Rock Choir delight Stratford crowd with Comic Relief Red Nose Day performance outside Shakespeare’s birthplace
ROCK Choir’s nationwide series of flash mobs reached Stratford with a performance outside Shakespeare’s Birthplace to raise money for Comic Relief’s Red Nose Day.
Tourists and residents alike were treated to the 15-minute show on Friday (21st March), which was promoting Rock Choir’s new charity single, a cover of Keane’s Somewhere Only We Know.
The choir opened with Mountain by Sam Ryder, followed by Walk the Moon’s party classic Shut Up and Dance, before concluding with their single – all of which received rounds of applause from a surprised but appreciative audience.
Rock Choir’s fundraising campaign marked the 40th anniversary of Comic Relief by flash-mobbing 40,000 people across the country, having supported the charity for over a decade.
Since being founded in 2005, Rock Choir has achieved three Guinness World Records and now claims to be the largest contemporary choir in the UK, with over 33,000 members.
Friday’s performance was led by Hayley Condon, Rock Choir leader for Solihull, Dorridge, Bromsgrove, Redditch and Stratford, who told the Herald that despite the scale of the campaign it had been
“fairly straightforward” to put together.
This was in part thanks to the enthusiasm of her team, whom she said was “so excited, they’ve been dying to do a flash mob since I’ve started with them”.
Hayley’s choir, as well as groups from across the country, will come together again at the Ultimate Christmas Party at the Birmingham NEC later this year.
On the same day, BBC1 hosted a live performance from a 300-strong Rock Choir ensemble joined by the group’s co-founder, Caroline Redman Lusher.
Rock Choir is accepting donations on its JustGiving page and has raised over £20,000 for Comic Relief so far. You can find out how to buy the single at https://tiny-
url.com/3fvvezwn
Samir Patel, the CEO of Comic Relief, said: “The charity single, released in aid of Red Nose Day 2025, is more than just music – it’s a powerful act of kindness that will help support incredible projects which help children to be happier,
families stronger, women safer, communities prouder, and millions of lives fairer.”
Overall, Friday’s Comic Relief raised £34 million.
Mr Patel added: “On behalf of us all, I want to say a heartfelt thank you. Your extraordinary efforts have helped raise £34,022,590 that will help tackle some of the most urgent problems facing millions of people here in the UK and
across the world.”
