Military Wives: Compilation The Choir

Choirmaster Gareth Malone believes that singing

can change the toughest of lives.

I know music can bring people together

under really extraordinary circumstances.

In three weeks' time,

these soldiers will be fighting for their country in Afghanistan.

Three, two, one!

They'll be leaving behind more than 120 women and their children.

Words can't explain how much I just want him to come home.

If I let my guard down and let the emotion come out,

I would be crying the whole day!

Gareth will pull these women together into a choir of military wives.

I am here to lift your spirits, hopefully,

pick you up and bring your voices together to be heard.

Sorry. Sorry! Sorry for saying sorry!

It's testing what a choir is for. And really testing it to the limit.

You wanted to play with the big girls.

You've got to drink like the big girls.

In less than eight months Gareth will take his choir from obscurity...

This lot are going to absolutely rip us to pieces.

I want to run away, I just want to run away.

..right to the heart of the nation's tribute to the troops...

This is it!

(Oh my God!)

..with a grand performance at the Royal Albert Hall.

This is like no other gig I have ever done.

Gig is the wrong word, this is a ceremony.

I know nothing about the military. Absolutely nothing,

other than what I've been told, what I've seen on the news.

I've never spent time on a military base

and I know very little about military life.

I really don't know what to expect.

For the next eight months Gareth will be choirmaster

at the Royal Marine Barracks Chivenor, a remote spot in north Devon.

Your name is?

Gareth Malone.

I think this is the most intimidating place

I've ever been in my life.

Do you get used to it?

Yeah, you do, yeah.

There's been a base at Chivenor since before the Second World War.

Three, two, one!

Now it's a training base for nearly 1,200 men

from the Royal Marines, the Army and the RAF.

In just three weeks, these men will deploy to Afghanistan.

How's the mood?

The mood is good. We've spent a lot of time training.

Although you can't train too much, we're at the point now

where we've done enough and we're ready to go.

We think it's a bit harder for our families than us when we're deployed,

cos they've still got to deal with normal day-to-day life.

Gareth's joining Family Day on the base.

A chance for everyone to get together

for the last time before the troops leave and for Gareth to recruit for his new choir.

Good afternoon, everyone! My name is Gareth Malone

and I'm going to be here for the next eight months.

I want to invite anyone to come and join a choir.

You don't need to be a brilliant singer but I'm around.

Come and speak to me if you're at all interested,

if you've ever thought about singing,

if you sing in the shower, it's about bringing everyone together.

Tumbleweed.

I'm starting a choir.

Good luck with that one.

Thanks.

Have you heard that I'm here to start a choir?

-Yes.

-Word travels fast.

Are you interested?

Yes.

Good! Yeses!

Hello, George. Hello, Nicola.

Do you sing?

Do I sing?

What does she sing?

Everything!

-So you'd be interested?

-Oh, most definitely.

I like "Oh, most definitely". That's the most positive response I've had.

Are you interested?

Well, yes, but you haven't heard me sing yet!

What do you rate her chances?

I think she's going to be outstanding. Absolutely.

Standing on the perimeter of the base, 280 houses make up the married quarters,

known as "the patch".

It does feel very remote from the rest of the world.

We're only about half a mile from Barnstable

and yet we're in a little enclave.

I wonder if they have any interaction with the outside world.

It's very claustrophobic,

so you're right on top of everyone that your husband works with.

There's no getting away from them.

Soldier's wife Nicky and her family moved to Chivenor a few months ago.

It's her fifth base in ten years.

It's hard to meet people I think because there is a big, big cross-section of all the services.

There's cliques of people.

What happens is you get parties, mess functions,

and those wives go to them.

The other wives don't because they are another regiment or something.

You make acquaintances, not friends.

And you need things to bring people together. You do need things.

Having a choir here is going to be brilliant.

I can't say that I've ever seen the commanding officer's wife

so I don't know who she is, to be honest with you!

I know where she lives and I hear people say she's a lovely lady.

I'm sure she is.

Gareth wants to spread the word on the patch

that his first choir rehearsals are about to get under way.

Hello.

-Hello.

-Stacey.

Hi, Stacey. Hello.

Hi, I'm Gareth. Local choirmaster. Hello.

So what is there to do for you while your husbands are away?

Nothing whatsoever.

Just counting the long days.

What about singing? I'm starting a choir.

My dream is to be able to sing.

Your dream?

I'm going to make that dream come true. I hope. He said!

I used to be in a choir.

Oh, great! When?

When I was, like, from 12 to 17.

Brilliant. So you know what you're doing.

Nice to meet you. Can I hear your voice?

-No!

-That's mean, isn't it?

It's March and after months of preparation and training,

deployment day has arrived.

Some 600 men will say goodbye to their families

and leave the barracks for six months in Afghanistan.

For Nicky, it's the fifth time husband George has been deployed.

We've done it before. But it's always different.

All the feelings.

Cos the children are older.

They know what's going on, yeah.

I thought he wouldn't have had to go again, because he's done...

What, George?

Just over 21 years.

21 years. I thought he'd done his bit.

But you have to get on with it.

We've chosen this lifestyle, and that's how it is.

Here you go, chicken. Which one's yours? That one?

-My stomach's churning. How many hours have we got?

-Erm...three.

-Three hours to go.

-Three hours to go.

-Sapper Leak.

-Sir.

-Major Williams.

Corporal Thompson. Sapper Maitland.

The build-up to going is just...

is just horrendous, to be honest with you.

-Captain Pearce.

-It never gets any easier.

You still have that worry, "What if?"

You know, you dread that fear of the knock on the door.

Staff Sergeant Bowe.

-Sir.

-Major Wilson.

Captain Grant.

Sapper Maddocks.

When he says goodbye to me, is that going to be his last goodbye?

Oh, I'm sorry.

Today is Gareth's first rehearsal for his military wives' choir.

The chapel on the edge of the barracks will be their base

for the next few months.

They're in a real low point, their husbands have just gone,

literally last weekend,

and I think a few of them probably

haven't ventured out of the house very much,

so this is the time to be having fun, getting them going.

I don't know how they're going to react to that, as well.

You know, whether they feel it's appropriate

while their husbands are away

for them just to be having a nice time doing some singing.

Ten minutes to go.

