What would be on your MixTape? part 2

On Saturday June 16th The Pink Singers will be singing songs from our 35th Birthday mix-tape. What songs would be on your favourite compilation?


We thought we’d take the opportunity to introduce you to another handful of the Pinkies Management Committee – those stalwart volunteers who keep the Pinkie machine motoring forward. We asked them what three songs they’d have on their mix-tape, and why.


Paul Simon- Diamonds on the Soles of her Shoes. My favourite song from my favourite album. Conjures up memories of long summer afternoons.
Frank Turner – love Ire and Song. My mum and I have almost groupie status over Frankie T! This song speaks to my inner activist- it tells us to keep fighting the good fight no matter what.
The King Blues- I Want You. All songs that include Robson and Jerome must be awesome eh? They unfortunately didn’t authorise the Pinkies the use though! Fab to sing on long (or short) drives!



Train – drops of Jupiter – I love this song as it reminds me of my good old university days.
Gregory Porter – More than a woman to me – well it’s obvious isn’t it? It’s written about my beautiful fiancee Tracey Button 😍
Jack Johnson – Banana Pancakes – takes me back to my backpacking days lying on a beach in Fiji listening to this album over and over again – amazing!



“Who do you think you are?” The Spice Girls. This song was released in my late teens, and I see as my ‘coming out anthem’. It was played in the gay bars in Belfast in the late 90’s and will always be synonymous with the time in my life when I was discovering a whole new side of myself, having moved to University and experiencing what it was to live by myself and the freedom of embracing my sexuality. And yes, I can do the dance moves.
“All about you” McFly. This is such a sweet romantic song, and very much describes a very simplistic and altruistic sense of being in a relationship. It’s a proper karaoke favourite of mine, and in 2009, My husband Ben and I danced to it as our first dance as a married couple.
“Both Sides Now” Joni Mitchell. The Pink Singers sang the most heart wrenching arrangement of this song in my first season back in 2014. The song is quite emotionally raw, and it provoked such a physiological response in me every time we sang it. My heart beats faster and I get goose bumps every time I listened to it, and it still does. It is by far my favourite ever Pinkies song that we have performed.


Now is the time to snap up a ticket for our Mix-Tape concert in June. Get them now – they’re hot! This week we’ve introduced a group discount – 15% off the top two ticket prices for group bookings of 8 or more people.
Check out this promo video from an excited @TotallyPatsyMay

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What would be on your Mix-Tape?

On Saturday June 16th The Pink Singers will be singing songs from our 35th Birthday mix-tape. What songs would be on your favourite compilation?


We thought we’d take the opportunity to introduce you to a handful of the Pinkies Management Committee – those stalwart volunteers who keep the Pinkie machine motoring forward. We asked them what three songs they’d have on their mix-tape, and why.



Scissor Sisters, I don’t feel like dancin’. This reminds me of going to a gay night at Black Sheep Bar in Croydon in my 20s with my best friends and dancing all night, on a Wednesday night. It was so fun and I was just getting to see how fun being gay could be!
George Michael and Elton John. Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me. Before I got together with my girlfriend I started singing this one day walking along a mountain road in Taiwan and she joined in with me singing the harmony. I loved singing with her and I’ve never looked back!
I Choir, written specially for and sung by the Pink Singers. If you haven’t heard it, it’s on our CD “By Special Arrangement” so go – buy it now!



Orbital – ‘Halcyon’. Orbital are my favourite band ever, got into them around aged 16 when I discovered ambient and electro music. This song is a piece of genius and makes me smile every time.
bis – ‘Eurodisco’. This song reminds me of dancing my pants off to their gigs so many times across the years, its such a pop tune! Hopefully I will get the chance to dance at many more gigs to come in future.
Marvin Gaye – ‘Abraham, Martin & John’. This song reminds me of my mum, she loved Motown and I’d always sing and dance to their albums with her in our house. She brought so much love and light to my life, and like the song says ‘the good die young’. Never forgotten you Mum.



Forever & Ever (Demis Roussos). I threatened to sing this to my fiance on our wedding day, he HATES it!
Can you Feel it (The Jacksons). A disco classic that you cannot help but get up and dance to

Wow (Kylie Minogue) Love this song and it should have been a bigger hit! The Pinkies should definitely do a version!



We Can Do Better Than That, from The Last 5 Years by Jason Robert Brown. I could have chosen any song from this musical, or frankly anything by JRB. I love the concept of this show and the perfect way it’s played out.
Don’t Rain On My Parade from Funny Girl by Jule Styne and Bob Merrill. When the choir went to Manchester last August for Hand in Hand, while everyone else was at the launch party I went to see this musical at the Opera House (a much better night out by my standards 😉 ). I already knew I loved Sheridan Smith (leading the cast) but I wasn’t expecting to fall in love with the show. This show recurs throughout the show, firstly as her wanting to impress her boss, and then her husband to be, and then finally as a show of female independence.
Into The Words, from Forbidden Broadway (sensing a theme yet?!). I was lucky enough to play the clarinet for an amateur dramatic production of Into The Woods which, unfortunately, and controversially, cemented my dislike for Sondheim musicals. This song provided my with some relief during a long week!


More coming next week! In the meantime, now is the time to snap up a ticket for our Mix-Tape concert in June. Get them now – they’re hot!

