Harmony UK Podcast

The latest from the UK's exciting Barbershop Harmony scene including; A world top-ten place at SAI Convention for Nottingham's Lace City Chorus. The Newfangled Four bring their distinctive brand of musical comedy to Wales. And why BABS has declared 2025 an "Year of Harmony".

A very special Barbershop concert recorded in Cardiff as part of the 50th anniversary celebrations of the Great Western Chorus of Bristol. Featuring The Newfangled Four, GWC and three more quartets; In The Wings, Bagatelle and DV8. Your MC is Oli Goodall.

News and interviews recorded in Bournemouth at the Ladies' Association of British Barbershop Singers Annual Convention. Featuring chorus champions Amersham A Cappella, quartet champions Muddy Stilettos and many more.

In this edition we look forward to a new chapter for Fortuity Quartet and look ahead to the 2024 LABBS Convention. There's the latest research into the history of gender-roles in Barbershop and we meet the UK chorus helping recreate the sounds of choral music as heard in the time of Henry VIII

Join us for a South Coast celebration with Spinnaker Chorus and friends as hey mark 20 years of harmony with a party and a concert which includes Afterglow and High Tea.

Celebrating fifty years of organised British Barbershop with UK singers past and present at SING24 in Harrogate and special guests from the US Music City Chorus and Instant Classic Quartet

In this edition we meet two gold medal-winning Iberian quartets; Metropolitan Union of Barcelona and 351 from Lisbon. We look ahead to this year's convention in Sheffield of Sweet Adelines Region 31, and we hear the story of the legendary Schmitt Brothers, four celebrated singers whom some believe set the template for what it means to be an international champion quartet.

Join the audience in Leicester for a special fundraising concert to mark the 50th anniversary year of the British Association of Barbershop Singers. The concert features the first performance in several years for the BABS Quartet Champions Chorus. You'll also hear from past quartet gold-medallists Limelight and Sound Hypothesis and from the talented mixed-voice chorus Lux A Cappella. If you'd like to donate please visit: https://www.singbarbershop.com/pages/donate

As British Barbershop celebrates 50 years as an organised movement we travel to Reading to visit one of the founding clubs. BABS acting chair Shanna Wells looks ahead to convention celebrations and explains why this year's Harmony College may have to move mostly online. And we meet the quartet at the heart of a cliffhanger in Britain's favourite TV soap.

Why do so many people spend time learning so many songs for a weekend of what's been described as quartet speed-dating? Come with us to visit the recent UK Harmony Brigade at Nottingham University and find out why so many are happy to go to extreme effort to join the fun.

Hot Ticket, the first ever LABBS mixed-quartet champions discuss a year of sometimes nail-biting competition, their own concert and an exciting new podcast in which they meet other young quartets from around the world.

In this 50th edition we check out the Barbershop Harmony scene in Norfolk and Suffolk, visiting the choruses Norwich Harmony, Fine City Chorus and the recently-formed East Coast Collective.

The decision of the BABS Board to unilaterally try to introduce open contests to British Barbershop has proved to be controversial. In this special Harmony UK podcast we hear from members of the Boards of BABS and LABBS who offer their perspectives on what's happening and what it means for the future.

In this edition - Barbershop singers as a resource; We hear from singer and educator Tony Colosimo about his keynote address to BABS Harmony College. We ask what attendees thought of the new-look faculty and streams. And we visit Leicester and the Heart of England Chorus, a club with a long history and a vintage set of risers.

The British Association of Barbershop Singers returned to Bournemouth in their 49th year. Hear from contest winners The Cottontown Chorus and Trailblazers Quartet, as well as many others who sang beside the sea.

Join us for an exciting weekend of song at Warwick as we hear from Gold medal -winning quartet Sound Central, Champions Lace City Chorus and International Queens of Harmony The Ladies. There may also be the odd sea-shanty in the mix.

Previews of two conventions in May from Region 31 and BABS and a look back to the Spanish Association of Barbershop Singers convention in April. Plus how four familiar faces came together in a brand new quartet.

