• Article |
• Discussion |
• View source |
• History

THE highlight for any new member of the Derbyshire Constabulary Male Voice Choir is to be invited into Alma Clarke’s bedroom to have their inside leg measured.

Even though Alma is now well into her 80s, she still has a wardrobe full of uniform jackets and trousers ready to kit out any new recruits.

And as the choir is celebrating its golden anniversary this year, Alma’s contribution has been invaluable.

Derbyshire is the only force in the country boasting a fully uniformed choir, a tradition of which, according to choir member and publicity officer Rod Moore, they are all extremely proud.

“Alma has been fitting us all out for many years,” said Mr Moore (58), a retired police officer with 38 years’ service behind him.

“But it’s down to all the respective chief constables we’ve had over the years that we’re still allowed to wear the uniform. If any of them suddenly decided to withdraw their permission we’d have no choice but to comply.

“It’s fantastic that the choir is still around after all these years. Our golden anniversary concert will be held at the Assembly Rooms on March 25 and it promises to be a big sound and a really good concert.”

It was on February 16, 1956, that the Derbyshire Constabulary Male Voice Choir was born. The then chief constable, Colonel Horatio Rawlings, let it be known he desired a male voice choir to be set up in the county.

Nineteen members of the Derby Borough Police met in the library of Full Street Police Station to answer his call. Since then, the choir has performed more than 1,000 concerts. One memorable event was at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

One of the longest-serving members, David Green, said it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. “They drew together the police choirs from all over the country,” he said. “There were over 1,000 choristers on stage, but we were the only choir in full uniform. It was an amazing moment. But there have been plenty of other memorable occasions over the years.

“I recall us performing at Trentham Gardens in Stoke-on-Trent where we virtually had to rebuild the piano. We had to use wire and tape on the pedals and then the piano turned out to be so damp we had to dry it using some hairdryers we had borrowed.”

Even though Mr Green (60), of Derby, has been singing in the choir for 30 years, he does have a secret – he has never been a policeman. He is, in fact, a professional photographer.

Being a police officer is not a prerequisite of choir membership. Shift patterns can make it difficult for serving officers to commit, so the choir is predominately made up of retired officers, some special constables and other close friends. David falls into the latter category.

“A friend of mine was in the choir,” he recalled. “We always used to have a laugh and sometimes a sing and he nagged me to come along. I walked into Full Street canteen and was made at home straight away. There has always been great camaraderie.”

The choir practises and performs between October and April, which means everyone takes a well-earned break in the summer.

The choir sings a four-part harmony: first tenor, second tenor, baritone and bass.

“That’s what gives male voice choirs such a distinctive sound,” said Mr Moore, of Horsley Woodhouse.

“Because there is not a great range between the different sections it means the tune is compacted into a smaller range of notes, giving it a richness.”

The choir performs about 23 concerts a year.

Mr Moore sad: “We often fill churches and halls and, of course, we perform absolutely free of charge. We perform at lots of charitable functions so any proceeds they make can go directly to their charity.

“All we ask is that a couple of our guys stand at the back with a helmet for any donations towards our expenses.

“We have to buy the uniforms and sheet music, which can prove expensive, but if we make more money than we need then we donate that to charity as well.”

On top of the more traditional music you would expect to hear from a male voice choir, the chaps like to keep the show as varied as possible.

“We have just learned She, the theme tune from the film Notting Hill,” said Rod. “And we have put together a compilation called Nice and Easy which features some of Perry Como’s hits, like Magic Moments.

“As far as we can document, the first song that was performed by the choir was Stout-hearted Men, which has become our theme tune over the years and is always the first song we sing at every performance.”

Mr Green says the members of the choir have had more than a few laughs along the way.

“We always say to the audience we’re here for you to enjoy yourselves, and for us to enjoy ourselves.”

“We often do a little comedy sketch when we’re in the smaller venues and I have been known to dress up as a chambermaid.

“We also played in Skegness once and one choir member came out for the second half of the performance dressed in shorts with a bucket and spade and took his place in the choir.”

One of Mr Green’s favourite moments was when the choir appeared on Saturday night television with Shane Richie as his backing group.

“We had a luxury coach take us to Granada Studios,” he said.

“We did a rehearsal and then managed our filming in one take. The producer said he’d never seen that before.

“Shane introduced us as The Police and everyone was expecting Sting to show up and got us instead.

“It was a tremendous experience and just sums up all the pleasure I’ve had over the years as part of the choir.”

• A force for good celebrates 50 years of hitting the right notes

TIPS

• To view comments about this article click 'discussion.'

• To join the discussion click 'discussion' and then 'add comment.'

County:  Derbyshire
what Links Here

This article is from the Derby Evening Telegraph and is reproduced online here.