A HEALTH worker from Bolton who is part of the NHS Choir which secured the coveted Christmas number one slot says he has another ambition — to return home and perform at the Albert Halls.

Michael Corr is a member of the Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Choir, which was named Christmas number one with the song A Bridge Over You selling 127,000 copies.

Mr Corr, who now lives in Kent with his wife Jennifer, two daughters and two grandchildren, says it still feels 'unreal' to top the festive charts, a feat coveted by pop stars across the world.

The Bolton News:

He told The Bolton News: "My daughters now think I am fairly cool! They think its really good, I think it meant more to them than me.

"But when I saw it on Spotify and you realise that people like Led Zeppelin and Elton John have never had Christmas number ones, and that you are up there with The Beatles, Slade and the Spice Girls, it puts it all into context.

"The support we have had from the public has been amazing."

The choir have appeared on TV and radio promoting their song, which is a mash-up of Simon and Garfunkel's Bridge Over Troubled Water and Coldplay's Fix You.

The track beat pop superstar Justin Bieber into second place as well as pipping X Factor winner Louisa Johnson to the post, with the original bookmakers' favourite only managing 12th place.

The choir received a boost when Bieber, who had three tracks in the overall Christmas top five, told his 72 million followers on Twitter to 'do the right thing' and buy the charity single instead.

 

Proceeds from the single will go to a range of charities, including Carers UK and mental health charity Mind.

Mr Corr, aged 62, said: "People have been asking us: 'When's the album out?' The proceeds are going to independent charities but the support which the NHS has received and for it to be put on the agenda is great."

Mr Corr, who is an immunisation co-ordinator for children's vaccinations at the Lewisham and Greenwich NHS, grew up in Tonge Moor and Breightmet, and left Bolton more than 30 years ago to work abroad.

However his three brothers and two sisters still live in Bolton, and he visits them once or twice a year.

Mr Corr worked with health projects in developing countries such as Yemen and Pakistan for 12 years, before returning to study for a masters degree at Liverpool University, where he met his wife.

Music runs through his blood, having played in the brass band at school as well as in Eagley Brass Band, and singing with Cottontown Chorus, the Bolton barbershop singing club.

He was part of the choir when it took part in Gareth Malone's BBC Two show Sing While You Work programme, in which the NHS choir came runners up.

Mr Corr said: "Music is a wonderful thing, it is known to help people's mental health and even their cardiac and lung health. It just transports you to another place."

The idea to create a Christmas single came from a junior doctor who heard the track which ended up as Christmas number one on a CD the choir had created during the show.

Mr Corr said: "I never believed it would be number one. We tried to put a statement in music to support what the NHS does, and we have had so many people coming to us and saying the NHS is taking a real battering and how important it is to them."

The choir, which features doctors, nurses and other NHS staff, rehearses every Tuesday evening after work.

It has previously performed at the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester and the Birmingham Symphony Hall, but Mr Corr said he would like to return home for a show.

He added: "For me, the main reason we do it is when we go and sing on the wards, which we do about three or four times a year. But to do a show at the Albert Halls in Bolton alongside Peter Kay perhaps would be great!"