An Oasis in a Desert of Bleak Headlines

It would seem that Raise Your Voice Hebburn have friends in high places. Earlier this week Becky shared a silly little video of the choir singing the theme from Two and a Half Men, as part of her drive to recruit more male voices for the choir. Our local MP Kate Osborne saw this and took it upon herself to put out an appeal on her socials. It’s not the first time she’s shown an interest in our little tribe; when the story of our Christmas single first hit the local press last year, she wrote to us to offer congratulations. She didn’t have to take the time to do either of these things, and it’s much appreciated. And with all that’s been in the news recently, it’s reassuring to see that at least someone in the Labour Party does recruitment right…

What this highlights, though, is that we’re ‘out there’. Last Friday we were featured in not one but two local newspapers, with the Shields Gazette and the Sunderland Echo both running a story about our upcoming performance with the Choir of Man. We made the front page of the Gazette, while both papers included a centre page spread that basically amounted to a team photo, like the posters we used to put in the window on Cup Final day (growing up in Liverpool I probably saw a lot more of these than most of our members). Coming soon after our TV debut and featuring on BBC and local commercial radio in the last month, it’s fair to say we’re visible. We built up a head of steam at the back end of last year with the Christmas single, and it’s good to see we’re not fading away like so many other novelty acts – what’s Cliff Richard done lately? Nothing of note.

Back in the rehearsal room and, with a third week of swinging from the chandelier meaning our usual variety was lacking, Becky decided to cram as many Oasis songs into the warmup as possible. There’s an old saying that some artists create hundreds of works, while others create the same work hundreds of times. Fortunately for us, Noel Gallagher’s lack of variation really came into its own! While the basses sang Wonderwall, the tenors did Don’t Look Back in Anger, and the sopranos and altos floated over it all with Whatever. I thought it sounded terrific, delivering all the heart of an Oasis tune while lending a depth and sophistication that it’s fair to say the originals don’t really have. The whole was greater than the sum of its parts. Just like our choir, really. We don’t have auditions, and we’re open to all levels of ability. But together we really do make a beautiful sound.