A group of sea shanty singers from Portishead have said they're feeling "super proud" after being selected to join a 300-strong choir that will perform in front of King Charles at his Coronation Concert.
Called The 85ers, the troupe, made up of RNLI Portishead crew volunteers, will join other community choirs and amateur singers from across the nation to perform at the event on May 7 in front of His Majesty and a crowd of 20,000 members of the public and guests.
Writing on Facebook, The RNLI Portishead said: "Our very own Shanty Band, The 85ers, have been selected to perform at the King's Coronation as part of the Coronation Choir. To say we are super proud of them is an understatement!"
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The 85ers first formed during the Covid pandemic and have been performing acapella sea shanties together since, including an appearance on Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway. The six members are all active volunteer crew members in Portishead.
As well as performing on the night, the Somerset singers will also feature on the BBC's Sing For The King: The Search For The Coronation Choir, airing on May 5.
The programme sees celebrity coaches, Motsi Mabuse, Amanda Holden, and Rose Ayling-Ellis joining choirmaster Gareth Malone to rehearse the mammoth choir ahead of the big event.
A spokesperson told the BBC that the four celebrities would draw on "their individual areas of expertise" to "challenge and inspire the choirs to give a pitch-perfect performance".
The Coronation Choir includes farmers, cab drivers and reggae groups, as well as an all-deaf sign performance organisation, Yorkshire's only female South Asian choir, the London Fire Brigade and a traditional male voice choir from Caerphilly. The Community Choir will appear alongside a Virtual Choir, made up of singers from across the Commonwealth, for a special performance on the night.
Take That, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie are among the musical stars who will perform at the Coronation Concert to celebrate the crowning of the King and Queen Consort, the BBC has announced. The line-up will also include Italian opera singer Andrea Bocelli, Welsh bass-baritone Sir Bryn Terfel, singer-songwriter Freya Ridings and classical-soul composer Alexis Ffrench, with more acts to be announced soon.
The event will be held in the grounds of Windsor Castle and broadcast live across BBC television and radio stations. The BBC has said Take That’s performance will feature three original members, Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen. However, the show would allow Robbie Williams and Jason Orange to rejoin for a one-off reunion.
Williams has joined the remaining trio in previous years, including for a virtual charity show during the pandemic. The group have performed at many Royal Variety Performances over the years, with Barlow also curating the concert outside Buckingham Palace for the late Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations in 2012.
Barlow, Donald and Owen said: “This will be our first live show since the Odyssey Tour four years ago in 2019, and what a stage to come back on. A huge live band and orchestra, a choir, military drummers, the backdrop of Windsor Castle and the celebration of a new King. We can’t wait.”
Perry, who is regarded as one of the biggest pop stars in the world, having produced a string of number-one albums, said she is “excited” to perform at the concert. Alongside her musical success, which includes a Super Bowl performance and a Las Vegas residency, she is also an ambassador for The British Asian Trust, a charity founded by the King when he was Prince of Wales, due to her commitment to other global charities including Unicef and her own Firework Foundation.
Perry said: “I am excited to be performing at the Coronation Concert and helping to shine a further light on the British Asian Trust’s Children’s Protection Fund, whose work includes on-ground initiatives to fundraising to find solutions to child trafficking.”
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Richie added that it was an “honour” to celebrate the coronation. The Grammy, Oscar and Golden Globe winner was also appointed The Prince’s Trust’s first global ambassador and is the chairman of the Global Ambassador Group.
He said: “To share the stage with the other performers at the Coronation Concert is a once-in-a-lifetime event, and it will be an honour and a celebration.”
During the concert, Bocelli and Sir Bryn will perform a duet of an “iconic song of love and collective solidarity”. Bocelli said it was a “great honour” to sing for the late Queen on several occasions and that it was another special moment to be asked to perform for the King.
North London singer Ridings will perform a duet with classical composer, producer and pianist Ffrench. The concert's centrepiece will be the Lighting Up The Nation, where locations across the UK will light up using projections, lasers, drone displays and illuminations.
Charlotte Moore, BBC chief content officer, said: “We are bringing the nation together for this once-in-a-generation occasion, broadcast exclusively across the BBC live from Windsor Castle. We have a world-class line-up of performers to look forward to for what promises to be a very special night of celebration and entertainment.”
The concert, produced by BBC Studios Productions, will be broadcast live from the grounds of Windsor Castle on BBC One, BBC iPlayer, BBC Radio 2 and BBC Sounds.
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