There's nobody coming yet. It's a bit worrying.

It actually hadn't occurred to me

that I wouldn't have people turning up.

I'm just going to guess you're here for the choir

and not going to the military base.

You're here for the choir? Brilliant.

-Thanks for coming, Susie. Who's this?

-This is Jack.

-Hi, Jack.

-Hello.

-Hi.

-I take it you're here for the choir?

-Yeah.

-Hello, come on in.

-Hello, hi. What's your name?

-Jodie.

-Hello, Jodie.

Welcome, welcome to the choir. Go on in.

-Hello!

-Hello!

-Hello. Really, really good to see so many of you here.

I'm going to do a head count. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven...

Gareth's first rehearsal has attracted wives

from across the ranks,

right up to the commanding officer's wife.

..38, 39, 40!

CHEERING

That feels really good.

41! Hello! Brilliant.

I am here to lift your spirits, hopefully,

pick you up and actually, the most important thing,

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

The first song that we're going to sing

is a real favourite of mine from back in...I think it was 1989.

It's Guns N' Roses' well-known choral classic,

Sweet Child Of Mine.

Here's the introduction.

INTRO IS PLAYED ON KEYBOARD

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

# Where everything was as fresh as the bright blue sky... #

And stop. Now, if we can do that together then we will have a choir.

What I'd like you to do is... I've got a special present for you all,

it is the magical hat of confidence, and there's one each.

So catch, there you all are!

Put your magical hat of confidence on, and pretend

that you're really great singers and you're just going to do it!

OK, here we go.

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

# Reminds me of childhood memories

# Where everything was as fresh as the bright blue sky... #

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

THEY SING THE NOTE

# You should have, "Ah!" #

-Thank you very much. How was that?

-Hard.

-Hard?

Once your confidence is up, this is going to be brilliant.

Fantastic, thank you.

I'm not used to hearing people beside me sing,

and then you can hear yourself as well.

And to me it sounds horrendous!

That was quite stressful.

I didn't enjoy that, so I'm a bit all flustered! I need a drink!

Not singing I'm used to.

I wanted to just tap my feet and sing like I would normally,

but I think I've got to learn a new way of singing.

'There is a really good basic sound there. Masses of potential.'

But what has really surprised me is I thought they'd be really gutsy,

and some of them were quite timid.

I think they lack the ability to express themselves,

to just really let their hair down and...

They don't have a voice. They really, genuinely, don't have a voice.

They're not heard, they're not listened to.

This is all about listening to them,

really, genuinely, listening to their voices,

and that takes confidence, and they haven't got it at the moment.

To bolster confidence,

Gareth wants to single out the choir's strongest singers.

-Hello, Sam.

-Hello.

-How are you?

He's come to see Sam, who's sung in a choir before.

I thought it would be nice to have a little listen to you singing.

-How does that sound? Like lots of fun?

-No!

-No.

Come on, let's give it a go!

# The moment I wake up... #

Good.

# Before I put on... #

-Oh, sorry!

-No, it's fine, that's good.

-Sorry, sorry, sorry.

Collect yourself, and here we go. Good breath. And...

# The moment I wake up... #

Good.

Oh, sorry.

# Before I...

# Before I put on my make-up... #

-Sorry.

-That's all right. What are you apologising for?

-I don't know, cos I apologise for everything!

-Yes.

-Sorry. Sorry!

-Sorry for saying sorry!

-Take a deep breath.

# And while combing my hair now... #

And one...

# And wondering what dress to wear now... #

-Sorry! I... Sorry!

-It's good.

# ..dress to wear now... #

Yep.

# I say a little prayer for you... #

And...

# For ever And ever

# You'll stay... #

I'm sorry! Sorry, sorry, sorry.

That's really good. You've got a nice voice.

-Hmm, I wouldn't say that.

-No, but I would.

SHE LAUGHS

I know you wouldn't!

It's a really nice voice, so the apologies have got to stop.

Honestly, we need to find some confidence,

cos I think this is what this is all about.

I get the strong impression that all of you, actually,

are a little bit less confident than I thought you were.

I know we're army wives, but we do have a bit of a... A timid side.

A timid side, yeah. Why is that?

It's been, like, 11 years since I was in a choir,

so it's a long time ago. I've just been a mummy, and moving about,

so everything sort of takes a back burner.

-But singing is my first love, and being in a choir.

-Yeah.

BABY CRIES IN BACKGROUND

Kids are kicking off. Stop thinking about choir.

-Don't think about singing!

-Sorry, my baby comes first!

-Thank you.

-See you later.

-Bye.

Sam's got loads of talent but very little confidence,

I don't know if that's because her husband's deployed

or if that goes deeper.

Sam's husband John is in the Royal Engineers,

and at 27 he's just started his first tour of duty to Afghanistan.

It's a mixture of emotions.

You feel guilt because you think, "Have I forced you into the Army to give us a better life?"

And then you're angry that they're going, everything just feels so tense.

While he's away Sam is left to look after their two young children.

Brodie has autistic spectrum disorder,

he's not developed at his age,

he's seven but he's more at a sort of four-year-old level.

Life can be difficult because obviously Brodie's behaviour can be really challenging at times,

but I wouldn't change it though.

I'm really up for the choir, I love singing

and I think my husband will have a bit more peace of mind

that I'm going to be occupied and kept busy

so then I think if I'm kept busy the time will hopefully go quicker as well.

So yeah, I'm really looking forward to it.

Over the next month the choir meets for rehearsal three times a week.

# She's got a smile... #

OK, that's not really selling it to me.

# She's got... # I want the eyes up.

I always say to people, sing before you're singing.

# She's got a smile...# THEY LAUGH

Let's have the introduction.

You've got to look alive. If you're not singing

at the beginning, you've got to look like you might, yeah?

People are like this... "What's going to happen?"

"Who's going to sing?"

You are.

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

# It reminds me of childhood memories

# When everything was as fresh as the bright, blue... #

# Bright, blue sky. #

# Sky... #

# Her hair reminds of a warm, safe place where as a child I'd hide

# And pray for the thunder and the rain to quietly pass me by. #

That was brilliant. Thank you. Well done.

The first-week nerves have gone a little bit.

We are all beginning to relax a bit more.

Everyone's starting to feel a bit more comfortable.

