On Friday 4th April I had the pleasure of performing with some incredible musicians at Northleach Church's Annual Gospel Concert 'From the Heart' in aid of The Children's Society, Christian Aid and Open Door.
I was booked to sing 'Behold the Lamb' with the band. It's a brilliant rock gospel worship song that sounds fantastic with all the backing vocals and dramatic instrumentation, with Steve Winwood on bass, Mike Kellie (Spooky Tooth, The Only Ones, The Hidden) on drums, Bill Hunt (ELO and Wizzard) on keys and many more band members and vocalists! I added some signature busy high notes at the end (so much fun!) and after my sound check, Robert Plant came up to me and said he was surprised that his glass was still in tact! We had a good chat about his next album which will be out soon, and then he was called for his sound check.
The doors were set to open at 7.30pm for an 8pm start but people were arriving at 6.30pm and queuing to get in! It turns out they had the right idea, Northleach Church has a capacity of 250 people, and yet over 400 people were packed in by the time we started! They even had to turn people away as no more could fit through the doors!
The atmosphere was electric; everyone was so excited to be a part of a gig with so many amazing musicians! Liz Leaverland powered through her rock songs and blew everyone away despite not being able to speak the morning of the concert after being so ill! I had an amazing time singing with a full rock band, projecting to the very back of the Church, singing my little heart out and I thoroughly enjoyed the whole day!
A special thanks to Gordon Jackson who organised the concert and brought everyone together, a big thank you to the Red Lion in Northleach for their amazing food and hospitality, and a big thank you to the band which included Mike Kellie, Steve Winwood, Robert Plant, Steve Gibbons, Greg Platt Lake, Bill Hunt, Liz Leaverland, Cal Winwood, Lilly Winwood, Poli Palmer, Rob Mason, Steve Trigg, Regine Candler, Tony Kelsey, Abi Kelsey, Julian Crook, Abby Brant and many more in the picture below...
Picture taken by Phil Blackmore.