The Inspirational Choir of the Pentecostal First Born Church of the Living God | |
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Background information | |
Also known as | The Inspirational Choir |
Origin | London, England |
Genres | Gospel music |
Labels | Stiff Records Portrait Records Opal Records |
The Inspirational Choir of the Pentecostal First Born Church of the Living God, later the name was shortened to The Inspirational Choir, were a gospel choir based in London, England. The choir was founded by John Francis, who also co-founded the London Community Gospel Choir. Their recording career began as backing vocalists for Madness on their single "Wings Of A Dove", which reached No. 2 in the UK Singles Chart. They later produced their own single, which reached No. 36 in the UK Singles Chart and a studio album, which reached No. 59 in the UK Album Chart.
The choir was founded in the early 1980s by John Francis, who also the co-founded of the London Community Gospel Choir. Francis was brought up in the church and his father was the pastor of a church in Islington, London. [1]
The Inspirational Choir of the Pentecostal First Born Church of the Living God first appeared on a Channel 4 television gospel talent show called Black On Black. [1] They came second but that led onto Madness wanting the choir to sing backing vocals on a demo of "Wings Of A Dove". Francis agreed with the lyrics and also to sing on the demo, and then went onto record the song which climbed to number two in the UK Singles Chart, [1] and number 1 in the Irish Singles Chart.
Stiff Records subsequently signed the choir up and they recorded Clean Heart, a five-track EP of traditional gospel, which also included the single "Pick Me Up". It was produced by Madness' producers, Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley. [1] In 1985 the choir was signed by Portrait Records, a sister label of CBS Records, [1] and they persuaded the choir to shorten the choir's name to The Inspirational Choir. They released two singles, "Abide with Me", which reached number 36 in the UK Singles Chart [2] and "I've Got A Feeling", which came from their debut album, Sweet Inspiration . The album reached number 59 in the UK Album Chart. [2]
The choir's live appearances included performing at the London Palladium, the Festival Hall, the Bristol Concert Hall, and at the Glastonbury Festival. [3] Francis also presented Britain's first gospel TV show People Get Ready! for UK based artists. In 1989 the choir recorded a live album, A Charge To Keep, although it wasn't until nearly two years later that it was released. By the early 1990s Francis had moved on and founded the Ruach Ministries. [3]
{{Infobox music genre | name = Gospel music
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