The Choir: Sing While You Work (2012) s01e02 Episode Script

1 One, two, three.
Gareth Malone wants to help Britain's workers find their voice.
Good morning, everyone.
I'm here to start a choir.
If you are at all interested, make yourself known to me.
In search of hidden talent, he wants to create choirs in four of Britain's busiest workplaces.
- (Scanner beeping) - Are you a singer? - What do you do? - Dig holes for a living, mate.
(Laughing) Pat puts all his post bags in his van Yes, he does! And for the workers, company pride will be at stake, when they compete to find Gareth's best workplace choir.
- Everyone ready? ALL: Yes.
- Fighting spirit? ALL: Yes.
Let's go and do it.
When I was learning to sing, it was always through competing that I got better.
And I want that for these choirs.
I want them to feel the pressure, and get better.
Before the performance, I'll pray to God.
God help us, this time! - Want to win it.
- Yeah.
And we're going to go hell for leather to win it.
GARETH: Months and months of work and slog come down to that one moment when you're on stage.
That's why I love it.
Gareth is on his way to Bristol to set up the second of his four workplace choirs, in the Royal Mail.
Singing is a way that you can make people feel better about going to work, you can display the pride that people have in there, in their workplace.
And you can draw people together from different parts of the business.
So I think a choir in the Royal Mail is absolutely right.
Royal Mail employs over 150,000 staff nationwide, and delivers over 50 million pieces of mail a day.
We represent something which is special.
We get a lot of pride out of it.
Believe it or not, we are proud to be postmen.
I do feel proud to work for Royal Mail.
If you cut me in half, you'd see Royal Mail running through my veins.
But as a government-run business, it's lost thousands of jobs and now faces privatisation.
In parts of the organisation, staff morale is low.
At the moment, we're at a time, economic climate, where we're losing jobs, they're making the rounds bigger, and we are under a lot of pressure.
But times move on and that's the way the business is being run.
There are a lot of changes going on in the company and it's getting a lot harder, so a bit of a morale boost wouldn't go amiss, to be honest with you, at times.
Gareth wants the Bristol choir to represent every part of the business.
Nearly 3,000 staff work across the Bristol region.
To find the 30 strongest singers, Gareth will be holding a series of open auditions.
Good morning, everyone.
I'm here to start a choir.
If you are at all interested, I'm coming round, make yourself known to me.
Thank you.
He starts his search in the region's biggest mail centre.
GARETH: It's absolutely huge.
It's like Wembley Stadium.
You look very busy.
Well, sort of.
(Laughs) Have you heard about my plans to start a choir here? - Yeah.
- Are you interested? - No? - No.
Can't sing.
- No singing voice at all? - No.
- Hi there, I'm Gareth.
- Nice to meet you.
- I'm here to start a choir in your workplace.
- I'm auditioning later.
- You put your name forward? - Yeah, my name's forward.
Pete.
Pete Flook.
Nice to meet you, Pete.
And can you sing? No! (Laughs) Next stop, the local delivery offices.
Morning.
Are you interested in being in a choir? - No, thank you.
- No? - No, no singing voice.
- No voice.
Hello.
Interested in being in a choir for the Royal Mail? - I'm not, no.
No.
- No? The whole point of the choir is to represent the business, to bring everyone together.
A lot of people don't want that, do they? Do you know what I mean? They like to come and work, and go home, and leave work behind them.
Is it a busy job? No, it's a shit job.
You're not into your job? - No, don't like it.
- No? - How long have you been doing it? - Five years.
Has it changed much in five years? - Yeah, it's got worse.
- Why's that? Longer hours, worse hours, harder to do.
I guess I'm not going to get you into the choir.
- Not a chance.
- All right.
- I hope you have a good day.
- All right.
Cheers.
I'm sure that guy doesn't speak for everyone.
But I suspect he speaks for a few.
I think I might have my work cut out, finding people that actually want to stand up and be part of this, you know.
Following the disappointing response on the shop floor Hello.
Gareth hopes to have better luck with the management.
Knock, knock.
It's a very serious meeting going on here but do you think the choir could be good for the Royal Mail? - Well, obviously you do.
- (Laughing) I'm so glad I came! Anyone here? There's quite a lot of talented-looking people here.
Anyone interested in singing? - I'm going to audition.
- Are you? - I'm Gareth.
- Hello, Gareth.
Tim.
Hi, Tim.
What singing have you done before? - None.
- None? Well, I do karaoke.
OK, that's good.
Do karaoke singing, that's about it.
If I sang something, could you sing it back? Probably, yeah.
Go on, then.
La la La la - OK, that's a good start.
- (Ripple of laughter) I'll audition you properly at the audition.
- Anyone else? - I've put my name forward.
You've put your name forward.
They're all coming out of the woodwork now! GARETH: It's good that two people from the executive table are getting involved.
It's great.
And it's just very different here, isn't it? Lots of numbers to deal with, and how many pieces of mail, and graphs, and statistics.
It's very different from the practical business of actually sorting out the mail.
So, I want to make sure that both sides of the business are represented.
I think to get the right talent, we'll need both.
Despite the initial lukewarm response, word gets around and staff turn up for auditions.
Hello, hello! Welcome, everyone, I'm Gareth.