Management Committee 2014/15

The Pinkies are a dedicated bunch – as well as giving up our Sundays for some melody making loveliness, a few of us are also elected to join our management committee. This year’s crop includes a gold level standard figure skater, a gossip girl, a shoe stasher and our very own George Clooney.
Meet the team! Find out what our favourite songs are as well as some other interesting tit-bits…
Rich, Chair Rich is our Chair and has been a Pinkie for five seasons.

  • Rich holds the world record for the most committed pinkie when it comes to commuting to choir (it was 250 miles for nearly two seasons).
  • His favourite music is “the sound of whatever I am singing to in the shower. I get good echo”.

OliOli is our Artistic Director and has been a Pinkie for ten seasons.

  • Oli is obsessed with shoes and owns over 100 pairs which he struggles to store in his flat!
  • His favourite Pinkie performance was ‘One Night Only’ from the movie ‘Dreamgirls’.“We spent a long time perfecting the choreography to this number; it wasn’t easy! However, on the night, the energy of the choir, the band and the audience all came together to produce an electric performance”.

Nicola Nicola is our Multimedia Director and has been a Pinkie for two seasons.

  • Nicola used to be a part-time reggae DJ in Uganda.
  • Her favourite song is, “anything by Fleetwood Mac and any Pinkies’ performance which involves choreography (regardless of what the song actually is!”).

Gary, Membership & Social SecretaryGary is our Membership & Social Secretary and has been a Pinkie for four seasons.

  • Gary attained his Gold Level Grade in figure skating in 2010.
  • His favourite song is Nina Simone’s ‘Feeling Good’, as it makes him…feel good!

ZoeZoe is our Choir Liaison & Events Officer and has been a Pinkie for six seasons.

  • Zoe went to the same high school that ‘Gossip Girl’ was based on.
  • Her favourite song performed by the choir is ‘Baba Yetu’.

Iain
Iain is our Bass Section Leader and has been a Pinkie for five seasons.

  • At the age of 18, Iain stood as the Green candidate in his school’s mock election. He had a campaign team and used a screen print of Greta Garbo in green paint on recycled newspaper as posters. The campaign slogan was, “Greta is…”
  • His favourite song is ‘I know it’s over’ by The Smiths:“It’s a song about desperation and loneliness so hard to explain why it would be a favourite. Listen to it & we’ll talk…”

LucyLucy is our Soprano Section Leader and has been a Pinkie for three seasons.

  • Lucy’s grandad invented the Terry’s Chocolate Orange (and no, he wasn’t called Terry).
  • Her favourite song(s) are any nineties Kylie, Natalie Imbruglia’s ‘Torn’, ‘I Am the One and Only’, most of the songs of 1996 and the choir’s rendition of Adele’s ‘Set Fire to the Rain’.

chris-viveashChris is our Tenor Section Leader and has been a Pinkie for one season.

  • When Chris was 19, he submitted a song called ‘Rush of Emotion’ to the BBC Eurovision Song contest. It wasn’t selected, but he might still sing it for you if you buy him enough beers…
  • His favourite Pinkie perfomance was ‘Set Fire to the Rain’, as he loved the arrangement and the tenor line.

Sarah
Sarah is our Alto Section Leader and has been a Pinkie for eight seasons.

  • Sarah believes in pushing herself out of her comfort zone and often tries to do things that scare or challenge her. For example, this summer she undertook her first solo camping trip in the woods!
  • Her favourite Pinkies song is ‘With a Lily in Your Hand’. “It was such a challenge to learn. I remember feeling really proud after having performed it for the first time and also a little surprised thinking, wow, did we really just make a sound like that?!”

Teddy, TreasurerTeddy is our Treasurer and has been a Pinkie for two seasons.

  • Teddy is a real life ‘Up in the Air’ George Clooney, having spent more nights in a hotel this year than in his own bed.
  • His favourite song is Ave Maria (Othello), by Maria Callas:“She slowly climbs up arpeggio towards the end and just lets the top note rest beautifully. It catches my breath every time. Three minutes of every emotion experienced”…

Secretary, GillGill is our Secretary and has been a Pinkie for 14 seasons.

  • Gill is a huge Nina Simone fan:“I once saw her perform live in concert. She was truly incredible – powerful, passionate and terrifying!!”
  • Her favourite song is ‘Feeling Good’ by Nina Simone; “lots of lovely rich alto notes for singing along to in the shower!”

joshJosh is our Concert Producer and has been a Pinkie for four seasons.

  • Josh’s favourite song is Joni Mitchell’s ‘A Case of You’. (“I do need 12 bottles please.”).

Management Committee 2013-14

All Pinkies give a little bit of themselves to the choir, but every year a few of them step up and are elected to join our Management Committee and, for the first time this year, some of them are also trustees (now that we are a registered charity).
Here is this year’s Pink Singers management committee and artistic team. Feel free to get in touch with suggestions or ideas you may have for the choir!

Management Committee


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Management Committee, Winter 2012

All Pinkies give a little bit of themselves to the choir, but every year there are a few Pink Singers who are generous (foolish?) enough to give that little bit more. This year they are giving rather a lot more, and the team are hard at work planning a few extra exciting treats to celebrate our 30th anniversary.
Here is this year’s Pink Singers management committee and artistic team. Feel free to get in touch with them with suggestions or ideas you may have for the choir.

Management committee

Jenny, Chair
Charley, Joint Communities Director
Eve, Joint Communities Director


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