Street News Service 06 December 2019
The Choir with No Name, London's choir of people who have experienced homelessness, announces the launch of their debut album, “The Album with No Name”. (428 Words) - By Staff Writer
The Choir with No Name. Photo: PR
Founded in 2008, the choir will be promoting the album by
supporting world-renowned band Coldplay at two gigs this December.
The choir's success in London means plans are beginning for UK-wide
expansion into other UK cities, starting with Birmingham in
2011.
The album was recorded at Livingston Studios in North London in
September (home to The Magic Numbers and Bjork, among others) and
features tracks such as Radiohead's "Street Spirit", and seasonal
favourite The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl's "Fairytale of New York".
The choir's first music video has also just been cut - a cover of
Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart", by music video
director Chris Cottam.
The choir's initiator Marie Benton said: "I founded the choir
because singing makes you feel good about yourself and the world. I
was determined that the members wouldn't be short-changed on the
quality of the music; they've been short-changed on so many other
things in life. Our album's amazing, and Chris's video captures the
members' beautiful and quirky personalities in all their glory.
We're really excited about sharing them with the world."
Choir member Dean Johnson commented: "We've worked really hard and
we're really proud of ourselves. Nothing can express how I felt
when I first walked into the recording studio. I was electrified.
It was better than winning the lottery."
And on wider UK expansion, Benton continued: "Our London choir has
proved to us time and again that the choir works. We'd love
to be able to expand that to help homeless people across the UK,
and so our plan is to pilot another choir in Birmingham from
Spring/Summer 2011, and prepare for a wider roll out across the UK
in 2013. In Birmingham what we need first is to recruit the
right Choir Director - someone with real passion, musical talent,
drive and ambition, and above all a good sense of humour!"
The Coldplay "hidden gigs" in Liverpool and Newcastle are part of
national homelessness charity Crisis' campaign to highlight the
too-often hidden problem of homelessness. The Newcastle show will
be hosted by TV's presenting duo Ant and Dec, and Liverpool's by
Peter Kay. 1000 people will attend the sell-out gigs and both
as-yet-unannounced venues have been hand-picked by Coldplay for
their intimate nature.
To download the 'Album with No Name' go to: www.itunes.com/choirwithnoname.
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