Are you ready? - Yes.
- Follow me.
Let's go.
GARETH: Come on in.
Well, here I am in the Royal Mail, I am looking for a choir.
A choir that is first class.
(Cheering) I'm looking for you to really deliver for me.
I'm looking for the whole package.
(Jovial groaning) I've got one more! If you're not good enough, you know, to be frank, I'm just going to stamp on you.
(Groaning) OK, no, all right, that's enough.
So look, listen, I'm here to start a choir, and I am looking for it to be first class, I genuinely am, and it's going to go forward to compete in this contest against other British workplaces.
And that means I want the best voices.
So, what is the song that you're going to be singing for your audition? What possible song could I think of for the postal service? POSTWOMAN: Postman Pat! - Postman Pat, what a brilliant idea! Let's do that, we're going to do Postman Pat.
Up you get.
OK? Postman Pat, Postman Pat, Postman Pat and his black and white cat Early in the morning Just as day is dawning Pat picks up his bags and oh dear (Laughs) Wow! You were in such a rush, I can see you're under pressure for targets and things like that.
Over two days, Gareth hears over 120 voices.
Postman Pat, Postman Pat and his black and white cat And a myriad of different singing styles.
Early in the morning Just as day is dawning (Scats) (Vocalising) I like the little scat bit at the end, that was great.
Early in the morning Just as day was dawning Just as the day is dawning.
Pat puts all his post bags in his van Yes, he does! All right! Amongst those auditioning is one of the regional directors, Tim Barber.
Ah, I met you in the big corporate-y bit.
And now you're, you're on the hook, yes! - Indeed.
- Here we go.
Postman Pat, Postman Pat, Postman Pat and his black and white cat I've been in the business for 30 years.
Um, I started as a postman, and effectively I've worked my way through a number of different jobs.
I've now got a job that's a little bit 24/7.
It's a high accountability job.
I have somewhere in the region of 4,500 people.
In terms of finance, I spend around 70 million pounds a year.
I will always be very proud to be part of the Royal Mail.
I think we're a fantastic organisation.
Early in the morning I think the choir could benefit us.
There is just this opportunity for us to understand each other better.
When you're in a position where you're all striving towards the same thing and you're all out of your comfort zone, it bonds you.
Thank you very much.
You can sit down.
Sam! Also auditioning is postman Sam Fry.
Postman Pat, Postman Pat, Postman Pat and his black and white cat Early in the morning Just as day is dawning Pat puts all his post bags in his van That's a big voice, actually.
Do you do a lot of speaking? Arguing with management.
- Arguing with management? - Yeah.
- Heated debates.
- Heated exchanges.
- Yeah.
- OK.
All right, I'm not sure if I want you in the choir in that case! Thank you.
Well done.
Very good.
WOMAN: Hello! SAM: I found it pretty tough myself.
But I think we all done really well.
I think we all went in and we give 100% and that's all they're asking for.
- For people who can't sing - People who can't sing.
I'm used to posting letters, not singing.
POSTWOMAN: Enjoyed it.
Thought it was a bit of fun.
Royal Mail has not been in the limelight for quite a long time now, and I think this will do everybody that works for Royal Mail, a little bit of a boost, to be honest with you.
I was surprised that such an ugly bunch of people could make such a nice noise.
- Hm.
- Auditions over Perhaps Gareth must select just 30 of the very best voices to create a choir that can compete in the contest.
Definitely.
From high female sopranos Yes.
To low male basses.
Perhaps GARETH: This is not going to sound like a really refined choir.
It's a factory environment out there, and they have a kind of rough, earthy quality to them.
It's not like they can't sing.
They're inexperienced choral singers.
And I've got to make them into something that sounds great.
But there's an energy about them, a sort of spirit and they're fun.
That will an advantage in a contest.
OK.
Done.
Decision's made.
Gareth's up early to break the good news of who's in.
Patrick, there you are, hello.
How are you? - Very well.
How are you? - Taking it easy with a cup of coffee? - Absolutely.
- I think you did really well.
- Thank you.
- Really good.
- I would like you to be in the choir.
- Hey! Fantastic! You're, you're in.
Well, thank you very much! Very well done.
Well, to say I'm surprised is an understatement.
- Morning.
- Good morning.
I would really like you to be in the choir.
- Seriously? - Seriously.
- Seriously? - Yeah.
- Is it today? - It is today.
Blimey.
I need to get home and give tablets to my dog.
OK, well, you'd best get on it! - Best get on your bike! - Yeah! Brilliant! Wow! See you later, boys! Cheers! Postie Sam Fry will be one of the choir's new tenors.
SAM: I joined Royal Mail back in June '96 or '97.
So I've been here some time, seen a lot of changes, but I do really enjoy the job.
And when you're outdoors, you are your own boss.
You do the round exactly how you feel fit to do it.
But I do enjoy going out and meeting people, the banter that we have inside, we have good fun.
And as soon as they came and said "We're forming a choir", I just said, "Yeah, I'm stepping up and playing, I want to be part of this.
" Delivery round's over - How do you do? - Nice to meet you.
The 30 members of the newly-formed choir gather for their first ever rehearsal.
- Oh, you're a bass! - Yeah, I'm bass, yeah.
- Oh, what are you, Jen? - Alto.