Good morale boost, actually, getting everyone together.

Oh, brilliant.

I've just got to try and get on top of my voice not going.

To mark the launch of the choir, the women have organised a night out at the sergeants' mess.

By reputation, they go large, so it could be an interesting evening.

-Hello, Penny, how are you? All right?

-Bloody marvellous.

-Good.

-When you are a visitor, in any mess, you have to ring the bell.

-Really?

-Yes, just to tell everybody you are here.

-OK.

Ring the bell.

BELL RINGS

ALL: Hooray!

Sergeants' mess tradition dictates that whoever rings the bell

has to buy drinks for everyone in the bar.

-Look at you!

-Cheers, everyone!

The rule also states that if anyone refuses a drink, Gareth has to drink for them.

-You've got to drink it, please!

-No.

-Penny will make me drink one.

-You should have done your homework.

-I should have done. I should have known a bit more.

-There's one.

Oh, no!

OK, all right. That is horrible.

It's like drinking aftershave.

One, two, three!

Yes! Ha-ha-ha!

You wanted to play with the big girls.

You've got to drink like the big girls.

# I'm having a ball Don't stop me now. #

'They are a force waiting to be unleashed.'

They really are! They are just... They are trapped, really.

They are trapped by their situation and actually need this choir

to give them a focus, because otherwise they are just in there,

drinking flaming sambucas and preying on unsuspecting choirmasters,

who have just come past.

No, seriously, they need this, they really do.

# We're just dancing in the dark. #

-Hey, baby!

-Go away, baby!

The choir are beginning to bond as a group.

Gareth wants to find an audience for them beyond the confines of the base.

Just five minutes away is the busy market town of Barnstable.

Excuse me, could I ask you a question?

-Yes.

-Do you know anything about RMB Chivenor?

It's down there.

-Yes. Do you know nothing else?

-No.

-Have you ever been there?

-No.

-Do you know anyone who lives over there on that little patch of houses?

-No.

-Do you know anything about RMB Chivenor?

-Not really.

Do you know anything about the troops at all and what they're doing?

-No.

-No, nothing.

What about the women who are left behind while the troops are away? Do you know any?

-No.

-You haven't had much contact with them?

-No.

Just universally people don't know that they're there or

if they do know it's there they don't know anyone on the base

and I don't think there is much integration.

If we're to give these women a voice, they need an audience.

They need people to hear them.

I think Barnstaple's the right place to start because it is the local town.

I'd like people to say, "We know them. They're the ones that sing.

"They're the ones that have a choir, that speak for all military wives".

That would be fantastic.

Today I want to announce you are going to perform at the Pannier Market.

LAUGHTER

Yes! It'll be awesome, won't it?

ALL: Yes!

It doesn't get more exciting and edgy than the Pannier Market.

I went there yesterday. They've got some massive pants on sale.

My goodness! When is it? Here's the rub. It's in two weeks.

CHATTER

The Pannier Market on a Thursday! Whoo!

Yeah, scary, very, very scary.

It will be something for the local people just to know

what's going on

'and to show that we do exist.'

Gareth believes he has just the right song for the choir's first ever public performance.

Adele, Make You Feel My Love.

Adele. There is a solo.

There's a solo in this piece and I would like to start to hear people.

If you are going to do the solo, you have to be prepared to stand

up in front of the group and sing it.

Because if you can't do it in front of the group then how are you

going to do it in front of an audience?

Who'd like to have a go at the solo? No?

CHATTER

-No.

-She's gone a very different colour, everyone. Sam? No?

Definitely not? Why not?

-I don't want to do it.

-Don't want to do it.

-Sure? End of?

-Yep.

OK. Right. Anyone else? Just give it a go.

Kelly.

# When the rain is blowing in your face

# And the whole world is on your case... #

Emma.

# I could offer you a warm embrace...

# To make you feel my love. #

Beth!

# I could offer you a warm embrace

-# To make you feel my love.

-#

Nicky.

# And the whole world is on your case

# I could offer you a warm embrace

# To make you feel my love... #

Brilliant. # When the... #

That's it. Fantastic morning.

Round of applause to everyone, I think. APPLAUSE

'It takes someone with real courage to be able to sing a moving song

'like that and show a bit of themselves.'

I want it to be someone who can sing with heart, and guts. Because that's what the choir needs.

Communications with Afghanistan have been shut down,

which only happens when a soldier has been killed or seriously injured.

I love you, Daddy.

We really miss you, we want you to come home. Lots of love.

Choir member Nicky has been expecting a call from husband George for more than two days.

PHONE RINGS

Hello?

Had something happened? Is that what...

Something else obviously had happened, yes or no? Just say yes or no.

Yes. Oh God. You be careful. OK. Bye-bye.

He was OK, that's all want to know.

It sounds really selfish, and really horrible, every time I say it.

He's OK, it's carry on now. You know? You have got to ploughed down.

It's always at the back of my mind, oh dear, is the rest of the people we need to think about now.

And then you feel exhausted at the end of the day,

because you have got to do everything and that worry at the back of your mind.

He will be home soon.

It does get you. And talking about it, it's mad.

As the choir's first public performance approaches Gareth's decided who will sing the solo.

It's good news. I'd like you to do a solo.

Oh, my goodness!

-Honestly?

-Yeah, honestly. Yeah.

Wow! I dunno if I'm ready for that this time of the morning.

I picked you because under pressure I think you'll be fine.

Some of the others, I think it's a bit too soon.

I think they might've crumbled but I don't think you're going to, are you?

No, nah, I promise you I won't.

'I just think it's brilliant.'

I'm so happy that he's chosen me.

I'll be singing it to George. He'll appreciate it.

With days until the Barnstable performance the women take every opportunity to rehearse.

I never for one moment thought I would ever sing in a choir.

Choirs are stuffy old ladies singing strange songs

and wearing old clothes pulling crazy faces while they are singing.

The thing I like most is just the camaraderie between all women.

We feel like sisters now, just helping each other out.

I think we are so keen to do it

that we will really try our best.

We are standing together as a group of girls going,

I will be there for you, and you will be there for me,

and we will all get through this together.

Breath and be ready.

We've got to do it, no matter what,

so we can either go and make complete idiots of ourselves,

or we can just go and belt it out and hope it's sounds good.

