NICE ONE STEVE - STEVE ALLEN LBC 2 FEB 2017

NICE ONE STEVE!

LBC STEVE ALLEN 2nd February 2017 - How refreshing to hear a Presenter stick up for Goncalo Amaral and mention he was sent a link to the book in English.

'This choir which I was slightly dubious about, the Missing People choir, where does it go. I don't understand are they going to bring out an album of just terribly sad songs about missing children, because if you are a choir you sing everything. This choir is going to be singing their song on Britain's Got Talent which is a talent programme of people trying to further a career. These are people who are trying to highlight their missing child or parent or whatever it happens to be I didn't think that was the basis of a programme, I didn't think it was there for that. Of course it's terribly sad and it has got Kate McCann again who has just lost that libel case er over in Greece (sic), I am very interested in seeing where this Missing People choir will go. Is it that they will bring out an album and this is to make money to put money into a fighting fund because if so that's fine. I don't actually see people wanting to book to see a show which has choir singing really sad songs. What would be the purpose of that. Answer is I don't know.

Steve, the choir is just monopolising what many of the acts often do on the talent show so that's the back story. We have seen and heard them all, from illness and bereavement to grandmothers one legged parrot so er I hope that the choir's back story is not the focus of the act, well it is absolutely the focus of the act that's what they are there for. Phil I'm sorry, that's exactly what they are there for and I don't know whether they are doing it for charity but the programme is not there to make statements it's there for somebody to go on there they juggle or they you know your grandmother turns up with a guitar and goes yipee yi yay and we go - get off, you're rubbish, - and all that kind of stuff or a little cute kid comes on and goes - somewhere over the rainbow - you're good, putting you through to boot camp.

You know if you put a choir on there who are purely there because they have had missing people and Kate McCann again and I realise that many of you don't seem to like Kate McCann she seems to produce some sort of hatred in people that you know she is pursuing this dream of trying to find her child again which any mother would do, any person would do it but it's kind of how many more programmes does she need to get on., Yesterday they put that girl on everything you know the one who wrote the poem to her parents along the lines of you know thank you for not coming to my inauguration, thank you for not doing this and thank you for not doing that. I don't think I have seen anybody get so much publicity in one day but that's enough, it was Ian Collins talking about that, I know we did it yesterday on the programme. It's like the girl who was on Alton Towers who lost her leg and announced after posing nude because apparently she wants to be proud of her body and we are going, you need to get some help this is developing into something that is not very pleasant so she posed nude in one of the papers you know and you think that lots of people have lost limbs they don't feel the need to post nude for it you know that's where it takes it into a different realm.

So this choir while I am sure they are absolutely lovely and everything else it is a case they are on a programme surrounded by you know East European circus acts and a few numpties from this country who can't sing for toffee and they are going to come on and sing and so somebody is going to say to them on the panel so oh right you are a choir so what you here for er and they are going to go oh I recognise you its Kate McCann, because you are not going to not know who she is are you, you are going to know who she is. Whether she can sing or not I am not too sure, so they are going to sing this song called Miss You and somebody is going to say what is it about and they are going to go we decided to form a choir because we all had children who have gone missing or adults who have gone missing and of course that's going to bring out the emotion and they are going to do it so and what are they doing to do the second week round find you know another song that is equally dirging that is going to make us think oh this is so depressing its so depressing we can't just sit there listening. This Miss you is on the first week written by one of the parents there and the second time round do you remember they had a couple on there can't remember if t was on Britain's Got Talent two little kids, it was all about bullying so I say to the bully and it was two little white boys pretending to be rappers,it was quite sweet but I just began to wonder where it was going to go but I didn't see the end result.

If you've got a choir who are made up of people who are desperately sad because they are missing their loved ones, I mean one of them goes back to 1980s, I mean Lee Boxall and you think good but where does this go, what is the end result, are they going to take over the Royal Albert Hall and just sing a lot of very depressing songs so the whole audience sit there in tears for the whole time, because that what it is going to come down to isn't it. So it's interesting, it's interesting we shall watch and wait and they are also saying they could win the competition we haven't even started it yet how can they win the competition but who is going to be voting for them.

Most people in a recent survey said they weren't sure whether or not we should be spending any more money on Madeleine McCann because there are so many other children who go missing and now they have lost the libel case and that could cost them the best part of half a million if not more and the policeman is now countersuing them as he is saying they defamed him and all he has done is printed in his book and somebody sent me a link the other day that had been done in English, that turns out there is no publisher here that wanted to touch it for some reason, all he's done is put down everything which is already been in the newspapers already so that's, you know that's it. They have already got that song have they, is this it, they've already released it oh shall we hear a little of it, this is the Missing People choir , its called Don't Let it Go Away, I don't know what label it's on, or anything else, we'll find that in a moment, will be interesting to see if it's already on syco or if they've done it privately, want to have a little listen, here it is .............

They sound quite professional don't they, I am beginning to wonder how much is auto tuned in that, but er there it is so that song er is out now and they have also, they have obviously done a Carol service already, they are going to do this, written by Alice, they have been at St Martin in the Fields in Trafalgar Square on Monday night, is that Monday night next week, or they have already been there. So it's interesting, I don't believe, it was done a long time ago wasn't it, this is 2015 so this was 2 December oh, that's interesting, why has it surfaced now, why has it surfaced now, I'm always curious about these sort of things, there always has to be something hasn't there, there always got to be something. So it was written by Alice Cross, Gross, who was murdered and it's got all sorts of people there and er also wait a minute, they've got these people here ok friends and family of Alice Gross are doing this song written by Alice for the Missing People Choir.

