It’s nice to know Jeremy & the team are supporting us, say Hawkstone choir as they reveal gig they really want to play
THEY scored a resounding victory for farmers everywhere when they won Britain’s Got Talent this year.
And now the Hawkstone Farmers Choir want to follow their success with a place on the Glastonbury main stage — and are calling for Emily Eavis to sign them up for next year.
In an exclusive interview with The Sun, one of the choir’s leaders, Katryna Shell, told how the group have their sights set on the famous festival, saying: “Our dream is to play the main stage at Worthy Farm. We’re farmers, so it’s kind of meant to be, isn’t it?
“But we haven’t had the call yet. So Emily, if you’re reading this, we’re open, we’re here, we’re listening.”
There’s no doubt that the 32-strong choir would be right at home in the Glastonbury mud and puddles.
The singers — all of whom are working farmers in their day jobs — were brought together by Sun columnist Jeremy Clarkson last year when he put out a casting call for a group to sing the expletive-heavy lyrics of a song for his Hawkstone beer advert.
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But he could never have predicted the unlikely bunch of livestock and arable experts would go on to the final of the ITV talent show, where he cheered them on from the front row as they were declared winners.
James Florey, from Witney, Oxon, said: “Jeremy is always there supporting us — the same with Kaleb Cooper and all of the Clarkson’s Farm team.
“It’s really nice knowing they’ve got our backs.
“Last week, we performed at the British Farming Awards and Jeremy made the time to come along, even though he had to leave straight afterwards.
“And when we finished, I saw Kaleb standing on a chair going wild.
“The fact that Jeremy came all the way down for the final — and I don’t think Britain’s Got Talent is necessarily his thing — was great.
“But he came and met us outside before we went on stage, to encourage us.
“He said, ‘I can’t believe what you guys have done and how far you’ve moved this, and the difference you are making to people’s lives.’
“But by backing us, he is also helping to get our supportive message out there, so it’s a collaborative effort.”
And it turned out the ex-Top Gear host was no less enthusiastic when it came to helping the choir celebrate their BGT win, as they revealed he sank pints with them and show judge Amanda Holden in a pub until 3am.
Katryna, from Alnwick, Northumberland, said: “How did we celebrate? We went to the pub with Jeremy and Amanda.
“That was a really good night — we were all out till 3am.
“And we hadn’t eaten before the final because we were so nervous.
“Then we won and I was feeling a bit jittery — it was all the excitement.
And it got to about mid- night and I was starving. Someone came in with a kebab, and it was all I could smell.
“So we left the party in search of the kebab shop, which was about five miles away, got a kebab and then came back.”
Since their win in May, the choir have been inundated with messages of support from fans both inside and outside of the farming community.
After the release of their debut single Absolution last month, their new album, This Is Home, follows on November 20 — and they have a UK tour beginning in March next year.
There is also the small matter of performing in front of royalty, when they take to the stage at the Royal Variety Performance next month.
But the members confirmed they won’t be undergoing a glow-up ahead of the big night and are happy to tread the boards of the Royal Albert Hall in wellies and jeans.
They also insist there is no chance of them letting fame go to their heads — because hours after rehearsing for a performance they could be back drilling crops or mucking out livestock.
“This is our glow-up,” said Katryna, gesturing to the group’s clean jeans and shirts.
“I auditioned for BGT in boots that smelled of manure. A guy interviewing me for a video was like, ‘What’s that smell?’”
She continued: “Someone asked me, ‘Do you think the fame will go to your head?’ And I said, ‘No, because every time I come away from whatever we’re doing, I’m thrown right back into farm life, mucking out livestock and so on.
“I’ve got three young children as well, so I’ll be looking after them.
“It is challenging and we’re all leaning on friends and family to keep everything working and safe, but we love what we do.”
Fellow farmer Ben Brooke, from March, in Cambridgeshire, said: “It has been hectic, juggling the choir and our normal day jobs. I’m an arable farmer, and I’m lucky as I have my dad in the business too, so he can step in while I’m away.
“At the moment, we are drilling the crops that will be harvested next summer.
“And then there’s running the people who work for us — we used to have 50 and now we have four.
“I’m trying to get involved as much as I can without going off singing all the time. That’s the main job.
“But is also so important for us to keep doing what we are doing, because it is bigger than us.
“Farming is inherently super- isolating, and it’s also quite an old-school industry, so no one seems to open up.
“For other farmers to see us having conversations and supporting each other goes a long way.
“We’ve had lots of people opening up to us online, sending us messages, and it’s important they know they are not alone. We want to have these conversations because we want to make a difference.”
James, who says he has struggled with mental health problems in the past, adds that for him joining the choir has been “like therapy”.
And he said it is more important to support farmers’ mental health now than ever before.
He went on: “It is a difficult time for farmers, and there is huge pressure because it is not the sort of industry you can just step away from and say, ‘Actually, you know what, this isn’t profitable at the momen’.
“There’s so much legacy and so much family history behind it. And people will often feel the pressure of that weighing down on them as well as all the financial burdens.
“You don’t want to be that generation that fails or lets things slide.
“Coming together as part of this group has been like therapy because everyone here understands what you are going through.
“And sharing some of our own stories and challenges has made others aware they are not alone.
“For me, this is one of the best things we’ve ever done, and you never know where it might lead. But hopefully it will be to the top of the charts.”
- The Hawkstone Choir’s debut album This Is Home is out on November 20 and their UK tour begins in March next year.