Come on, you've got more than that. Good, that's getting there.

It's D-Day for Gareth's choir.

I'm beginning to understand what giving these women a voice means.

It's about singing to the outside world, about getting outside this military environment,

and being heard.

Follow me!

CHEERING Left, right, left, right.

'Up till now they've just supported their husbands stoically

'while they're away and I want them to be proud of who they are,

'proud of their singing, and sing to all those people out there.'

Ladies! Just sing your hearts out.

Use your faces. Really, wear your heart on your sleeve with this one.

We'll pick up the pieces later, OK? LAUGHTER

Thank you very much. Let's do it. CHEERING

-More than 500 people have packed into the Pannier Market.

-CHEERS AND APPLAUSE

Hello, Barnstaple!

AUDIENCE CHEERS

Ladies and gentlemen,

it gives me enormous pleasure to introduce to you,

The RMB Chivenor Military Wives' Choir.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

I think it's worth you knowing that every single person

you're about to hear sing,

has a partner in the Forces.

Many of them at this moment are in Afghanistan,

they do have a very hard time and they are incredibly stoic.

They just get on with it.

In true British spirit, I think.

But here's a song I think shows you how much feeling there is.

This is a beautiful song by Bob Dylan, Make You Feel My Love.

# Ooh, ooh

# Ooh, ooh

# 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

# Ahh, ahh

# When the evening shadows and the stars appear

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

# Ahh, ahh

# I could hold you for a million years

# To make you feel my lo-ove

# Though storms are raging on the rolling sea

# And on the highway of regrets

# Though winds of change are blowing wild and free

# You ain't seen nothing like me yet

# You ain't seen nothing like me

# I could make you happy, make your dreams come true

# Nothing that I wouldn't do

# Go to the ends of the Earth for you

# To make you feel my love

# To make you

# Feel my love. #

APPLAUSE

It was so inspiring. I've come away and I feel really good now cos that was so lovely.

It brings it home when you see them singing like that.

What they actually go through, it's fantastic. It was a great sound they made as well.

To anybody that can get up and sing when their husbands are in danger,

I don't know how they do it.

Brilliant, well done!

Really good. So proud of you.

You really blossomed on stage today. Very, very well done.

Unbelievable.

That feeling... just couldn't control the emotion.

You just had to let it go.

'Oh, that was amazing. Really good.

'I really felt part of the choir this time.'

Surprisingly upbeat and as you can see, a big smile on the face.

'When I was on stage I definitely felt the confidence coming back.'

I think it was just the whole adrenaline rush. I didn't notice 500 plus people, or tried not to anyway.

So, yeah, so... I thought we were really good.

They're proud to be in the choir and that's the first step.

There's a real sense of purpose and mission about the whole thing.

It's great. You can see it in their eyes. They sang with real fervour. It was great.

Buoyed by the first public performance from his Military Wives' Choir, Gareth begins to think big.

This is something that could easily spread to other bases.

It's gone so well here in a really short space of time

and the women are singing well and getting so much out of it.

I'd like this to go further, I want to go to other bases.

The choir has had an invitation to visit another military base in Plymouth.

But before they can make the trip,

news comes through that a Royal Marine from 42 Commando based at Plymouth

has been killed by a bomb in southern Afghanistan.

Uncertain whether it's the right time to go to Plymouth,

Gareth calls a meeting.

It's not a position I've been in before, it's new territory for me.

I'd love to go to Plymouth, it's an accident of timing that everything happened this weekend.

The music can't solve the problem, but I kind of have a hunch that it might be something beneficial.

I want to know what you think about it really. Suzy?

They need all the support they can get.

They need something to focus on.

I'd be lost without it, this is my distraction,

it keeps me going in a way and they're having a pretty rough time.

I can't describe to you how hard it is on a personal level.

It's heartbreaking.

The potential for upsetting people who're already incredibly upset,

going into a very sensitive situation

with something as crass as singing in a choir,

it's testing what a choir is for

and testing it to the limit.

-Hello, ladies. Ready?

-Yeah.

-Let's go.

Despite some reservations, Gareth takes a small group from his Chivenor choir to Plymouth.

hoping to inspire new members to join.

Ladies of the Chivenor choir,

we're going to a place just outside Plymouth

which is where a lot of the women live.

We're going to go and flyer all their houses

and try and drum up some support for this evening.

Nearly 2,000 military families are based in Plymouth.

Here we go. OK, ladies, make this happen.

And most of its 1,300 soldiers are currently serving on the front line in Afghanistan.

It's about letting your hair down, doing something you've not done before.

My husband has been out 11 weeks and I've been stressing out,

the kids are stressed out and it's no good for anybody.

You need something for you. What you need is a choir.

Like Sister Act?

It's Sister Act.

Thank you very much, see you later on.

Gareth's arranged for potential new members to meet

in the Sergeants' Mess.

Hello, come on in.

-Hello.

-What's your name?

-Heather.

-Any singing experience?

-Yeah, I was in the school choir.

-School choir.

-And what does your husband do?

-Royal Marines.

Hi, Laura.

Good turnout. Hi.

-Been in a couple of rock bands.

-Rock bands.

I love it. I think you're our first rock singer.

-What does your husband do?

-He's a submariner.

Submariner. Go on through.

Ladies, it's really good to see so many of you here tonight.

We're all very aware that we've come at a sensitive time, so we wanted to acknowledge that.

We've come with some fun

and just to share our singing with you,

hopefully inspire you and give you something to focus on during what I know is a very difficult time.

-Suzy, please.

-Hi, I'm Suzy.

I moved to Chivenor about seven months ago.

I knew nobody, then the flyers came through for the choir.

I wasn't going to do it, originally -

best thing I've ever done.

I don't regret it for a minute. I'm happy,

I'm smiling,

which is hard to do at times like this...

and it's getting us all through a very tough time.

-I'm shaking!

-LAUGHTER

Um...but, yeah,

I highly recommend it, and just get stuck in

and enjoy it for everything it is, because it's fabulous.

APPLAUSE

PIANO STARTS UP

# I don't know what it is that makes me love you so

# I only know I never want to let you go

# Cos you started something Can't you see

# That ever since we met You've got a hold on me

# It happens to be true I only want to be with you. #

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Very good. Now it's YOUR turn! Just sing it slightly slowly, the tune at the beginning,

all together now - one, two, three, four -

# I don't know what it is that makes me love you so

# I only know I never want to let you go... #

Stop.

