Ok so this photo of Tom Allen in Wakefield with So Choir! is hilarious! ?
This is us doing our *BEST* impression of a “proper” choir! I mean, if you’ve seen ANY of our other photos or videos, you’ll know that we’re most DEFINITELY a “come as you are” kind of a bunch. ?
We don’t do uniforms – EVER!…(*shudder*). However, Tom Allen and the production team were keen for us to play the role of “Local Wakefield Choir” really straight to make it funnier against the absolute whit of lyrics. So at crazy short notice, everyone had to dig through their wardrobes to find a plain white top of any kind that wasn’t screwed up or covered in some odd-coloured stain that couldn’t be defeated by all the Daz in the world! ?
So how did we get involved in these crazy shenanigans? ?
We got a call from TV production company Rumpus Media at the beginning of January 2020. They explained that they’d already filmed the show for Channel 4 with Tom back in Autumn 2019, which culminated in a Tom Allen live show at Wakefield Theatre Royal.
The idea was to have a HUGE sing along to end the show, with Tom starting and everyone joining in. The song they’d chosen was “Never Forget” by Take That – with some hilarious lyric changes to reflect what had happened on Tom’s journey round Wakefield. ?
They’d actually already filmed the show back in September 2019, but felt the finale needed a bigger sound. The production team saw our videos on YouTube and called us to ask if we could get a bunch of people together to smash out some So Choir! harmonies. The idea sounded just nuts enough to be up our street, so we delivered a resounding “YEAH!”. ?
Only thing was, they told us we had just 5 days until filming! In those 5 hectic days we needed to; assemble a choir, write the arrangement, record tracks, produce lyric sheets AND teach it to everyone! ? Not to mention, liaise with the production team on all the organizational stuff such as finding a venue, numbers, presentation, technical coordination for the recording etc.
Assembling the “Tom Allen Local Wakefield Choir” ⏰?
ACTION STATIONS! We immediately sent a message out on social media to see who was free and up for the challenge, whilst simultaneously staring aghast at what the hell we’d just agreed to! Luckily, we got a brilliant response! PEOPLE ARE AWESOME – FACT. ?
We’d managed to squeeze in a quick practice session (with obligatory drinks!) in the pub for anyone who could make it, the day before filming. We’d sent everyone tracks to get familiar with our arrangement of the song… and more importantly the Wakey themed lyrics! ?
The night we met Tom Allen! ?
On a cold, wet and ridiculously windy Monday night in Wakefield, around 100 people made up of So Choir! regulars and absolute newbies, met at Wakefield Town Hall in The Old Courtroom… which made us think of the stereotypical ITV law drama but with a odd green carpet that looked like it was covered in bananas! ?
It is fair to say that 100 people singing the word “Willies” in 3 part harmony is something we will never forget! ?
The Rumpus Media TV crew were lovely. We helped them, they helped us – a proper good bunch of people. Our tame guitarist – come music producer, engineer, all round recording and audio genius Stu, was instrumental in working with their sound crew too to make sure we got some BIG audio recorded. ?
It is fair to say that Mr Tom Allen was a true showbiz gentleman to the very end and was still smiling after taking selfies with every single person from the entire choir!
WHAT A GUY! ?. Thanks Tom!
? VIRTUAL CHOIR! – Wanna join us in 2021? ?
Since we STILL can’t get everyone together in person right now, we’ve brought our ridiculously fun So Choir! Bar Choirs and Workplace Choirs online! ?
Check out the So VIRTUAL Choir! page for more info by clicking HERE ?
