The Final The Choir

One, two, three...

Gareth Malone has four of Britain's busiest workplaces singing.

Good morning, everyone. I'm here to start a choir.

Last week, all four choirs competed against each other,

for the first time, in front of the judges.

Royal Mail.

# For the rhythm of life is a powerful beat

# It's a tingle in your fingers and a tingle in your feet... #

Manchester Airport.

# Ah-ee-ah, whoa-oh

# Now you're singing with the swing... #

Severn Trent Water.

# Wow-ee! Look where I am!

# Tonight I landed, pow! #

And Lewisham NHS Trust.

# Spread joy up to the maximum

# Bring gloom down to the minimum... #

They've only been singing together for two months.

I mean, listen to the sound of that. Absolutely gorgeous.

After a close sing-off,

it was Manchester Airport who left the contest.

Some notes were less distinct than others.

And you got just a little bit behind in two passages.

We're all upset at the moment, but it's been worth every minute.

We'll carry on.

For their final performance,

the three remaining choirs will sing to an audience of thousands,

as they compete to become Gareth's best workplace choir.

I'm scared. Oh God, I feel really nervous.

It'd be a brave man or woman in here now to say

that parts of their anatomy isn't shaking a little bit.

Months and months of work and slog come down to

THAT one moment when you're on stage. That's why I love it.

In less than a month,

Gareth's three remaining choirs will face their final challenge -

to sing at one of the world's most prestigious choral festivals.

Just three songs left, three choirs, and one performance,

and it's really getting exciting now.

I can't wait to see how they fare in front of a big crowd.

That's the ultimate test of any choir, really.

And I think that's where I'll find out what they're made of.

Over the next few days, Gareth will travel to each workplace

to give the choirs their final song.

At Lewisham NHS Trust in southeast London,

thoughts are still on last week's performance.

The judges said we were very tight, technically.

But being told that we're the technical choir

kind of implies that we're not actually fun.

And there may be one or two people who could smile a bit more.

It's been said to us all along, we need to learn to

show our emotions a bit more, we're not naturally - we're naturally kind

of reserved people, as, as part of our jobs, I think, but yeah, I think

internally, we actually are, we're having great fun and we are fun!

I do want to work more

on the fun part,

and I think it's important that we enjoy ourselves,

that's what I'm going into the final to do.

Good morning!

Hello. So we are moving forward towards the final.

It's time for a new song.

The song that you're going to be singing

is For Once In My Life, by Stevie Wonder.

THEY GASP APPROVINGLY

Yes? Really fun, really upbeat,

not going to be easy, lots of syncopation,

cross rhythms, all of that kind of stuff, so this is the song

you'll sing in front of a HUGE festival crowd,

along with the three judges.

Very exciting!

EXCITED HUBBUB

Why don't we have a little look at it? Here it is.

Shall we sort of sight-read our way through it, and see how we go?

Two, three...

PIANO PLAYS

Everyone?

# For once in my life I have someone who needs me

# Someone I've needed so long... # Oohs!

# ..For once not afraid I can go where life needs me

# Somehow I know I'll be strong... #

Good, thank you. Let's hold it there. Well done.

As you can see, I mean, little bit tricky.

So let's do... Let's do the "oohs".

All together? One, two, three, and...

# Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh

# Aah-aah-aah! #

Very clean and tidy, well done. Long.

# Long! # Three and one.

# Long before I knew

# Someone warm like you. #

MIMICS STILTED DELIVERY: # Some-one-warm! # It's a love song!

CHOIR LAUGHS

# Someone wa-arm like yo-ou! #

It's very mean when we're doing technical stuff,

but it does get very "some-one-warm!" Let's do "make my dreams". So.

# Make my dreams... #

And one.

# ..Yeah, yeah, yeah

# Yeah-eh eh-eh. # Say, "eh!"

Eh!

-Think of Pavarotti. Eh!

-Eh!

That's it! # Yeah, yeah, yeah! #

I think it's going to be great, actually. It's lots of fun.

Really good energy. Everybody happy with that?

Yeah? So lots and lots and lots for you to do.

It's up to you now to sort of find your own identity

and display that to the public.

Just think about hitting that stage with a real sense of purpose,

a real sense of performance, a bit more smiling.

I mean, the smile, it's not literally just a sort of muscle movement

in your mouth, it's just, it's just symptomatic of the whole approach.

-Good. Excited? ALL:

-Yes.

-Thanks very much. You may go.

Don't know what the other choirs are singing,

but if you're to sing a popular song, you can't get better than

Stevie Wonder, because everybody loves Stevie Wonder.

Steve Wonder, girls, come on! How much cooler can you get?

We can get our teeth stuck into it as well, if it's got...

it's a little bit more difficult as well.

Yes, it's a bit technical.

We don't need to just sing it as a choir, we need to perform it

-as a choir.

-Sing, enjoy it, you know?

I think if this choir can pull off a really connected, fun,

lively performance that's in their eyes and in their faces

and in their bodies, I think they're unstoppable.

Gareth's second stop - the Royal Mail in Bristol.

I know exactly what I have to do to get them ready for the final.

I'm not worried about their sense of passion and spirit and energy.

I think that's all there.