At this point, things get more complicated -

# Cos you started something Can't you see... #

-Sing that for me - three, four! ALL:

-# Cos you started something

# Oh, can't you see... #

Two, three, and...

# You stopped and smiled at me

# Asked me if I'd care to dance

Lighter - # You stopped and smiled... #

More innocent, it's a bit... HE SINGS WITH AGGRESSIVE TONE

# You b... !

# You left me... then you went to Afghanistan! #

Very innocent, OK?

One, two, three, four...

# I don't know what it is that makes me love you so

# I only know I never want to let you go

# Cos you started something Oh can't you see

# That ever since we met you've had a hold on me

# It happens to be true I only want to be with you. #

Round of applause. Really well done.

It feels to me that singing is such a necessary thing.

I've just had a daughter, and we sing with her all the time,

and she absolutely lights up, not just cos she's a genius,

but because...

because she loves singing and it's such a human thing to do.

That was extremely good for a first start.

Class dismissed, thank you. APPLAUSE

I was able to forget the complications in my life

and just have a good night,

and I feel I'm doing something for myself.

A bit nervy, but I've got to say,

for a bunch of Royal Marines' wives,

we did quite well, but then we would do, wouldn't we(?)

I am actually quite scared about how good they are.

They are actually really amazing,

and that's a bit intimidating.

That was absolutely brilliant,

really exciting. It felt like something was really happening.

I was really worried about coming here and singing with them,

I didn't want to stir up emotions at this really difficult time.

Those women, especially, whose husbands are in action at the moment, and are suffering fatalities,

I really feel for them.

It's lovely to be able to do something like that, that just takes them out of it for ten minutes,

makes them think about something else.

With such a positive response from Plymouth,

Gareth has a newly expanded choir.

And there's a perfect opportunity approaching to showcase it -

Plymouth's annual Armed Forces Day.

HE HUMS Sitting and working it out, I keep imagining

the women of Plymouth, and then, somehow, musically speaking,

the support of the Chivenor Choir.

I've got a mash-up of two songs, one of which is...

HE SINGS # I'll be there

# I'll be there... #

Jackson Five song. The other one is a song

by a guy called Bruno Mars.

# Girl, you're amazing Just the way you are. #

The choruses fit together really well, the verses fit together well,

so you'd have one verse, then another verse of a different song,

one chorus, then a different chorus, then the two things come together and fit like glue.

What's important is that this is about these women coming together, and showing support for each other,

not just from one base, but from one base to another base.

Hello, hello. Hi.

At their next rehearsal, Gareth reveals his idea to the new recruits.

Every choir, even when they are only two weeks old,

really needs to do a performance.

I propose that you, alongside the full ranks of

the Chivenor Ladies' Choir, will go and perform at Armed Forces Day.

CHORISTER SNEEZES

LAUGHTER

You are allergic to Armed Forces Day! Oh, dear!

I've done an arrangement... # Ooh-oo-ooh... #

Does anyone know what it is?

-Bruno Mars?

-Bruno Mars, right. So, have a copy of the words.

You're only going to need the very first bit and the chorus.

Chivenor then sing I'll Be There. And it'll be really exciting.

The first time you hear it will be on the day.

LAUGHTER

But don't worry because I'll be there going like this: "Now!"

LAUGHTER

And you just look at me.

-Two, three...

-# When I see your face... #

That's it, good.

Would it be ridiculous to go...

HE SINGS FALSETTO

Would it sound a bit ridiculous? Try it. One, two, three and go.

SINGING AND LAUGHTER

# She's so beautiful and I tell her every day. #

And there. So... Sh-sh.

We have a performance in under two weeks.

This has unsettled you, I can see. It's going to be fine.

Take your sheets, bring them back next week. Thank you very much. You may go.

It was a bit nerve wracking because we don't have much time

to prepare, and at first we sounded quite dodgy.

So I hope it all comes together.

It's going to be scary.

This is the second week we've done this.

I'm kind of hoping that we all come together

and sound like we should, rather than sounding like a pack of wild dogs,

which is what I'm really terrified about.

Gareth spends the next two weeks shuttling the 70 miles between Plymouth and Chivenor.

I didn't see any knee dippers. Just try it, just humour me.

# I'll be there. #

It helps me, anyway.

-# I'll be there... #

-That's really good.

Having two choirs in two different locations is a stress.

I'm getting to know this road very well indeed.

Don't be embarrassed. Fortitude, ladies. Two, three and...

# Her eyes, her eyes

# Make the stars look like they're not shining. #

Bit slow. Can we just do the words?

Her hair, her hair...

-Falls perfectly without her trying.

-You're still slowing me down.

It's like playing in treacle.

-# You and I... #

-Yeah.

# ..must make a pact

# We must bring salvation back

# Where there is love I'll be there. #

Fabulous. Sit down, thank you. Well done.

This isn't about showing their vulnerability,

this is about showing their strength,

and how impressive a bunch of women they are.

CANNON FIRES

It's June 25th and Armed Forces Day.

CHEERING

For the people of Plymouth, it's a chance to celebrate their military heritage.

This way, everyone.

For Gareth, it's the first time his new,

100-strong choir will sing together.

To mark the occasion, the Chivenor choir arrive dressed in white,

with their Plymouth counterparts dressed in red.

I really think there might be some tears in the crowd. Definitely.

Yeah, I think you might... and in the choir, actually.

Yeah, definitely!

OK. The massed choirs of Plymouth

and Chivenor are ready for their performance. Let's go. THEY CHEER

MARCHING MUSIC PLAYS

Ladies and gentlemen, I am delighted to present to you

the Plymouth and Chivenor Military Wives' and Girlfriends' Choirs,

along with the Band of the Royal Marines. CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

# You and I must make a pact

# We must bring salvation back

# Where there is love I'll be there.

# Her eyes, her eyes make the stars look like they're not shining

# Her hair, her hair falls perfectly without her trying

# She's so beautiful and I tell her every day

# When I see your face

# There's not a thing that I would change

# Girl, you're amazing

# Just the way you are

# When I see your face

# I'll be there

# There's not a thing that I would change

# I'll be there

# Girl, you're amazing just the way you are

# I'll be there

# And when you smile

# I'll be there

# The whole world stops and stares for a while

# Girl, you're amazing just the way you are

# And I'll be there. #

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

We were watching, baby!

