Rhythm in the Ridings / Olympic Sings

The 2014 Tour de France Grand Depart came to Yorkshire bringing the world’s best cyclists to our picturesque home.  

We were delighted to be invited by Calderdale Music Service to lead a project working with schools along the route through the district.

We wrote songs about cycling, culture, the landscape, food and racing in France and Yorkshire – including one of our all-time favourite songs, The Ode to the Yorkshire Pudding!!

Some of the schools we worked with were actually on the route of the race and sang their songs as the peloton roared past.

Nine primary schools were involved in the project. Once the songs were written, children from the other schools learnt them and all schools came together to perform the songs in the middle of Halifax on the day before the cyclists came to town.

In the middle of the Woolshops in Halifax the performers, accompanied by a live band and conducted by Sam, sang to a huge crowd who almost completely surrounded the performers!

If that wasn’t enough sporting songwriting we worked with the North East Lincolnshire Music Education Hub in 2016 on a project called Olympic Sings. Nine primary schools wrote songs which were performed by hundreds of their peers.

With songs written about lots of different sports, about what it means to be an Olympian, Brazil, the host nation, and their mascots, it was an energetic performance in the Grimsby Auditorium to an appreciative audience.