Episode 3 The Choir

Choirmaster Gareth Malone

believes that music can change the toughest of lives.

I know that music can bring people together

under really extraordinary circumstances.

He's spent five months at two bases in Devon,

leading a choir of military wives

while their husbands are away fighting in Afghanistan.

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

I would be crying the whole day.

Let's turn on the pizzazz right now.

With the men soon coming home, Gareth has just eight weeks

to prepare his choir for the performance of a lifetime.

This is it, the Albert Hall.

I'm sorry for getting you into this,

but listen, we're up to our necks in it now.

Hip hip! CROWD: Hooray!

I'm petrified.

Butterflies, I can hear the music. It's happening.

It all comes down to this.

It's late summer

and for the women of the RMB Chivenor Military Wives Choir,

there are still two months before their husbands come home.

Stand up, please.

WOMEN SING

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.

For many of the choir members,

this final stretch before the men come home is the longest.

You're frustrated because 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.

It's announcement time. This is quite a big announcement.

It goes to the very heart of why I'm here.

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.

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.

-Everybody happy with that?

-ALL: Yes.

I'm done. Over and out. Well done, very good rehearsal.

It's so exciting, I can't put it into words, and such a shock.

I'm not a crier but it brought tears to my eyes!

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!

It's quite gobsmacking.

You don't know what to say cos it's such a privilege and an honour.

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 Gareth, it's essential to have the right piece

for the Royal Albert Hall.

He's decided he wants to have something specially composed.

I'm going to see Paul Mealor, who's a really wonderful composer.

He composed one of the stand-out pieces

from Kate and William's Royal Wedding recently.

He's prepared to write something for the women, for the Royal Albert Hall,

which is really exciting.

It's working out what he's going to write and how it's going to work.

-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

that really speaks about their courage and their strength

and vulnerability and gets to nub of them.

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 right 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 10 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 put lipstick on.

I'll kiss the back.

A million more kisses, the longer the time goes,

the kisses get longer at the end of the letter.

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. Thank you.

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 and very immediate

because the guys are coming home now.

Six months they've been away and in just a matter of weeks,

they'll be parading through these streets.

There's going to be a huge celebratory homecoming parade

with flags and everyone cheering

and that's where I think our next performance should be.

That's a perfect build up to the Royal Albert Hall.

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. #

Let's have it for the second.

# Do do do do do do ah.

# Do do do do do do ah. #

Great, that's a good sound. Can we spring off?

# Do do do do do do ah. #

Two, three and one.

# Do do do do do do ah. #

OK, if you think that bit's difficult, let's just look at the next bit.

LAUGHTER

So...

HE SINGS TUNE

# Da-da-da, ah. #

Second part, you're on the offbeat.

Now, the complexity is, that it goes...

HE SINGS TUNE

Like that.

Are you excited?

They're excited, you're not so!

2, 3, and 1.

THEY SING

# Da, da, da, da, da...

# Da, da, da, da, da... #

No!

THEY LAUGH

There's a sort of universal symbol of choral failure,

which is when you just go...

LAUGHTER

Every choir does it. "I can't sing this! You're a lunatic!"

You can! You can.

All right, I know you have to go and pick up your kids, so let's call it a day.

This is what we've been doing it for, for them, to keep them happy,

they know that we're happy - "Here we go, this is what we've done.

"What do you think?"

When they are marching down the streets or around camp,

we have that lump in our throat,

and it would be nice to switch it a little bit, them to have a lump in their throat and feel proud of us.

They're really keen. They're really excited about the homecoming parade, and so am I,

I think it's really good. It's the right place for us to perform, and it's what this is all about.

Now they're coming home, it feels right to sing, and to sing something celebratory.

It's not only the wives who have been missing the men during the 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.

Hello. Hi, could I see Miss Gillett?

This is where the youngest children are.

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!

The 4-year-olds are incredible,

and they're coming to us with specific questions or comments about the importance,

not making Mummy feel sad, and making sure that they are brave,

and making sure that they help out around the house.

Put your hand up if your Daddy's away at the moment.

-That's quite a lot of you.

-That's right.