The White Rosettes, Meantime Chorus, In House and Limelight Quartets were all gold-medal winners at LABBS and BABS in 2022. Listen as they appear together for the first time, along with Trailblazers Quartet, at a concert in West Yorkshire featuring some of the very best of British Barbershop, and raising funds to compete in future international BHS contests in Louisville and Cleveland. The concert was recorded at Pudsey Civic Hall on April 22nd 2023.

meet gold-medal-winners The White Rosettes Chorus and Limelight Quartet as they prepare for international Competition. And Scott Kitzmiller talks about the technique of resonance-matching and finding Barbershop on a bus.

We hear about change and challenge for 2023 - with London City Singers as they begin a new year as members of LABBS. With Meantime Chorus as they prepare for their first international chorus contest. And we'll hear the case for for a new group within British Barbershop for singers who identify as LGBTQ+

Listen to a spectacular concert featuring Bristol's seven Barbershop and close harmony choruses. The Big Bristol Barbershop Bonanza took place on November 19th 2022 and stands as a celebration in song as the choruses pick up the threads after the years of Covid restrictions. The choruses featured include Avon Harmony, Bristol Fashion. The Great Western Chorus, Fascinating Rhythm, Bristol A Cappella, Black Sheep Harmony and the Bristol Mix - along with a grand finale featuring a combined choir of 175 singers

Our third visit to Bristol to meet the members of the Fascinating Rhythm Chorus. We find out how they're looking to the future, and we meet the musical director of Black Sheep Harmony ahead of the Big Bristol Barbershop Bonanza Concert on November 19th.

Our second of three visits to the city of Bristol to meet The celebrated Great Western Chorus who've been entertaining audiences for almost 50 years, and Bristol A cappella, who broke new ground almost a decade ago as as one of the UK's first mixed-voice Barbershop choruses.

With six choruses, some of them almost fifty years old, the city of Bristol has long been a powerhouse for barbershop Harmony in Britain. This is the first in a short series of podcasts in which we'll visit some of the Bristol Choruses as they prepare for one of their biggest concerts ever in November 2022.

During the Coronavirus Pandemic the Collective Virtual Choir became a lifeline for thousands of people around the world seeking to sing with others while confined at home. As well as producing a wealth of choral videos, the Collective offered companionship, inspiration and countless opportunities for joint rehearsal and coaching. In August 2022 more than 100 members met in person for the first time in Leicester, for a weekend of song led by the choir's founder, UK Barbershopper Simon Lubkowski. It's a continuing story, as we hear in this special edition.

The proposal to merge LABBS and BABS, the two largest of the three British-based barbershop organisations, would be the biggest change to the hobby since 1976 . Natalie Feddon and Alan Hughes, chairs of the two groups talk about the proposed merger and what it might mean.

A celebration of Barbershop Harmony and the first convention since the pandemic for Sweet Adelines Region 31. Hear from a range of participants including Fortuity Quartet, chorus champions Forth Valley and the surprise winners of the quartet contest, Muddy Stilettos

In this edition we travel to Helsingborg for the European Barbershop Convention with BABS mixed chorus EQ Rendezvous and their co-founders Delyth and Dick Knight. This is the story of their week amid talented friends from across The Continent.

More from BABS in Harrogate, their first convention in three years - with new men's quartet champions Limelight, Sound Hypothesis, Crown Derby, and international seniors champions One Foot In The Stave.

All the excitement of a return to singing at the first BABS Convention since the Pandemic. Hear from International guests Forefront, BABS Youth Quartet champs Hot Ticket, and choruses Meantime, MaleVox. Cottontown and Lux A Cappella. (First of 2 parts)

With music and chat live from Harrogate and BABS Sing22 Convention. Including BABS seniors quartet champions Crown Derby, Lux A Cappella Chorus, Members of Cottontown Chorus and Sound Hypothesis along with Tagline Lead James Gower-Smith.

Saturday at BABS 2022 Convention in Harrogate with live songs and chat from ForeFront and Hot Ticket, along with reaction to the results of the 2022 Male Chorus Contest

The first full-length in-person British Barbershop convention since 2019. Hear songs and words from International Seniors champions One Foot In The Stave and much more from excited participants from across the UK

Tagline Quartet are celebrating ten years of worldwide international success. The quartet talk about their time together, their decision to take a step back from performance for a while, and their own favourite songs.

