

# When the rain is falling in your face

# And the whole world is on your case

# I would offer you a warm embrace

# To make you feel my love. #

It was just a moment in my history, in my life, that I'll just,

I'll thank him for ever for that.

It was a proud, proud moment, that was.

# And there's no-one there to dry your tears

# I could hold you for a million years... #

That day, in front of that audience, they realised...

They literally found their voice in front of me.

I've never experienced anything like it.

# Go to the ends of the earth... #

People were crying in front of them.

# To make you feel my love

# To make you feel my love. #

APPLAUSE

The reaction from that crowd really gave me

a sense that the British public were going to love this choir.

But Gareth's mission was for the whole country to hear

the military wives' voices, and by the autumn he'd found

the perfect event for their national debut.

You need to keep Saturday 12th November free because you are going,

and it gives me huge excitement to tell you, we are going to perform

-at the Festival of Remembrance...

-THEY CHEER

..which is at the Royal Albert Hall.

Oh, my God!

More than that, it's in front of the royal family.

SQUEALING

I've heard myself saying this is the biggest thing I've ever done so

many times, but this is the biggest thing I've ever done in my life.

This is absolutely huge because,

in terms of getting their message across and getting them understood,

I can't think of anything better.

The wives were to perform a newly composed song, and for the lyrics,

Gareth asked the women to offer up lines from their husbands' letters.

-Any others?

-I don't want to read mine out.

You can't read it out.

"Keep my heart safe, my love, for I send it away with you.

"Hold it close, know I'm with you always."

Thank you very much.

I didn't know whether the song would work until I sang it to them.

# Wherever you are

# My love will keep you safe... #

They brought the words together so that it meant something.

# Across both time and space

And it hit me like a hammer on the head.

Wherever You Are.

I didn't know where my husband was. I was like, pff, bloody Nora!

With the royal performance just three weeks away,

Gareth held auditions to find his soloist.

Massive gig, massive.

I would struggle to stand up and sing in front of

that number of people, I really would.

# Wherever you are

# My love will keep you safe. #

I've now heard nine. Next!

SHE VOCALISES

-Sorry, sorry, sorry.

-Sing the next bit for me.

Oh.

# Wherever you are

# My heart... #

I don't even know the words. Sorry.

-It's OK.

-I shouldn't even be doing this.

-Yes, you should.

-Why?

Because you have a great voice.

I really need to compose myself.

Take a minute. You'll come back?

Sam?

-TEARFULLY:

-Just totally messed it up.

I just felt like I kept fluffing it up, and just thought,

"I can't do this, I'm rubbish at this. This is horrendous."

You OK?

-SHE SOBS

-It's all right.

When she sings those words

she sings them simply and from the heart,

because she understands the meaning.

It's so right when she does it, but I'm so worried,

so worried for her.

I had to just go away and compose myself.

-Sam.

-Yes.

Take two.

# Wherever you are... #

Sam got the solo. And on the 12th November 2011,

100 military wives arrived to perform at the Royal Albert Hall.

-This is it!

-CHEERING

The Royal Albert Hall!

Four years later, and Sam has returned to

London for rehearsals for Gareth's reunion.

But first, she's revisiting the scene

of one of the most extraordinary days of her life.

You totally forget how big it is.

I just keep remembering we came off the bus with Gareth,

we're sort of tooting across the road,

just thinking we've got to sing here and just, like, how big it is.

You do, like, literally, forget it's such a massive building.

Also in London for the reunion is Sam's old friend Nicky.

Don't cry. Oh, sweetheart.

Oh, it's so good to see you!

They both still sing in military wives choirs,

but they haven't seen each other for two years, as Sam moved to Scotland.

That's just bringing back so many memories, that.

-We had no idea.

-It just feels like really nice to be back here though.

-It does.

-It feels really special. And I'm back here with you!

APPLAUSE

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Royal Albert Hall

for the Festival of Remembrance of 2011.

I feel that weight of, you know, history and occasion

and responsibility really pressing down on this one.

The Queen's in, the royal family are in.

And as soon as this finishes, it's me and the ladies.

We'd come on stage.

I took a massive gulp because you're just like, "Oh, my Lord."

SHE VOCALISES

# Wherever you are

# My love will keep you safe

# My heart will build a bridge of light

# Across both time and space

# Wherever you are... #

Even though you had 100 women behind you,

supporting you and singing,

you sort of felt like, "I'm at the front here so I'm literally

"representing all these women, and representing Gareth as well."

