Leaving their farms and fields behind and heading to Birmingham, 32 farmers from across the country, including NFU members Richard Heady from Buckinghamshire and James Florey from Oxfordshire, took to the stage to sing Elbow’s ‘One Day Like This’ in front of BGT (Britain’s Got Talent) celebrity judges Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon, KSI and Stacey Solomon, a live audience and millions of viewers.
The episode aired at the weekend (21 March) and has gone viral this week with their performance moving several members of the audience to tears and impressing judge Amanda Holden so much that she hit her golden buzzer, catapulting the group straight through to the semi-final of the show.
How it started
While the group originally gathered to record promotional jingles at The Farmer’s Dog in Burford, the mission quickly shifted toward something more important: mental health and suicide prevention within the rural community.
Richard Heady said: “We had such a good time singing together for Clarkson’s advert and instantly gelled, so it seemed crazy to end the road there, and since then it has just snowballed.
“With the common aim of improving mental health in agriculture, we feel that we can do some real good while creating positive new stories which are few and far between for farmers at the moment.
“It has absolutely been a lifeline for many of us and we hope that we can do some good to help others too.”
NFU member James Florey
James Florey added: “This choir has developed from a bunch of farming folk brought together by Jeremy Clarkson to sing some amusing adverts for Hawkstone into a group of like-minded people, with a determination to raise awareness of mental health struggles within agriculture.”
Providing an escape
“You are completely in the zone when singing with a group; all the farming worries just fade away,” explained Richard, noting that the act of singing provides a rare mental escape from the pressures of farming.
James added: “It has absolutely been a lifeline for many of us and we hope that we can do some good to help others too.”
Photograph: Britain's Got Talent
Support from far and wide
Richard said: “Performing onstage together was just electric and you could feel the raw emotion in the room, and to be honest I think that is what got us the golden buzzer!”
James described the “phenomenal” support the group have received from the farming industry and beyond since the show aired, exclaiming “we can’t thank everyone enough”.
“It’s been the most surreal experience and an absolute pleasure to share it such with a wonderful group of people – the Hawkstone Farmers Choir family!”
Highlighting the challenges
Farming is an incredibly rewarding way of life – farmers and growers produce food for the nation, care for the countryside and work in a sector built on community and shared experience but it can be isolating and there are many challenges.
NFU South Regional Director Tom Rabbetts said: “Working with others we continue to raise awareness of the issue including our continued support of The Farm Safety Foundation (known as Yellow Wellies) and their Mind Your Head Week campaign, which was held last month.
“This and the work being done by farmers like Richard Heady and James Florey raise awareness and also serve as an important reminder for farmers to stop and look out for each other.
“The work to talk about and raise awareness of the challenges in farming continues as we strive to do all we can to help each other in the weeks and months ahead.
“We wish the Hawkstone Farmers’ Choir every success on BGT and we know everyone from the NFU and beyond is rooting for them.”
