Following the Bafta Award-winning success of The Choir, the sequel The Choir – Boys Don’t Sing returns to BBC Two this week.
Featuring the highs and lows of ever-patient choirmaster Gareth Malone, the series follows Gareth as he tackles, in his usual head-on way, the task of teaching choral singing in Lancaster School – a large boys’-only state school in Leicester.
Gareth has dreams of involving the whole school and leading a 100-strong, all-boys’ choir out on the stage at London’s Royal Albert Hall. The problem is, at Lancaster, singing in assembly was abandoned in the Seventies, and most of the boys who attend think singing is definitely best left for the girls.
In episode one, Gareth sets about changing attitudes at the school before launching his choir. His first challenge is to put singing back into assembly, but it doesn’t happen without a struggle. There is open hostility to his project from some boys, and when he takes his singing crusade into the classroom, the reception is mixed. He does, however, unearth some real talent. Fourteen-year-old Imran Siddique has the voice of an angel, but bags of attitude to match. Can Gareth keep his spirited protégé on track, and has he done enough to persuade the school that boys do sing?
Friday 1 February
9.00-10.00pm BBC Two
42 Comments »
i think that it is a good thing that he is getting the boy’s to sing
:):) :P:P
it was truly an amaaaaaazing experience. I was part of it. Performing at the RAH was out of this world.
I am loving this Programe, the look of pride on the boys faces when they sang for their parents was priceless. Cant wait for the next episode.
Although I like classical music inclujding choir music, I would hate to have had such a prat as a teacher. He really thinks that he’s the bee’s knees and that singing is the only thing that’s important.
I think he just does it te be ‘intimately’ ivilved with young boys.
Absolutely brilliant. Sincere congratulations to the young gentlemen. And what a great teacher Gareth Malone is. I think the programme is wonderful.
Fantastic programme! It restores ones faith in humanity! To see there are so many nice young kids out there, even the ones who didnt sing! And to see their pride when they sang at the school show. I got a tingle!!
We are really enjoying the children learning to sing and feel that Gareth is doing a superb job; the children should feel very lucky to have someone so dedicated to helping and encouraging them. Good luck to all the children who are rewarding Gareth, by they themselves working so hard. We look forward to watching their progress.
The best programme on TV this year. inspiring, moving viewing.Great to see so many young people singing,and gaining confidence. May Lancaster boys choir go from strength to strength and may Gareth Malone inspire more boys to sing.
Finale was fantastic experience for the viewers too. One of the truly positive rare wonders of the British Way of Life.
The boys were excellent and their enthusiasm was highly commendable. This should happen in all schools.
My hearty thanks to Mr Malone, the Boys, and everyone involved with the programme. A special thanks for the youngster with cancer.
Rarely do I shed a tear…. tonight, I did!
Gareth Malone deserves a medal for what he achieved! absolutely brilliant and well done by all the boys, especially the soloist. A wonderful memory for them all. Good luck to them in the future, who knows some might make a career of sing and even being a choirmaster themselves!
Having to deal with some very sad things in these days I saw just the last episode of “Boys don’t sing”. Being more an individualistic sort of music maker myself I was deeply moved by this experience of collective joy and inspiration by singing.Watching the radiant enthousiasm and human capacity of that astonishing young man one could remember old stories about angels sometimes passing through the lives of men and inspiring them to unthought-of deeds : well, why not today too ?
I was deeply moved by this program. I think Gareth Malone did a wonderful job. This really makes a difference, especially in these days. I hope they are going to do something like this in The Netherlands, where I live. Thank you.
Hello, I have loved this programme and many people in our choir have been following it too. It has particular relevance to me as I started a choir in my village of St. Dogmaels last July with a long term aim of creating a Singing Village inviting everyone to join. Singers and none singers anf especially those who feel they cant/ wont sing. Our group has 4 litt;e lasses from 11-14 who are absolutely wonderful and enthusiastic, and we have some men which is good and lots of women and young women and no young men ! Our oldes singer so far is 75 and I play him at table tennis for an hour begore we sing.
We were very fortunate to have a wonderful singing and voice teacher living here and she, Erin Macdonnel has worked with us throughout to perform for the village at events and occaisions and in Tesco’s. All sorts.
