Pensioners take shot at hit parade after sealing record deal

The retired military men, whose average age is 79, will be shifting their battleground to the album charts when their seven-strong group The Men in Scarlet releases a debut CD in November.

Among their number are 79-year-old Thomas Fox from Sheffield while Michael Allen, from Rhyl in North Wales, is the "baby" of the group at 68.

Between them, the veterans have clocked up more than 20 medals for their service careers, plus one MBE, and have seen service in the Second World War, Palestine and Northern Ireland.

Now the team behind musical act The Soldiers – who saw top five success last year – is taking the veterans on a new campaign as they tackle the big guns of the music business.

Their album – Men in Scarlet – features a performance with another mature performer – Janey Cutler, the 81-year-old Britain's Got Talent finalist.

In releasing a record, the Chelsea pensioners follow in the footsteps of other unlikely pop stars such as trio The Priests and Cornish fishermen The Fishermen's Friends, who have both achieved surprise chart success in recent years.

The pensioners, noted for their distinctive scarlet coats and tricorn hats, all live in the Royal Hospital in Chelsea.

Managing director of Rhino Records Dan Chalmers came up with the idea of asking the men to create an album of forces' favourites, and his team approached hospital bosses.

Recruits were found through auditions at the hospital, which has a flourishing choir.

Producer Nick Patrick, who worked on last year's The Soldiers CD, said: "Even I was nervous. These guys have all had amazing lives but I didn't know if they could cut a record.

"Suddenly, David Poultney – a Welshman – just stood up and started to sing Danny Boy, unaccompanied.

"There wasn't a dry eye in the room. It was a pivotal moment for everybody. That's when I knew it would work."

Mr Poultney, 81, and originally from Pontypridd, said: "There's so much talent hidden amongst these men and it'll do a world of good to them and the hospital."

The oldest member of the group is 88-year-old John Shuter, who served with the Royal Artillery and is the holder of five medals. He once played rugby against Ugandan dictator Idi Amin, who was at the time a sergeant with the Kings African Rifles.

The album's title track – Men in Scarlet – is a version of the Largo theme from Dvorak's New World Symphony, with new lyrics.

And the album features guest appearances from The Soldiers, with the tracks Abide With Me and Pennies From Heaven.

Paddy Fox, 78 and originally from Tipperary but who later settled in Chester-le-Street, County Durham, said he was surprised to be chosen.

He added: "None of our family can sing. I sing in the corridors, which is how they found me."

Also in the line-up is MBE-holder Malcolm Smart, 69, who was born in Birmingham, and 81-year-old Denis Shiels, from Lancashire.

The pensioners' earnings from album sales will go to the Royal Hospital Appeal, which is raising money to improve their living quarters.

Septet follows in famous footsteps

The Soldiers are by no means the first unlikely act to try to top the charts.

Three Northern Irish Catholic priests, who call themselves simply "The Priests", released their first album in 2008 and have since toured the UK and Ireland, playing to packed crowds.

The trio – Father Eugene O'Hagan, his brother Father Martin O'Hagan and Father David Delargy – are now recording their third album in as many years.

The Fisherman's Friends, from Port Isaac in Cornwall, netted a deal with record label Universal after being heard singing sea shanties in local pubs.

The 10 men, who are or were fishermen, coastguards or lifeboat men, have now released their first album and performed beside stars such as Stevie Wonder, the Scissor Sisters, Muse and the Pet Shop Boys at last month's Glastonbury festival.