But they are, technically speaking, weaker than the others.

I've got to get their technique up. I've got to get a better sound.

-Good morning, I'm back, it's Gareth.

-'Go through.'

Thank you.

So, the song that you are going to be singing

-at the International Eisteddfod in Wales...

-Ooh!

..in front of a crowd of thousands of people, and the judges,

who'll be there to see you perform

-in front of this very large crowd...

-And the Welsh!

Is...Don't Stop, by Fleetwood Mac.

-ALL:

-Ooh!

# Don't stop thinking about tomorrow

# Don't stop, it'll soon be here. #

CHOIR MURMURS AND CHATS

There you go.

So, top of page two, please. Stand up.

Basses.

So your part, nice and simple, a-one, two, three, and...

# Don't stop. #

With tenors. One, two, three, and...

# Don't stop. #

Good. And now with altos. One, two, three, and...

-# Don't stop

-Thinking about tomorrow

-# Don't stop

-It'll soon be he-e-ere. #

Even when you don't know the notes,

it's got to have that level of crispness. One, two, three.

-# Don't stop

-Thinking about tomorrow

-# Don't stop

-It'll soon be here

-# It'll be here

-Better than before. #

Altos, on your own.

# Don't stop. #

-One, two, three, and...

-# Don't stop. #

We're in the right area, but it's gone all tentative. One, two, three.

# Don't stop. #

What I'm getting sometimes is... TIMIDLY: # Don't stop. #

And it's right, but it's not RIGHT!

# Don't stop #, is the part but it's # "Don't stop! #

Have a seat.

It's really important, this, because if you practise tentatively -

# Don't stop... # Sorry. -

then when you get to that stage, that's your default setting.

You know the thing about, "It'll be all right on the night"? Rubbish!

It will be, on the night, exactly as it was in rehearsal.

The contest is really upon us.

The final is around the corner.

Make sure you get this under your belts as quickly as possible.

Got three weeks or so. It's going to be really hard work.

But this is it, this is the big push, this is the end of the contest.

So really go for it.

This is definitely a booster of a song.

It's a great choice.

I do reckon it's a great choice.

As I say, we're going to really take to this,

and really go for it, I'm sure we are.

-For us harmonising, this song is actually harder.

-It's difficult.

It shows your voices off more, so we have to get it spot-on.

If there are any flaws,

-this is where it'll show.

-Yeah, in the harmonies.

So, yeah. So we have to get it spot-on.

Practise, practise, practise.

Yeah. Definitely.

Gareth's final stop is in the Midlands,

at one of Britain's largest water companies, Severn Trent.

Severn Trent are looking like the underdogs at the moment.

You've got the Royal Mail, who are full of personality

and great at performing, and then you've got the hospital choir,

who are technically really accurate.

And because they both have such a clear identity,

it leaves Severn Trent just kind of treading water in the middle.

So for the final, that's their challenge.

They have to put on a show.

Hello!

How are you feeling, generally, about your performance last week?

I think that we can up it.

There's definitely room for us to up the performance.

It felt a little, sort of stiff.

A little corporate, kind of officey.

That's the challenge, for you, that it's fun,

that it's a performance, and, yes, we have technique as well.

I would much rather stand on the stage and hear the judges say

"You just gave a little bit too much," than say, "Mmm, you know..."

It's fairly rare that people say that, you know.

"It was a bit too exciting!" You know? "A bit too dramatic!" No.

So for the final, your song is Feeling Good" by Nina Simone.

ALL: Yes!

It's a bit cool. Can you pull off "cool"?

Of course we can!

It's an excellent song for you. You have to feel good about Feeling Good.

You've got to just be up there loving it.

Let's get on with it. Two, one, and...

# And I'm feeling...

# Feeling good

# Feeling good

# Feeling goo-oo-ood!

# Fish in the sea you know how I feel... #

Keep going.

# ..River running free

# You know how I feel. #

Good. So now, if we sing in this way, which is more choral,

you've got to find a way to oversell the consonants.

Don't forget, you're not singing to somebody who's stood here.

You're singing to a judge who's flipping miles away.

So let's really, # Ffeeling good! Ffeeling! # F-f-f-f-f!

If we're going to do an F, let's commit to it,

do it, everyone does it, and it's amazing.

Three, and...

# Feeling good

# Feeling good

# Feeling goo-oo-ood! #

It's frustrating being here, because I'm saying, "Lots of F please."

And you all go, "Oh, right, yeah."

You know? No.

If I'm covered in spit by the end of a rehearsal, I'm a happy man.

Two, and...

# Feeling good

# Feeling good

# Feeling goo-oo-ood! #

OK, Laura. I heard your F.

-Yes!

-You were the ONLY one!

And I went, "Oh, ping! It's Laura." OK? And I want everyone.

It's about just going, "I'm not afraid to be myself."

To show a different side to my personality. It's a challenge.

I mean, you know, not... maybe not individually,

some of you are totally confident about that,

but as a group, that's what's got to come across.

We're going to take a break right there. Thank you very much.

It's a good song. I'm enjoying it, so...

It is a good song. But we've got to get into the feel of it.

Once the words and the notes are absolutely nailed down,

then we can sort of get into the feel of it.

