Shropshire Star

Record for choir

A 60-strong choir from the Shropshire border has produced the fastest-selling classical album of all time.

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The Fron Male Voice Choir, which has a combined age of 3,979, has sold 165,000 copies of its debut album within three weeks of release.

Voices of the Valley has flown off the shelves faster than albums from the likes of classical names like The Three Tenors.

According to the choir's record label, Universal Classics, this makes it the fastest-selling classical act of all time, beating The Three Tenors with 160,000 copies of their album in the first three weeks.

The Fron Male Voice Choir began life in 1947, but its fortunes changed after the former manager of boy band Blue happened to see the men perform at a friend's wedding.

He offered to manage the choir and get it a recording contract. Zygi Kamasa, a producer on Bend it Like Beckham also snapped up the film rights to the story of the choir.

The group comes from the Welsh village of Froncysyllte in the Vale of Llangollen, North Wales. It took the number nine spot in the charts this week for the second week running.

Angharad Wynne, choir spokeswoman, said that by the end of this week they expect the album to have sold 300,000 copies - making it a platinum-seller.

She said the choir has also been approached about the possibility of a national tour in the New Year, although she said this was still under discussion.

In the run-up to Christmas the choir will be performing live on ITV from the Bryn Howel Hotel, Llangollen, on December 22.

The performance is part of a feature by ITV called What a Difference a Year Makes.

The choir shot to fame recently after they were snapped up by the international Universal Music record label. Their first commercial album was recorded at Oswestry's Forge Studios. The choir are not the only Shropshire musicians seeking chart glory.

All-girl classical quartet All Angels are bidding for the Christmas number one single. The group, which includes Shrewsbury teenager Melanie Nakhla, release their cover of Robbie Williams's Angels on Monday.

Both acts can even be heard on the compilation album Various - The Classical Album 2007. All Angels feature singing the Flower Duet, while the Fron Choir feature with Land of My Fathers.

And Shropshire musical theatre star Sophie Bould can be heard on a new CD featuring the soundtrack of London musical The Sound of Music.

The songs are performed by the original London Palladium cast, with Sophie, from Newport, as Liesl, the eldest of the Von Trapp children.