Celebration of Gospel Music Event Set to Hit London

A special two-day event, A Celebration of Gospel Music (CGM), is set to bring together an unprecedented number of UK gospel artists in Hackney's 'The Ocean' in London from 6-7 October to celebrate the past, present and future of British gospel music.

Organised by V M Productions, CGM is looking to be a memorable event celebrating the art, music and history of gospel music. It will look to achieve its aims through educational talks, music workshops, networking events as well as "powerful inspirational performances".

"A wide range of UK artists - those who helped to develop the UK gospel scene, as well as established and up and coming ones - have pledged to take part in this major celebration," a publicity statement reveals.

Artists scheduled to attend include the London Community Gospel Choir led by Rev Bazil Meade, considered one of the key founding fathers of Britain's Gospel music scene; The Visual Ministry Celebration Choir; Ken Burton and the London Adventist Choral; Jennifer Philips; Priscilla Jones; Raymond & Co; Nicky Brown; Ruach Mass Choir; Roger Samuels; Dwayne Tryumf; New Direction Crew and Hildia Campbell, an original member of the Inspirational Choir (the group that put UK gospel on the map); and singer with 'Voices With Soul', the female trio which reached the final stages of the popular X-Factor show in 2004.

The publicity release continued: "British Gospel has become a musical force to be reckoned with during the past two decades. Prior to the 1980s, British gospel was an unknown by the wider public because it was sung within Britain's black churches to worship God and inspire members.

"It exploded into the public consciousness in 1981 when the now defunct gospel outfit The Inspirational Choir, sang on the track 'Wings of A Dove' by pop group Madness. The song reached the top 5 of the pop chart and as a result gospel music became a recognised and sought after art form."

The CGM is taking place at an opportune time, with 2007 being a flagship year for people of African descent due to the commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the abolition of slavery and the forthcoming black history month in October.

Junior Spence, founder of Visual Ministries and organiser of CGM is aiming to make it an annual event. He commented, "The UK needs an annual event like CGM. Gospel music is a recognised and respected art-form that has greatly influenced popular music. Our American cousins have created some great gospel music, but I believe it is time, for the contribution of UK gospel artists to be recognised also.

"CGM will not only feature great performances, we will aim to produce resources and information that can be accessed by the general public so that they can learn about gospel music, and create networking opportunities to perpetuate the great heritage of gospel music here in the UK."

The event has announced it will also be shortly announcing the appearance of a very special musical guest to attend the two-day gathering.