Welcome to
Derbyshire Community Male Voice Choir's website
Based in Derby, the choir has been singing and helping raise money for charity since 1956.
New members are always welcome. No experience is necessary but a pleasant voice, a willingness to learn and be part of a close-knit team are essential. Please see further information in the Joining the Choir section.
#BRINGBACKMYCHOIR
This year we're supporting our heroes within the NHS and will be donating £6 for every one of our new CDs that we sell.
Click on Image to see previous Tracks of my Years
Our latest selection of music comes from our accompanist Louise Buxton. This is one heck of a talented lady who has started arranging some great music for the choir to sing.
I have an eclectic taste in music, perhaps the most surprising thing being that I’m not a huge fan of classical music, unless it is a piece that I am very familiar with. I have chosen these songs, not necessarily as my favourites, but because they immediately take me back to important times in my life when I hear them.
Jerry Lee Lewis – Great Balls of Fire (1957)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jt0mg8Z09SY
Obviously, as a child learning the piano, this was one of my favourite songs. Jerry Lee Lewis was my childhood musical hero (although a bit of a dodgy bloke, by all accounts). Fast forward many years, and Gareth surprised me with tickets to see Jerry Lee Lewis and Chuck Berry live in Manchester (I think it was 2007). Jerry Lee Lewis did a shortish set, rattled through the classics and ended with Great Balls of Fire. Absolutely amazing, I loved every minute, and still feel really lucky to have seen my childhood hero in concert. Chuck Berry, however, was dire! We left after 3 very painful songs!
Nina Simone – Feeling Good (1965)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHs98TEYecM...
Gareth and I thought long and hard about which song we should walk back down the aisle to when we got married. Tempted though we were by the Muse version of this song, which we both absolutely love (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmwRQqJsegw&ob=av2e ), we went with the Nina Simone version, as it was more suitable to the occasion. As one of our guests said, “Nobody puts it better than Nina Simone.”
Sam Fonteyn - Pop Looks Bach (Ski Sunday Theme Tune) (1970)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQJsTsJrIqw
This music takes me back to my childhood, when we’d sit as a family to watch Ski Sunday. A fantastic piece of music, it never ceases to make me smile.
Harold Melvin and the Bluenotes – Don’t Leave me this way (1975)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnIkcB8GObo
A cracking piece of music, I first heard The Communards cover version https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RHBAd5YUR8 (1986) as a teenager at school discos. I found it difficult to choose between their version and the Harold Melvin and the Bluenotes version for this list. However, the sheer beauty of Teddy Pendergrass’s voice and the amazing bass line shade it for me.
Chris De Burgh – Patricia the Stripper (1975)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1HmMUfl4FU
This song immediately takes me back to my years at Wilmorton College (1989-1991), where I was supposed to be doing my A Levels. However, instead I spent most of the time in the music rooms – the main room with a grand piano (if I could manage to get in there, which was rare as it was usually locked), or one of the two small practice rooms which literally had a piano, a stool and room for one person to stand. My friend was a Chris De Burgh fan, and had the sheet music book of his album Spanish Train and Other Stories. We spent many hours in the piano rooms, with me playing piano and her singing. There were lots of favourites, particularly Borderline, Fatal Hesitation and Just a Word Away. But my all time favourite remains Patricia the Stripper. I still love playing it, and it always brings back great memories of that time in my life. I’m still looking for someone in the choir to have the bottle to sing it in concert……..
Eagles – Hotel California (1976)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHYLvwv5BFc (acoustic)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=811QZGDysx0 (electric)
I became an Eagles fan as an adult, when Gareth introduced me properly to their music. We went to see The Illegal Eagles (an amazing tribute band) and from then on I became a huge fan. I worked overtime in the lead up to the Millennium and spent all of the earnings on tickets to see the Eagles live. It was most definitely worth the weekends I spent in the office! I love most Eagles music and struggled to choose just one for this list – Peaceful Easy Feeling (beautiful harmonies), The Last Resort (Don Henley’s voice on this is just amazing), Desperado (again, Henley’s voice is astounding). I love both the electric and acoustic versions of this song, both classics in their own right.
Sosban Fach – traditional welsh song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXX8yaMzrw0
My love of Male Voice Choirs began as a child, on our family holidays in Wales. We used to go to watch the concerts of Powys MVC. I love most of the Welsh classic MVC songs (Morte Criste, Cwm Rhondda, Llanfair, Gwahoddiad to name just a few) but Sospan Fach is probably the one where it all began. It takes me back to those summer evenings on Abergynolwyn Station every time I hear it. I never had an idea what it was about until I was an adult!
Wet Wet Wet – Love is all around (1994)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3gEkwhdXUE...
I chose this song as it was playing pretty much constantly on the radio when Gareth and I met in June 1994. Unfortunately it was played so much that everyone got fed up of it! However, I have chosen it as it takes me back to that summer.
Kula Shaker – Hey Dude (1996)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDHd-vxcMDo
Back in 1996, Oasis played a couple of gigs at Knebworth. This was my first proper concert, and what a concert to start with! My sister and I went on the Sunday and saw Kula Shaker, The Charlatans, Dread Zone, Cast, Manic Street Preachers and Oasis. I became a huge fan of Kula Shaker after this – we were fortunate to see them several times in concert after Knebworth at Rock City and Derby Assembly Rooms. In 2016 they returned to Rock City as part of their 20th Anniversary tour for the album K. This made me feel really old! I love the whole abum K, but Hey Dude is probably my favourite.
Ed Sheeran – Perfect (2017)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKzRIweSBLA
Probably not up there in my top favourite songs, but this was the piece that inspired me to have a go at arranging music for the first time. I spent many months listening to this song in the car, experimenting with different harmonies (usually at the top of my voice!) before I finally put pen to paper (notes to stave?) Therefore it will forever be one of the most important/influential songs in my life.
Due to the current restrictions all choir activity has been cancelled.
Below are some highlights of our previous seasons.