I'm not crying cos it was really bad!

I looked over and my mum was like that...

It is a phenomenal feeling, I can't explain it. It's so nice.

All of us came together. It was awesome.

It's combined us all together.

We just feel like one big team now and it's just a really good feeling.

Bring on the next one!

You've got all these women able to sing really well.

And uniting their voices, that sends a better message of support

to the troops than anything else I can think of.

It's so potent.

It just makes me think, "Bigger - do more, more of this!"

It's really, really strong.

It's late summer.

For Chivenor Wives,

there's now just two more months before their husbands come home.

Good. Well done.

Simple.

'It's really moving to hear how far they've come for me,

'because they're investing so much energy in this

'and there's emotion in their singing now.'

Well done, absolutely astonishing.

'It's a very emotional time for them.'

We can see the end but there's still a long way to go.

You're frustrated cos you want them home now.

It's like that last bit of your pregnancy when you're miserable

and you want the baby to come and that's what it's like.

I don't even know what I'm going to say to him.

Probably just how much I love him.

Tired now, bored, we need Daddy now.

The girls, they've done really well, they have.

We've had our moments, like every family going through this.

It's the uncertainty.

It's so hard to go through this kind of thing

when you have no control over the situation.

You can't relax until they're on that plane,

till you know they've left that country.

To get the women through this last stage,

Gareth has pulled out all the stops.

You need to keep Saturday 12th November free,

because you're going, and it gives me huge excitement to tell you,

we're going to perform at the Festival of Remembrance.

It's at the Royal Albert Hall.

More than that, it's live on BBC One.

More than that...

Take That are coming!

It's not Take That. No, no.

It's in front of the Royal Family.

This is as big as it gets.

The guys will be back and we'll be able to celebrate, remember,

it's an entirely appropriate platform for us.

It could be tough but it's going to be brilliant to do.

I want this to be the best thing you've ever done.

It would be a very, very proud moment.

So we're going to have to work hard. Well done, very good rehearsal.

I think a lot of us are quite emotional about it

cos it means so much and it's such a personal thing to us...

Sorry!

I've said, "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.

It's of national importance and national significance.

Nothing else I've done has felt like that.

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

I can't think of anything better.

For performance at the Royal Albert Hall,

Gareth wants to have something specially composed.

So he's visiting Paul Mealor,

who composed the main choral piece for the Royal Wedding.

-Hello, Paul.

-Hi, how are you, Gareth?

-Very well, how are you?

I'm all right, welcome.

The reason I contacted you

was because I couldn't find the right piece

It's trying to find that line

between something that's moving and does speak and is about remembrance

but also about celebration. They have something to celebrate.

At this point, touching wood, their husbands should be home

so it's a bit more major key than minor key, perhaps.

I can do major key.

You can do major key? Good. That's great.

You're the easiest composer to work with that I've ever met.

I wondered about getting letters

because they all write a lot of letters.

I've never done it before.

They may write poetry themselves, they may write lyrics.

Ask them.

Thank you very much. I'll be in touch with some text.

'I'm seriously excited about this. It's brilliant.'

It's every choir masters dream to have somebody write stuff for you.

The news has spread that Gareth needs letters for the song.

Catherine is married to Sergeant Andrew Catchpole,

who's currently in Afghanistan on his third tour of duty.

The couple have been married for ten years

and have a five-year-old son, Freddie.

We always have our own little things.

He'll always put a kiss on the back and I'll always do three.

A big one and two little ones.

They're old fashioned now but the same as the perfume,

I'll put perfume on the letters and parcels

and I'll put lipstick on and kiss the back.

At the Royal Albert Hall...

it's going to be...

really... Yeah, mind-blowing is the only word I can think of.

Anyone hearing it would hopefully

get a snippet of a window of our life.

We're the other half to them.

That's what he says, "I couldn't do this without you."

I want to make him proud by something we're achieving

cos he's achieving that.

Yeah, I hope we smash it.

"Miss you, today, tomorrow and always.

"I miss you with each passing second and I count every single one

"knowing that as each one passes me by,

"it brings me another second closer to you. I love you more."

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 and now I'm with you always."

Thank you very much.

"There are no goodbyes for us.

"Wherever you are, you're always in my heart."

It's on my bracelet my husband got me for my birthday.

That's lovely. Great.

The letters that the women have given me are so personal

and I've given them to Paul Mealor to make something out of.

It's very exciting, waiting for him to write a composition.

It's all becoming very real.

But before the concert at the Royal Albert Hall,

there is one more performance that the wives cannot miss.

So, the men are coming home very shortly

and I can now reveal,

that we are going to be singing at the homecoming parade.

No song is ever going to quite do justice to the fact

that your men have been away for all this time

and you've shown amazing resilience through all of that.

I've come up with what I think is a really good solution

although it's not an obvious choral classic.

It is, I Want To Dance With Somebody by Whitney Houston.

Is that good? Oh, good. Shall we try it?

I want this to be a bit all-singing, all-dancing.

A bit of a show number. We've not got long to put it on.

# Do do do do do do ah. #

Can you sing that for three, and one.

# Do do do do do do ah.

# Do do do do do do ah. #

But it's not only the wives who've been missing the men during this six-month tour to Afghanistan.

The dads being away affects the entire family,

it's not just the mums, it's the kids as well. And I can't leave them out of this.

This is the school where a lot of the military children go to.

What percentage would you say are from a military background?

We've got 40% at the moment.

-Hello!

-Is your daddy... where is he?

-In "Afsghanidan".

-Is he? Afghanistan!

How many people have heard from their family this week,

if you've got someone in Afghanistan?

-CJ.

-I had... Dad had his birthday in Afghanistan a week ago.

-What did you send him?

-Um...

I sent him some sweets, and a mug,

saying "You're the best dad in the world."

Aw!

Ten-year-old CJ lives with his mum, Danni.

His dad is a vehicle repair engineer

and has been in Afghanistan for the past five months.

My dad's been away four times, so I'm quite used to it,

but my mum still cries when he goes away.