Just got to loosen up a bit. We're standing there

a bit like, like a rabbit in the headlights at the moment.

I actually realised, seeing the other choirs,

we're actually really tame!

We're not as, we're not as lively as I thought we were,

-we're actually quite, kind of...

-Reserved?

Yeah, I think, well-behaved.

If it isn't full of character and full of life,

then it's going to fail epically.

Not just for the contest, but as a performance.

And I'm not prepared to let them do that.

So I've got to find a way to just draw a bit more guts

and a bit more determination out of them.

One, two, three, four.

# Don't stop thinking about tomorrow... #

In the run-up to the final, Gareth arranges additional rehearsals

with local choirmasters.

Yes, now!

# Ahhh! #

# If you wake up and don't want to smile... #

Each song includes a solo section, so Gareth has chosen three soloists.

# You'll see things in a different way... #

For Royal Mail, postman Sam Fry once again takes the honours.

# ..About tomorrow

# Don't stop it'll soon be he-ere. #

Think I've learned the words,

just worry about going wrong

on the big day, before all those people, but I don't think I will.

# For once in my life I have someone who needs me... #

At Lewisham Hospital,

speech therapy assistant Natalie Beaumont will sing again.

# ...Not afraid I can go where life leads me.

# Somehow I know I'll be strong. #

Good, so much better.

-It just needs a massive bit of energy.

-Right.

To do the solo is the most exciting

yet frightening thing I think I'm ever going to have to do.

# Breeze drifting on by

# You know how I feel... #

But at Severn Trent Water,

it's first time for resource manager, Laura Clark.

# ..It's a new life... #

Yeah, good.

What you mustn't do is show any fear in the eyes.

Don't go, #New life... # - uh oh!

-Yeah?

-Yeah.

-High note. Ooh!

-I think the problem with me is, performing, just my nerves.

-Really?

-My nerves take over.

-In the moment?

-Yeah.

-You're... What, you're just more worried than...enjoying it?

-Yeah.

Definitely.

-Yeah. That's not good.

-No. No, it's not.

-No.

I always think that, psychologically, visualising that audience,

thinking about how many of them will be there,

what it's going to be like,

thinking about everyone behind you, really being on your side.

Yeah.

And thinking, "I know the notes, I know the words."

I think that can settle it.

'I think being the first one to actually sing...'

I've just really got to relax

and really got to put some energy into the performance.

I don't just want to stand still, frightened and scared.

It's now less than two weeks to the final

and Gareth is heading back to Bristol.

I am worried about the technical aspects

for the Royal Mail choir,

because I think against the other two, who, let's face it,

are a lot more technically accomplished,

they do sound a little weaker.

Especially with the women.

It just feels like the men are starting to get it,

starting to make a good, round, solid sound

and the women, it just sounds sort of thin and a bit nervy.

And I think that is something I've got to address before the final.

To encourage the women to give it more energy,

Gareth holds the next rehearsal in one of the largest

and noisiest areas of the delivery centre.

You know what, I'm going to send you guys away down that end,

and I want you to listen.

Walkie-talkie me when you can start really hearing it, OK?

It's the perfect space for them to learn how to project their voices.

Right. Let's have a little go at "all I want is to see you smile".

Altos.

# All I want is to see you smile. #

And, one.

# If it takes just a little... #

LOW-LEVEL CHATTER OF WORKERS

# ..Ooh, ooh, ooh

# Ahh, ahh, ahh... #

Good.

-'Could you hear that?'

-No.

-No.

No, we couldn't hear anything there, sorry.

So, let's try and get a bit more space.

# Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh... #

# If it takes just a little while... #

That's half the way there

but there's just a sense of lack of connection and commitment.

# If you LA! LA! #

I want lots of 'LA!' One, two...

-DISTANT:

-# Laa-aa.. #

That's better.

# Ah, ah, ah... #

Are you receiving that sound?

That was much better.

'More depth to it,'

so, yeah, really good.

-We're going to give you both parts.

-OK.

Just turn, face there, and really sock it out to them.

# All I want is to see you smile

# If it takes just a little... #

SOUND OF CHOIR IN DISTANCE

-Man, what a difference!

-Yeah.

# ..Ooh, ooh, ooh

# Ah, ah, ah! #

'Can you hear that?'

Yeah, that's brilliant.

Hooray!

It was inconceivable to me,

when we started this, that you would end up making a sound like that.

And there is stuff to be done.

But it's credit to you, you've worked incredibly hard.

Excellent, thank you.

Well done, sopranos. And well done, altos.

Right, ladies.

How's that? Better?

-Much better.

-Oh, much better.

Mum made a comment to me earlier. She went,

"Oh my God, I've opened my mouth and music's come out!"

-Yeah.

-Yeah. And that's what it feels like.

-Completely shocked.

Didn't it sound pleasant? It's really good. Really, really good.

-I think confidence is growing by the day.

-I think so.

I think, as long as we believe in ourselves.

It's the confidence to come in solidly on every single line.

-Yeah.

-Good, I'm glad that helped.

Thanks, Gareth.

In London, at Lewisham Hospital,

Gareth has organised an extra rehearsal session

for the tenors and basses.

Concerned the men lack expression,

he's designed his own special experiment.