'They're hearing things on the news about soldiers being shot,'

and not being identified, and that's quite scary. Even the young ones pick up on it.

How many people have heard from their family this week,

if you've got someone in Afghanistan?

-CJ.

-I heard said 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!

10-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.

This one is of my dad, I think when he was in Afghanistan two years ago.

And he was, like, helping.

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.

I think for the children it's possibly even more difficult than it is for the women,

because that's six months of their lives,

and I want them to be there at the end, I want them there for the homecoming parade,

and I think that'll mean a lot to them, they'll want to do that.

Gareth organises a rehearsal for the children.

Hello.

-CHILDREN:

-Hello.

Hi. Very good to see you all.

I would like for you to come and sing to the dads

-as part of the homecoming parade, would you like that?

-Yeah!

And I'd like you to sing with the mum's choir, I'd like you to stand alongside them and sing.

You've got the coolest bit of the whole song. We go...

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

-Don't you wanna dance.

-Don't you wanna dance.

-Say you wanna dance.

-Say you wanna dance.

-Don't you wanna dance.

-Don't you wanna dance.

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'll be a good surprise as well, because they won't really expect it.

I really enjoyed that, it was really fun.

It doesn't need to be the greatest quality singing, it's for their dads, it's going to be a lovely event.

It's September.

The homecoming dates are getting closer.

We're counting down the days

and there's seven more days, so it's a week,

and we're just so excited and can't wait.

We're all like little hens, we're all preparing,

tidying up, cleaning, cutting the grass, it's like a nesting thing!

With most of the men now due back in less than a week,

Gareth turns on the pressure.

# Yeah I wanna dance with somebody. #

Good, can you spit it out, ladies, it's marked "forte".

Two, three, and one.

-But the Whitney song is proving difficult to master.

-Two, three, and.

# Yeah I wanna dance with somebody. #

I think on the word "dance" I heard somebody go up, or am I hearing things now?

Was it Hayley?

-I've got no clue.

-Got no clue! Course you have!

Gareth crams in the rehearsals.

Here we go. Two, three, and one.

THEY SING

No, you've got to wait for them to do their first thing, that's all I can say.

THEY SING

No, you wait and then come straight in.

The progress is slow.

And one.

THEY SING

Yeah, yeah, you were right, you just stopped.

No, you were right, you were right.

THEY SING

THEY CLAP THEIR HANDS

OK, right.

Let's turn on the pizzazz right now. One, two, three and one.

THEY SING

No, that is not pizzazz!

# Ah.

# Ah. #

Which do you prefer?

Effort, effort, effort, commitment, commitment, commitment.

There are some very awkward moments.

Not impressed!

Hey ho, keep smiling, I know.

That was hard.

I'm kicking myself,

it's making me really angry with myself,

just trying to get it right.

There's quite a lot of stress. We're going to do an extra rehearsal.

So how are we all feeling?

-Unprepared.

-Unprepared?

-Massively.

OK. Well, let's have an emergency rehearsal.

I think that might be useful. Two, three, four.

# But 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.

# 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.

Catherine is exactly the right person for that solo.

It's Whitney Houston, you need a voice like hers, somebody quite poppy.

And I think that voice will inspire everyone else to sing in the right way.

And I haven't found a place for her before, but this is it.

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

But precise arrival times are not known.

Hayley has just heard from her husband Adrian

that he's reached the stopover base in Cyprus.

-Ooh!

-Ooh!

-He's been gone 28 weeks tomorrow.

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

of how long he's been gone.

We're in limbo at the moment because we're just...

I'm waiting for definite news of what time he'll be home.

-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.

Sarah's heard that her husband David has now arrived in Britain.

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.

It's like, um, a really good excitement

but also a bit nervy, butterflies in your tummy.

Just general excitement, like Christmas morning as a kid.

It's that kind of feeling.

The blues is the weeks he's been away.

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

193...days.

Over the next few days, 250 Chivenor men

will return home from Afghanistan

to be reunited with their loved ones after a six month tour of duty.

Families and friends and children are through there.

Thank you, welcome back, you are now released.

Daddy!

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!

I was going to look through the book and see what there is.

