Shebbear College Pupil Sings His Mum’s Praises
Shebbear College pupil Callum Hendry has good reason to be very proud of his mum Sarah. She is a member of The Military Wives Choir who recently took the music charts by storm to reach the coveted Christmas No.1 spot. The emotional song ‘Wherever You Are’ sold over 600,000 copies, more than the rest of the top 12 chart singles combined. The song even kept X Factor winners Little Mix from the top spot.
Callum says ‘I am very proud of my mum.’ He continues ‘we didn’t expect all this to happen, we’re just a normal family and it seems a bit far-fetched.’
The lyrics for the song were taken from letters and poems written between the wives and their husbands serving abroad. Callum expressed how much he missed his dad when he was away and that it was difficult for others to understand how hard it is for families to be apart for so long. The song clearly has great personal meaning for him. Callum and his family live at the military base in Chivenor and his dad Davidhas served three tours of duty in Afghanistan.
The single was released to support two charities – the British Legion and the SSAFA (Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association).
The choir was put together by BBC’s Gareth Malone for the series The Choir and features Callum, his mum and dad and his younger brother Owen. A heart-warming documentary was shown on TV just before Christmas which tracked the progress of the 100 strong choir from the initial apprehensive rehearsals right through to a stunning performance at the Royal Albert Hall. The women achieved so much whilst coping with obvious pressures.
Callum bought his own copy of the single which has been signed by members of the choir. There is one special signature that he proudly looks at very often – his mum’s.
Further to their huge initial success, ‘Wherever You Are’ has been nominated for ‘Best Single’ in the Brit Awards for which you can vote online. The single is also due to be released in America and is sure to generate much more support for these worthy causes.
Photo: Callum Hendry with his signed copy of the single.