I think the key with these guys

is that I can't appeal to their emotions.

I can't make sort of passionate...

attempts to draw them in.

That's not how they work. They work on facts.

They work on sense and reason.

And they like a scientific approach to everything.

So if I'm to draw a more convincing performance out of them,

it has to be done...

There has to be a rationale behind it.

Whoa, look at you, mister!

Hello.

-Dressed like me!

-Yes!

-You didn't dress for the occasion.

-No, I didn't realise...

Yes, it's fancy dress.

Hello, you dressed up, that's kind of you.

Hello. Hi. You all right?

Look, today, I wanted to think a little bit

about this business of smiling during performance,

so we're going to do a little scientific experiment,

wherein we will attempt to prove

that singing and smiling makes a better sound.

Tenors, why don't you do your lovely long line behind that curtain?

So, decide whether you're going to smile or not amongst yourselves.

Two, three, four...

# For once in my life

# I won't let sorrow hurt me

# Not like it's hurt me before

# For once I have something

# I know won't desert me

# I'm not alone any more. #

Thank you. Smiling or not smiling?

-No, not smiling.

-I don't think they were smiling.

-Not smiling?

OK. Let's hear version two.

Two, three, four...

# For once in my life

# I won't let sorrow hurt me

# Not like it's hurt me before

# For once I have something

# I know won't desert me

# I'm not alone any more. #

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

Big difference or a small difference?

When they're smiling there's just altogether more energy.

OK, right, gather back together, let's try together.

Good, perfect.

You look so happy.

For once, two, three...

# For once in my life

# I won't let sorrow hurt me

# Not like it's hurt me before

# Not like it's hurt me before #

# For once I have something

# I know won't desert me

# I'm not alone any more

# For once I can say this is mine

# You can't take it

# As long as I know I have love

# I can make it #

# For once in my life

# I have someone who needs me. #

Look at that, double goose bumps!

Really fantastic. Really fun.

Excellent. I thought that was very useful, actually.

Did you find it useful?

Yeah, I did. Yeah, I did find it useful.

And interesting hearing the difference between the...sounds,

you can definitely detect that.

It does make, or should make, the difference.

Good. Job done. Thank you very much, see you later.

That was an excellent session,

because it appealed to their scientific sensibility,

that actually putting it in clear technical terms,

if you smile then the sound is better.

At Severn Trent Water, Gareth thinks the workmen

may hold the key to getting a more dynamic performance

from the office staff.

It feels like the guys who are quite sort of manual

and out in the field, they're just not corporate.

So they don't... They don't have that reserve

that I think a lot of the people who are stuck behind desks have.

I'd like to use them as a kind of inspiration to the rest,

because I just don't think that the choir can see

just how...

held back their performance feels.

What I think we can all learn from is Mick.

But Mick announces that he's about to sing, physically.

He sort of goes, "I'm going to sing!"

And I think we could all do that, it's like, "Look at us!"

Because if you stand there looking like, "Oh, God, we're in the final!"

Then you've lost immediately.

So you've got to look ready for the fight.

Here we go, here's your fighting men.

OK. One, two, one...

# And I'm feeling good...

# Blossom on a tree

# You know how I feel

-# It's a new dawn

-A new dawn

-# It's a new day

-A new day

# It's a new life for me

# And I'm feeling good. #

-Right, do you get the idea, yeah?

-Yeah!

Thank you. Well done, good. Right, back you go.

Everyone's got to look that involved. Everyone, in their own way,

has to use their faces, has to use their bodies, has to tell the story.

What I don't want is that we all stand there

looking...stiff.

I know that it's hard for them,

cos they sit with their shirts and their ties on.

They come from a more corporate sort of working environment.

So it's got to be hard to just let that go.

Find a partner.

To get them to loosen up even more,

Gareth decides it's time to get physical.

Ready? And one, two, one...

# Feeling good, feeling good

# Feeling goo-oo-ood

-# Freedom is mine

-Freedom is mine

# You I know how I feel

-# It's a new dawn

-A new dawn

-# It's a new day

-A new day

# It's a new life for me

# And I'm feeling good. #

Good, right, very good, well done.

Right, now, let's go straight in after Laura's solo.

OK? Positions.

One, two...

# And I'm feeling good

# Feeling good, feeling good

# Feeling goo-oo-ood! #

I'd like to do that again.

It looks like you're all waiting for a bus and then you go, "Oh!"

Yeah? So it needs to be...

# And I'm feeling good! #

Yeah? So you're preparing. "I'm about to do a move.

"Yeah! I'm doing a move." Yeah? Ready, one, two, one...

# And I'm feeling good

# Feeling good... #

You lost it. All of you were like this...

I don't want this performance to be nice.

You know, I want it... I want to feel something,

I want to be made to feel,

I want them to reach out to the audience and grab them.

And I don't feel like some of them are very good at that.

And I think it doesn't come naturally to them,

because they're a water company

and they take calls, and they deal with people politely.

You know, it's not in their nature to do something raucous.

I've worked here for a long time, and you know,

it is a corporate feeling, our attitudes and behaviours,

you behave this way,

and we've got to sort of forget that for two minutes.

I think there's still a little bit of corporateness within the choir.