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.

Before they're officially released from their tour of duty

at the barracks, 250 men from 24 Commando Royal Engineer Regiment

march through the town centre.

This is a big day, you can feel the emotion in the air

and the significance of this.

The women are so proud to have their husbands home. It's really important.

It matters to the women, and the women matter to me.

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.

This means a huge amount to us and I hope we make you proud today.

I'm delighted to present the children and the women of RMB Chivenor,

with soloist Catherine Catchpole, and the Royal Engineers band.

# 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 to 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

# 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! #

APPLAUSE

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. 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.

In Plymouth, home to the other half of Gareth's military choir,

many of the husbands are Royal Marines

still on frontline duty in Afghanistan.

During this tour, they've been hit hard with many casualties

and several fatalities.

Before I came here, this was just a news story and a statistic,

but it's seven guys from here that have died

and many more injured.

It's families and it's people and it's people now

that are just one or two people away from me in the choir.

There's quite a few to the guy that died just a week or two ago who had a young family.

It's really painful to look at.

Today, Gareth is ready to unveil the specially composed

piece that the choir will sing at 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. Shall I sing you a bit of it?

-Yeah.

-Right.

# 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.

One, two, three, four...

-# Wherever you are... #

-Soft here.

-Very light as we go down.

-# Our hearts still beat as one

# I'd hold you in my dreams each night... #

That's where it gets complicated.

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

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.

# Light up the darkness, my wondrous star! #

It's my favourite bit!

So... Sshh.

One, two...

HIGH-PITCHED: # Light up the darkness my prince of peace... #

Yes! Almost!

Almost, not quite.

You know what the problem was?

You showed it fear. So you went, # Light up the da-arkness! #

Just go, # Light up the dark... # Grab it by the horns and sing it.

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.

I want this to really speak about these women's experiences

and I feel like a solo voice at the beginning does that

more effectively than just hearing them all.

Altos can you shunt up a bit.

This week is a very important week

because I'm going to be doing auditions in the Officers' Mess.

The person that does this has to be able to

stand up on that stage and deliver.

How many people are going for it?

One, two...ten...

11, 12, 13, 14...15. Great.

But for choir member, Sam,

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

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

She's now in the high dependency unit and she's suffered

quite a lot of fractures and she has brain injuries.

It's like one of the worst situations.

Your husband is in Afghan for six, seven months

and you worry constantly about them because they are on hell on 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 because I know I can do it

but I just feel like my confidence has been totally knocked down.

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. So for someone who's a complete amateur...

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.

-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. 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... Is your current predicament.

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.

-Look...

-Sorry.

-No, no. Don't worry, don't worry.

I mean, I am going through a very stressful situation.

I know that you can perform under pressure cos you did Sandhurst

and you aced that one.

So I know you want to do it, so let me think about it.

-I have got others to consider as well.

-I'm not keeping my breath held.

All right.

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, she's...

You know, emotional rollercoaster for all of us, but a lot more

for her for many reasons and so I'm really, really proud.

'God bless her. She did brilliant.'

She'll just pull one out the bag on the day

cos she's got an amazing voice.

What an opportunity

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

Sorry. It's just...

I really didn't think I was going to get it.

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!

SINGING

No, come on, come on. We've done this 16 times. Ready, two...

# Wherever... # Where were you? That could happen, you've got to be there anywhere.

Shh, shh, please stop talking. Thank you.

Now that all the poppies are going on sale in the local shops, it's all getting very real.

Light up the DARKness. Because these are lyrics about you.

This is where I just don't believe you at the moment.

'They've got to mean it, they've got to access the words

'and that is really difficult, it requires a huge amount of energy.'

-ALL:

-Light up the darkness, my wondrous star.

-Whose wondrous star is it?

-ALL: Mine.

-Yes!

With just two rehearsals left,

the words are really starting to sink in.

One, two, three.

# Greater love

# Hath no man than this... #

Good.

# ..Greater love... #

'The meaning of the text here is so poignant,

'and suddenly, today, it just all clicked for them.'

# ..lay down his life... #

'I mean, Nikki is an absolute stalwart.

