From car auditions to national victory – two Dorset farmers talk about the Hawkstone Farmers’ Choir and how it became something far more meaningful for agriculture
On 30th May, the Hawkstone Farmers ’ Choir stormed to victory in Britain’s Got Talent. The 34 singers made history as the first ever choir to win the competition With more than 28 per cent of the vote, it was clear the nation had a soft spot for the farming community and raising awareness of mental health in agriculture.
The two Dorset farmers who were part of the now-famous choir spoke to Dorset Life about their experience.
Soprano Ellie Maguire is a dairy farmer from near Sherborne. She says: ‘I saw the call for singers on social media. I was on maternity leave at the time, and my little boy was just three months old. I had to go to the car to do a little video of me singing for my audition because I didn’t want to wake him up!
‘They got back in touch and said they wanted me to join – and the first thing we did was an advert for Jeremy Clarkson’s Hawkstone beer.’
The group was initially set up by Jeremy Clarkson to lead an advertising campaign for his beer and cider brand, and is entirely made up of people connected to farming. Hawkestone posted on its social media: ‘We brought this wonderful group of farmers together to sing sweary songs to celebrate our British-farmed beer and cider and to support our farmers mental health partnership … we didn’t think they’d end up on BGT!’
In the first BGT audition, the Hawkstone Farmers’ Choir got the golden buzzer, taking them straight to the semi final. The group won, making it to the finals, where they competed against nine other acts – including a dancing dog and a drone display.
This is Home
Ben Chick, from Sixpenny Handley, previously told Dorset Life about his own audition tape: ‘When I saw the ad, I jumped at the chance. We all had to record a video of us singing for a minute, so I went up into one of the fields with four yellow Labradors and sang!’ Preparing for the final was busy for the farmers, he says: ‘We had a couple of days up in London, and then we were rehearsing at Hammersmith. Then it was trying to get the staging right, and polishing the song because it was an original.’
Unusually, instead of singing a familiar melody, the choir opted for an original song, This is Home, composed by their musical director Simon Gwillim.
The judges commented that this was a risk, but ultimately one that worked. Simon Cowell said on the night: ‘When you said you were going to do an original song I thought, “What – in the final?” And you know what? It paid off.’
The choice of song went much deeper than the final itself, and carried real significance to the farmers. From talking to the singers it is clear that, since its formation, the choir has become much more than just a singing group. It has flourished into a community – and the composer was part of the whole experience. ‘It means a lot,’ Ellie says. ‘Simon Gwillim has been with us from the beginning. He has been integral to our journey. And there are such beautiful lines in it. The line “On land we sowed our dreams” … I think that’s one of my favourite lines ever written. It’s about home, and protecting it for future generations.’
Ben also loved This is Home:
‘It’s an awesome song. It meant a lot to all of us. ‘Home’ is a passionate subject for us: especially with the state of agriculture at the moment.
‘It was a really joyous song, too, compared with the others we’d sung which were more hard-hitting. It resonated with people.
‘When you choose a song for the final of Britain’s Got Talent you have to get it right and he (Simon Gwillim) absolutely smashed it.’
Ran all the way
The final was quite the experience for the farmers, Ben said: ‘It was surreal. To be honest, when we got to the finals we thought “job done” in terms of what we were standing for, and everything else within agriculture. We had achieved what we wanted to achieve and just thought “let’s give it our all and see how it goes.” It was an amazing experience.’
When the final result was announced, only a few of the choir were on the stage because there were so many of them. Ben and Ellie were in a hall a few hundred metres down the road. ‘We were cooped up in a holding room a few hundred metres from the Apollo,’ he says. ‘We had everything streamed to a TV. It was a bit of a shame we couldn’t be on the stage for the result … but as soon as we heard it we literally ran all the way down the road, barged in through the back door of the Apollo and got on the stage. It was really good fun. It was quite a tense moment when the results were being called but when we got into the final three we thought … “we have a shot here!”
‘It shows what support there is around the country for UK agriculture and rural communities. Everyone has really pulled together to win – and it’s the public that have done it. A massive thanks to the public.’
Naturally Ben and the choir celebrated afterwards.
‘We went to a pub in Hammersmith that was stocking Hawkstone, and managed to have a pretty wild night. You have to treasure these moments – it’s not every day you win Britain’s Got Talent!’
The Hawkstone Farmers’ Choir is preparing to sing on stage at the Royal Variety Performance later this year. A significant proportion of their £250,000 prize money will go to mental health charities. But what else might be on the cards?
Ellie said: ‘Well there’s talk of a tour … what we’d really love to do is Glastonbury. Farmers singing on a dairy far? That would just
be brilliant!’
by Rachael Rowe
