This Thursday will mark the 100th birthday of Captain Tom Moore, who has recently become the oldest artist to claim the number 1 spot on the UK charts…
His rendition of the song ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’, which he sang with Michael Ball and The NHS Voices of Care Choir, was released on April 17th as part of his fundraising for the NHS.
The single begins with a gentle instrumental and is uplifting right from the start to the very end. When Captain Tom Moore begins to sing, despite not being the next John Lennon, you can hear the emotion in each word, and he holds your attention throughout. Michael Ball’s voice is more powerful than Tom’s, but the two combined show the power of generations coming together, which is important right now more than ever. After first hearing this song I had mixed feelings, but I mainly felt proud. Because it made me think about all the people working hard to keep us safe, and due to the popularity of the song I think many people feel the same way and are comforted by it.
Tom was born and raised in Yorkshire before being enlisted in the army at the beginning of WW2 and was selected for Officer training in 1940. Since then he has been posted in India, served in the Arakan, and regimented in Sumatra before becoming an instructor at Bovington’s Armoured Fighting Vehicle School. The WW2 veteran now holds two world records, both accomplished during his fantastic fundraising effort for the NHS.
He achieved his first world record for having raised the most money as an individual through a charity walk. To date Captain Tom Moore has raised over £29 million for the NHS to support staff, volunteers and patients affected by the pandemic, but this figure is still climbing as there are over 1 million supporters of his JustGiving Page. He began his charity walk on April 6th with his goal being to raise £1,000 by walking 100 lengths of his garden (which is 25m in length). However he easily achieved his initial goal within 24 hours, and completed his challenge on April 16th, two weeks earlier than he had expected to.
His second and most recent world record was awarded on April 25th, when he became the world’s oldest artist to reach number 1 in the charts. He smashed the record of Tom Jones, who reached the number 1 spot at age 68. The Liverpool Football Club anthem was first released in 1963, but Captain Tom Moore and Michael Ball’s cover of the song has made it the soundtrack of the pandemic, by touching the hearts of millions.
By Laycie Beck
Featured Image Credit: Justin Tallis / Getty Images