ODIHAM Military Wives Choir are rehearsing to go on stage with Lulu this week.

The 67-year-old pop star is on tour, performing her new hit ‘Cry’ with a different wives choir at each show. The local singers can’t wait for their moment in the spotlight when they step onto the stage on Wednesday in Basingstoke.

Holly Dempsey, media co-ordinator for the choir, said: “The ladies are excited, challenged and nervous, but feel it’s a great opportunity, and they are proud to represent the military wives choir.”

The group started up in October 2012. Three years on, they have 23 members.

The choristers said: “The song Cry focuses on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, which is a serious mental health disorder, and reminds us that it is affecting peoples lives both in and out of the military. We are proud to have the opportunity, with the help of Lulu, to be part of raising awareness about this.”

They find the choir offers ‘support, laughter, community, confidence and friendship’. With the impact of military operations sometimes lasting longer than the conflict itself, these qualities are vital for the wives themselves, and help them support their husbands on their return from tours of duty.

Mrs Dempsey added: “This will be our first time preforming with a celebrity as part of an organised tour.

“Other notable performances include being part of the joint choir which did Armed Forces Day in Guilford and members had also had the opportunity to join in with foundation organised events e.g. the Proms and recording on the MWC album.”

The lyrics of the song focus on post traumatic stress disorder, and speaking to the Military Wives Choir website, Lulu explained the reason behind the subject choice.

“Having a different Military Wives Choir join me onstage every night will be a lot of fun. But on a more serious note, later in my life I was diagnosed as having post-traumatic stress disorder, and what that did was help me to relate even more with our men and women in the armed forces.

“I realised I would like to do something to help, so we recorded Cry and my brother and I rewrote the lyrics to apply specifically to the military.”

The one time UK Eurovision representative continued: “Post-traumatic stress disorder is not just about physical scars; it’s about the emotional scars, and they run very deep. They are enormous and very difficult to deal with. We need everybody’s support.”The choir is continuing to work hard ahead of next week’s show and you can support the Military Wives Choir by downloading the single Cry from all major online music sites now.