ACROSS the globe punters are realising there is nothing quite like a beer and a singalong.
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Two Novocastrians, Mark Jackson, formerly of The Castanets, and Jane Jelbart have brought the pub choir concept to Newcastle.
Each month hundreds of punters come together, usually at The Edwards, to learn and perform one song in one hour.
“There is nothing like it,” Jackson said. “People leave on a high.”
One attendee described the experience as akin to getting “a massive dose of anti-depressants.”
“We picked up the idea from Choir, Choir, Choir, in Toronto, Canada,” Jackson said. “They have been going for seven or eight years.”
Jelbart is the musical director and said it took a couple of days of hard work to get the arrangements right for each song.
“You have to make sure each part is bullet proof, so it’s easy to follow and a non-singer can follow it,” Jelbart said. “On top of that, you have to make sure it’s interesting … and I like to make it vary from the original.”
The singing is usually accompanied by a single instrument, with a wide array of singers, and non-singers, turning up each month.
“This time we had about six kids aged eight or less, right across the front, dressed up nice because they knew they were going to be on video,” Jackson said.
Three cameras run during the performance, which is then edited and uploaded to The One Song Sing website.
“It is a secular sing and I think that is the success of it,” Jelbart said. “And they know it’s not a big commitment that will take up too much of their time.”
Some of the material covered so far includes Under the Milky Way by The Church; Throw Your Arms Around Me, by Hunters and Collectors; Sorrento Moon, by Tina Arena; Sway by Bic Runga and Burn Your Name, by Powderfinger.
Christmas Eve saw 300 gather at The Edwards to perform Paul Kelly’s How to Make Gravy.
The One Song Sing will perform Overkill by Colin Hay on March 25 at The Edwards. Entry is $10.
