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Angelic voices and a devilish masterplan
They've got a huge record deal, are tipped to have the Christmas number one, and they aren't even teenagers yet. Chris Bond met The Choirboys
AS ideas go it's not a bad one.
Take a rocket, attach it to the Crazy Frog character with his irritating ringtone, and blast it into space, thus bringing a welcome end to the reign of musical tyranny this wretched creature has subjected us to for the past 12 months.
The only downside to Ben Inman's devilish plan is that it would also involve blowing up the moon which, call me a pedant, detracts somewhat from the original allure. So an A for innovation, but as an overall masterplan I'm afraid we're looking at a C minus.
Ben announces his proposal in the grand surroundings of the Royal Lancaster Hotel, overlooking London's Hyde Park, where he is holding court with fellow 12-year-old Patrick Aspbury, and 10-year-old CJ Porter-Thaw. Together this trio of likely lads make up The Choirboys. On the face of it they might appear to be an unlikely boy band.
I say unlikely, because three posh boys who look like butter wouldn't melt in their mouths aren't the usual ingredients for the latest pop puppet phenomenon. But if you stop and think about it for a second, it's pure marketing gold, in fact it's so good it's difficult to see how it can fail.
Take three cherubic choirboys with voices like angels, swap their cassocks for designer suits, get them to record an album of choral classics and pop ballads in time for Christmas, and hey presto, you've got yourself a hit.
Record company bosses might argue it's never as easy as that, but if you're shelling out 500,000 – reportedly the amount The Choirboys agreed with Universal Classics – then you will have done your homework.
And Universal isn't some tin-pot record company chancing its arm. It's the label behind some of the biggest names in music, including Pavarotti and Eminem.
The Choirboys, a kind of "mini-me" version of the Three Tenors, were chosen from nearly 1,000 hopefuls in 50 school choirs up and down the country. Two of them, Ben and CJ, were born respectively in Sheffield and Harrogate before studying at King's School, Ely, and Minster School in Nottinghamshire.
They were talent-spotted during auditions and spent the summer recording their debut album with the English Chamber Ensemble under the direction of Martin Neary, former choirmaster of Westminster Abbey. Their album is released on Monday and the boys are already causing a stir.
While record companies are predicting this year's Christmas number one will either be the winner of The X Factor (whoever he, she or it is) or the Westlife and Diana Ross collaboration When You Tell Me That You Love Me, the high street record store chain HMV has other ideas. It reckons the smart money is on The Choirboys and their choral version of Eric Clapton's poignant Tears in Heaven, the proceeds of which are going to the NSPCC.
If they manage the top slot, they'll be sailing very close to the wind, as the single is not released until December 19. That gives only a few days to topple the opposition, but with a charm offensive led by co-manager and former superstar boy soprano Aled Jones, you wouldn't bet against them.
They've already been guests on television chat show sofas, and future promotional bookings incude Blue Peter, ITV's Christmas Eve Service and Howard Goodall's Christmas concert on Radio 2. The boys are a little bemused at the level of interest in them.
"I thought it was going to be quite big, but not as big as this," says Patrick diffidently. With his blonde hair and blue eyes, he is the obvious pin-up and the most focused, whereas Ben and CJ seem to have the collective concentration span of a butterfly.
One thing none of them is short of is energy, and watching them bounce about in their chairs is both tiring and amusing. Getting a word in edgeways as they jump from one topic to another like demented grasshoppers is virtually impossible, so it's advisable to keep the questions brief.
What has been the highlight so far of their journey to stardom?
"Singing with Bryn Terfel," three voices pipe up almost in unison. (They had peformed with him the night before). They weren't quite so impressed with GMTV's Lorraine Kelly.
"She said 'if I were your age I would kiss you', and we were like uh-oh. If it had been Melanie Sykes that would have been OK," says Ben. "My dad fancies her," CJ adds casually.
Their album, they say, is a cross-over between classical music and pop – it features favourites such as Panis Angelicus and Ecce Homo, as well as The Hollies' number one hit He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother.
"It's quite cool, looking at it now, that people are listening to our CD and think it's good and want to put us on all these TV shows. It's amazing," says Ben. The album is already ninth on Amazon's Hot 25 Classical list, thanks to pre-orders, and is going to a be a popular stocking-filler for mums and grannies.
Their friends and family think it's all very "cool", and the chance to hob-knob with celebrities more than compensates for the trauma of missing the odd school lesson.
"It is really cool," says Ben, "Because it means we get to meet loads of different people like Girls Aloud, Jimmy Carr and Colin Jackson."
They bounce off one another, sometimes quite literally, and you can see a definite chemistry between them.
"We've got five mansions, one in LA," says Ben airily. "One in Windsor, one in Barbados, one in Dubai ..."
"And one in Sandringham," adds CJ.
"We've just bought one from Bill Gates but we're renting that out and we've taken Microsoft off him, so basically now we're millionaires." They're having great fun getting carried away with themselves.
They admire the Three Tenors and Jamie Cullum, although it's rock bands like Green Day and Coldplay that they carry around on their iPods. They're hoping that their own music will change a few perceptions about choral singing.
"It's cool, you get to sing in competitions, and do solos, and have a good time, and it's fun. Hopefully we'll do what Billy Elliott did for ballet," says Ben, being serious for a moment.
Patrick, who has sat in silence for nearly five minutes, admits it can be daunting at times "It's quite nerve-wracking, especially just before you go on, because you don't know if people will like you or not."
Almost immediately they begin talking about whether or not they are going to be the Christmas number one. "Maybe, if we can beat Crazy Frog," warns Ben. I mention their main rivals Westlife duetting with Diana Ross. They know all about Westlife, but mention of the legendary soul singer is met with blank looks.
"Sixty, she's 60 and she's singing? A 60 year-old lady? No way," says CJ, looking genuinely shocked, while the other two pull equally disapproving faces. At which point the boys are ushered downstairs for a photo shoot.
Nearly 20 minutes later, an increasingly exasperated photographer is trying to get them to stand still long enough to get a decent picture. But, boys being boys, they are more interested in jumping off the staircase and shooting each other with their fingers.
Well they do say never work with children or animals.
chris.bond@ypn.co.uk
The Choirboys' album The Choirboys is released by Universal Records on Monday.
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