CHOIR NEWS
You can now pre-order the Lean on Me single by Lighthouse Choir which will be available on all streaming platforms on the 23rd of March.
The choir were surprised with an invitation by Paloma Faith to perform with her live on the BBC's Comic Relief TV show. You can catch it on BBC iPlayer.
Lighthouse Choir are also being announced as the next act to be performing at The Liverpool Gospel Music Festival in 2024. Get your tickets here.
LIGHTHOUSE CHOIR
Lighthouse Choir was formed by Liverpool Lighthouse over Zoom during the Covid-19 pandemic. The goal was to connect the community through singing, to help people stay well through lockdown and to build on the traditions of the Love and Joy Gospel Choir (LJGC) who over 20-years have sung at the Hillsborough Memorial Service at LFC Stadium.
Members of the choir include Hillsborough survivors, people who lost friends and family members as well as current local residents. They now meet weekly in-person and are involved in performances around the city. They have recently been recorded for the 2023 Eurovision coverage on BBC1 and by LFCTV.
The choir have recorded a 6-track EP, Songs of Healing, from which 5 tracks have now been released, with the latest track, which featured on the BBC1 Comic Relief Show, Lean on Me now available for pre-order. The other tracks that have been released are Wind Beneath My Wings, Abide With Me, You'll Never Walk Alone and Amazing Grace. The songs chosen are favourites of the Hillsborough families and have been performed by LJGC over many years. Although inspired by the Hillsborough Memorial, the songs have taken on a greater resonance as people grapple with the losses experienced over recent years.
SONGS OF HEALING
The album is currently in production, with recording completed over the summer 2021 and the final song due to be released in 2024.
The first single from the album, Wind Beneath My Wings was released in December 2021, alongside a Memorial Concert at Liverpool Lighthouse, embracing the healing power of songs and singing for the loss and grief.
A second single was released in 2022, Abide With Me, along with a video series of table talks "A conversations on living beyond loss", which explored how we experience loss and grief in a wide variety of ways and pathways to hope and healing. These are available in YouTube.
You'll Never Walk Alone released on May 8th 2023 alongside a LFC TV feature. Amazing Grace released on September 9th 2023 and Lean on Me is released on 23rd March 2024.
"It’s been difficult for everyone in this choir, but it has become a wonderful community project bringing everyone closer together and has shown how powerful music can be."
– Serena Rushton, best friend of Vicki Hicks, one of the 97. Daughter,
Danya Rushton is a member of the choir.
In 2022, to coincide with the anniversary the Hillsborough tragedy, Liverpool Lighthouse released a 97 second clip of "You'll Never Walk Alone" to commemorate the 97 lives lost and to preview the wider album release in 2023.
“It’s been really lovely to sing with a mix of lots of different people and to see them all every week. It is one of the only stable things at the moment and whatever happens we’ll still be here every Tuesday night, talking and singing along”.
– Niamh Owens, choir member.
Award-winning choir director and vocal coach, Anu Omideyi, has been leading the choir from the start, from June 2020 to the present day.
HILLSBOROUGH
AND ME
We have created Hillsborough and me, a collection of stories from survivors, friends and relatives of people who died and local community members who are part of the Hillsborough Memorial Choir. In the videos below, they share why they decided to take part in the project.
