On 1 September 1966, following Cardiff RFC's 35-0 defeat of Cardiff & District, a group of supporters came up with idea of forming a choir to improve the standard of after-match singing. The Cardiff Athletic Male Voice Choir first met on the following Monday, 5 September, in the old Skittle Alley at the Rugby Club. There were twenty-five members present for the first meeting.[1] The choir changed its name in 2000 to become the Cardiff Arms Park Male Choir, helping to raise the profile of the choir and perpetuate the name of the Arms Park.
The choir made their first TV appearance within weeks of being formed, welcoming the Australian Rugby Team to Wales, and has since appeared on television on numerous occasions, including appearances on BBC, Sky Sports, ITV, Channel 4, New Zealand and Australian TV and MUTV. The choir sang live on Grandstand in 2002 and recorded an advertisement for the BBC's Six Nations rugby coverage alongside Goldie Lookin Chain in 2006.[2] The choir were also filmed for an in-flight advertisement for Qantas airlines. They appeared on the Rogue Trader section of Watchdog, made a very brief appearance on Strictly Come Dancing and supported Ant & Dec in a link for Britain's Got Talent.
The choir has performed alongside numerous stars, including Hayley Westenra, Charlotte Church, Max Boyce, Peter Karrie, Shân Cothi, Goldie Lookin Chain and Foreigner.[3]
The choir has travelled to Scotland (Blairgowrie in 1993, Perth and Crieff in 2009 and 2011), Ireland (Kilkenny in 1998), the Czech Republic (Prague, Plzen and Karlštejn in 2004), France (Pleyben in 2004 Chatte in 2006 and [(Strasbourg)] in 2012), Switzerland (Le Brassus in 2006), Italy (Milan in 2006), Germany (Heilbronn, Satteldorf and Stuttgart in 2007), Poland (Kraków in 2009) and Spain (Santander in 2010). Some of the choir joined as guests of Dowlais Male Choir in their performances at the 2008 Festival Interceltique de Lorient. MORE..
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