A Birmingham gospel choir that sang with Labi Siffre on his chart-topping hit 'Something Inside So Strong' in 1987 has reunited for a concert in the city. The choir, known as Highgate Gospel Choir, formed in the late 1970s and has many stories to tell about their involvement with the song. Despite not being allowed to appear on Top of the Pops due to a 'strict bishop', the choir did perform on BBC daytime television, wearing 'awful BBC Two blouses'.
The choir members, now living across the UK and abroad, have come together for an album and a final performance on Saturday. Evadne Anderson, a chorister, said, 'Did we know it was going to be an amazing, international hit? No - we had no idea'. Beverley Hepburn-Henderson, who traveled from Florida for the reunion, expressed her joy at seeing everyone again, saying, 'I have not sung with them and some of them I have not seen for over 40 years'.
The choir's parents, who came from the Caribbean, contributed to the growth of Pentecostal churches in the UK. Angela Brown-Johnson, the youngest in the choir, joined at 15 and was a big fan. She said, 'The volume and the dynamics... I couldn't hear myself sing in the first rehearsal at all. I learned a lot and really enjoyed it'.
The choir became well-known, appearing on the BBC's 'Pebble Mill At One' show in 1983, which led to them being approached to record 'Something Inside So Strong'. The haunting song, touching on 90s apartheid in South Africa and oppression, reached number four in the UK charts in 1987. Ms. Anderson said, 'A lot of those elements of it were built in that studio session that night... someone said 'why don't you do this and why don't you do that'.
The choir's reunion was a 'nice sort of reunion', with some members not having been in a studio since they did the record. The concert on Saturday at Anchor Point on Chester Street was the finale of the project. Donovan Hepburn, the director of the Legacy Project album, said, 'Just because you're 'senior', let's say that, it doesn't mean the end - you can teach an old dog new tricks'.
