The Fron Male Voice Choir’s new member, Australian television legend Rolf Harris, was given a choir tie and told by conductor Ann Atkinson he could sing with them any time.

The singer, artist and didgeridoo player struck an instant rapport with the 60-strong choir from the Shropshire border.

And after recording his massive hit, Two Little Boys, in an Oswestry recording studio in the summer, they were reunited this week to promote what they hope will be a hit all over again when it is launched on November 10.

“They are a remarkable bunch, such fun. It has been wonderful to sing with them,” he said.

The single was recorded to coincide with the 90th anniversary of the end of the First World War. 

Rolf, 78, travelled to Ypres in Belgium to record a BBC documentary, A Family at War, to retrace the steps of his father Cromwell and his uncle Carl.

“They went out together, sadly Carl died just a few days before the Armistice,” he said.

“It wasn’t until I was there that I realised that the song, Two Little Boys, could have been written about them.”

Originally from Wales, the two brothers had gone to Australia to seek their fortune and joined the Australian army.

Rolf broke down in tears at the White Waters hotel in Llangollen as he told of his emotional trip to Ypres. But he composed himself to sing not one, but several songs with the choir including Two Little Boys and Welsh numbers. 

Choir chairman Dave Jones, from Llanymynech, who got Rolf to sign the didgeridoo he bought while in Australia promoting the choir’s last CD, said: “It’s been an honour and a privilege to be involved in this project.

“Rolf is so easy to be with, he is such an ‘un-showbusiness’ person.”

As well as the Two Little Boys single, the choir is looking forward to the release of its third album, Voices of the Valley Home, and its debut DVD, Voices of the Valley Live, both in November.

• Two Little Boys was the Christmas number one of 1969 and best-selling single of the year.

By Sue Austin