You may well be asking who Eddie Edmands and John
Ashworth are and how they came to have the CD and cassette recording
I Sing Because I Must, produced.
As you will gather from their dress, 'they are both members of The
Salvation Army and attend the corps at Burton on Trent. Eddie is the
Recruiting Sergeant, plays trombone in the band and is a member of
the bass section of the songster brigade, whilst John is one of the
pianists of the corps and songsters, sings tenor and plays cornet.
Of recent times there has been the need to up-grade the catering
facilities at the Army at Burton to meet statutory requirements and
the desire to improve toilet facilities ,including those for the
disabled. This necessitated the raising of roundly £75,000. Many
folk made their contribution to the realising of this sum in a
variety of ways eg. by the selling of homemade cakes and homegrown
vegetables, bric- a- brac and pens, the arrangement of special
musical events, the running of a half marathon, donations etc and
some very welcome financial support, was received from friends of
the Army for which they were most grateful. Gladly there was a
successful outcome, with the needed monies being raised and work
undertaken.During this time however, the "H" registered minibus that the corps
runs has become in urgent need of replacement and so many people
depend on it, be these for example,
1 Sunday School Children
2 The Luncheon Club
3 The OverSixties
4 The Youth Club
5 The Homeleague (Ladies Meeting)
6 Folk otherwise dependent on Public Transport for meetings where
scheduling can at best be inconvenient. |
The cost of purchasing a replacement 16 seater minibus will cost
approximately £25,000.
Eddie had been asked whether he had made recordings of any of the
songs that he sings and although the response was in the negative,
in view of the pressing need that the corps has for finance,
consideration was given to the production of a CD and cassette,
profits from. the sale of which could be donated to the corps
towards the buying of a minibus.
Crucial to Eddie's decision was the willingness of his accomplished
accompanist John to be part of this venture and on establishing his
pleasure at being invited to do this and to provide some piano solos
to give further variety to the programme of music, the project was
on!
Eddie had voice training from John Noble the then BBC Baritone
Soloist at The London College Of Music back in the early sixties and
over the years featured as soloist at various events ,primarily in
the London area- when residing in that part of the country- and in
the Midlands. On many occasions his solos have formed part of a band
or songster programme provided in local churches and chapels and
further afield in Salvation Army Citadels. Not forgetting of course,
the solos sung in varied gatherings at the SA at Burton and before
that at Wealdstone in North London.
The CD/Cassette will have wide appeal to those wanting to listen to
Salvation Army traditional type vocal solos and light pianoforte
music.
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