GAVIN MARTIN
Choir’s leader tells how last year’s Royal Wedding catapulted them to global stardom
For Karen Gibson and the 40-plus Kingdom Choir she leads, playing at Prince Harry’s wedding to Meghan Markle proved transformative. It sparked instant global recognition – with an audience of two billion, a US gospel No 1 with their Stand By Me cover and a series of sell-out shows around the world.
Proof a little Royal fairy dust can make a world of difference.
“I think nothing can prepare you for the sudden trajectory,” says Karen. “It has been quite overwhelming and touching, but also exciting and giddying at
times. Life has changed for me quite a bit. I don’t do the same things I used to do on a daily basis.”
With a sell-out tour ending at London’s Royal Albert Hall and a summer of festival appearances in the offing, the choir is more in demand than at any time since their 1994 beginnings.
But there remains one place Karen, who has tutored other choirs across Europe, would love to put her singing skills to work – behind bars.
“I used to visit a jail once a month with my church group,” she says. “I would love to start a gospel choir in a prison.”
Being the Kingdom Choir’s leader requires multi-tasking, but Karen, 55, from London, is happy to assume whatever role is necessary.
“I have to be a bit of everything. I’m very much a mother figure,” she says. “I can be a taskmaster. You have to be when you’ve got a big group of people. And a choir is beautiful – but when we get together in rehearsal sometimes it’s like going back to school.
“I have to crack the whip a little bit, not too much. But drama in the choir? No we don’t have it.
You’d think there would be because there’s more than 40 of us, but these are some of the most lovely people I’ve ever encountered.”
Harry and Meghan changed the Kingdom Choir’s career – and at the end of their tour, Karen hopes to thank the royals in person. “They did send us a very lovely card thanking us for our contribution to the wedding.
“So we’ve invited them to the London leg of the tour which is going to be on their actual anniversary.
“We’ve sent them an album and it would be amazing if they could come. It would be beautiful.”
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Nothing can prepare you for the sudden trajectory. It’s overwhelming