Broad Church of Gospel Reaches a White Audience

Less than five years ago, Gemma Miller found herself in the novel position of being a white singer in London's premiere gospel choir after falling in love with its soulful sound.

Now it is no longer so unusual to find white - and sometimes non-christian - singers attracted to gospel music, which has traditionally appealed to black church-goers.

Mrs Miller, 25, said her love of the genre began when she heard the London Community Gospel Choir (LCGC) perform at her local church in Maldon, Essex. She was so inspired that she created a white gospel singing group at her church, before joining the LCGC to be trained professionally.

'It's a totally white gospel choir because I live in Essex and there is not much of a black community, but we were just so inspired by gospel music, by how happy and how attractive it was and it also brought people in that were not otherwise church-goers,' she said.

Now employed by the choir, which performed with Madonna at the Live8 concert in 2005 and with the late James Brown, she and her brother Jon Rattenbury are among a growing number of white faces in the choir.

'When I first joined, it felt quite weird but it's different now,' she said. The Rev Bazil Meade, principal of the LCGC, said the growth of gospel was also helping to build bridges in racially divided regions. He co-founded the LCGC in 1983 in the direct aftermarth of the Brixton riots which had left black and white communities fractious and mutually suspiious of each other.

Originally created to unify the local African-Caribbean community, it is now credited with encouraging racial integration.

'It began by unifying the black community and now it's unifying the black and white community. Over the years, we began getting invitations to non-church events and big festivals including the Royal Variety Performance and Glastonbury, where the majority of the audience is white. It has opened doors and built bridges between races and religions. We were in Wales last week but we've performanced in Italy, France, and to 15,000 Muslims in Morocco,' he said.

Gospel has also emerged on the mainstream market, ranging from the recent sell-out show by The Harlem Gospel Ensemble at the Hackney Empire to Kayne West's hit 'Jesus Walks'. Gospel stars such as Mary Mary and Kirk Franklin, who combine the gospel message with a more contemporary sound, have also had top 10 UK singles.

Deji Juba is one of four brothers to sing in Four Kornerz, who will perform at the Gospel Gathering, Europe's biggest celebration of the genre, at the Indig02, in London's 02 Arena on 16 November. He said that their songs were focused on uplifting, celebratory themes. 'They are inspirational songs and the best kind of gospel music should be beyond the church and relevant to all of society. Our songs are God-centred but the lyrics are not specifically talking about God. For example, one of our recent songs is about child abuse and how to let go of emotional baggage.' He added: 'There's definitely been a rise in interestand I'm seeing younger faces in audiences. There was a period when people saw gospel with the stereotypical image of choir robes and tambourines, but a new generation is rising that is blending gospel sounds with jazz and rock and that's making it more accessible to a modern audience.'

The Independent, Friday 2nd November, by Arifa Akbar - Arts Reporter.