# Light up the darkness

# My prince of peace

# May the stars shine all around you

# May your courage... #

We'd grown together from this little choir in Chivenor

to stand in the Royal Albert Hall.

How much strength was in that group at that moment

I couldn't tell you, it was like electricity.

# Along the dark, dark way

# Wherever you are... #

Their performance that day changed the world's perception

of military wives and triggered a choir revolution.

Today, there are 75 military wives choirs around the globe

with over 2,000 members.

# ..darkness my wondrous star... #

Something amazing happened that day, it was incredible

and I put a lot of that down to Sam's amazing solo.

Her vulnerability, her strength, her determination, her voice.

SHE VOCALISES

APPLAUSE

You did so well. That took real spine.

-It's a real, a real triumph.

-Thank you.

Real triumph.

-Well done, you.

-Thank you.

Today, Gareth will finally bring together 33 of his most

gifted singers under one roof.

They're to perform at his big reunion party

and he's got just 24 hours to turn them into his choir of choirs.

I'm expecting this to sound not just all right but actually great.

Like, musically, I'm hoping this will be something really special.

The best voices from his school choirs, the town of South Oxhey,

and the military wives are gathering for rehearsal.

I honestly can't believe there are so many people here.

Yeah, he's done a lot of work actually. I can't believe it myself.

Joining them are singers from Gareth's widest ranging project.

Over two years, he formed choirs

in nine of the country's busiest workplaces,

from the Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service

to the Royal Mail.

I met some more friends I'm just reminiscing about what

we done a few years back now. It's been years.

Good morning, everyone.

I am here to start a choir.

If you are at all interested, make yourself known to me.

The reason I started going to workplaces to start choirs

was because I felt it could bring people together

in a way that it had in other choirs,

but it also could just make you feel better about your daily grind.

You know, we'd had this recession.

I think the British workforce needed a boost

and I felt singing was the perfect thing to do it.

This is Gareth Malone here.

'And I'm here to start a choir.'

Are you interested in joining a choir?

Maybe, yeah.

# Everybody hurts... #

Unlike Gareth's previous choir projects,

Sing While You Work was a contest to find Britain's best workplace choir.

It was always through competing with other people that I got better

and I want that for these choirs.

I want them to feel the pressure and get better.

# Try to see it my way

# Do I have to keep on talking till I can't go on? #

I think because it was a contest

it made everybody work harder.

So, consequently, the standard was incredibly high,

some of those performances were terrific.

# I was blind

# But now I see... #

Across the choirs, Gareth discovered outstanding singers

from all walks of life.

# When the day is long. #

# And I'm feeling good

# Feeling good, feeling good. #

# You've got someone to blame. #

But it was at P&O he came across his most unlikely stars.

-Wow. Hello, Gareth.

-Gareth.

-Thanks for having me.

In the middle of the English Channel, Gareth met quartermaster Grant...

Have you done any singing before? Just give me a la.

-DEEP VOICE:

-Laaaa.

I'm a little bit nervous.

It's like a drain.

And his brother, Jeff.

# We are sailing

# We are sailing... #

They were both clearly basses,

albeit rough and a bit gravelly.

But they both had a good tone.

Can I hear the basses? Two, three and...

# Rock the boat. #

It's a bit football crowd.

-Way-ay!

-LAUGHTER

Grant and Jeff were obviously blokey blokes

and they were not always enthusiastic about my song choices.

# ..know if you've got the notion. #

Interesting.

-The song choices of some of them are a little...

-Painful.

Some of them were painful.

But as the contest progressed, they started to loosen up.

BOTH: # Beyond the sea. #

Getting a little stodgy.

Light.

-# Somewhere beyond the sea... #

-So much better.

And actually, despite themselves, they started to enjoy it.

# Somewhere waiting for me. #

And when P&O got through to the final,

it was the brothers who sang the opening duet.

# When I'm an island

# And I just stand alone

# No land is my land

# And nothing's all.... #

For two such burly blokes,

I think they sang with surprising tenderness.

I think that's part of the secret to the success of P&O.

And I think it helped them to win.

APPLAUSE

Sometimes you just need a little push

and a little persuasion to do something out of your comfort zone.

-And you get something amazing from it.

-Yeah.