It's going to take a bit longer to shake out,

but I think most people are feeling relaxed now and getting into it.

But there's a few stiff bodies still out there that need to be improved.

For the final performance, singing to an audience of thousands,

all three choirs need to look the part.

-Well, hello, everyone!

-Hello!

Each choir must design their own outfits.

Are we trying to show that we have an NHS connection?

Other than being in our uniforms,

only way I can think of is through the colours,

through having royal blue on its own or royal blue and white.

Nice.

Weirdly enough, as I'm stuck with the men most of the time,

out on the bass section, I don't get to do these sort of things

with the girls in the choir,

so I actually quite like it, you know.

A bit of metrosexual coming through there but, yeah.

We want to reflect Severn Trent,

and this song is sophistication.

You've got to have a decent neckline,

not everything hanging out.

Because we want to be noticed, but noticed for the right reasons.

If you feel good and you look good,

hopefully the performance will be good and it'll all come together.

Can we just vote?

People in favour of A, which is the red at the top, black, yellow.

OK, nobody.

We all come from different jobs. I think it'll be great

that we all join up,

looking the same, being the part and being united.

C, which is black at the top and red at the bottom.

OK, fine, C is carried then.

We're going to be wearing a winning outfit

and we are going to win.

With less than a week to go,

Gareth has time for just one final rehearsal with each choir.

It's a last chance to fine-tune things at the Royal Mail.

They came on so much in the last rehearsal,

I think it's worth spending a little bit of time

just improving them technically,

even with this short amount of time to go,

and then see where we're at.

-Hello, everyone. ALL:

-Hello!

-Can you believe it?

This is our final rehearsal.

ALL: Ooh!

Listen, today, for me, is about making everyone feel good and ready.

I hope that... I hope you ARE ready.

Hopefully we won't get bogged down too much in notes.

-Do you all feel like you know your notes?

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

Mmm! Well we'll find out, we'll find out.

So, it's good to practise, just, performance mode, silence,

audience is in,

judges are sitting there, positions.

See if you can think about the sound you're making at all times.

And the moves. And everything.

Welcome to choirs! One, two, three, and...

# Don't stop! Don't stop! #

And richer.

-# Don't stop! #

-Now let it go!

# Don't stop!

# If you wake up and don't want to smile... #

That was excellent.

# ..If it takes just a little while

# Open your eyes...

# Open your eyes and look at the day

# You'll see things in a different way... #

And match that, Rich!

-# ..Don't stop

-Thinking about tomorrow

-# Don't stop

-It'll soon be here

-# It'll be here

-Better than before

ALL: # Yesterday's gone yesterday's gone!

# All I want is to see you smile... #

Give me that "All I want", and make it sound like an opera chorus.

One, two, three, and one...

ALL: # All I want is to see you smile. #

One more time. It could go, # All I want is to see you smile. #

Richer. One, two, three, and...

# All I want is to see you smile. #

That's a moment where the colour...

it can't BE too operatic there.

You can't do too much of that sound.

Because what I want is that

when the judges hear you there,

they go, "Blimey! They can really sing! "That's a really good sound."

From a musical point of view,

that was pretty, pretty near where I'd like it to be.

EXCELLENT at the beginning.

Just so... That's completely it, isn't it?

So we go from nothing to everything.

Bit too much alto at the end, though.

THEY LAUGH

APPLAUSE

'Unbelievably, the balance

'between men and women is completely transformed.

'The women are now incredibly strong.

'They're really working hard, they're improving

'every single time I see them. Leaps and bounds.'

There's a much better sound, there's a much better energy,

they're positive, I'm really...I'm excited.

I think just key moments today,

-we've heard each other singing.

-Yes. Yeah.

And I think it's just made us think,

-"Hang on, we CAN do this."

-Yeah.

It's a big step from performing Postman Pat

in front of 30 colleagues

at your audition to singing...

-2,000 people.

-Exactly.

-Whoa!

If we as a group can look out to the audience,

see people tapping their foot, nodding their head,

big smiles on their faces, we've done our job. We've done our job.

OK, hi everyone!

Hello.

This is it, last rehearsal.

Shall we?

-Hi.

-How you doing?

-Good.

Right, ready?

Ready to rehearse?

So, you're in your positions, and...

OPENING BARS OF "FOR ONCE IN MY LIFE" BY STEVIE WONDER

That's it, just a little bit of...very cool.

# For once I can touch what my heart used to dream of

# Long before I knew

# Long before I knew

# Someone warm like you

# Would make my dreams come true

# Yeah, yeah, yeah!

# For once in my life

# I won't let sorrow hurt me, ahhh

# Not like it's hurt me before

# Not like it's hurt me before

# For once I have something I know won't desert me

# I'm not alone any more

# For once I can say

-# This is mine, you can't take it

-Ooh-ooh

-# Ahhh

-As long as I know

# I have love I can take it

# For once in my life

# I have someone who needs me. #

Good, OK, so one or two,

just still a little bit embarrassed.

Like, "Ooh!" You've GOT to go for it.

You've got to be a bit more American about it.

There's no room for polite English reserve here.

One, two, three...

