Biography
Emerging from the British television landscape, The Military Wives formed a network of choirs across the United Kingdom, several of which originated during the fourth season of the Gareth Malone-hosted documentary series The Choir, broadcast in late 2011. After her husband’s deployment to Afghanistan in 2009, Nicky Clarke approached Malone about establishing a vocal group in Catterick, North Yorkshire. The resulting Military WAGS Choir offered servicemen’s wives, partners, girlfriends, and servicewomen a shared outlet for music while strengthening community ties at Catterick Garrison, the largest British Army base worldwide. Malone subsequently helped launch two comparable ensembles in Devon—one at Royal Marines Base, Chivenor and the other at Royal Citadel, Plymouth—whose initial development was followed closely on his popular U.K. television program.
Capitalizing on the series’ popularity, the Decca-released single “Wherever You Are,” composed by Paul Mealor, reached the top of the U.K. singles chart for Christmas 2011 and displaced that year’s X Factor winners, Little Mix. The visibility prompted additional choirs in Lympstone and Portsmouth. Tracks recorded by all five groups were assembled for the debut album In My Dreams, issued in March 2012. It contained interpretations of material by U2, Coldplay, and Bob Dylan, together with another original Mealor piece as the title track. He had become the British composer favored for such occasions after his motet “Ubi Caritas et Amor” was performed at the 2011 wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton.
In My Dreams topped the U.K. album chart, and in May the choirs contributed to Gary Barlow’s “Sing,” a composition honoring Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee that also reached number one on the singles chart. By the close of 2012 the initiative had generated 24 choirs throughout the U.K. and others in Germany and Cyprus. More than 700 participants gathered to record the second album, Stronger Together, which included Take That’s “Rule the World,” reflective versions of “Right Here Waiting for You” and “When Will I See You Again,” and two original songs written by choirmaster and mentor Malone. The Military Wives reappeared in 2016 with the seasonal release Home for Christmas, featuring popular holiday songs performed by over 1,000 women from 65 choirs in the U.K. and overseas. In 2018 the national choirs returned to mark the centenary of the First World War’s end with the album Remember. Drawing on newly written material, the choirs, composers, and musicians found inspiration in classic marching songs, contemporary music, and regimental pieces.
Capitalizing on the series’ popularity, the Decca-released single “Wherever You Are,” composed by Paul Mealor, reached the top of the U.K. singles chart for Christmas 2011 and displaced that year’s X Factor winners, Little Mix. The visibility prompted additional choirs in Lympstone and Portsmouth. Tracks recorded by all five groups were assembled for the debut album In My Dreams, issued in March 2012. It contained interpretations of material by U2, Coldplay, and Bob Dylan, together with another original Mealor piece as the title track. He had become the British composer favored for such occasions after his motet “Ubi Caritas et Amor” was performed at the 2011 wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton.
In My Dreams topped the U.K. album chart, and in May the choirs contributed to Gary Barlow’s “Sing,” a composition honoring Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee that also reached number one on the singles chart. By the close of 2012 the initiative had generated 24 choirs throughout the U.K. and others in Germany and Cyprus. More than 700 participants gathered to record the second album, Stronger Together, which included Take That’s “Rule the World,” reflective versions of “Right Here Waiting for You” and “When Will I See You Again,” and two original songs written by choirmaster and mentor Malone. The Military Wives reappeared in 2016 with the seasonal release Home for Christmas, featuring popular holiday songs performed by over 1,000 women from 65 choirs in the U.K. and overseas. In 2018 the national choirs returned to mark the centenary of the First World War’s end with the album Remember. Drawing on newly written material, the choirs, composers, and musicians found inspiration in classic marching songs, contemporary music, and regimental pieces.
Albums