'She is so strong, she's got a rod of steel up her spine.'

But she's finding this really difficult.

..two, three.

# ..That a man lay down...

'I'm glad that we've had all these tears now,

'because what I'm concerned about is when we get to the Royal Albert Hall,

'that they'll all be completely incapable of singing.'

Well done. Shall we stop before this turns into a massive sob-fest?

One of the lines, the very last line,

if I say it, I'm going to go again.

It just, sort of, hits home, I think, why we've done this.

Sorry, I'm going to go again.

Me, personally, I know I've got to get my head round it somehow.

And just have the steel to be able to go on there.

I can't practice it without a tear coming to my eye.

Really difficult, it's just that bit, "wherever you are",

and even though my husband's back, you put yourself in that position again and you really feel the words

and you really feel where you was at and that doesn't leave you, you know.

-Can we do it from... Yes?

-Can I just stop you there a second?

-Can you just go and sit there?

-Yeah.

-Thanks.

As Chivenor rehearsals draw to a close,

the women have a surprise for Gareth.

Just sit down. I just have to stop you cos I won't...

Oh no!

It's all right, Jodie...

HE LAUGHS

I've got a little speech prepared.

Gareth, we want to show you our appreciation for all of your hard work

and dedication over the past nine months.

You've changed our lives and given us something to focus on while the guys have been away.

Who would've thought you could have changed so many women's lives by teaching us how to sing?

This has been an unforgettable experience of which we are all so proud to be a part of.

So here is our thank you to you and we hope you enjoy it.

APPLAUSE

# You're nothing special

# In fact you're a bit of a bore

# You're just a bit of a bore You know

# When you tell a joke

# We've probably heard it before

# We must have heard it before Oh yeah

# But we have a talent

# A wonderful thing

# Cos everyone listens when we start to sing

# So, Gareth, thank you for the music

# For giving it to...

# Me

# Me. #

Oh, thank you.

Thank YOU for the music. It's been an honour to be part of your lives

and I've said it before, but I do find you all very inspiring, because it's a very tough thing you do.

And yeah, you cry all the time...

So do you!

So do I! Who wouldn't? And actually, do you know what?

There's no shame in it. Anyway, it's not over yet. Thank you!

Can I have a hug?

-ALL:

-Ahh.

That was really lovely.

I can't do any more rehearsing after that. I'm done.

It's November the 12th

and the morning of the Remembrance Day Festival.

They're here! They're here, this is it.

-Hi! ALL:

-Hello!

-Are we excited? ALL:

-Yes!

Come on, let's go.

The annual event, organised by the Royal British Legion,

is held to honour all those who have died in past and present conflicts.

This year celebrates 90 years of the charity's support

for the nation's armed forces.

And Gareth's combined choir from Chivenor and Plymouth

are the opening act.

This is eight months of preparation

and it all comes down to two minutes and 30 seconds in front of the Queen.

This is it!

THEY CHEER The Albert Hall!

-It's quite big, isn't it?

-I'll say!

Let's go, ladies.

Oh, my God!

It's quite scary.

It's so exciting. Listen to it!

I can't believe we are here.

In just one hour, Gareth's choir face the biggest performance of their lives -

singing in front of the Queen and the Royal Family,

an audience of 5,000

and millions watching at home on television.

We're thinking about the people watching us

and what it means to us and our husbands and our family.

But actually, it's what we stand for all over the place,

so that's really... It really fills your heart.

I've had loads of messages from friends I've not seen for years,

saying, "You're doing this for all of us, military wives everywhere."

And it is - that's what we want to purvey. This is us.

You know, all of us standing together.

You all right?

Words can't even express what is going through my head,

how nervous I am.

Ladies, what can I say?

We're one choir tonight, and it's one choir that speaks much more broadly

to all the military wives in the country,

and very well done for being able to do that.

It's something in your eyes, something in the way you sing.

The energy you give to these words, this song, it really speaks

so brilliantly.

Just enjoy it, this is it.

I'm sorry for getting you into this, but listen,

we're up to our necks in it now.

-Butterflies?

-Yeah!

-Yeah, yeah. Fine. Just breathe, enjoy.

