SONGS OF PRAISE
Military mum Sam tells how stars hailed her for inspiring their performances When Kristin Scott Thomas and Sharon Horgan thanked Samantha Stevenson for showing the world what it means to be a military wife, it was music to her ears.
It’s been more than eight years since mum-of-two Sam stood in front of the choir of military wives put together by Gareth Malone to sing an emotional solo at the Festival of Remembrance in London’s Royal Albert Hall.
Now, the story based on the choir’s creation is set to be told in the star-studded movie Military Wives, which opens at cinemas across the country later this week. And Sam, 37, who attended the f ilm’s red-carpet premiere as Gareth’s guest, admits she sobbed tears of both joy and sadness as the movie stirred up memories of the worst and best year of her life.
Sam, who grew up in Perth, but now lives with her family at Leuchars, Fife, said: “The aim of the choir was to bring the wives at our base together, give us something to do and take our minds off the worry and fear of our husbands being over in Afghanistan.
“When our husbands were deployed, when we kissed them goodbye as they were going out of the door, at the back of your mind you can’t help but worry, ‘Is that the last goodbye?’ – and of course you don’t know.
Sam, known in the choir for her powerful voice and brightly coloured tattoos, added: “Before the choir, there wasn’t much happening on the base to bring the wives together – just the mothers and toddlers group, or an occasional coffee morning. But then the choir came along and it transformed our lives.
“It was about so much more than just singing. Suddenly we had this shared purpose.
“We were all in the same boat and instead of sitting about worrying all the time, the choir led to us to doing such wo things.
“Now I’ve got actresses like Kristin Scott Thomas and Sharon Horgan thanking me for what I helped do for military wives and saying I’m amazing.”
Sam was preparing to say goodbye to her Royal Engineer husband John as he headed to Afghanistan with his unit for a six-monthlong tour, when producers of the awardwinning BBC 2 series The Choir got in touch at the start of 2011. They wanted to know if any wives at their base in Chivenor, Devon, would be interested in forming a choir?
A choir set up by military wives at a base in
Catterick, Yorkshire, had contacted Gareth suggesting he feature women whose husbands and partners had been deployed on active service as the feature of his next series.
The documentary showed the quiet bravery and sacrifices faced by Sam and other wives at two military bases as they came to terms with their husbands being in Afghanistan. It also filmed Gareth helping them find their collective voice. Soprano Sam, who as a teenager was offered a place at Edinburgh University to study music, emerged as one of the stars of the series.
Gareth identified her strong singing voice, but realised her crippling shyness was holding her back. Throughout the series, he gently worked to increase her confidence.
By the final episode of the show, Sam sang the solo performance at the Royal British Legion’s Festival of Remembrance which was attended by the Queen and Prince Charles, and broadcast live to more than six million viewers.
The song they sang, Wherever You Are, had been written using lyrics pieced together from letters exchanged by the choir and their husbands.
It went on to beat X Factor winner Little Mix for the coveted Christmas No1 spot. The single, which was released to raise money for military-related charities, sold more than 600,000 copies and won Classical Brits Single of the Year.
Sam and the rest of the choir were invited to perform at a reception hosted by then prime minister David Cameron at 10 Downing Street.
They also sang on shows including This
Morning, Graham Norton, Loose Women and Strictly Come Dancing.
The new film Military Wives, which also stars Greg Wise and Jason Flemyng, is inspired by their story.
Sam, whose husband is still a Royal Engineer, said: “Before going to the premiere, I wasn’t sure what to expect from the film – but it’s amazing and they’ve got so many things right – from the all the Army quirks, to the houses we lived in and even my kitchen cupboards.
“Gaby French, the actress who plays the soloist – who plays me – has done such a fantastic job.
“To see your own character on screen felt very surreal.
“In theory, none of the characters are meant to be the real wives in the real choir.
“Gaby’s character is called Jess – not Sam.
She’s Welsh rather than Scottish. She’s not got glasses. She’s not got tattoos.
“But her story in the film is that she’s the soloists and has to overcome being a bit shy.
“In one scene, the choir have all gone for a walk and they are having a bit of fun aand start to sing.
“They’re standing under a bridge and Gaby’s character is singing away on her own not realising everyone else has stopped.
“She’s so shy, but as the film goes on you see her confidence coming through, until she is singing the solo at the end. “To watch her journey feels very weird. That was me.”
Gaby, who is rehearsing in New York for Broadway play Hangmen, couldn’t make it to the Military Wives premiere at Piccadilly Circus last week.
But other stars of the film told Sam she had wanted to meet her and put them in touch. Sam said: “I went to the after-show party and one of the cast FaceTimed Gaby on Broadway so we could chat. She told me she was gutted we hadn’t got the chance to meet in person. “She’s since messaged me and told me it was a pleasure to portray me in the film.”
Sam, mum to Brodie, 16, and Elliv, 10, was showered with compliments by all the stars of the film, including Sharon and Kristin. She said: “When I saw Kristin and Sharon, I went over to ask for a picture and at first Kristin didn’t know who I was.
“Sharon said, ‘ This is the girl from the choir’ and Kristin said, ‘So you are. I’m so sorry for not recognising you.’
“They were wonderful and said they had watched the documentary about the choir 10 times in a row.
“Sharon said she didn’t know how many times she had cried along at my story.
“And they thanked and praised what all of us in the choir did for raising awareness of all the wives in the military community.”
Sam believes the feelgood film will appeal to everyone. She said: “There was one part of the film where I was sobbing like a baby. “But the film is so good. It’s very funny, which I hadn’t really expected, and I definitely laughed a lot more than I cried.”
Instead of worrying all the time, the choir led to us to doing such wonderful things