Our group is special, we dont audition and everyone is welcome. We have had about 60 different singers and have a core of about 35 or so regular singers. Some of our singers come 20 miles to sing.
ST. Dogmaels is a Welsh village and sadly we have few Welsh singers which is something I dearly want to address. A challenging task but absolutley essensial to the idea of a singing village.
We have been adopted by Hanes Llandoch a local community heretage charity and we plan to sing this year at (not in )the Shakespeare play in St. Domaels Abbey and at Medieval Day in August.
This is a very very exciting project and you dont even know about me or the rest of us all yet!!!! wanna make a programme of this?. there more to say.Marion
Gareth Malone is truly an inspired teacher. How he found the strength and imagination to overcome all the problems he encountered was amazing. One of the highlights for me was when he took the choir to King’s . The looks on the boys’ faces is a memory which will stay with me forever.
What are Gareth’s future plans for TV programmes ?.
Brilliant Brilliant Brilliant! What an inspiring programme for all future singers and wrung out teachers of challenging kids alike. Gareth is excellent with the boys here, and I am so impressed at hoe he managed to grab the attention of teenage boys to do something that required being brave and stepping out of their usual ‘coolness’ zone. I wish I knew his secret!
More please- can we have another Gareth Malone series???
Emotional and fantastic production.
Acolades due to everyone who took part, ESPECIALLY GARETH.
Another fantastic series headed by the brave,inspirational and caring Gareth Malone.The last programme was incredibly moving and uplifting. We have videoed it and can’t wait to watch it again! Well done.
The best programme I have seen on TV for many years. This is an experience which will be inspirational in giving the boys confidence to move outside their usual comfort zone and to know they can succeed in overcoming what may seem impossible hurdles, not only in music but in all areas of life. The importance of appreciating different talents and styles of music was brought home as was the need to respect different beliefs. Gareth Malone is tremendously talented and has great foresight - I do hope we hear more of him on TV because he just has so much to offer.
Jenny Mills
What are the soloists doing now, would particularly like to know that these absolutely fantastic boys have had the inspiration and recognition to go further in this field. would like to see their names mentioned cos they bloody derserve it. Well done Mr. Malone
Loved both programmes; sat on the edge of my seat as the Lancaster lads filed into the Albert Hall. but in these days of bending over backwards towards muslims why couldnt Gareth discipline himself over using Jesus Christ as an expletive.
Diss Show is Showaar .Imran is Sooo Choong n i Love a Boy Whoo Cann Sing Aswelll Lovee Him Loads ..n Deree Choir Sounded Well Good At The Royal Hall
Thankyou BBC 2 for a truely inspirational Programme, even though I am a grand mother I fell in love with the boys I thought they were wonderful, and their singing moved me so much. I would love to see more programmes like this. I would like to thank every one involved with the making of it. I thought
the boys were brilliant at the Royal Albert Hall. Good Luck to Gareth I thought he was dedicated and it paid off. Please let us know what is going on with the boys and the School. Cheers.
Gareth is amazing I have watched with abosolute joy. I adore singing and music and to see such enthusiasm from Gareth is wonderful. The boys are sounding great and this programme makes me smile throughout what an achievement you have all made.
Wow! What a fantastic programme this was. A reality programme worth watching. Gareth had a really difficult challenge with a boys only school and came up trumps - even with the teachers. The looks on the boys faces at the RAH said it all, and the ones who loved singing no longer felt intimidated by those who thought it was ‘gay’. Well done BBC. And as for the idiotic comment made by Progyn on 10th Feb, it’s comments like those that start vicious and unnecessary rumours against teachers.
What a wonderful achievement to get those boys to the Albert Hall. A very moving story and I felt so proud of them, as if the boys were my own. Cant wait for another series. I loved the piece of classical music but did not note the name. Can anyone tell me what is is please.
Can you inform me if I can obtain a D.V.D of the three episodes please.