-# For once I can say this is mine, you can't take it

-Ooh-ooh

-# As long as I know I have love I can take it

-Ahhh

# For once in my life I have someone who needs me. #

OK, fine, just the final bit on that.

# For once! # This is THE MOMENT. Yeah?

# For once in myyy... #

Really, like lots of pop in that.

One, two, three...

# For once in my life, I have someone who needs me. #

Have you got any more?

-Yes!

-One, two, three...

# For once in my life I have someone who needs me. #

HE SHOUTS I love it!

Great, it's fantastic!

Very good.

That is a really, really stonking level of musicianship,

and it's a great achievement,

and testament to all your hard work and your talent as well.

You've got something fantastic to be proud of.

It really is very, very, very good.

I feel like we're done.

-Off you go. Thank you very much.

-Bye!

-Bye-bye!

'I feel like we've really nailed it today,'

actually, in rehearsals.

It fills me with confidence, frankly.

Just had this sudden mental image of what it might be like to win,

and I got a little bit of like,

"Oh! That'd be very exciting, actually!"

So I'm quite excited.

There's nothing technical to be done now.

There's no more polishing,

there's no more rehearsing that needs to be done.

It's about guts and glory and determination.

Gareth's final rehearsal is with Severn Trent Water.

'I think this afternoon's going to be one of those rehearsals'

where I know within the first two minutes

whether or not anything's changed,

and whether they're actually ready for this final.

And if they aren't, then I'm going to do my absolute best

within those few hours to get them better.

# Leaves drifting on by you know how I feel

# Ahhh

-# It's a new dawn, it's a new day

-Oooh

-# It's a new life

-Ohhh

# For me

-# Woo-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh

-Oooh

# And I'm feeling good

# Feeling goo-ood, feeling goo-ood

# Feeling good-oo-ood

# Fish in the sea, you know how I feel... #

Now, careful.

# River running free,

# You know how I feel

You know how I feel

# Blossom on a tree, you know how I feel

-# It's a new dawn... #

-More!

-# It's a new day

-A new day

# It's a new life

# For me

Fo-o-or me... #

I want, "LAAF!" Can we say, "LAAF!"

-ALL:

-LAAF!

It goes, feeling good,

HE RAISES HIS VOICE feeling good, feeling GOOD!

HE SHOUTS Oh, freedom is mine! You know how I feel!

It's that...it's evangelistic, it really is.

-Big!

-A-men!

A-men! THEY LAUGH

HE SHOUTS Hallelujah! It IS that.

Ready, here we go.

A-one, two, one...

# And I'm feeling good

# Feeling goo-ood, feeling goo-ood

# Feeling good-oo-ood

# Freedom is mine

# You know how I feel

-# It's a new dawn

-A new dawn

-# It's a new day

-A new day

# It's a new life for me

# And I'm feeling good. #

Ooh, I love it! I love it with the...

I think you're ready, and you just need an audience now.

So well done, very happy man.

-I think that's really good.

-Great!

'There was a real goose bump moment today for me,

'where the whole thing just came together.'

The basses started really strongly and everyone responded,

and the whole machine of the choir was just working brilliantly.

And you think how far they've come.

This time last week, I thought that the Severn Trent choir

were the underdogs. And I don't feel like that now.

I feel that they've really notched it up,

and all of the choirs have a fighting chance in that final.

It just depends who does it on the day.

It's the day of the final performances, and the choirs are preparing to travel

to the International Choral Festival in Wales.

We're all relaxed, up for a laugh. We all want to have fun.

So hopefully no corporate faces.

We've got one chance to do it well,

and we hope it's going to be the best we've ever done it before.

# Postman Pat, Postman Pat

# And his black and white ca-a-t! #

-The other choirs know that we are a threat.

-Yeah.

They know that we're a threat if we get it right.

# Counts up all the post bags in his va-a-a-n! #

'We just want to win.'

-We just want to win.

-We literally just do want to win.

I think everyone's good, but we're good.

'We haven't spoken about the competition at all.'

We're going to go and try to keep it

as relaxed as possible until we get there.

And then hopefully we won't be overawed by the occasion.

We've certainly come along technically,

there's no doubt about that.

The next level up

is doing the performance and all the rest of it,

which is actually quite hard work,

but we got there, I think.

Or, well, I hope we'll deliver that tonight!

All three choirs will be performing on stage

at the final night

of the prestigious International Eisteddfod in Llangollen.

The International Eisteddfod is famous the world over

for choral excellence, musical excellence,

and my three VERY new choirs

are going right into the lion's mouth.

It's going to be incredibly intimidating, that audience.

And to add to that,

there's the pressure of being judged by our three judges as well.

So I think they'll all be feeling incredibly nervous

about tonight's performance.

Mid-afternoon.

Just a few hours until the choirs are due on stage.

Good. Perfect.

I've never seen the lads looking so sharp!

Everyone's looking good. Starting to feel...

starting to feel the part.

It's exciting, I can't wait to do it, but I'm so scared!

I really am scared. I can't wait to get out there.

I just don't want to let everybody down.

I don't want to start it off and then for everyone to be like,

"Oh, God! That sounded awful!"

Urgh! Uuurgh!

'They're bright.'

They'll certainly catch people's attention!

Tidy enough?