APPLAUSE

Of all the choirs,

this should be the one that can produce the best result.

That's fighting talk, isn't it?

Oh, I've lost count again. One, two, three, four, five, six.

I wonder if he's aged.

-No, he's for ever young, that man, isn't he? Yeah.

-Probably.

Ah! Hello!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

So good to see you all. You excited?

ALL: Yes!

Should we get on with it, shall we do some singing?

-ALL: Yes!

-Come on, let's go.

-Hello, Jo.

-How are you?

-I'm all right. How is the city?

-All good.

-Good.

-Hello, Chika, how are you?

-Oh, I'm good.

You're singing tenor?

Oh, good. Excellent.

-Hello, Matt, how are you?

-I'm really well. How are you?

Thank you very, very much for agreeing to be part of this,

my super choir, my choir of choirs.

And I think this choir should sound absolutely incredible.

You know the rules.

Somebody makes a mistake, you just look at the person

next to you and go...

LAUGHTER

The song that we're going to sing is the song

that started the whole adventure.

Great song about being there for people.

We will be singing Bridge Over Troubled Water,

in 24 hours.

For an audience of over 200 people, who you all know

because they're members of the choirs I've worked with

over the last ten years.

GASPS

So I think the first thing we have to do is have a quick sing through

and see where we're at. Up we get.

MUSIC: Bridge Over Troubled Water

# When you're down and out

# When you're on the street

# When evening falls so hard... #

So good to see so many familiar faces.

All my stand-out singers from all my choirs. Great.

# I will ease your mind

And...

# I will ease your mind. #

We've got a lot work to do.

OK, shall we take a break? Thank you, everyone.

INDISTINCT CHATTER

It's good to see you guys. How's your brother?

I've made a personal connection with all these people

so it feels really nice to reconnect with them.

This feels much more personal than anything I've done in a while.

Is the choir still going in Birmingham?

Oh, yeah. Absolutely. Yeah, we practise every single week.

Gareth met Siobhan when he formed choir with Birmingham City Council.

She was a social worker in Children's Services.

My job, in a way, is standing between the perpetrators of abuse

and the child.

So you're going to...

absorb all the bullets, I suppose, aren't you?

Siobhan was working on the front line of social care,

working with some very difficult and sensitive situations

to do with children. Really tough job.

# We'll just move somewhere else

# And still carry on. #

That's good.

It's not making enough impact, is that what you mean?

Not really. Look, what does this song mean to you?

I think it means, you know, the families that I work with.

I think the song is about asking them to trust me

and everyone in the council to, you know,

there are better times, you've got to come with us.

It's definitely worth having something to latch on to,

like a moment that you're going to use in that song.

-I have lots of moments.

-Do you?

-Yeah.

What's your moment?

Um...

I have lots of moments at work.

Yeah.

Sorry.

You know, you can save children just before death really.

I'm not exaggerating when I say that.

We see some horrible things.

And its very, very upsetting,

but you haven't got time to deal with those emotions.

So, you know, you have to stand there in hospitals when

there's children with broken limbs.

And, you know, you have to fill out forms

and you have to liaise with all these professionals,

you have to have meetings, you have to all listen.

There's that child lying there and you haven't time to have a good cry

because you can't.

I think for it really to work...

-you've got to wear your heart on your sleeve a bit.

-Yeah.

MUSIC: The Only Way Is Up

# We've been broken down

# To the lowest turn

# And being on the bottom line

# Sure ain't no fun

# But if we should be evicted

# From our homes

# We'll just move somewhere else

# And still carry on... #

To me, music should always communicate something.

And I think Siobhan did that in abundance, she was able to

sing about herself, about each other,

and do it in a way that was just beautiful.

BOTH: # We'll just move somewhere else

# And still carry on. #

It was a great solo.

It was a stand-out moment for me. That and that whole song.

How's Birmingham? What are you doing, you still a social worker?

-I got promoted.

-Did you?

-Cos of you. No, not true.

-Cos of your wonderful solo.

Yep. Well, actually, you did so much because obviously following me

round and that being on the television, no-one had ever,

I think, seen social workers in a positive light.

It was just fantastic, yeah.

I got a really, really good response. Not just for me, for...

-For the whole group?

-Social work.

-Oh, that's nice.

-I'm really grateful.

THEY SING

For me, it's incredible to watch people blossom.

And now they've come back

and there's such a sense of joy and happiness.