- And me.
- Alto, Alto? - Soprano.
- Oh! - Hello! ALL: Hello! Hello, it's the choir! Come on in! How are you doing? Hi, Mandy.
- Hello, Pat, how are you? - Good to see you.
Did your dog get its tablets? Dog got the medication.
I rushed home to give Toby his tablets.
- I was terribly worried.
- Yeah, I'm sure! Don't be shy, don't be shy.
- Good afternoon.
ALL: Good afternoon.
Well, what have I let myself in for? (All laugh) You are the Royal Mail choir for Bristol.
- Congratulations.
- (Cheering) You are now in a competitive situation.
You are going forward into the contest, and this means that you will be competing against other workplace choirs.
And remember that you are representing the Royal Mail.
How many of you are from the mail centre, that big processing plant? OK, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine.
OK, great.
How many of you are from the delivery offices, so out delivering the mail? Quite a lot of you.
How many of you are management? (Some hissing) (Laughter) Well, it's nice to see what a sort of inclusive and welcoming bunch we are! All right.
So, we're going to move straight on.
I want to come up with a song that represents what you do and who you are.
And I want it to be your choice.
So let's just have suggestions of songs that spring to mind.
- Return To Sender.
- Sorry? Return To Sender.
Return to Sender That's a good idea.
OK, next idea? - Who Let the Dogs Out! - Who Let the Dogs Out? Who let the dogs out? ALL: Who? Who? Who? Who? (Laughing) Who let the dogs It's not usually done by choirs.
(Laughter) GARETH: Any others? - I Want To Ride My Bicycle.
GARETH: Ooh, say that again? - I Want To Ride My Bike, by Queen.
- I Want to Ride My Bicycle.
- Yeah.
So, are you allowed to ride your bicycle? - Not any more.
- Are the bikes going? - Yes.
- They are going.
- OK, next suggestion? MAN: Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now? (Laughter) - Heaven Knows I'm MAN: Miserable Now.
How does that go? I was looking for a job And then I found a job And heaven knows I'm miserable now GARETH: Well, let's choose that one then, definitely.
- Any others, before we move on? - Changes? - Sorry? - Changes by Bowie.
Changes.
How does that go? Ch-ch-changes Turn and face the strain Ch-ch-changes The best use of a choir is in communicating to an audience.
And I think this comes down to what you want your choir to say about your company.
I think because it's not just post people that are in here, something like that would be really good as that covers all the changes that are going on in the office, in the admin, in sales, in the delivery offices.
Everything, it's the company.
It's the whole process, it's not just the letter through the door, it's where it's collected, the process it goes through all the way through.
And all that's changing as well.
Yeah, the whole of Royal Mail has been changing for a long time.
The question is, what you think is going to represent your business best of all out of these songs.
- So, Beverly? - Return To Sender.
Why? Well, because it's catchier.
Changes I think is a little bit controversial.
- Joanne, what do you think? - I think Return To Sender because I don't think many people would understand why we chose Changes.
- Do people agree with that? OTHERS: Yeah.
Yeah.
Those of you who think it's Changes, put your hands up.
One, two.
Those of you who think it's Return To Sender, put your hands up.
Well, that, that seems, is this a democracy? - Yes.
- Great then! Let's look at Return To Sender, here we go.
Eyes up.
Smiling.
A-one-two-three, and I gave a letter to the postman He put it in his sack Sit up! Three, and Bright and early next morning He brought my letter back - Basses.
She wrote upon it - Whoa! - (All laughing) Let's try and agree on some notes here! She wrote upon it Ba-ba-ba-ba-ba A-one-two She wrote upon it Just after two beats, so it goes She wrote upon it - One, two She wrote upon it Stand up and do that same line.
One, two, three, and one! She wrote upon it Return to sender Address unknown No such number No such zone We had a quarrel A lover's spat Here we go.
I write I'm sorry But my letter keeps coming back That's going to work! Well done, round of applause! Really good! Thank you very much, well done.
I really liked them.
They're great.
They're really good.
I thought they were going to go down the really negative song route, a complaining song, but they went for something really positive, and I think, well, there's hope! There's a lot of people who are really proud of this institution, and I think this is really useful in giving them a public face.
I am so pleased to be here.
I am really, really, over the moon.
And it's just so nice to meet other people.
I've met so many people today, everybody's so friendly, and we're all having such a good time.
So I'm really happy.
(Chuckles) Today has been fabulous.
I've been able to talk to people I've not talked to in Royal Mail before.
And it's been great.
Just hearing people's stories about what's going on in work, and also here now, people are so excited about being in the choir.
Everybody seems buoyed up.
WOMAN: OK, if you can just sign in that box there.
OK.
Thank you.
With the choir formed, Gareth organises additional rehearsals with a local choir master to help speed up their progress.
Good.
Now can we just do the rhythm, everybody? It's one of those doorbells.
Ding dong! Ding dong! Return to sender - Got it.
Soon, word of the choir is on everyone's lips.
MAN: So what are you actually singing? Believe it or not, we're singing an old Elvis song, - Return To Sender.
- And that goes? Gave a letter to the postman He put it in his sack He put it in his sack Ooh! Ooh! Yeah.