'We've just got to hope that it comes together on the night.'

You know, it's going to be scary,

because we're performing in front of thousands of people,

which we've not done before.

It'd be a brave man or woman in here now to say

that parts of their anatomy isn't shaking a little bit.

-# For once I can say this is mine you can't take it

-Ooohooh

-# As long as I know I have love I can make it

-Ahh

# For once in my life I have someone who needs me. #

THEY MIMIC CLOSING CHORDS

Yay!

THEY CHEER AND APPLAUD

'The adrenaline has set in.'

Little shakes. Butterflies in the tummy.

But I'm sure once we're on stage,

the nerves will disappear

and we'll deliver the song the way we're supposed to.

Just 15 minutes to go.

Amongst the audience of thousands

are the three judges.

Manvinder Rattan, renowned conductor

and champion of workplace choirs.

'Competition's stiff, and it's going to be a matter of tiny degrees'

between these choirs, as to who wins.

Ralph Allwood, esteemed choirmaster

and former head of music at Eton College.

'They're coming together to compete at the highest level.'

So we judge them at the highest level.

And Ruby Turner,

internationally acclaimed gospel and soul singer.

'It's not going to be easy to pick a winner,'

but we will pick one tonight,

and, hey, may the best choir win!

# One, two, three, four, five, four, three, two, one... #

Before they're called to the stage,

a final warm-up.

# Five, six, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one

# Five, six, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one. #

As soon as you're on that stage, grin from ear to ear. Smile.

That's all I ask, that you love it, you enjoy it.

Don't get intimidated by that audience.

They LOVE music.

They want you to do well, they want to enjoy it.

Let's do it! THEY CHEER AND APPLAUD

First to sing will be Bristol's Royal Mail.

I'm nervous now. I wasn't before,

but I'm now...I'm now nervous!

Months and months of auditions and work and slog

come down to that one moment when you're on stage.

That's why I love it.

-PRESENTER:

-It's my very great pleasure to introduce

a special guest to you this evening.

Please welcome Gareth Malone!

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

Noswaith dda!

Diolch am y croeso.

Er, that's it for the Welsh!

LAUGHTER I am honoured to be invited

to the International Eisteddfod.

Thank you very much for having me.

-Yeah, we're on!

-'Over the last few months'

'I have been travelling all over the country,

'starting up choirs in workplaces.'

Why workplaces? Well, I believe

in the power of singing to bring people together,

no matter what the circumstances.

And it doesn't matter to me whether you are the company director

or the man that makes the tea.

You have a place in a choir.

This is one of their first performances, so please be kind.

I'm delighted to introduce you to our first choir,

the Royal Mail from Bristol.

APPLAUSE

# Don't stop

# Don't stop

# Don't stop

# Don't sto-op

# If you wake up and don't want to smile

# If it takes just a little while

# Open your eyes

# Open your eyes and look at the day

# You'll see things in a different way

# Don't stop thinking about tomorrow

# Don't stop

# It'll soon be here

-# It'll be here

-Better than before

# Yesterday's gone

# Yesterday's gone

# All I want is to see you smile

# If it takes just a little while

# If your life was bad to you

# Just think what tomorrow...

# Don't stop

# Thinking about tomorrow

# Don't stop

# It'll soon be here, yeah!

-# It'll be here

-Better than before

# Oh-oh, yesterday's gone

# Yesterday's gone!

# Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh

# Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh

# Don't look back!

# Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh

# Don't you look back!

Don't look back! #

APPLAUSE

-Brilliant.

-Well done, mate!

Yeah!

The reaction we had out there was fantastic.

I could not smile any more, I enjoyed it so much,

I just got this rush of this adrenaline -

the buzz, it's amazing!

I thought the sound we made was great.

The blend we had in the sound was great.

We hit the notes and I thought

our choreography was really good, as well.

-So we've given ourselves every chance.

-He's happy!

I felt like everyone hit what they needed to, it felt good up there.

They reached a level they'd not gone before, and that was great.

Next to perform, Severn Trent Water.

Can I just say one thing before we go on stage?

If we don't win this, if another choir wins it,

-I wouldn't swap places with any of them.

-No.

Because you have all been absolutely fantastic fun to be with.

Love you all, it really is brilliant.

Let's do this!

I'm scared but I feel... Oh, God, I feel really nervous.

Ladies and gentlemen, our second choir - Severn Trent Water.

APPLAUSE

# Birds flying high

# You know how I feel

# Sun in the sky

# You know how I feel

# Breeze drifting on by You know how I feel

# It's a new dawn, it's a new day

# It's a new life

# For me

# Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh

# And I'm feeling good

# Feeling good, feeling good

# Feeling good!

# Fish in the sea

# You know how I feel

# River running free

# You know how I feel

# You know how I feel

# Blossom on the tree

# You know how I feel

# It's a new dawn It's a new day

# It's a new life for me

# For me

# And I'm feeling good

# Feeling good, feeling good

# Feeling good!

# Oh, freedom is mine

# You know how I feel

# It's a new dawn It's a new day

# It's a new life for me

# And I'm feeling good. #

APPLAUSE

Mate, come here.

Oh, a big water services hug and a cuddle!

Wicked. The buzz I got off that...

