Rock classics a hit with the choirs for everyone

YORKSHIRE, UK — it may be a far cry from singing in church,
but the rock choir is on the rise. Nicky Solloway takes a look a
the growing phenomenon sweeping the country.

Joining a choir used to mean singing madrigals in a draughty
church hall, but how times have changed.

Now a new style of pop choir is taking village halls by storm.
Members of a choir these days are more likely to rattle out the
chorus of Coldplay’s Viva La Vida than any type of classical
oratorio.

As a new ITV documentary will show tomorrow night, Rock Choirs
are a community phenomenon sweeping the amateur stage. The
three-part series, The Choir That Rocks follows the fortunes of two
Yorkshire choir leaders as they recruit new members to join their
pop choirs across the region.

Rock Choir leader Nic Slack, who launched Rock Choirs in Leeds,
Selby and Wakefield five months ago, says: “I think it’s a complete
polar opposite of what people expect from a choir.

“Singing in a choir used to be associated with the church and
with choral-based music, which was quite stuffy. We are very much
the opposite of that. We sing upbeat music such as gospel, rock and
Motown. People come along for the social occasion as much as to
sing.”

Filmed over five months, the cameras follow Nic, a former
professional keyboard player, and fellow Rock Choir leader Stef
Conner as they establish their Yorkshire pop choirs.

Rock Choir is now the most popular in the UK with more than
8,000 members in 90 towns across the country. The choir is also
launching in Bradford, Halifax, Huddersfield and Dewsbury this
month. Established in 2005 by Caroline Redman Lusher, Rock Choir is
not a franchise but a family-led organisation. Rock Choir captured
the attention of record company Universal in 2009 when “The
People’s Choir’ were offered their own four-album record
deal.