There's a bit more than that, though, Pete, isn't there? Return to sender Address unknown No such number No such zone It's always hard, getting the first note, isn't it? - Yeah.
- To start it off? Hopefully, we all will have improved by the time we have another practice.
I know! So do you like being out and about? I do like being out and about Before his next rehearsal, Gareth gets to grips with the postie's work, out on the rounds.
Am I doing this right? Oh, there we are.
Probably a100 years old this, isn't it? Wow, there's loads in here! I'm sorry, I'm not very good at this.
- I'm sure you'd be a lot more efficient.
- (Laughs) - Morning, Sam.
- Morning.
- How are you? - Very well, thank you.
How long have you worked for Royal Mail? About 15 years.
- 15 years? Wow.
- 15 years.
GARETH: It seems to suit you, this job.
- Yeah.
I love this job.
And I care about the people I deliver to.
I'm speaking from the heart.
I really care about these people that I deliver to.
GARETH: Who are you taking me to see? - Lady H.
- Lady H? - Lady H.
Lady H.
Is she actually royalty? No, but she's got names I'm Viscount Sam.
- Hello, Lady H.
- Good morning, Sam.
- And how are you? - Oh, not too bad, thank you.
What have you got for me today? Something nice I hope? No bills.
No, I've brought you lots of advertising and lots of rubbish, I would imagine.
So what does Sam do for you? - What does he do for me? - Oh, little odd jobs.
He keeps an eye on me every day.
So more than a postman? Oh, more than a postman.
He's a friend.
Come on in.
You're welcome.
LAD Y H: He is so friendly.
I don't see many people.
So when you don't see anyone, somebody just to say, pass the time of day, say, hello, you know, and say, or how are you? Or, are you OK? It means a lot.
A heck of a lot.
- Yeah.
- I mean, after all is said and done, he's my contact with the outside world for one thing.
- Right, come on then, Viscount Sam.
- Yeah.
I'm sure she'll have a name for you as well, Gareth, give her time.
Gave a letter to the postman He put it in his sack He put it in his sack A few weeks later Energy here! At the next rehearsal Now there should be no harmony there.
Gareth is working hard to give the choir a more unified sound.
There's no harmony, a lover's spat is in unison.
It's in unison, just do me a lover's spat.
Three, and one.
A lover's spat Whoa! Hello! A lover's spat! A lover's spat It's up high, the basses.
Two, three, and one.
A lover's spat Good, it needs a bit of energy.
A lover's spat! It was a spat.
If you've ever had one, they're not great.
One, two, three, and A lover's spat I can still hear somebody (Vocalising tunelessly) - Just tenors.
Is it you? - Yeah.
It may just be too high.
That's at the top of your range, and that we have to just Just that? Just that phrase.
One, two, three, and A lover's spat It was you.
(All laughing) And that's never going to happen again.
It's all right, there's no shame in being wrong, I mean actually it's an important point.
This is a rehearsal room.
This is a space to make mistakes and not worry about it.
So no such zone, ready? And a-one, two.
- No such No such zone - And We had a quarrel A lover's spat Good.
I write I'm sorry But my letter keeps coming back Ooh, I like that, basses.
Very well done for that, we're going to take a break.
Thanks very much.
PETE: I think we've got a hell of a lot to learn.
We really want to be good.
And we're finding it hard to be good.
I think he's working us really hard, but I do think we definitely needed it.
That's what we're here for, isn't it? But he knows what he's on about.
But what I find frightening is, he can pick out, there's 30 of us singing, and like, one of the sopranos is not quite in tune, one of the tenors is slightly out.
- There's no hiding.
- There's no hiding, no, no.
I'm actually really, really pleasantly surprised.
I thought it might be terrible, and it wasn't, and it really felt like they were starting to get it.
And I was able to push them and they didn't crumble.
I think they're quite resilient.
There's a kind of innate energy there that I think will stand them in good stead.
(All laughing) OK, everyone! Let's get cracking.
Tea break over, Gareth has a surprise for the choir.
OK, so, it's time for an announcement.
You are going to go and perform this in You are going to go and perform this in five minutes, at the Mall Shopping Centre.
WOMAN: Oh, no! in Cribbs Causeway.
Nothing brings you together as a choir like a performance.
And in some ways, it's better just to get on with it.
It's going to be cracking.
The choir have less than an hour before they must give their first ever performance in one of Bristol's biggest shopping centres.
GARETH: I think the deep end is the best place to be thrown, because you learn there.
They're going to suddenly come together.
They'll have to.
They'll have to bond together because they'll all be so terrified! I'm very, very nervous.
Sweaty hands.
I feel sick.
Just like going to the dentist.
Don't really want to go.
- Have a mint.
- Ta.
I've never performed in front of people unless I've had about 10 pints of beer.
Yeah.
But you'll be all right.
- We've got everybody together now.
- Attack it, we'll attack it.
I think it's really exciting actually.
We're going to be fine.
Will you stand by my side? - I'll stand beside you, no problem.
- Yeah.
GARETH: OK, deep breaths, everyone.
Look! I've even got a post box for you.
OK, can you all shuffle forward a bit? GARETH: Roll up, roll up.
You only ever see these guys when they're delivering your mail.
And now, they're going to sing for you.
Return To Sender.
