all together now

By Catherine Jones on Dec 8, 08 09:22 AM

I spent Saturday morning standing in a small circle on the stage at the Philharmonic Hall singing All Together Now over and over and over again.
But you know what? It may have been repetitive but it was great fun.
The results will be shown on a giant screen as part of the Transition capital of culture closing party on January 10.
We were divided into groups to sing the chorus of the Farm's classic anthem - I was in the naughty group with Roger Phillips and former Everton midfielder Alan Whittle and his wife.
Everytime the camera was on us we sang lustily. Then when it had passed we had a good old giggle together.

Pete, Keith, Roy and Carl from The Farm turned up too. And Phil Redmond circled round and round alongside the camera urging us all on.
We finally managed to persuade him to sing too, but only at the end and on microphone, not on film.
It was the first time I had stood on the Phil's stage and looked out at the auditorium - as opposed to being in the audience looking back at the stage.
And I got a sense of what the RLPO and Petrenko see when they look out. What a handsome building it is and how lucky we are to have it.
One woman I was chatting to said she hadn't been into the Phil since she was a child. I do hope being there on Saturday encourages her back in again.