-It's going to be great. Yes?

-ALL: Yeah!

-Fantastic.

APPLAUSE

APPLAUSE

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Royal Albert Hall for the Festival of Remembrance of 2011.

TRUMPET FANFARE

It's going to be great, see you up there.

This is the moment when military wives sing to the Royal Family.

It's of such significance for them.

I feel that weight of history, occasion,

and responsibility really pressing down in this one.

# God save our gracious Queen

# Long live our noble Queen... #

The Queen's in, the Royal Family are in, as soon as this finishes,

it's me and the ladies.

The nerves, you can hear it's started,

and kind of like, the butterflies are going now.

-This is like Christmas morning!

-It's better than Christmas!

Can't wait. I'm so excited. Never felt this excited in my life.

I can't wait!

There's only 5,000 people in there.

And 6 million on TV!

Petrified! Absolutely petrified.

Think I'm going to fall over or something.

And I keep forgetting the words!

We're ready. Ladies, standby.

It all comes down to this.

# Ah, ah, ah, ah

# Aah

# 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 Our hearts will beat as one

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

# Light up the darkness My wondrous star

# Our hopes and dreams My heart and yours

# Forever shining far

# Light up the darkness My prince of peace

# May the stars shine all around you

# May your courage never cease

# Oh, oh

-# Wherever I am

-Greater love

-# I'll love you day by day

-Hath no man

-# I will keep you safe Cling on to faith

-Than this

-# Greater love

-Along the dark, dark way

-# Wherever I am

-That a man

-# I will hold on through the night

-Lay down his life

-# I will pray each day a safe return

-For his friends

# Light up the darkness My wondrous star

# Our hopes and dreams

# My heart and yours Forever shining far

# Light up the darkness My prince of peace

# May the stars shine all around you

# May your courage never cease

# Ah, ah, ah, ah

# May your courage never cease. #

APPLAUSE

BAND PLAYS INSTRUMENTAL VERSION OF THE SONG

THEY LAUGH

I thought the emotion of it was quite extraordinary

and second to none.

Actually, I don't think there was a dry eye in the house.

Absolutely magnificent.

I was brought to tears. It was extremely moving.

For that one solo singer to sing on her own,

I thought that was incredible, cos that takes nerves of steel.

In the rehearsal I was crying my eyes out, and it got me even

more in the concert, and I turned round and everybody was crying!

You did so well, that took real spine.

With everything going on for you, I don't know how you did it.

-Absolutely loved it.

-Good, it's a real triumph.

Well done, you. Well done.

I thought it was amazing, absolutely amazing,

and I thought they did themselves proud and all military wives proud.

Very proud of them all.

On the way down the stairs from my seat, an old woman peered over

the balcony and said, "Tell your wife they were brilliant."

I thought that summed it up. It was fantastic.

When they started singing, it was just amazing.

You could see everybody around us just thought they were brilliant.

APPLAUSE

It's been an honour to help you find the voice you so clearly had tonight.

It was loud, it was strong, and it made most of Great Britain cry.

-Wahey!

-Yes! So very well done for that.

I'm so proud of you all. It was beautiful. Very many congratulations.

APPLAUSE

Can I just say, this is the most emotional, joyous,

absolutely fantastic experience of my life.

And I just want to say from all of the choir,

thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

Never would we have thought seven months ago, whatever,

when we started this on a cold February morning,

that we would've been here, of all places,

in front of our Royal Family. It's absolutely astounding.

An experience of a lifetime. Nothing more, nothing less.

Was an experience of a lifetime, I'll treasure it forever, it'll be

stored up in here until I'm whatever age and watching it as an OAP.

Before, we were just military wives stuck at home with the kids.

People are actually hearing us now, and we've got a voice.

That's it, isn't it, really? We have a voice now.

These are women who, cos of their natural tendency to get on with it

stoically, hide their light under a bushel. That's a terrible shame.

They have so much to be proud of, so much to celebrate.

I don't think there has ever been a forum to celebrate military wives before,

and we just made one.

It felt really fantastic, an honour to be part of that.

And music did that. Not me, not them, music did it for them.

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