Return to sender Return to sender I gave a letter to the postman He put it in his sack He put it in his sack Bright and early next morning He brought my letter back She wrote about it Return to sender Address unknown No such number No such zone We had a quarrel A lover's spat I write I'm sorry But my letter keeps coming back This time I'm going to take it myself And put it right in her hand And if it comes back the very next day Then I'll understand With writing on it Return to sender Return to sender Address unknown Address unknown No such number No such zone Return Return Return Return Return Return Return Return (Cheering) GARETH: The Royal Mail! Well done, everyone.
Couple of high fives.
- Yeah! - Hey! High tens.
- Ooh! - Well done! GARETH: I think I underestimated this lot.
They've worked really hard and come together and there's a lot of spirit there that I hadn't anticipated them putting in so directly into the music.
And that just had real gusto.
Yeah, I think they're good.
I was nervous to begin with, but, once I, once we did it, and I could hear so much of what we were doing, it just felt really brilliant.
Really chuffed.
I think for our first performance, I think we did very well.
There were some people here that I knew.
I went over, asked them how it sounded, because you obviously can't hear yourself, and they said it almost sounded angelic.
Yeah, it was really lovely.
And a very appropriate song, I thought.
Yeah, wonderful.
I thought it was fantastic.
Yeah, honestly.
Him just telling me that there've only been a couple of rehearsals, three or four rehearsals, it was really good, yes.
OK, everyone, gather round.
I'm not going to make you do anything else.
No more singing for today.
Good, well, how did you think it went? - Brilliant.
- Yeah.
It was really good.
Look, I think it was really entertaining, had lots and lots of energy, and what was great for me was that I saw a lot of you come to life in the performance.
I think what we can do is take that energy and refine it now, and work on making sure that every chord comes together.
Like a lot of the chords came together.
Get the detail right.
Think how good your going to be if we continue this level of work.
Round of applause.
Well done.
(Cheering) Well done, everyone.
You'd better go or no-one's going to get their post in the morning.
So thank you very much.
SAM: I gave a letter to the postman He put it in his sack Bright and early next morning He brought my letter back Return to sender Address unknown With the choir now over a month into rehearsals, Gareth catches up with one of his basses.
These machines sort up to between 25 and 30,000 items an hour each.
Regional manager, Tim.
What made you audition for the choir, Tim? I guess, there was nobody else who was prepared to do it, - from the senior management team.
- Yeah.
I can hold a bit of a note, and I thought I'd enjoy it, actually.
- Yeah, and are you? - Oh, yeah, I'm loving it.
What do you think you're going to get out of it? Because I've got seven mail centres, and sometimes it's very difficult to get in there with people, as you'd like, I would walk through here and I promise you, somebody will call across and they'll say, "Tim, choir"! - Well, that's nice.
- Yeah.
And I'm convinced that I would not have had that closer integration with people had I not been doing this, in this building.
It's interesting, I mean, I've been around the business talking to people and I think the one thing that everyone has said is how much has changed over the last 10-15 years.
It must have been a difficult process for some people to accept.
Yeah.
Obviously there's, in human beings, there's an inbuilt resistance to change.
Yeah.
But presumably if it doesn't change, it doesn't develop, that impacts on you very seriously.
Yeah, on the whole business and everybody within it.
The mail market is shrinking.
Over the last four, five, six years, the competition's mushroomed.
So if we don't respond to that, then clearly we can't survive.
It's really interesting.
You've got such a different perspective on this business from the postie out on, on the walk.
Yeah.
Sometimes posties can find it difficult to, to relate to us, and be wary of talking to us, because of the job we do, but actually all we do is a different job.
We're still human beings, so it's not me being better than anybody, - it's just I choose to do a different job.
- Yeah.
GARETH: I think Tim's got quite a hard job actually.
I feel it might at times be a rather lonely position to be in, as a director, because people do have a problem talking to the management.
They do.
Whereas, when you're in the choir, I think people are really responding to Tim differently.
And that is the purpose of the choir.
It's about bringing people together to work more positively together.
In just a few months, the choir will compete against other workplace choirs, in the nationwide contest.
To prepare them, Gareth needs to set another challenge.
He's working on a new musical arrangement.
I've picked a song that's really bright, it's in a major key, it's really optimistic, and it's fast, and it's upbeat, and it's got a real energy about it.
I thought of lots and lots of songs, but this song, this song is about all the positive people here.
It's the right song for them, and I think it's a song that they can all get behind.
No, it's good.
It's a really good song.
(All cheering) - Hello! WOMAN: Chicken legs! What? What? I've seen more meat on a butcher's pretzel! Would I make it as a postie? I'm not sure.
- Ready for another rehearsal? ALL: Yes.
So, I think it's time for you to have a new song.
Ooh! - Don't you? ALL: Yes.
Right, so, the song that I've chosen for you, it's a Beatles song, and it's called We Can Work It Out.
(Cheering) - Good choice? Is that good? ALL: Yeah.
Yeah.
Oh, good, I'm glad you said that.
It's a really good song.
So I'm going to give you the music, here we go.
Shall we just sing the tune at the beginning? One, two, three and one Try to see it my way Do I have to keep on talking till I can't go on? While you see it your way Run the risk of knowing that our love may soon be gone We can work it out We can work it out Yeah, this T business at the end.