Barbershop singers have been without their beloved conventions for three years, so we'll be looking ahead with anticipation to gatherings this spring hosted by BABS and SAI Region 31. We'll hear from Sound Hypothesis about an invitation to compete in July at the BHS international Quartet Contest, and we'll hear about a controversial, proposal regarding mixed-voice singing.

Midtown Quartet were BABS special guests in Sheffield for QuartetCon, the UK's first competitive barbershop in-person singing event since the pandemic. In this podcast we hear from Midtown and some of the other quartets who lit up the stage.

As the Barbershop World returns to in-person singing we hear about the experiences of three groups, Capital Connection, Spirit of Harmony and Aberdeen Chorus. And we look ahead to BABS QuartetCon, the first UK-wide quartet contest weekend to be staged since the pandemic.

They have fifteen BABS quartet Gold medals between them. Now seniors quartet One Foot In the Stave have added video laurels to their tally of awards, and the quartet are preparing for a second successive appearance on the international contest stage where they hope to improve on a silver medal in early 2020. We meet them during a regular Sunday rehearsal on zoom.

As lockdown rules relax and singers begin to gather again in outdoor spaces we meet two quartets, Indigo League (pictured) and One Foot in the Stave, whose videos have been acclaimed. You can also find out about ambitious plans from the Ladies Association of British Barbershop Singers

In this edition we celebrate The Cambridge Chord Company's 30 years of creative achievement and contest success, following the sad news that the Chorus is to disband. Plus how innovation and Zoom has helped LABBS thrive through lockdown, and a lookahead to two forthcoming virtual Barbershop Conventions.

In this edition LABBS has become the first all-women's Barbershop organisation to sign an affiliation agreement with the Barbershop Harmony Society. Former LABBS chair Nancy Philbin discusses what it means for her 2200 members. And promoting diversity in British Barbershop - we speak to Laurence Hasson, vice-chairman of BABS about how he plans to make the organisation more inclusive.

The final part of he story considers the choices made by women's barbershop groups, how conventions have changed, and the growth of musical education among Barbershop singers. We also look head to an uncertain future.

1074 saw the creation of the first ever British Barbershop organisation. In this second podcast about the origins and history of UK Barbershop singing we trace the events of that year, including an inauguralConvention in Newcastle-On-Tyne

Harry Danser was an inspirational figure who introduced the Barbershop hobby to Great Britain. He and his sons, John and Tony, were instrumental in forming the first quartet, The Barbershop Four, and the first chorus, The Crawley Chordsmen. Harry's grand-daughter Jane Danser is pictured with "Harry the Bari", a giant teddy presented to her Grandpa, which became the Crawley Chordsmen's mascot.

The story of those passionate individuals who brought the love of Barbershop Harmony Singing to the UK, and founded the first singing groups., and the first Barbershop organisation.

Bob Walker is a founder member and former chairman of the British Association of Barbershop Singers. He played a major role in establishing the Guild of Judges. Bob sang lead in The Ringleaders, BABS first gold-medal-winning quartet and he's a former director of the Crawley Chordsmen, the first chorus outside of the US and Canada. In this podcast Bob describes his introduction to Barbershop in the US and how it began to take off in the UK more than 50 years ago.

In this edition as Barbershop moves online we look forward to a virtual Convention from LABBS, and online Harmony College from BABS. And three singers offer a perspective on the extraordinary worldwide success of The Collective virtual choir.

A compilation of archive features and interviews for the lockdown including Zac Booles on Convention packages, David Wright on arranging and Barbershop History, and members of Spinnaker chorus recalling their brush with Reality TV.

On the weekend when BABS members should have been gathering for their annual convention we revisit past conventions for interviews with Lemon Squeezy and Crossroads Quartets, and Sally McLean, MD of The White Rosettes Chorus.

Barbershop is thriving behind closed doors. In this edition we talk to Hilary Pinnock about Sweet Adelines Region 31 Virtual Convention. We hear from Tagline Quartet about the forthcoming BABSLive Convention show on YouTube,. We speak to Nancy Philbin about LABBS future plans, and we get the stories behind two awesome fundraising online videos from Avon Harmony and Cottontown Chorus.

As we battle on through lockdown here are some reminders of better times, including the arrival of Barbershop in Hull, a memorable weekend with Vocal Spectrum at BABS Harmony College, and a winning performance from Viva Acappella chorus.