The Choirboys
PRESS RELEASE September 2005
Like all boys their age, these three youngsters enjoy football, computer games and rock music. More unusually, Ben, Patrick and CJ different also enjoy centuries-old choral music by long-dead classical composers.
The trio of trebles, who all sing in boy choirs, have just been signed to a major record deal by the music giant behind opera superstars Pavarotti and Bocelli, and rappers Eminem and 50 Cent.
But never mind the cassocks and surplices - The Choirboys might sing like angels but look more like a stylish boy band in their designer suits. Now they are set to do for church choirs what Harry Potter did for boys in glasses… make them cool.
The junior version of the Three Tenors was formed following a nationwide search that took talent scouts to nearly 50 cathedrals and churches all over the country.
Hundreds of boys were auditioned before Ben Inman, 12, was picked from the Southwell Minster in Nottinghamshire, directed by Paul Hale and his new bandmates, Patrick Aspbury, 12, and CJ Porter-Thaw, 10, were both discovered singing in the famous choir at Ely Cathedral under the direction of Paul Trepte.
Now the boys are hoping to bring the music to a whole new audience and break into the pop charts 20 years after Aled Jones sang his way into the nation’s hearts with Walking In The Air.
Championed by Jones, the original boy soprano and produced by Steve Abbott, the man behind the early careers of Moby and The Stereophonics, they have been signed to Universal Music, the home of Pavarotti and Bocelli, as well as classical and jazz crossover stars like Russell Watson, Jamie Cullum and Diana Krall.
“We auditioned literally hundreds of boys and these are the three best singers we could find in the whole country,” said Dickon Stainer, general manager of Universal Classics and Jazz. “Unlike a pop group, where looks, style and personality are given as much priority as musical ability, these boys have been picked on one criterion alone – their voices.”
Of course those voices could not only be the making of the boys, but also – quite literally – the breaking. “Biology will take its course as it as it always does with choir boys,” said Mr Stainer, himself a former choirboy at Ely Cathedral. “As with sportsmen and women, they have to take their time in the sun and no one knows how long it will last.”
The boys have spent their summer holidays recording their debut album at All Saints Church in Tooting with the English Chamber Ensemble under Martin Neary, the former choirmaster, music director and organist of Westminster Abbey.
“It’s been cool,” said CJ during a break in the sessions. “Really cool,” confirmed Patrick. “We’ve been given our own personal hair stylist and clothes stylist and we’ve all got new haircuts,” added Ben. “Mine was really choirboyish before but now it’s ruffled up and it looks cool.”
Outside of their singing, which takes up at least two, hours a day, the boys are into rock music – Green Day are particular favourites – and football, supporting Arsenal (CJ), Chelsea (Ben) and Spurs (Patrick).
The boys will swop their traditional cassocks and surplices for designer suits, all part of the plan to give them wider appeal – and, cynics could claim, to distance them from their church traditions. Not that the boys are complaining. “I wouldn’t want people to think I’m a freak because I’m a chorister,” admitted Patrick.
Mr Stainer added: “There is a great choral tradition in this country. Cathedral choirs are a special world and they have been struggling to keep boys coming through the doors in the age of the Play Station. We think this group will have a huge impact on people’s perceptions of choristers and Cathedral choirs. It’s the rebirth of the choral tradition – and I think they will reach the pop charts.”
As part of the ‘crossover’ mission, they sing some pop favourites in their repertoire. Although mostly made up of traditional choral music such as Allegri’s Miserere and Bach’s Ave Maria, their album – due out in the autumn – will include the themes of TV shows Mr Bean and The Vicar Of Dibley, and pop oldies like Eric Clapton’s Tears In Heaven and He Ain’t Heavy He’s My Brother, popularized by Neil Diamond and The Hollies. Being well-spoken choirboys, however, there has been one minor change. The chorus now says He’s NOT Heavy, He’s My Brother.
Click here for The Choirboys' Management
For press information about The Choirboys, contact Rebecca Ram, TV & Radio Promotions Executive or Emma Finlay, Press Assistant, Universal Classics and Jazz, 364-366 Kensington High Street, London W14 8NS Phone: 020 7471 5088 Fax: 020 7471 5294
Click here for The Choirboys Official Website
Click here for Patrick and CJ's Cathedral Choir (Ely)
Click here for Ben's Cathedral Choir (Southwell Minster)
Click here for Universal Classics
BBC News item on Choirboys' signing to Universal Classics
Click here for Aled Jones' website