It's got to be together, that T.
I can't have an extra one at the end.
Three, and We can work it out We can work it out (Laughter) I've got somebody doing it massively late, and very loud.
I've got some people doing it right, and some people just going (Hisses) Guessing.
Guessing is fatal.
If you're not sure, don't do it.
We can work it out.
That's it, great.
Now try and sing it like that.
Two, three and We can work it out We can work it out Well done, guys, that's really good.
You know what's really exciting about that? Is that you have all, basically, just confidently looked through a piece of music, for the first time, and nobody looks flustered.
You were all just going yeah, oh yeah.
(All laughing) PETE: I loved the song when it first came out.
The Beatles were actually out when I was a young boy, cos I was born in 1954.
I know I don't look that old, but I am.
I loved it first time round, when it came out.
Are you old enough, Jo, to remember that? No, I'm not old enough to remember it.
HEATHER: No.
Just a lovely song.
GARETH: Good song choice? - Yeah.
- Yeah.
I'm hoping you picked it because it's not too difficult to learn.
Not entirely that, no.
- That might not have been your intention! - It wasn't it, I'm afraid.
With a good response to his song choice, the next day, Gareth is on the hunt for a soloist to open the piece.
18 choir members put themselves forward.
- Hello, Tim.
- Like going to the dentist, this is.
Yes, it's worse than the dentist.
I'm going to inflict real pain.
Oh, dear! Two, three and one Try to see it my way Do I have to keep on walking till I can't go on? While you see it your way Run the risk of knowing that our love may soon be gone Good.
As they sing, Gareth discovers the lyrics have struck a chord.
So, my situation as a postman, sometimes I feel like the managers aren't really listening to what we're saying.
And that first line, try to see it my way, is actually really quite relevant at the moment.
Certainly the recent changes have really taken hold of people, I think, and morale is quite low at the moment, which is a shame, you know? Thank you very much, Pat.
Why see it your way? Run the risk of knowing that our love would soon be gone I think it is a really good song because we've all been fighting against each other for absolutely years about all these changes.
I've been with the Royal Mail for 12 years and I've seen so many changes, and not one of them has ever gone through without a fight.
- Thank you, Mandy.
- Thank you.
That was great.
It's really interesting how music can get everyone talking.
It does bring people together.
Because you feel OK about talking with people that you sing with.
I think you feel closer to them.
It's a very positive force.
If I can get them to sing with that kind of positive ambition, it'll be great.
Try to see it my way Do I have to keep I'm very proud of working for Royal Mail.
As long as they don't sell us on to somebody else.
I'm a royalist, I think a lot of the Queen and the Royal Family, so I hope that we don't Sorry.
Yeah.
No, it's all right.
You don't want to be separated from your boss.
- No.
Not really.
- Mm.
Try to see it my way Do I have to keep on talking till I can't go on? While you see it your way Run the risk of knowing that our love may soon be gone I can actually see me and my boss using that top line in a conversation, "try to see it my way," and he'd probably come in with the second line.
- Yeah, maybe.
- Yeah.
Maybe we should get your boss in to do it as a duet.
But I think that we can work together and we can sort all these issues out, I really do.
- Yeah.
- Right, OK.
Thanks very much, Sam.
Well done.
I feel that I'm leaning towards a man for this solo.
I feel that's right for this company and it's right for this song.
I've now got the problem of figuring out which of the men it's going to be.
So, I know you're all dying to find out how the solo auditions went, so we're going to cut to the chase and we're going to get on with it.
First thing to say is, everyone who went for it did a fantastic job, so hats off for that.
The person who's going to do the solo is (Laughter) is Sam.
(Cheering) So very, very many congratulations, Sam.
Did an absolute stand-up job.
Really, really good.
He's absolutely terrified.
(All laugh) But listen, this is a team.
- And we're all behind him, right? ALL: Yes.
OK, so it is going to be time for you to do your next performance fairly soon.
I want you to perform to the rest of the workforce.
WOMAN: Oh, wow! In three weeks' time.
MAN: We can do that.
GARETH: It sounds worse that way, doesn't it? So, shall we have a go at it? ALL: Yes! Sam, would you like to come out the front? (All cheering) Come and stand here.
Up we get.
Come on.
Let's put it to the test.
OK, here we go.
One, two, three, and Try to see it my way Do I have to keep on talking till I can't go on? While you see it your way Run the risk of knowing that our love may soon be gone We can work it out We can work it out SAM: This is one of the biggest things, apart from seeing my kids born and marrying my present wife, and a few other sporting events I don't want to go into, this is right up there with them.
We can work it out We can work it out SAM: I'll give it a go.
I don't know if he's got a reserve.
I don't know.
But if he helps me, it's just my fear is letting people down, I hate letting people down.
We can work it out There we go.
Well done! Give Sam a round of applause.
(Cheering) This, this song is just it hits the nail on the head.
I think that people, when they hear of us, will be inspired by the choir and think, "Hey, these guys are sending a message.
They're sending a message out to every individual.
" You know? And I think people will sit up and notice, and who knows? Relationships, to some extent, could improve on the basis of us delivering this message.
Well done, Sam.
Very good.
You can go back and join the tenors and let's have another crack at it.
