THE first all-girl group formed from Armed Forces families is releasing the official 2013 Poppy Appeal single.
The Poppy Girls – Megan, Florence, Alice, Bethany and Charlotte – all have fathers currently serving in the Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force.
The girls were picked after an exhaustive nationwide search for talent among Forces families, masterminded by Charles Byrne, Head of Fundraising at the Royal British Legion, together with Legion colleagues and executives at Decca Records. The search was confined to children who had a parent or sibling serving here or overseas.
After a series of online auditions from more than 1,000 hopefuls eager to perform in front of The Queen at next month’s Festival of Remembrance in the Royal Albert Hall, the final short list went into the studio for a gruelling selection process – and The Poppy Girls were formed.
With a TV audience of more than six million viewers – and such a poignant record – hopes are high that the girls will mark their recording debut with a huge chart hit.
Mr Byrne believes the single will give a huge boost to the Poppy Appeal – and strike a chord not only with Service families, but among the general public too.
He said: “This is a hauntingly beautiful track sung by a group of girls who know what it means to have family members constantly placed in harm’s way.
“We have a major theme in this year’s Poppy Appeal around families, so there is no more powerful way of reflecting that than through the voices of these exceptionally talented young people.”
You can pre-order The Poppy Girls single The Call (no need to say goodbye) from iTunes. It goes on general sale on Remembrance Sunday (November 10).