Rock Legend Sting Sings With Local Community Choir


Choristers were gobsmacked when the Battersea Power Station resident dropped in

Battersea Power Station Community Choir, who have been rehearsing together virtually during the coronavirus pandemic, received a surprise visit from a local resident last week when world-renowned musician and multiple Grammy Award winning artist Sting joined the local choristers.

The group came together to record, virtually, an exclusive rendition of ‘Hymn’ from the musical, The Last Ship, which features music and lyrics by Sting himself. The Community Choir and Sting were also joined by the cast of the musical to collaborate on this unique version of the song.

Sting, said: "Battersea was the first place I lived when I moved to London in the 1970s, over on Prince Of Wales Drive. So, I've come full circle now that I'm back to Battersea. The Power Station is an iconic building that reminds me of my hometown when I lived next to the shipyard. It looks like a giant ship, with those chimneys going into the river.”

Sting and his wife Trudi Styler bought their home in the Power Station in 2014 after touring the site and falling for the development’s “austere beauty”.

He continued, “We all need our community now more than ever. Thank you to the Battersea Power Station Community Choir for the opportunity to connect by singing together."

 

The Last Ship musical, which featured on both the London stage and those in the USA, was inspired by Sting’s 1991 album ‘The Soul Cages’. It tells the story of a community living amid the demise of the shipbuilding industry in Tyne and Wear.

Sting finally moved into his Battersea Power Station home in 2018 after citing the development as a "great solution for the regeneration of an iconic London landmark which has been in decay for the last 30 years".

“I have been an English Man in NYC for most of my life. But Trudie and myself, we visited Battersea Power Station and bought an apartment. It seems to have been love at first sight.”

Sam Evans, Choir Director of the Battersea Power Station Community Choir said:“This is super exciting for us and an amazing challenge for the BPS Community Choir. Every one of our members was over the moon and very shocked to see Sting drop in on our virtual rehearsals. It is a huge honour for the choir to have the opportunity to sing alongside Sting.

“ As we are a community choir not everyone is a confident singer, but all our members have embraced the challenge and risen to it. The end result is something we are all incredibly proud of and an experience that none of us will ever forget.”

The Battersea Power Station Community Choir usually meets every Thursday at a local community centre, however as this has not been possible due to the pandemic, they switched to singing together via video..

Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More

This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism.

Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets.

We’ve always done that and won’t be changing, in fact we’d like to do more.

However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do.

We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area.

A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site.

One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute.

If you do support us in this way we’d be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor.

For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you’d like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site.

May 3, 2020