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Search forPooches on song for Jack tribute
Thursday, September 04, 2008, 09:00
Artist Richard Higlett listened to around 30 melodic mutts at an open audition which he said was a "howling success."
They were prompted by a variety of sounds and encouragements, ranging from a mobile phone ringtone to the Coronation Street theme tune and Pavarotti's rendition of Puccini's Nessun Dorma.
Now the Cardiff-based artist has whittled down the pack to a group of 10 top dogs who will join classical musicians to record A Song for Jack on Monday at Swansea Metropolitan University.
"I've found a few potential stars," he says.
"There's Zak, a black border collie rescue dog who sings along to Happy Birthday — he has relatives all over the world and he sings long distance over the phone.
"Eva is a German Shepherd rescue dog who can sing on request. Angus is a ginger Jack Russell who howls along to Knocking on Heaven's Door by Bob Dylan.
"Pip and Ellis are two lurchers who sing and jump around to the Match of the Day theme tune. A Bichon Frise called Hollywood howls away to Hooray for Hollywood wearing a suitably spangly bodysuit.
"Edward the Bassett hound has a very low raspy howl and proved himself an accomplished bass baritone capable of wailing continuously. They're all characters in their own right."
Richard was commissioned by Swansea arts charity Locws International to come up with the light-hearted project for the Swansea Festival of Music and the Arts. It is the latest tribute to the flat-coated retriever, Swansea Jack who lived at North Dock with William Thomas in the 1930s and who is said to have rescued 27 people from drowning in its chilly waters during his seven years there.
"I felt it a fitting homage to Swansea Jack whose instinct was to be a hero. It is also about fun, a celebration," said Richard.
The recording session will be filmed and then televised at a special free concert at the Waterfront Museum green on Saturday, October 4.
Songs will include a ruff-and-ready version of the Beatles song All You Need is Love called All You Need is a Dog and a ruff-and-ready rendition of the Elvis Presley classic Can't Help Falling in Love.
"The concert will include musicians as well as dogs and the music is quite classical," added Richard. "It will be a celebration of the relationship between dogs and people.
"Dogs are part of the fabric of the city, as much as anyone else."
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