COTTONTOWN CHORUS
Stirring harmonies, emotional lyrics, exciting choreography, and visual effects

“We need to smile!! I defy you not to smile at this !! hee hee…nice one, boys!!” Brian May (Queen) after he saw the chorus’ performance of Fat Bottomed Girls

If the phrase “Barbershop singing” evokes a quartet of (probably American) blokes singing cheesy songs whilst getting their hair cut, it might be time to think again. Cottontown Chorus hails from Bolton in Lancashire and has nearly 60 members! It has established itself as a leading barbershop group within the UK. With a great sense of fun and a unique style of entertainment, the chorus has gripped audiences throughout its 40-year history. Well-respected stages around the UK (including the London Palladium) have given them the opportunity to wow audiences with stirring harmonies, emotional lyrics, exciting choreography, and visual effects.

In competition, the Bolton-based group has succeeded in winning the much sought-after Gold Medal at the British Association of Barbershop Singers convention eight times since 2005 and has represented the UK on four occasions at the Barbershop Harmony Society International Convention held in the USA. It was in 2008 when Cottontown Chorus probably attained most of its public attention by winning the adult section of the BBC3 Choir Of The Year competition.

“I have scribbled my way through so many adjudications of barbershop over the last 15 years. That was the BEST I’ve ever heard. Just sensational…” Lady Suzi Digby (Baroness Eatwell, OBE), British choral conductor and music educator, at the BBC Choir of the Year 2009

“In all the pzazz of that performance, the easiest thing to do is to lose the detail. And, you know, you never lost a detail in the middle of all that incredible performance – and I think that is admirable” Howard Goodall CBE, at the BBC Choir Of The Year 2009