Captain Tom Moore, who as of today, was given the rank of Honorary Colonel on his 100th Birthday. He is a decorated veteran of the Second World War, having served in the Duke of Wellington’s Regiment, the 145th Regiment Royal Armoured Corps and the 146th Regiment Royal Armoured Corps during his service between 1939 and 1946. He received the 1939–1945 Star, the Burma Star, the War Medal 1939–1945 and the Defence Medal Yorkshire Regiment Medal during his military service and in 2020 he received the Yorkshire Regiment Medal for “outstanding contribution to our military effectiveness and military reputation”.
In addition to his military service Captain Tom Moore has also become prominent recently for his fundraising campaign, which he started on the 6th April on the lead up to his 100th birthday. His aim was to complete one hundred laps on his garden to attempt to raise money for NHS Charities Together, to support various groups and organisations who have been overwhelmed by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. This endeavour is called “Tom’s 100th Birthday Walk For The NHS” and the fundraising efforts have been incredibly successful, with the initial goal of £1,000 being reached on the 10th of April, the target was then increased to 5,000 and then 500,000 as more and more people have donated. In fact as of today, his birthday, the JustGiving campaign has raised over 30.5 million pounds, which is more by a significant margin that has ever been raised for a JustGiving Campaign.
He completed his initial hundred laps on the 16th April and has set a further goal of a second hundred laps and directly in response to Moore completing his 100th lap, Michael Ball sang a rendition of ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ for him live on BBC Breakfast. Within 24 hours the performance had been made into a digital single, with the NHS Voices of Care Choir and Moore’s own spoken words. The single went straight to the UK ‘Official Big Top 40’ chart, which also sold almost 36,000 copies in its first 48 hours. The single also became a No. 1 in the weekly ‘official’ UK singles chart, making Moore the oldest person to achieve this position, with all proceeds made for the song going to NHS Charities Together as well. It’s this song that I will be reviewing today.
‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ opens with Moore reciting the lyrics, and there’s something so poignant about it, his voice counterpointed by Ball’s more practiced vocals, but both merge and create something so heartwarming and touching that it brought me to tears. Speaking of which, this was the first time I heard Michael Ball sing and his voice is so powerful and perfect for this song. But they weren’t the only elements that made this such an impactful piece of music, the choir of NHS Voices added a lot, their backing really tied the whole thing together, as well as broadcasting the themes of unity and perseverance espoused in the song. Overall this was such a touching tribute to a man that served his country, and when he was needed again he gladly returned to do his part again.
So that’s what I thought of Captain Thomas Moore, Michael Ball and the the NHS Voices of Care Choir’s cover of ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ and if want to check that out for yourself then head on over to YouTube, although I do urge you considering the charitable nature of the single to purchase it via this link. You can also follow Tom Moore on Twitter, Michael Ball on Facebook and Twitter and NHS Voices on Twitter.
First Published on: https://offtherecordblog.org/
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