We delivered, that was awesome.

That was probably the best performance we've ever gave.

-It's what it's all been for, isn't it?

-Yeah.

Brilliant.

Just exactly what I'd asked them to do.

Really... beautiful singing all round, I thought.

Last up, Lewisham NHS Trust.

"Great devotion. Expends himself..."

Before they take to the stage,

stirring words from consultant surgeon, Eddie Chaloner.

"And who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly.

"So that his place shall never be

"with those cold and timid souls

"who know neither victory or defeat."

So let's get out and do it.

Woo-hoo!

I feel like we're going off to war.

I feel quite serious at the moment.

I'll try and lighten up as we walk on stage.

-Mate, you've got to get your show face on.

-I know.

Sarah just came and asked me to smile, and I did this...

So that's a problem!

We cam smile so much, our faces are hurting.

I'm doing that already.

Our third and final choir, the Lewisham NHS Trust.

APPLAUSE

# For once in my life I have someone who needs me

# Someone I've needed so long

# For once, unafraid, I can go where life leads me

# Somehow I know I'll be strong

# For once I can touch what my heart needs to dream of

# Long before I knew

# Long before I knew

# Someone warm like you

# Could make my dreams come true

# Yeah, yeah, yeah

# For once in my life I won't let sorrow hurt me

# Not like it's hurt me before

# Not like it's hurt me before

# For once I have something I know won't desert me

# I'm not alone anymore

# For once, I can say, "This is mine You can't take it"

# As long as I know I have love, I can make it

# For once in my life I have someone who needs me

# For once in my life I have someone

# Someone who...

# Who needs me

Ooh... #

APPLAUSE

-I done it!

-THEY WHOOP

-Very well done.

-Thank you!

It was fab, really fab. We all came together,

and everyone sung their best.

We did do well. We did do well.

Yeah. I think there was a good buzz out there.

I enjoyed myself. I know everyone else enjoyed themselves.

God, that was amazing!

These guys are just amazing, I'm going to cry!

-You're amazing, Natalie.

-Wow!

What I loved about it, was it felt like a show.

It was not laid-back, at all, it was really fun, energetic.

I thought they did a cracking job.

All we have to do now is pick up the trophy and bugger off home.

Yeah!

Performances over, the choirs gather for the judges' decision.

For me, they stepped up this time round.

Yes, you're right.

When they sang low in their register,

and quiet, that's a really difficult thing to do, isn't it?

I thought the balance was better this time.

Harmonically speaking, it was tight.

They walked on there looking like a choir. The harmonies were beautiful.

They did something that was technically quite hard to do.

Shall we just say who we think should win and see

if we say the same one?

-And if not, we'll just have to sort it out...

-Negotiate!

So, after all this time, it comes down to this.

This is the moment we've all been waiting for,

the moment where we find out which choir has won the contest.

But, before we find out, the judges are going to tell us more

about what they thought about your performances.

Royal Mail. Really very, very impressive.

What I really liked was your very first chord, which is very quiet.

And one of the hardest things you ever ask choirs to do is to

sing quietly as a group and still have impact.

And you really did still have impact.

Severn Trent.

You looked so assured as you came on that stage,

so confident, as though you knew exactly what you were going to do.

And then you proved that you did know exactly what you were

going to do.

Some fantastic singing.

Really, this was a very polished and accomplished performance.

Lewisham.

I heard you in the semi-finals, you walked on there, you blew me away.

Tonight you came back, you did it again.

Absolutely amazing.

You sung one of my favourite songs, Stevie Wonder, For Once In My Life.

Absolutely fabulous. Thank you so much, thank you.

This is a celebration, this trophy, of a fantastic achievement,

and with some degree of nervousness, I hand over to Ruby

to tell us who has won.

It was unanimous.

And the choir that we've chosen is...

Severn Trent.

WHOOPING AND CHEERING

APPLAUSE

Severn Trent, I believe this belongs to you!

THEY APPLAUD

Congratulations!

THEY CHEER Congratulations!

Well done, well done.

You dream that you're going to win it.

You wish you're going to win it, just to set yourself

a goal that high and actually come away with it, fantastic.

-Very well done.

-Thank you so much.

That's brilliant.

I'm astonished.

I can't believe we've done it!

I'm not disappointed at all. We've done really well.

On the night, that team were better than us.

That's the way it goes.

Maybe we didn't have it on the night, but we will have it other nights.

We'll definitely continue. There's no way we're stopping now.

We had a point to prove.

We know we were the underdogs.

We went out there for the first time ever

and showed everybody what we are.

Everybody had that belief, and that's what's worked for us.

At least we can say, "We're not corporate!"

I don't think the others lost it, Severn Trent won it.

It was a harmonious performance. Just everything worked.

And that's hard to beat.

There is undoubtedly a place for choirs within the workplace.

I think we've proved that tonight.

# My life flows on

# In endless song

# Above earth's lamentation

# I hear the real, though far-off hymn

# That hails a new creation

# No storm can shake

# My innermost calm

# While to that rock, I'm clinging

# I hear an echo in my soul

I hear an echo

# How can I keep from singing?

# I hear an echo in my soul

# How can I keep from...

# Singing?

# Ooh-ooh. #

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