Angmering Chorale takes new turn to West End

The Beatles Hey Jude brought the first half of The Angmering Chorales summer concert to a rousing finish

Gone were the bow ties, choir scarves and formal wear, as more than 100 singers ventured outside their comfort zone – conductor George Jones’s assertion.!

Retiring tenor, Mark Long, recently celebrated his 90th birthday and it was great to see several young faces in the ranks, too.

From the start, it was clear, from the cheerful faces that everyone was there to enjoy themselves and the large audience at The Angmering School was in for a treat.

We were not disappointed, as the singers, accompanied by an excellent backing group, launched into a medley from My Fair Lady, including some ‘loverly’ solos.

Any celebration of the West End must inEvitably include Lloyd Webber. Britain’s most successful composer of musicals was represented by selections from The Phantom of the Opera and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. The latter included a brief reincarnation of The King (aka John Woodward).

Beatlemania’s 50th anniversary was marked by the choir reliving memories of the Fab Four in a pot-pourri of 15 hits, concluding with exuberant audience participation in the final chorus of Hey Jude.

After the interval, we turned to Abba. Three of the ladies donned glittering attire in seven songs from hit musical, Mamma Mia, the audience delightedly joining in with the supergroup’s first UK Number One and 1974 Brighton Eurovision Song Contest winner, Waterloo.

Excerpts from Les Misérables featured some outstanding solos and the choruses displayed a full and well-balanced sound.

From Sweet Charity, we heard a fine rendition of The Rhythm of Life, with suitably precise diction.

The closing two items were most apt for Armed Forces Day. Widely known as a football anthem, the moving words of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s You’ll Never Walk Alone also have particular relevance to those in the services and their families. Similarly Paul Mealor’s Wherever You Are, recorded by the Military Wives, is a poignant reminder of the thoughts of those with family members serving their country. Both were delivered with appropriate sincerity and a closing collection was taken for Help for Heroes.

Congratulations to the choir and soloists for an evening of superb entertainment, and to Alison Manton (piano), guests Dan Hawkins (bass guitar) and Michael Kruk (percussion), and compere and conductor, George Jones.