Singing together reminds us we're part of something bigger

CHRISTMAS IS STARTING EARLY FOR JAMES B PARTRIDGE. MARION MCMULLEN DISCOVERS WHY THE EX-TEACHER AND TIKTOK SENSATION IS TAKING HIS CHRISTMAS ASSEMBLY ON TOUR

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You have gone from school classrooms to some of the UK’s biggest stages and provided vocals for everyone from Sir Paul McCartney to The Rolling Stones. Where will the Christmas Assembly Tour take you?

‘This tour is my biggest yet. I've performed in art centres, converted churches, comedy clubs, even a cocktail bar in Soho, which is where this whole idea started. It’s amazing how flexible it is. Festivals too — it just clicks in so many different settings.

‘The trickiest venues are probably the big beer hall-style ones with long tables, lots of drinks and lots of chatter but, even then, when people talk during my show it's usually because they've recognised a song or it sparks a memory like ‘Remember when this happened at school?’ or ‘Our teacher used to do this in assembly’

It becomes part of the fun. And if things get a bit too noisy, I can always slip into teacher mode with ‘All eyes on me!” or ‘It’s your own time you're wasting, which always gets a laugh.

What has inspired the tour?

Some of my best childhood memories are of singing in the school choir, going around care homes at Christmas, or being part of the big carol service. I’m trying to recreate that magic now - that feeling of joy and togetherness that comes from communal singing.