# But I don't believe... #

They all seem, I think, happier for having joined choirs.

THEY VOCALISE

It's now halfway through the rehearsal day.

This afternoon is just about slog now.

In 24 hours' time, they'll be on stage in front a lot of people

who know whether it's going to be good or not.

So, slog.

It's time to kick the proverbial.

OK! Everyone, back in.

Let's go. Quick, quick, quick.

You're going the wrong way, Marisa. This way.

-THEY LAUGH

-In you go, in you go. Come on.

That's it! Hup, hup, hup!

I'm about to put it together for the first time

now that they all know their notes.

-Come on.

-I was eating a banana. I'm sorry.

No time for bananas, no time for bananas, Hayley.

Come on. It's going to be fine.

We have lots of work to do before 5.30.

We also have to, I think, pick a couple of soloists.

I'd like to just hear a few people sing some bits

and then I'm going to make some decisions.

-BOTH:

-# When you're down and out

# When you're on the street. #

Chloe.

# When you're down and out... #

# When you're on the street. #

Good. Good. OK, fine.

While I'm here...

-IN HIGH-PITCHED VOICE:

-# See how they shine. #

Go for it. Two, three, and Jenna.

# See how they shine. #

# See how they shine. #

# See how they shine. #

Nice.

# See how they shine. #

-IN HIGH-PITCHED VOICES:

-# See how they shine... #

LAUGHTER AND CHEERING

OK. Erm...

OK. Go and have a seat. Well done, everyone. Thank you.

THEY APPLAUD

OK!

I've made some very, very quick decisions.

So, listen very carefully.

Siobhan, I'd like you to do the first two lines,

but I'd like you then to either be joined by, or taken over by...

I think Sam.

Sail on, Silvergirl, for me,

there's only one person who can do this

and that's Chloe Sullivan

-cos you did it the first time. Is that OK?

-Yes.

So, Chloe...

for old times' sake,

you're going to do that as a solo.

Let's see how that works. Let's go from the beginning.

# When you're down and out

# When you're on the street

# When evening falls so hard

-BOTH:

-# I will comfort you... #

-Shall we have everyone go...

-ALL:

-# Ooh... #

Everyone in.

# I'll take your part... #

OK. What I'm getting is, "Wah, wah, wah, wah..."

And I want brr, brr, brr-brr, is what I'm looking for.

-THEY LAUGH

-Two, three and one.

# I'll take your part. #

You've got to be able to do that quietly.

Thank you very much. I will see you tomorrow for showtime!

THEY CHEER AND APPLAUD

One or two of them don't know the parts as well as I was hoping,

but actually, on balance... just great.

-Whey!

-See you tomorrow!

-No drinking!

-ALL:

-Bye!

It doesn't always come together, it doesn't always work...perfectly

and I'm hoping that tomorrow is going to be perfect.

Please.

MUSIC: Water Music, Alla Hornpipe by George Frideric Handel

The day of Gareth's big choir reunion has finally arrived.

STAGE CREWMAN HAMMERS

That noise means it's real.

It's lovely, but it's also making me nervous

cos it's like holding a birthday party

and I haven't got enough canapes.

The centrepiece of the reunion

will be a performance by his choir of choirs.

It's a big deal. There's a lot of people coming

and a lot of people that I know,

and I want it to be excellent.

I don't want it to be all right, I want it to be really stunning.

-We've got a visitor.

-Oh. Gareth Malone.

-Hello! Hey. How are we all?

-CHOIR CHEER

-ALL:

-Good.

-Oh, you look nervous.

-THEY LAUGH

-Are you nervous?

-No.

-No, you're cool.

Dump your stuff on the floor.

Let's warm up here and let's get ready.

Good.

THEY DO VOCAL EXERCISES

-Ah!

-Ah!

Outside, members of Gareth's choirs from the past decade

are gathering for the reunion.

# Doo-doo, doo-doo, doo

# Goodnight, sweetheart, well, it's time to go

# Doo-doo, doo-doo, doo... #

We are one of the original choirs, one of the first choirs and...yeah.

Arguably the best choir.

-Yeah, arguably.

-We set it off.

-# Bella mama, bella mama, ay

-# Bella mama, bella mama

# Bella mama, bella mama, ay... #

We decided we missed Gareth that much

we'd come up and we'd come dressed as Gareth Malone today.

We're all dressed as Gareth Malone.

