London Community Gospel Choir

In 1983 Reverend Bazil Meade teamed with Lawrence Johnson and Delroy Powell to stage Britain’s inaugural gospel choir concert. The ensemble, which became the London Community Gospel Group the next year, has never stopped moving listeners through its buoyant brand of sacred song. Blending gospel, swing, and R&B with polished dance routines, the singers continue to radiate an infectious spiritual energy.

Guided by Rev. Meade, the London Community Gospel Group has become England’s premier gospel choir. Besides mounting between 100 and 150 performances annually, the ensemble has joined forces on stage, screen, and in the studio with Tina Turner, George Michael, Diana Ross, Luther Vandross, Elton John, Puff Daddy, Mariah Carey, Sting, and Paul McCartney. Its individual singers have also lent their voices to Terence Trent D’arby, Van Morrison, Mica Paris, Denise Williams, Eternal, Chaka Khan, Depeche Mode, and Stevie Wonder. Several alumni, among them Ronny Jordan, Jefferson & Whitfield, Nu Colors, Paul Johnson, Lavine Hudson, and Daniel Thomas, later built thriving solo careers.

Fifty voices strong and ranging in age from 18 to 40, the London Community Gospel Group has taken part in landmark occasions. In July 1996 the singers performed South Africa’s national anthem at a Brixton concert graced by Nelson Mandela. Two years afterward they appeared at the wedding of Mel B of the Spice Girls and served as headliners for the inaugural BBC Proms Gospel Night at Royal Albert Hall. Their most enduring contribution, however, remains the soundtrack they supplied for Disney’s The Lion King.