Well done.
JO: I'm not surprised that he got it.
And actually, when he was talking, I could feel myself getting quite choked up.
And as he was chatting away, everyone's going (Gasps) And you could feel yourself sort of getting Getting choked up with it.
I thought that was exactly the right choice.
Fantastic choice.
I'm a manager, he's a postman.
We're sitting side by side.
And we're helping each other, and we're just getting along, so what it proves is there's no difference between us.
Apart from the fact he's a better singer, there's no difference between us.
In the run-up to their big performance in front of their work colleagues, the choir puts in the practice.
We can work it out We can work it out That sounded loads better.
Run the risk of knowing that our love may soon be gone We can work it out We can work it out For me, it's given me an outside interest, all right? But it's also given me a bit of pride back in myself.
Cos I want to be, I want to do the best I possibly can.
Standing up, please.
It needs to sound sort of light and optimistic.
And Gareth works them hard.
You don't want to hammer the message over the head.
I have always thought Can it be balanced? I feel too much soprano, not enough alto.
Think of what I'm saying OK, now already, it's much too loud.
Everyone's singing the same part, so suddenly it becomes much louder.
One, two, three When Gareth's been here, pushing us, we always go away feeling really, really confident.
So I think it's what we need.
It's important you respond to the gesture.
If I'm going like this, what do I want? Flowing.
Right? So if I go like that, I want you to jab the sound in my eye, here.
(Laughing) TIM: The key thing for us at the moment is absolutely to do our best, and to come away from this saying, we couldn't have done any better.
(Vocalising) Well done! That was so much better, and it's only three hours.
(Laughter) Well done, have a seat.
That's it for rehearsal.
But I think it's in very, very good shape.
Thank you very much, you may go home.
Well done.
- Thank you.
- Well done.
In less than 24 hours, the choir will perform for their colleagues for the first time.
Gareth is on his way to a meeting to help drum up support.
Tim Barber has just, well, he's just taken over, and he's now doing a massive PowerPoint presentation about the choir to 40 of the regional managers.
So these are the people that run the Royal Mail across most of the South of England.
Hi.
But before I do that, I'd like to introduce Gareth.
So a round of applause for Gareth.
Thank you very much, hello.
Good to see you.
Hey, Tim.
TIM: As a choir, we work together brilliantly.
We help each other.
We support each other.
We put up with each other's mistakes.
And actually, when we get it all right, it sounds fantastic.
Why doesn't that translate to the workplace? What is it we are missing? There is a belief and there's a passion in our people that we don't know about.
Because we don't ask them.
Gareth has asked them.
And I think Gareth was pretty stunned.
And I was certainly quite stunned about the response he got.
Actually, there's a real buy into our business, and it's in people's blood.
I'm going to invite Peter to come up, who's a member of the choir, and he is actually one of my baseline colleagues.
The good thing about the choir is that it doesn't make a difference who you are, you're all after the same object.
At the end of the day, we're singers.
And the choir has brought us all together and instead of being individuals, we actually end up as a team.
We all look forward now to singing together.
I know it sounds a bit wussy, about singing, but it's kind of changed us all, cos we're all thinking the same way, choir-wise, but also work-wise as well.
As I said, I didn't know Tim at all.
I didn't realise how big he is until now.
(Laughter) You know how big I am! Cheers.
I always say, singing cannot change things.
It can't make you better if you're sick, it can't turn round the fortunes of a company, but it's really, really amazing what it can do for morale.
And I'm hoping that as many of you as possible will come to the performance tomorrow because it's going to be a great opportunity for you, the management, to support the workforce visibly, and be there, and cheering them on, because they're doing something that is absolutely for the company, it's not just for themselves.
Can I have a show of hands? How many people are thinking of coming? - Oh, that's more like it! - Everyone! I'm going to check.
Thank you very much.
Thank you, everybody.
GARETH: It's so good having Tim in the choir, because if this message came from the workforce on their own, it wouldn't be translated into the sort of language that managers understand.
What can we get from this? What are the goals? What are the clear lessons that we can take from that? That's the sort of language managers speak, and Tim has just translated everything that we've done and put it into something tangible for this business, and I hope that it has an impact.
The day of the performance.
As the audience begin to take their seats There's my sister.
the choir get ready.
Oh, I'm glad they're here! I am nervous, I am nervous.
I'd be a liar if I wasn't.
A lot of colleagues are out there, a lot of people have come from our office to see us.
And I do take it really seriously, because I don't want to let these guys down.
MANDY: I never imagined I could be this nervous.
Waiting for my lift, I was just pacing round the house.
I was ready too early and didn't know what to do with myself.
TIM: Starting to get a bit of the adrenaline going now.
Getting nervous, I suppose.
But that's a buzz, it's not fear, and I'm really looking forward to it.
But I know we're good, I know we're well-practised, I know we worked hard, and I know it's all going to come together, so really confident at the same time.
What the choir don't know is that Gareth has invited a special guest.
Ralph Allwood, former head of music at Eton College, is one of three judges who will decide which choir will win the final contest.
RALPH: Everybody wants to be excellent, everybody loves excellence, and it's my job to make sure that I am judging at the highest level.
It's no good People don't want you to just go in and say, "Oh, well done" and pat them on the head.
