Military wives raise over half a million pounds for Service charities
06 February 2012
It was one of the greatest success stories of 2011 and today, to celebrate reaching the half million pound mark, Gareth Malone and his Military Wives Choir presented a cheque for £503,985 to their two nominated military charities, The Royal British Legion and SSAFA Forces Help. The money was raised exclusively through sales of their record-breaking Christmas No.1, 'Wherever You Are', written by Royal Wedding composer Paul Mealor and using lines from the wives' love letters to their serving husbands in Afghanistan.
The Military Wives Choir
also chose the occasion to announce that they will release a
follow-up album through Decca Records in time for Mother's
Day. 'In My Dreams' is named after a brand new Paul Mealor
song and will also include the hit single 'Wherever You Are' and
Adele's moving ballad 'Make You Feel My Love'.
The No.1 choirs of RMB Chivenor and Plymouth will be joined on the album by extended choirs from Catterick, Lympstone and Fareham, just a few of the 11 choirs now in existence with more emerging each week. The album will help to establish further Military Wives choirs across the country, providing support to those left at home. A donation of £1 per album sold at full price in the UK will be paid to a charitable foundation for Military Wives Choirs (to be administered by SSAFA Forces Help).
As well as presenting the cheque to the charities, the Official Charts Company presented each choir with their Official Singles Chart Number 1 Award for reaching No.1. Launched by the Official Chart Company to mark the 60th anniversary of the UK's Official Singles Chart in 2012, the choirs are the first recipients of this special award which, from Christmas 2011, is presented to all No.1 artists.
The choir's rise to the top has seen the Devon wives perform to royalty, dignitaries and celebrities, at No.10 Downing Street, the Sun Military Awards, HMV Oxford Street and the National Television Awards. It has even seen them win a BRITs nomination for 'Best British Single' which sees them competing against British female stars, Adele and Jessie J. BRITs voting closes on Friday 17 February.
Russell Thompson, The Royal British Legion's Director of Fundraising and National Events, said, "The Royal British Legion is thrilled to be receiving such a generous donation from the inspiring Military Wives Choir single, which captures the strength and resilience of our brave Armed Forces families. On behalf of all who serve, thank you to the Military Wives Choir, Decca and everyone who bought a copy of 'Wherever You Are', your support will help to change lives for the better. The Legion spends £1.7 million every week delivering invaluable care and support to Service people and their families, including immediate needs grants for those in temporary crisis, Poppy Breaks to help Service families reconnect, and support through the painful inquest process."
'Wherever You Are' has now sold a total of 684,474 copies, making it a Platinum single and breaking several records. In Christmas week it outsold not only X Factor winners Little Mix by 5 to 1 but also the rest of the top 12 put together. It was the first non-X Factor song to become the bookies favourite for Christmas No.1 since the ITV show began in 2004 and, in a millennium that has so far been dominated by TV talent competitions, the fastest-selling single not to have emerged from that TV format. It had the biggest-selling first week since Alexandra Burke's 'Hallelujah' in 2008 and the 7th biggest since electronic records began in 1994. It is the first ever classical piece to make pop No.1 and the first for Decca Records in 45 years, since Tom Jones in 1966.
For further information contact:
Louise.Ringrose@umusic.com
/ 07769 680 066