The first time Dad went out, it was really slow, it just kept on going.

Sometimes when I think at night,

I don't think Dad's going to make it back, but then he does,

he actually gets back and when he does get back, it's really exciting.

Gareth's determined to make the children

a part of the homecoming celebrations.

HE SINGS HIGH NOTE

# Can you sing that for me? Laaa... #

# Laaaa.

# Don't you wanna dance Say you wanna dance Don't you wanna dance. #

Three, go.

# Don't you wanna dance Say you wanna dance Don't you wanna dance. #

But what I don't want is... HE SINGS FEEBLY

(LOUDLY) # Don't you wanna dance Say you wanna dance Don't you wanna dance. #

Fun and funky and really upbeat. Two, three, and...

# Don't you wanna dance Say you wanna dance Don't you wanna dance. #

What's your name with the glasses there?

Pardon? Erin.

I could hear your voice all the way over here.

It sounded really good, really good sound from Erin there.

Let's all put that amount of effort in. Really go for it.

Two, three, and...

# Don't you wanna dance Say you wanna dance Don't you wanna dance. #

# Don't you wanna dance Say you wanna dance Don't you wanna dance. #

# With somebody who loves me

# Don't you wanna dance Say you wanna dance Don't you wanna dance

# Do do do do. #

It's going to be a little bit nervous, but I'll be very brave,

and I'll tell my dad before we start, "You rock."

It's September.

The homecoming dates are getting closer.

# And when the night falls

# Loneliness calls... #

And one.

# Oh, I want to dance with somebody... #

Who's playing the tambourine?

You weren't in time!

That's it. One, two, three, and...

# I've been in love and lost my senses

# Spinning through the town

# Do do-dee-do-dee-doo, ahhh

-# Da-dah da-dah da-dah da-dah

-Sooner or later the fever ends

-# Da-dah da-dah da-dah da-dah

-And I wind up feeling down... #

Yeah, good, all right. That's great. Catherine, sing that on your own.

# I've been in love I've lost my senses. #

-Shall I do the line?

-I've been in love and I've lost my senses.

Do the first verse, the clock strikes. One, two, three, and go.

# Clock strikes upon the hour

# And the sun begins to fade

# Been in love, la-la-la-la-la... #

LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE

All those who think Catherine ought to do that first verse as a solo?

CHEERING

It feels right.

Sorry, Catherine, it's just one of those moments where talent outs.

-Yeah, it just...

-As does my blood pressure.

Listen, I am powerless to resist the charms of your voice.

It sounds great. Thank you very much, that's great. Good.

I just like the song, so there's me belting it out, you know,

enjoying it, not thinking that I can... No. Oh, well. I'll try!

I hope I don't croak it. My throat goes all tight when I panic.

The majority of the men are now due back within the next few days.

He's been gone 28 weeks tomorrow.

So, yeah, that's our little chart there of...

Of how long he's been gone.

-Try again, shall we?

-Yeah.

I can't wait till he comes back, to start life again.

It's not until they're on the way home that you realise

you've been on pause for the last six months.

I thought it'd be easier, cos it's not the first time he's been away.

But, I don't know, maybe the feelings get stronger.

I've just missed him immensely.

The blues is the weeks he's been away.

Today, Thursday, when he comes back, "home" will be written right there.

193...days.

After a six-month tour of duty, 250 Chivenor men

return home from Afghanistan to be reunited with their loved ones.

Families and friends and children are through there.

Thank you, welcome back, you are now released.

-Daddy!

-Shout louder.

Daddy!

Always good to be home.

Especially after a tour that's been this long.

It's probably the longest, hardest tour I've done.

So it's always good to get home.

Let's take Daddy home!

We had a quite lucky, or successful tour if you put it that way.

As in, we had a few scrapes,

but I think that's about as close as we got.

'It's finished, and six months has gone.'

You wouldn't believe it, we've missed Easter, we've missed summer.

It is hard, it's hard to be separated from your family.

He's here now, and he's safe. And we can just get on with our life now.

Sometimes when I cuddle him

he squeezes me so hard, I can't breathe.

To make up for all the cuddles he's missed!

Every other conversation with Nicola was the choir.

It'd be really good to actually hear what the choir

has produced in six months.

I'm really looking forward to it.

It's the day of the homecoming parade.

For Chivenor, the celebrations are particularly special,

as all the men returned home from Afghanistan safely.

Fall out!

APPLAUSE

Ladies! Hello, hey. All right, it's show time.

-Is everyone feeling all right? ALL:

-Yeah.

Where's Catherine Catchpole?

-Is she in the toilet?

-No.

-She's not here?

-She might be out there.

-Yeah.

Hello! Oh! Am I glad to see you!

Catherine, did you have a moment?

-I did.

-Are you with us?

-Yes.

-Good, right.

Good afternoon, everyone. I just want to say one thing - welcome home.

# The clock strikes upon the hour

# And the sun begins to fade

# Do-do-do-do-do do-ah

# Still enough time to figure out

# How to chase my blues away

# Ahh-ahh

# I've done all right up till now

# It's the light of day that shows me how

# But when the night falls

# Loneliness calls

# Oh, I wanna dance with somebody

# I wanna feel the heat with somebody

# Yeah, I wanna dance with somebody

# With somebody who loves me

-# Somebody who

-Somebody who

-# Ahhh-ahhh

-Somebody to love me

-# Somebody who, somebody who

-Ahh-ah-ah-ah

-# Somebody who, somebody who

-Ahh-ah-ah-ah

# Somebody to want me

CHILDREN: # I've done all right up till now

# It's the light that shows me how

# When the night falls

# When the night falls

# When the night falls

# When the night falls

-# When the night falls

-When the night falls

# Don't you wanna dance, say you wanna dance, don't you wanna dance

# Don't you wanna dance, say you wanna dance, don't you wanna dance

# Don't you wanna dance, say you wanna dance, don't you wanna dance

# With somebody who loves me

# Don't you wanna dance, say you wanna dance, don't you wanna dance

# Whooo! #

I thought she was absolutely fantastic. So proud of her.

I know she was getting really nervous before the start.

It didn't sound like it, she looked like she really enjoyed it,

I thought it was absolutely amazing. Made me so proud, she's brilliant.

