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Snowdown Colliery Welfare Male Voice Choir, of Dover, sing Rock Around the Clock via virtual performance recording

12:38, 21 December 2020

updated: 12:52, 21 December 2020

Christmas is cancelled but not the music of enterprising choristers.

Snowdown Colliery Welfare Male Voice Choir had put together a recording and video of Bill Haley's Rock Around the Clock.

One singer became a Bill Haley lookalike: Still from a video from Snowdown Colliery Welfare Male Voice Choir
One singer became a Bill Haley lookalike: Still from a video from Snowdown Colliery Welfare Male Voice Choir

It has now been issued in time for the festive season.

The members, having to stay separate because of coronavirus, filmed and recorded their parts separately and the sound was mixed by an engineer.

Peter Whibley, choir publicity officer, said: “This was the first time in the choir’s history that we have embarked on such a project, which has brought some good cheer to all in these really challenging times."

Concert secretary Peter Hare got the idea when the more common method of linking separated people, using Zoom, didn't work for the choir.

Time to rock - one of the performing choristers. Still from a video from Snowdown Colliery Welfare Male Voice Choir
Time to rock - one of the performing choristers. Still from a video from Snowdown Colliery Welfare Male Voice Choir

They found it impossible to produce good harmony because of members’ different internet download speeds.

Planning for this virtual performance recording began in the summer with every singer producing their own vocal track against backing music.

They then produced their own video film.

Most of the sound and vision recordings were done in members' own homes although one was done at Walmer beach.

Dover District Council paid £212.50 for the engineer from the winter round of its Community Grants Scheme.

The performers singing from their own homes. Still from a video from Snowdown Colliery Welfare Male Voice Choir
The performers singing from their own homes. Still from a video from Snowdown Colliery Welfare Male Voice Choir

The Snowdown Colliery Welfare Male Voice Choir was formed in 1929 by miners travelling from South Wales to work in the Kent pits.

Snowdown Colliery, near Aylesham, finally close in 1987.

Bill Haley and His Comets' recording of Rock Around the Clock, in 1954, brought rock and roll into mainstream culture globally.

The single reached number one in the charts that year,both in Britain and America.

The choir's video can be seen here.

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