Relight my choir

10 July, 2019 12:00 am

3 Min Read

10 July, 2019

Diana Pilkington on how she ended up on stage with Take That

Walthamstow’s Natural Voices choir on stage with Take That in Milton Keynes (credit Marina Chichi)

As I gazed out at the sea of faces, my heart pounded with a mixture of excitement, disbelief and mild terror. In front of me were 30,000 people – the biggest audience I’d ever seen, let alone performed for.

If that wasn’t overwhelming enough, my schoolgirl crush Mark Owen was within touching distance, gliding up and down a travelator. But I couldn’t get distracted. I was singing and dancing with Take That on their UK tour, and I had to get it right.

This ‘bucket list’ moment came about thanks to Natural Voices, the friendly community choir I sing with in Walthamstow. They’d teamed up with the London International Gospel Choir to form the backing chorus for the boyband at the O2 Arena in London and Stadium MK in Milton Keynes, where I joined the line-up for one night.

Amazing as the opportunity was, I was a ball of nerves in the lead-up. We were doing two tracks, Never Forget and Relight My Fire, and the choreography was the most challenging part. If I mistimed a click of the fingers or walked the wrong way it could be immortalised on thousands of camera phones.

“Whatever happens, don’t let mistakes show on your face – keep smiling,” my choir leader Lizzy Renihan advised.

It turns out it’s hard not to smile deliriously when you’re sharing a stage with your teenage idols, and the day of the concert was one ‘pinch me’ moment after another. The first came when the tour’s special guest, Lulu, arrived to warm up with us backstage. We provided the backing vocals of Relight My Fire as she belted out her solo, before we were whisked off to the stage to await our cue.

As the opening notes of Never Forget rang out across the stadium, we filed out and the crowd roared in recognition. For a few seconds it felt as if the roars were just for us. Then Take That re-emerged from a costume change, the noise intensified and Mark gave us a huge grin. When the anthemic chorus kicked in, I flung my arms in the air, and every audience member seemed to follow suit. It was an incredible feeling.

But our nine minutes on stage passed in a flash. It was only on the coach home that exhilaration really took hold: I’d just performed with Take That! And I wanted to do it all over again.

Natural Voices is based at Orford House Social Club in Walthamstow Village. For more information and to get involved: Email [email protected] Visit naturalvoices.co.uk

No news is bad news

Independent news outlets like ours – reporting for the community without rich backers – are under threat of closure, turning British towns into news deserts.

The audiences they serve know less, understand less, and can do less.

If our coverage has helped you understand our community a little bit better, please consider supporting us with a monthly, yearly or one-off donation.

Choose the news. Don’t lose the news.

Monthly direct debit

Annual direct debit

£5 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else, £10 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else and a print copy posted to them each month. £50 annual supporters get a digital copy of each month's paper before anyone else.