Something to shout about

Legendary singer Lulu will be sharing the stage with Cranwell Military Wives Choir when her UK tour reaches Grantham's Mere's Leisure Centre next month.

The star has teamed up with the Military Wives Choir of RAF Cosford for the release of a new single, ‘Cry’, to be released on Friday, February 26, with all proceeds donated to The Military Wives Choir Foundation charity.

To support the single’s release, Lulu will perform ‘Cry’ with a different Military Wives Choir at each of her 35 UK tour dates throughout March and April. There are now around 75 choirs on UK military bases.

Steph Eustace from the Cranwell choir said they are excited to be performing at the concert in Grantham on March 12 and said: “The Foundation contacted all the choirs and asked who would like to be put forward for it and we jumped at the chance.”

Lulu due to perform at Grantham's Mere's Leisure Centre in March. EMN-160902-104327001Lulu due to perform at Grantham's Mere's Leisure Centre in March. EMN-160902-104327001
Lulu due to perform at Grantham's Mere's Leisure Centre in March. EMN-160902-104327001

The Cranwell wives choir was formed in 2012 and usually has around 30 members, some with it since it started, under the direction of TV and film theme composer Rowland Lee.

Steph said: “We are all very excited and have some new choir girls for whom this will be their first show.”

They will be putting in a few extra practice sessions, but she said they are getting more experienced and quicker at learning new songs.

She said: “Lulu is quite casual when she is performing so we will be wearing our jeans and printed T-shirts look. She is allowing us to do a collection in the audience to raise money for the choirs.”

Lulu due to perform at Grantham's Mere's Leisure Centre in March. EMN-160902-104327001Lulu due to perform at Grantham's Mere's Leisure Centre in March. EMN-160902-104327001
Lulu due to perform at Grantham's Mere's Leisure Centre in March. EMN-160902-104327001

The Military Wives Choirs Foundation is a charity that brings women in the military community closer together through singing. Being part of a Military Wives Choir is said to make a positive difference to women’s lives by improving well-being, building friendships and developing skills.

The impact of military operations can often last far longer than the conflict itself; but military wives are there to support their husbands for the long term, for the good and bad times.

Lulu said: “Having a different Military Wives Choir join me onstage every night will be a lot of fun. But on a more serious note, later in my life I was diagnosed as having post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and what that did was help me to relate even more with our men and women in the armed forces. I realised I would like to do something to help, so we recorded ‘Cry’ and my brother and I rewrote the lyrics to apply specifically to the military.”

Lulu added: “PTSD is not just about physical scars; it’s about the emotional scars, and they run very deep. They are enormous and very difficult to deal with. We need everybody’s support.”

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