After weeks of practice and preparation, a Pembrokeshire farmer is getting ready to head to the live semi-finals of Britain’s Got Talent later this month.
Hugh Thomas, a 75-year-old arable farmer from Trefaes Ganol in Moylegrove is the oldest member of Jeremy Clarkson’s Hawkstone Farmers Choir.
Hugh and the choir moved the nation with their rousing and emotional performance of Elbow’s One Day Like during the initial auditions back in March.
They also won the heart of judge Amanda Holden who pressed the golden buzzer, sending them straight through to the semi finals.
“As soon as you started I completely welled up. I felt so much power,” said a tearful Amanda.
“I love the whole community. I love how you’ve all got together and you worked your arses off. You work so hard every single day. You absolutely smashed it and I can’t wait to see what you are going to do in the semi-finals.”
Hugh is the oldest member of the choir made up of 32 agricultural professionals.
Since their high-stakes audition on the 19th series of Britain’s Got Talent the choir have had a few days together to rehearse.
Members are widely spread across the UK. They met at FarmEd, a farming education centre near Chipping Norton to finalise their next song and then a week later rehearsed their chosen songs under the direction of Lizzie Deane and musical director Simon Gwilliam at Notley Tythe Barn, a wedding venue owned by one of the choir members near Long Crendon in Bucks.
Members travelled from across the UK, leaving their farms in the care of family or friends.
While the BGT stage is glittering, the choir’s heart remains firmly in the muck and nettles of the industry’s challenges.
The choir is dedicated to using its platform to raise awareness and funds for mental health and suicide prevention within the farming community.
Farmers often face a ‘bleak reality’ of isolation and intense financial pressure; the choir serves as a form of ‘social prescribing’, using the power of song to provide a vital support network.
“We aren’t doing it for us, we are doing it for every person out there who doesn’t feel okay… we are their start,” said choir spokesperson, Katryna Shell.
Should the choir win the £250,000 prize, the farmers have committed to donating a significant portion to agricultural mental health charities.
The choir is set to take the stage at the London Apollo on Saturday, May 23, for the live semi-finals of Britain’s Got Talent (BGT).
Members are calling on the public to help them ‘fly the flag’ for British farming and rural mental health as they compete for a spot in the grand final.
The public holds the final decision on whether the choir proceeds to the grand final.
To vote visit www.itv.com/vote and follow the on-screen instructions.
You must register on the website before you can cast your vote, each registered mobile number is allowed up to a maximum of five votes.