I loved this series and also the previous one which Gareth Malone has appeared in. He is so dedicated and sympathetic and always manages to get the best out of all his singers. I think Lancaster school should be very proud of the achievements of the boys who sang in “The Choir - Boys Don’t Sing” - they really proved that boys DO sing. Congratulations to everyone and I hope we will see more of Gareth Malone.
excellent programme , hope we can re-visit this school to see if it is still involved with it’s music and where these boys plan to aspire to next.
I love the way singing is not only for gilrs its also for boys and i think we an see that in Imran
luv dis programn im doin a review about it in school
WOW what a show, rarely am I moved by a reality tv program, but this really touched my soul. To see all those marvellous boys grow through those episodes is amazing, and that performance in the RAH… I was in tears.
Gareth Malone is the kind of music teacher I would wish for every child, such an inspiring, energetic, and wonderful man he is. When he encouraged the boys just before the performance started, I could see he really has put his heart into this project, and to see it pay off, I think he should be tremendously proud.
I really hope there will be a sequel to this programme.
Ive bored my family and friends rigid about this programme!I missed the first 2 episodes but was blown away by the two i did see - telling everyone to watch it.Never heard of Gareth before - but amongst other things i felt very sad that my children hadnt come across such teachers at school that really INSPIRE children - masses of enthusiasm, encouragement, and problem solving qualities he possessess.How he ‘brought in’ the lads that were too cool to sing by introducting them to music on their level was fabulous.The boys faces (Imran’s group) were fantastic when they heard the groups vocal music for the first time.Many teachers would have just left this group of ‘difficult’ kids to mess about in playgrounds and get more disruptive.The results especially from Imran were staggering. I spent the two episodes i did see mainly in tears … due to what these boys achieved & how they all grew in confidence. Fabulous programme. Hope its repeated so i can catch the first episodes (with another box of tissues!).What a confident, charming, energetic man Gareth is.Best of luck in all you do.
I too missed the first programme of this series.
I’d never heard of Gareth Malone either but I think he should be the next Prime Minister! This country needs people like Gareth with such skill to be able to engender enthusiasm in a group of young men like the boys at the school.His enthusiasm was infectious and he didn’t let any set back get him down.He didn’t take no for an answer and chivvied the big, burly sports masters until they gave in and came to choir practice.Good for him!
The soloists were an absolute delight and like others, I watched it with soggy hanky in one hand.
Where has Gareth gone now and what is he doing?
Bring him back again - I want to see more of him- his joi de vivre is insirational.
IMRAN WOS SO CHOOONG ND HE CUD SINGG AND SPIT BARS HE MADE DAT PROGRAM LIVE HIM ND DAT OVA LIL BREH…….XNUFF LOVAGE
Having followed the series with great enthusiam I couldn`t believe I missed the final programme. I am so disappointed and can`t find anyone who recorded it. I did find it on youtube but would love to hear of any repeats even if at 3am (if only to stop me watching geography programmes).
I would like to know if ‘The Choir - Boys Don’t Sing’ is available on a CD and if so, where can it be bought?
Barrie Knight
We also missed the last two episodes and would love to hear from anyone who could possibly help us track them down.
John Ashcroft
I want ‘Boys don’t sing’ on CD too. I want to start a boys only choir at our school but know I’ll get more members if I can show them selected scenes. Am now kicking myself for not recording this wonderful series!
By the way, you can watch the Royal Albert Hall performance from the final episode on You-Tube.
Felicity Palmer
i think that the programme was brillent i wish i clould sing just like that i loved it,that man was just sooo clever to get thoughs boys to sing,i bet they did’nt know they could sing like that intill the man turned their lives around!
Oh. My. God!!!
Watched this in Music class!!
Hot guys!!!
Aaaaah Tom and Alasteir [can't spell it] are so prettyyyy!!!
And really good singers!!
OMFG You Guys are amazing!!
Uber-Love,
Your very secret admirer <333
plz come to the Norwood school and give us a try cause everybody is really into singing even thought it is not opera we all have a go for u plz come thx Rashene wong Year 8 student att he school
The Choir at the Lancaster School was the best TV I had seen for ages. I have just watched it again from our recording. How can we find out if a CD has been made of “Stand by Me” What a great bloke Gareth is. i loved the whole thing. Good Luck to all of them.
Post a Comment