MUSIC: The Marriage of Figaro by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

-How are you?

-I'm all right. You?

Oh, the atmosphere is great,

seeing faces I recognise from the other choirs,

hearing people singing - just such fun.

Even though people don't know each other from different choirs,

we're all kind of giving each other smiles and stuff.

Like, it's kind of a community, I think.

We've all got Gareth.

Gareth is that little point of connection

in all of our universe.

It's just Gareth, that little spot right there.

I was younger ten years ago - I think I looked about 13.

And now, I think I've sort of grown into myself now.

Definitely got a few more greys.

I think, for me, the last ten years have been a struggle,

have been an adventure,

but they've been full of heart,

full of music and full of joy.

Did that sound cheesy?

AUDIENCE CHEER AND APPLAUD

Hello! Hello!

Ladies and gentlemen, friends,

it is fantastic to see so many of you here.

Thank you for making the journey to be here today

to celebrate ten years of The Choir.

So many rehearsals, so many wonderful experiences.

Today is a celebration.

It's about celebrating, I think, something wonderful that's happened

for choirs in this country.

It now feels OK for a lot more people to sing.

Before Gareth's choir of choirs takes to the stage,

he's asked singers from his school choirs to open the show.

Ladies and gentleman,

the members of, what I'm calling, the School Reunion Choir.

# Tried to keep you close to me

# But life got in between

-ALL:

-# Tried to square not being there

# But think that I should have been

# Hold back the river, let me look in your eyes

# Hold back the river so I

# Can stop for a minute and see where you hide

# Hold back the river, hold back... #

Backstage are Gareth's choir of choirs,

and they're beginning to feel the pressure.

# See how they shine... #

We need all the practice we can get. We don't want to let anyone down.

It is big for Gareth and we want to make sure that

we give him the best as we can.

This is the culmination of everything he's done over the years

so it would be horrendous if I got it wrong, wouldn't it?

# Hold back the river so I

# Can stop for a minute and see where you hide

# Hold back the river, hold back

# Oh, oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh.

# Oh-oh, oh-oh. #

AUDIENCE CHEER AND APPLAUD

Without question, the oldest school choir in the country.

Well, ladies and gentlemen,

I have a wonderful, wonderful treat in store for you

because waiting in the wings backstage

are a group of people that you all know and I know very well.

This is the choir of choirs.

Please welcome, ladies and gentleman,

soloists from all of your choirs from the last ten years.

AUDIENCE CHEER AND APPLAUD

Feast your eyes!

PIANO PLAYS

# When you're down and out

# When you're on the street

# When evening falls so hard

BOTH: # I will comfort you-oo

-ALL:

-# I'll take your part

# Oh, when darkness comes

# And pain is all around

# Like a bridge

# Over troubled water

-# I will lay me down

-I will lay me down

# Ooh-oh

-# Sail on, Silvergirl

-Ooh, ooh, ooh

-# Sail on by

-Ooh, ooh, ooh

# Your time has come to shine

-WOMEN:

-# All your dreams are on their way

# Ooh, ooh

# Ah, ah-ah-ah

-# See how they shine

-See how they shine

-# Oh, if you need a friend

-If you need a friend

# I'm sailing right behind

-AUDIENCE JOINS:

-# Like a bridge over troubled water

# I will ease your mind

# Like a bridge over troubled water

# I will ease your mi-i-ind

-CHOIR ONLY:

-# I will ease

-I will ease

-# Your mind.

-Your mind. #

AUDIENCE CHEER AND APPLAUD

MUSIC: The Marriage of Figaro by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

APPLAUSE DROWNS OUT SPEECH

It was ridiculously emotional, actually.

-Woo! Yay!

-SHE LAUGHS

Singing has an incredible effect on people

and I've witnessed that over the last ten years.

Hello!

I feel like we are a singing nation, and we always have been.

You know, this proves it.

These are ordinary people doing ordinary jobs from ordinary schools

who have learnt to love singing and accept it into their lives.

-Hello, military wives!

-THEY CHEER

-Are you crying?

-Yes, I am.

-Aw.

-Yay, I'm happy.

-Mwah.

-Do it again, do it again, do a kiss.

I don't know what the next ten years are going to hold,

but there'll definitely be choirs, there'll definitely be music

and there'll most assuredly be singing.

MUSIC: The Nutcracker Op 71 by Tchaikovsky