At what point has Kate McCann come in it because she is not mentioned here is she, is she mentioned on any of this er they've got this, they got Peter Lawrence father of missing Claudia, Peter Boxall father of missing Lee Boxall, Sarah Godwin mother of missing Quentin, but there is no mention of Kate McCann is there and in fact looking through the people singing here the choir there is no Kate McCann interesting one isn't it, I am always curious about these sort of things, she sort of stepped in at the last minute, they've gone you know to get us more publicity because if its came out a year ago we didn't know about it, I didn't know about it, did you know about it at home, no of course you didn't, so there is no Kate McCann there and yet you know now there's Kate McCann. Her daughter's been missing for many many years perhaps they approached her I don't know. I am sure we will find out as it gets a bit nearer but they are saying the group could win Britain's Got Talent, a bit difficult if you are a circus act or something like that and you are on the same bill as the Missing Persons choir and you will be going sorry could we be on another programme please because you are not going to stand a cat in hell's chance are you of winning because the audience is going to be in tears during that, they probably already cut to the shots of the people sitting sobbing in the audience and if you are a circus act going this is our big breakthrough this is our career, no we've lost out to a choir that sings a very sad song.

It's interesting, without sounding too cynical, that choir sounds so perfect even Gareth Malone wouldn't be able to do anything with them, I mean their harmonies are superb everything and these are just ordinary people who sing, I think this is studio based, I think this is another Susan Boyle kind of thing where they sort of take Susan Boyle into a studio and what emerges is erm yeah ..you listen to these harmonies this is a group of ordinary people..it's all terribly touching I mean it really is terribly touching, listen to these harmonies, it's almost so professional isn't it, I mean really I don't think you have to be a bit cynical.. I understand the sentiment I really understand the sentiment. Nobody is affected by music more than I am, I just doubt whether that's them singing, it's a professional choir they've brought in because they are too good, I do like to hear one singing and ok individually I think it would be another Katie Price wouldn't it really, that's what I'm sort of thinking you know by the time they go on television it's like when I heard, what was it I heard a while ago, I was a big fan of Calebro and they turned up and when they came back for one of their other songs on Britain's Got Talent they were so over enhanced you know that was just not 4 voices singing that was 4 voices singing and then some, that is what they are making, they are making a television programme, if these people couldn't sing for toffee which I doubt many of them can, people would be going you know, oh that's awful its awful but if you enhance it and make it sound nice you know you got the sentiments of it that's what they are looking for but what they've had is unfair advantage on a television programme whichever way you look at it but it doesn't matter what they are doing on there they are all doing it for the same reason, I am assuming they are actively doing it so they can win and get bookings and then they can make lots of money and then it goes to whatever I don't know, I really don't know.

it is very interesting isn't it very very interesting. Simon Cowell I think has talked about this, they have also done a song of Don't Let It Go Away and as I say all of a sudden these people sing and I understand the sentiments like 150% because I love a good piece of music, I love a bit of manipulation, I love it when people sort of manipulate my emotions you can hear it, I mean Lee Boxall I was around on LBC when he went missing, you know back in '88 he was just er, they believe he was killed but they never found a body, all these people who just vanish they just disappear like Madeleine McCann they vanish and this book that was written in Greece(sic) which claimed that they were responsible for covering up their daughter's death, how?, in God's name we couldn't work out that one yesterday at all, they have never found anything, they never found any body for Madeleine McCann, you can't just walk out with a child's body you know and er all this policeman did you know whether you want to take the book that he was making money, that is what the libel was about they said he was making money out of their misery and of course all of this stuff had already been out in the public domain the police officer working on the case so he would have known all of these things that went on and all the people who have written in over the years I mean I have lost track of how many people have written and said you know they've never heard of leaving children alone and going off for dinner, you know it doesn't matter who you are if you go to any holiday resort I don't care where it is in the world, it could be America, parents take the kids, you sit there I mean sometimes it's really annoying because kids are falling asleep and running around the restaurant driving you completely mad, but I've never heard of parents just leaving them before .

Why are singing acts allowed on Britain's Got Talent says Barbara, they should be on X Factor, only variety acts should go forward on Britain's Got Talent, erm well I also asked that question some time ago, I didn't know the answer to it either. You are quite right the singing acts should be on the X Factor and Britain's Got Talent because most of the acts on there aren't British because all the British ones can't do diddly squat so they have to go to East European circus to find a juggler or a banjo player or somebody who can play their teeth or something like that and that's the way it goes through.
The Missing Peoples choir Peter Lawrence on singing for Claudia they are appearing on Britain's Got Talent. I can't quite work out why, I understand the choir don't get me wrong but this we played you some clips earlier on this morning, they are very professional sounding choir considering they are just ordinary people in fact almost too professional one might say, almost too professional'.
(Graphic thanks to Ben Thompson)

Excellent piece.

Yes and great he got in that someone sent him a link to the book in English

and saying Amaral didn't do anything wrong

cherry1 wrote:Yes and great he got in that someone sent him a link to the book in English

and saying Amaral didn't do anything wrong

Thanks "cherry1" for that transcript and yes it was great that he was able to inform his listeners that "the" book is available in English - good advertising!!

He also mentions that many don't seem to like Kate McCann, and asks "...how many more programmes does she need to get on...". I don't know anything about Steve Allen, but I would be willing to bet he would like to get some answers from her, not that she would ever consent to being interviewed by him.

I would love to see Kate interviewed by a panel -

Steve Allen, Jon Gaunt, Wendy Murphy and Katie Hopkins

I agree cherry, but would perhaps go one step further, see her cross interviewed by a prosecutor in a child abandonment case at the very least.