19/05/2026
🍀 Go Chris and the Hawkstone Farmers Choir, best of luck, we’ll be there voting for you 🍀
🙌🏻 Please watch this Saturday and pick up the phone and vote. You’ll see Chris’s write up below and the great cause they are supporting.
HAWKSTONE FARMERS CHOIR HEADS TO THE LONDON APOLLO FOR BGT SEMI-FINALS ON SATURDAY 23rd MAY
Singing on the Quad Bike": Gloucestershire Farmer Chris Slatter Trades the Cotswolds for the London Apollo in BGT Semi-Final Quest
GLOUCESTERSHIRE – Following a "completely electric" Golden Buzzer moment that moved his family to tears, local farmer Chris Slatter is preparing to take the stage at the London Apollo this Saturday, 23rd May for the live semi-finals of Britain’s Got Talent (BGT). A seasoned performer who has spent years in bands, Chris says nothing prepared him for the "staggering" response to the Hawkstone Farmers Choir, a group of 32 agricultural workers now carrying the hopes of the British countryside.
Close to home, the reaction has been poignant. "All my local farmer friends have reached out," Chris shares. "Some even admitted they had a tear in their eye watching us, while others told me they wished they had applied to join the choir themselves. The support from the locals means everything. It’s exciting for all of us to be part of this".
Chris’s local community has rallied behind him with typical West Country enthusiasm. His local pub, The Kings Arms, Mickleton, was particularly thrilled to receive a "shout out" during a recent live chat with the choir. Beyond the pub, local and national agricultural suppliers and machinery dealers have also expressed a keen interest in supporting the choir's journey.
Chris has already been a vocal advocate for the industry on the airwaves, completing interviews with BBC Radio Gloucestershire and BBC Radio Coventry and Warwickshire, as well as featuring in the Stratford Herald.
A Message of Resilience and Hope
The choir’s journey is driven by a mission to raise awareness for rural mental health and su***de prevention. For Chris, this mission is deeply personal. He has been using the period since the audition to connect with friends who volunteer for farming-related mental health organisations, seeking ways to further support their work.
"Farming is a very important industry, but it can be a very worrying time," Chris explains. "On my own farm, we’ve had three years of extreme weather where crops failed or were only half-planted. This year everything looks rosy and I should feel great, but with the current political and global undercurrents, it can still feel pretty depressing. Hopefully, the support of the nation for this choir can lift the profile of farming back to where it ought to be".
An Authentic Connection
Chris believes the choir has connected with the British public because of its raw authenticity. "I think people connected with us because we are just real people," he reflects. "We had no expectations, but we came together to perform in a professional way. The sound and the support were just great. The audition went by in a flash—I just wish it could have been longer".
As the live semi-finals approach, Chris is calling on the public—and the wider agricultural, horse racing, and business communities—to get behind the farmers. "The audience in Birmingham was electric; they were with us from the start. If the viewing public is anywhere near as responsive as that, it would be amazing.”
Britain's Got Talent The Hawkstone Farmers Choir The Farmer's Dog Pub Chris Slatter The Kings Arms Mickleton Mickleton Notice Board