Really, really, really good.

All the effort they put into it has come to fruition.

It was a really good performance. Brilliant.

Far easier for me to command soldiers in Afghanistan

than try and coordinate that.

Actually, I think you're right. It probably was!

-Welcome home.

-Thanks.

Well done. That is mission accomplished.

I'm going to give you medals. Choir medals! Really, really well done.

The homecoming parade was fantastic. It was exactly what I wanted.

We now have to focus on the Royal Albert Hall,

which is an infinitely bigger challenge.

I've got the Paul Mealor piece now, which is brilliant.

It's exactly the right piece for the women

and I'm going to start it at rehearsal tonight.

I think they'll love it.

Gareth's travelled to Plymouth, home to the other half of his choir.

Many of the women's husbands are Royal Marines

still on frontline duty in Afghanistan.

And today, Gareth wants to unveil to them the specially composed piece for the Royal Albert Hall.

I've got here a document that I sent to Paul Mealor.

It's all your letters typed up. He read them.

He then created a poem out of them,

out of the sentiments and out of lots of the words.

In particular, the title of it comes from a bracelet that one of

the women at Chivenor has round her wrist

that was given to her by her husband.

It says, "Wherever you are, you are always in my heart."

The title of the piece is Wherever You Are.

He's done a brilliant job.

# Wherever you are, my love will keep you safe

# My heart will build a bridge of light

# Across both time and space... #

I'm going to let you take over in a minute...

We've got one in tears already! Two in tears. I'm so sorry.

Listen... Three in tears, I'm so sorry.

It is a very, very emotional piece.

It sounds like it's from everyone's hearts

and it brings everything into perspective.

It doesn't matter what you're doing during the day,

someone's loved one is out in this war

when they should be at home with their families and they're not.

The hardest thing about this song is we go from # Wherever... # Disney

to # Light up the dark... #

Choral, big old big big.

So it's tough to pull that off, I think.

But if anyone can do it, you can. One, two...

-HIGH-PITCHED:

-# Light up the darkness My prince of peace... #

Yes! Almost! Almost!

It's going to take a while

because it's not a walk in the park, this.

Those of you who can, homework please and do it this week,

rather than in five weeks.

Start learning it now.

The Royal Albert Hall performance is now just three weeks away.

But for Gareth, there's still one thing missing.

I want it to start with a solo because I think

if you start small with one voice, you draw in the audience

and then you take them along with you as you bring in more and more voices.

I think that's more emotional, which is really what I want.

The women are coming to audition for the solo for the Royal Albert Hall.

The Officers' Mess is somewhere unfamiliar

because that's what they're going to have to do at the Royal Albert Hall.

This is like the pinnacle of nervousness at the moment.

I can't put my hands anywhere because they're shaking so much.

It's a massive gig. Massive.

I would struggle to stand up and sing in front of that number of people. I really would.

Bring in the troops.

Good luck, Donna.

Two, three...

# Wherever you are

# My love will keep you safe

# My heart will build a bridge of light

# Across both time and space. #

Good.

# Wherever I am... #

I've forgotten the bloody words!

Seven, eight, nine.

I've now heard nine and no-one is ready for the Queen.

Next!

# Aah-aah-aah-ahh aah-aah-ahh

# Aah-aah-aah-aah-aah

# Aa-a-ah. #

# Aah-aah-aah aah-aah-aah

# Aah-aah-aah-aah-aah Aah-aah-aah... #

# Aah-aah-aah-aah aah-aah-aah-aah

# Aah-aah-aah-aah-aah Aah. #

# Aah-aah-aah-aah aah-aah-aah

# Aah-aah-aah... #

Sorry, sorry, sorry.

Sing the next bit for me.

# Wherever you are, my heart... #

-Oh, I don't even know the words, sorry.

-It's OK.

-No, sorry.

-Use the music, do it again.

-No, but this is so bad.

-It's not bad.

-It's not bad. You have a great voice.

-I really need to compose myself.

Take a minute. But you'll come back?

Sam?

I just totally messed it up.

How did it go, Sam?

Are you OK? 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 am so worried, SO worried for her.

-Sam?

-Yeah?

-Take two.

-Yeah, take two.

-All is forgiven. It's all fine.

-I've composed myself now.

-I want you to get through this.

# Wherever you are

# My love will keep you safe

# My heart will build a bridge of light across both time and space. #

Good. Sam, look, my only worry is just... Could you handle the pressure?

I mean, personally, I have my reasons for wanting it. I'm sorry.

-It's all right.

-I want to do it for my mum

cos I know she'd be so proud of me. And that's...

-Yeah, look.

-Sorry.

-That's all right. Here, come on.

For Sam, the solo auditions couldn't be coming at a worse time.

My mum was recently involved in an accident with a car,

and she's now in a high-dependency unit.

And she's suffered, like, quite a lot of fractures and she has brain injuries, and...

It's one of the worst situations - you know, your husband's in Afghan

for, six, seven months, and you worry constantly about them, because they are on hell and earth.

And he comes back totally fine,

and then my mum's involved in a nasty accident.

It just feels like there's one thing after another, and...

You know, going for the solo...

I really want it, cos I know I can do it, but...

I just feel like my confidence has just been total knocked down.

We have a very important announcement today and I know you all know

and you're all expecting it. This is the announcement of the solo.

So I'm not going to beat around the bush too much

but I'm going to get straight to it.

I'd like to give a very special mention to Kelly who absolutely

nailed it, it was rock solid...

APPLAUSE

..but I have made the final decision, I would like the soloist to be Sam.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Very well done to Sam.

So, so proud of Sam. I think she's the right choice.

'God bless her. She'll be brilliant.'

She's got an amazing voice.

What an opportunity

and what a privilege to be asked to do something like that.

Sorry.

This is the ultimate test of what the choir can do.

And I hope that the women are going to rally round her

and give her a boost and get her on that stage. I'm delighted for her.

It's going to be really hard work to sing this.

You should be knackered by the end of the rehearsals.

With a week and a half to go,

Gareth wants the whole choir to give it their all.

# My love will... #

You know, you're not a pirate, Michelle.

You're, you know, you're a beautiful woman.

# I hold you in my dreams each night Until your task is done... #

-Good, it sounded like you were starting to enjoy it a bit more.

-No!