Something Inside So Strong Lewisham And Greenwich NHS Choir

• 1 (Something Inside) So Strong 03:48
• 2 Angel 04:21
• 3 A Bridge Over You 05:25
• 4 And So It Goes 03:26
• 5 Lean On Me 02:47
• 6 The Seal Lullaby 03:12
• 7 Youve Got A Friend 04:33
• 8 Fields Of Gold 03:50
• 9 Love Shine A Light 03:14
• 10 Weeping 05:02
• 11 Thinking Out Loud 04:27
• 12 Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive 01:38
• Total Runtime 45:43

Info for Something Inside So Strong

Following the overwhelming reaction to their Christmas No.1, the beloved NHS Choir return with a collection of uplifting classics such as ‘You’ve Got A Friend’ by Carole King, ‘Thinking Out Loud’ by Ed Sheeran and ‘Something Inside So Strong’ by Labi Siffre.

The Choir is made up of around 30 members of staff from right across the NHS workforce, including doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, porters, chaplains, administrators and many more. They are now joining together in harmony for a new album, marking the 70th anniversary of the passing of the NHS Act in July 1946.

The Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust have directed that a minimum of £40,000 from the sale of the album are paid to its charitable funds, and will be used for the benefit of LGT patients and staff, to provide things that are not NHS provision but enhance patient experience or staff working lives – e.g. arts for health projects such as dance and singing groups for patients.

Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Choir were first seen on Gareth Malone’s BBC2 show ‘Sing While You Work’, where they were narrowly beaten in the final. The choir perform regularly for hospital patients and the local community, as well as singing in concerts across the UK. Now they are sharing their passion for the NHS with a new album of stirring music to lift our spirits and warm our hearts.

Lewisham And Greenwich NHS Choir
Dan Ludford-Thomas & Peter Mitchell, vocal direction
Liam Dunachie, piano, keybioards
Ed Cusick, guitars
Sam Weston, bass
Christian Rae, drums

Recorded at Angel Studios
Produced by Dan Ludford-Thomas & Peter Mitchell

Lewisham And Greenwich NHS Choir
The choirmaster and broadcaster Gareth Malone was responsible for the Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Choir's creation, after they featured in his 2012 BBC series The Choir: Sing While You Work, a spin-off of the original format of The Choir. Based around the idea of creating workplace choirs that would practice together and eventually compete against others, the NHS Choir would eventually lose out to a choir from Severn Trent Water after a closely fought final. The choir itself was made up of a range of NHS professionals, from doctors and nurses to porters and administration staff. After their defeat in the television show's final, the 30-strong choir continued to perform regularly for patients and hospital staff, as well as at concerts in the local community and further afield. They recorded a single, "A Bridge Over You," which beat the likes of Adele and Justin Bieber to the U.K. Christmas number one spot in 2015. The song was a mash-up of the Simon & Garfunkel classic "Bridge Over Troubled Water" and Coldplay's "Fix You," and all the proceeds from its sale went to charity. At the time, the deeply unpopular new contract being forced upon the NHS' junior doctors forced the British Medical Association to recommend industrial action, and the popularity of the choir's single did a lot to promote the cause of a much-maligned National Health Service under pressure from the government. Perhaps as a reaction to the huge public support for the choir and the NHS in general, the government announced that the value-added tax from the sales of the single would also go to charity. In an admirable show of solidarity, Justin Bieber lent his support to the choir's single, urging his fans via Twitter to help it reach number one, despite his own single "Love Yourself" being in direct competition for the coveted position. 2016 saw the release of their first full-length album, the proceeds of which would again go to charity. Taking its title and lead single from Labi Siffre's 1987 hit "(Something Inside) So Strong," the album featured covers of popular favorites such as Carole King's "You've Got a Friend," Bill Withers' "Lean on Me," and Sting's "Fields of Gold," also famously covered by Eva Cassidy. (Simon Spreyer, AMG)

This album contains no booklet.