They want to know how they can get better in the smallest detail.
Ralph will be hidden amongst the audience of family and work colleagues.
Hello, everyone.
ALL: Hello! - Hi.
- Everyone OK? - Yes, thank you.
Right, come and gather round.
I feel that we've actually got something to prove today.
We've got to go out there and prove that this hasn't been a jolly.
This hasn't been all about going off and having cups of tea and relaxing, it's been hard work.
You've taken on the mantle of singing for your entire company, and very well done for taking that on.
- Is everybody ready? ALL: Yes.
- Yeah? In fighting spirit? - Yes.
Let's go and do it! Come on.
Ready? (Exhales) - All right? - Yes.
It's going to be fine.
Just have fun.
We're ready for anything.
I'm not going to go over it again! (All cheering) Hello.
Thank you very much.
Good evening.
And thank you very, very much for welcoming me into your company.
It's incredible to be in a space like this.
Who gets to come into these sorts of buildings? It's been fascinating to nose around the Royal Mail for the last few weeks.
I have to say, after, you know, looking in mail bags and post box and bothering people at machines, I found a fantastic group of 30 people who I'm going to introduce you to now.
This is, ladies and gentlemen, the Bristol Royal Mail Choir! (All cheering) For me it's really important that you get behind this choir for the contest.
They need your support and they need to feel, going in to this contest, that they represent you, cos it's going to be nerve-racking, and look at them, they're nervous already.
The song I've chosen for them is We Can Work It Out by the Beatles.
Here we are.
Try to see it my way Do I have to keep on talking till I can't go on? While you see it your way Run the risk of knowing that our love may soon be gone We can work it out We can work it out Think of what you're saying You can get it wrong and still you think that it's all right Think of what I'm saying We can work it out and get it straight or say good night We can work it out We can work it out Life is very short And there's no time For fussing and fighting, my friend I have always thought that it's a crime So I will ask you once again Try to see it my way Only time will tell if I am right or I am wrong While you see it your way There's a chance that we might fall apart before too long We can work it out We can work it out (Vocalising) (Cheering) Yeah.
I didn't quite expect it to be as good as that.
- Oh, it was brilliant.
- It was amazing.
Got right into the swing of it, leg was going, fingers was going.
Thoroughly enjoyed it.
Thoroughly enjoyed it.
And I think for all these people to come and support us, I thought it was, well, amazing.
To see everyone Well, you can't describe it really.
It's brilliant.
Within the choir itself, we are such a brilliant bunch of friends, I can't describe it, it's been fantastic.
One of them held my hand up there because I was so nervous! I've heard lots of great things about the choir.
Lots and lots of positive feedback.
But I really was not prepared for what we witnessed tonight, they were absolutely amazing.
Hello! (Cheering) Well done, everyone.
Really good.
Really good.
Are you happy? ALL: Yes.
- Yeah, I'm happy too.
I think you did a great job and you became a choir.
I'm not going to tell you all the things that we might want to fix and we might want to work on because somebody else is.
Oh, no! In the audience was a man called Ralph Allwood, and he is one of the judges from the contest.
Oh, no! Thank goodness you didn't tell us that! The reason that Ralph is here is to give you some feedback about your performance.
- Oh, wow! - Now? Right now! Oh, yes! - Bring him on! - I'm going to go and get him! So I am delighted to introduce you to Ralph Allwood.
He's an eminent conductor and choir trainer.
This man knows about choirs.
I have absolutely no idea what he's going to say.
He hasn't told me, so I'm in the same boat as you, so I'm going to come and have a listen.
Thank you, Gareth.
Thank you very much.
That was all beautifully together.
The feeling was together, the rhythm was there.
Lovely solo at the beginning, Sam, and (Cheering) Lovely.
Now then.
I wouldn't be being a judge unless I told you one or two little ideas for future improvement.
So first of all, you made a lovely sound.
But I think you could make a sound with far more impact.
You were a little bit tentative about your sound.
The second point is, there was a certain nervousness in your eyes, of course.
You came onto the stage and you looked at us "God, Lord!" This is an audience and we are singing to them! And you stared at Gareth, as if you were on a sinking ship and he was a lifeboat.
(All laughing) Now, Gareth and I will both say to you that was really good, so you can stop staring at him and just look out and enjoy it.
OK? Thank you.
(Chuckles) Thank you.
Thank you very much.
- Very good.
- Great.
You've heard it now, so that's I absolutely agree with everything that Ralph said, and nothing that Ralph said is something that it's too difficult for you to achieve.
You can achieve all of that with hard work.
I think you can go home tonight and feel proud of yourselves, - happy with a job well done, so congratulations.
- Thank you.
Very good.
Good job.
We're all on the crest of a wave at the moment.
Everyone is riding high, and with performing out there like we did this evening, in front of all those people, the message is just going to spread, I know it will, cos the women in our offices can't keep their mouths shut.
They just rattle on and on.
The other thing is, they are hugely impressed, - and we didn't quite nail it.
- Yeah.
That's right.
And when we do nail it, it'll be unstoppable.
There were musical things that didn't quite come off, but as a performance, I thought it really worked.
I'd like to see more from them.
I just feel like they've got the potential to go further.
But that's what the next stage is going to be all about.
January 2017