London Community Gospel Choir director Leonn Meade on bringing 'Gospel by Candlelight' to Hackney

As Gospel by Candlelight comes to the Round Chapel in Hackney, London Community Gospel Choir director Leonn Meade talks about the choir's rich history, hopes for the future, and performing with legends like Elton John and Sting.

Summary

• London Community Gospel Choir was set up by Bazil Meade in the 1980s
• The choir will be performing a series of concerts called Gospel by Candlelight produced by TodayTix Live
• Leonn Meade has taken over from his father in running the choir

“My drum kit was here, Phil Collins’s drum kit was here, and then Elton John’s drummer was next to me,” says singer and multi-instrumentalist Leonn Meade, imagining the rock-star line-up with his hands.

The director of London Community Gospel Choir is reminiscing about a concert in which the choir performed with John, Collins and other legends like Sting to raise money following the Montserrat volcanic eruption in 1993. It is just one of many cherished memories for Meade and the choir, which was established more than 40 years ago and has performed at events such as the Platinum Jubilee and Glastonbury, become a semi-finalist on Britain’s Got Talent, and collaborated with stars like Madonna, Pink, Beverley Knight, and Adele.

The choir is about to begin a series of candlelight concerts, called Gospel by Candlelight, which are produced by TodayTix Live and will take place at Hackney’s historic Round Chapel on 8 and 15 November. Meade talks to LondonTheatre.co.uk about the choir’s impressive history, taking over as director alongside his sister Vernetta, and what audiences can expect from Gospel by Candlelight.

Book Gospel by Candlelight tickets on LondonTheatre.co.uk.

How did the choir begin?

The choir started in 1982. My father [Bazil Meade] was in a few different gospel bands around London, and he was heavily influenced by American gospel. Back in the 80s, the church community was mostly of Caribbean descent. So there was this whole thing about mixing Caribbean [culture] with the American gospel sound. It was quite controversial because although my dad was a minister of music in church, he would wear suits and flares, he had an afro, he was stylish, and that was frowned upon. My dad was looked at like a troublemaker. He realised that the wider community needed to feel the power of what gospel music was doing to individuals and to communities.

He reached out to all of the youth in the churches in London to create a mass choir for a one-off show. It sold out and the press got hold of it and they were asked to do another show, and another show. More people started joining the choir and it became a movement. My father was honoured with an MBE for his contribution to music in the UK, as he paved the way for many other singers and musicians from the church who wanted to get into the commercial world.

You must be very proud of him.

It's a massive achievement. I was born into the choir. I was travelling with him when I was a child and I learned firsthand from everything he did and other musicians around him. He arrived in the UK when he was nine years old, by himself to join his mother, travelling for three weeks on a boat from the Caribbean with no jacket, just shorts, in a t-shirt and with a little bag.

He has the reputation of being one of the pioneers of British gospel. That was his purpose and myself and my siblings were born into it. At dinner time, my dad would have an idea. It's like, “Okay, Leonn, you've got the tenor harmony. Stephanie, you've got soprano harmony. Vernetta, you've got the alto harmony. Let me hear how it sounds so I can teach the choir next week.” We were his guinea pigs for testing new songs, and that's how we all learned to sing and do music.

What has it been like taking over from your dad?

It's still not easy. I've only been in the seat for about a year and a half, but it happened naturally as I started experimenting with my own ideas and my own style. The choir is evolving, the sound is changing, and new members are coming in. But mostly, I’ve learned that doing something like this isn't just about music. It’s about dealing with people, how to be innovative, keep the choir current, choose the right collaborations, and keep everybody happy, but still have my stamp on it. It is like being a father to not just my own family but to a whole community of singers and musicians.

Why is Hackney the perfect location for your Gospel by Candlelight concerts?

Hackney is like home. I grew up in Walthamstow, but Hackney was where all my family from the Caribbean moved to as part of the Windrush Generation. I used to go to church at the Round Chapel back in the day. Hackney is one of those places that’s full of culture. There are people who have never really got to grips with how foundational Hackney was for gospel music, for church music, R&B, hip-hop, jazz. Hackney was a boiling point for music in London. The concerts are going to be a great moment, seeing the venue filled with people, candles, good vibes, and great vocals.

What songs can we expect?

We have a song from The Color Purple, which is based on a period that was a tough time for African-Americans. It felt right to choose the main song from the show, which will really resonate with everybody. Moving from that to “The Circle of Life”, which is a very uplifting and inspirational piece — and our choir actually recorded the original soundtrack, so there’s a lot of history there. It feels right to have the choir back to sing it for the first time in our own right. We’ve got a song called “Tender” by Blur, which the choir also performed for the original recording. We recorded with Blur last year at Wembley and it’s one of our favourite collaborations. We have our original pieces — there's a new song that we've recently recorded and is on our current album called “Gold”, which talks about how God's going to take you through many trials and tribulations, but there's gold at the end of it. It's a beautiful song and very emotional.

What do you think sets gospel apart from other types of music?

Gospel is magic because of the musical heritage and what the origins of gospel actually mean to people of colour or people like me who grew up in the Pentecostal church. For me, gospel is a moment of reflection and healing, and the lyrics have been so inspiring and motivating as a young black man. Growing up, it made me believe that anything was possible. The musicality, the chords, the way the drummers play, the way the bass player is so expressive, and it’s such a natural way of performing and singing. It’s a gift of worship.

How are you shaping the choir for the future?

We’ve been trying to figure out: how can the choir be sustainable for another 20 years? How do we change the demographic? Because my father's fans and the choir's fans are now in their 50s and 60s. So, how do we go back to the drawing board to make sure that the 25 year olds are listening to the music? We've been creating new music, collaborating with artists and companies that are really relevant now, like TodayTix, and we’re thinking about how we can make the choir unique and innovative.

The choir is very well respected, but there is still this underlying feeling that we’re a backing choir. For years, my dad has said, “No we're not just a choir, we're an artist. We've got our own music, we've got our own studio, we do our own tours.” We deserve to be at the front after 43 years and we deserve to be recognised as the artist. Anybody who we collaborate with now, it's a 50/50 collaboration.

What do you hope audiences take away from the concerts?

I hope they get a good representation of what the choir is about and who LCGC is. It’d be nice for people to recognise the choir as being very versatile, diverse, inclusive and full of love, vibe, and energy.

Book Gospel by Candlelight tickets on LondonTheatre.co.uk.

London Community Gospel Choir’s new album Revival is out now, and their Christmas EP is available from 5 December.

Photo credit: Leonn Meade. Inset: London Community Gospel Choir, inside the Round Chapel. (Courtesy of LCGC)