Shropshire military wives choir shocked by Sir Cliff Richard

The 30-strong Shawbury Military Wives Choir was chosen as Sir Cliff's support act for the first date of his Midsummer Nights Tour.

But the ladies, who all have connections to RAF Shawbury and Tern Hill Barracks, near Market Drayton, had been told they would not be meeting Sir Cliff before stepping on to the stage in front of 5,000 people at Harewood House in Leeds on Saturday because he would be too busy.

But choir committee member Sarah Davies, 39, said members had a shock when, after more than two months of preparation, they turned up for their final rehearsal.

"When we were doing our sound check on stage he crept up behind us and was jostling to get through to stand with us," said the mother-of-two.

"It was lovely. He had a chat with us and had a picture taken.

"We were totally starstruck. We just stood there and said 'Oh, hello!'"

The Shawbury Military Wives Choir was chosen as Sir Cliff's support act after submitting a recording to the Military Wives Foundation.

More than 80 choirs entered the competition – and Shawbury was one of just seven chosen by Sir Cliff's managers.

"He was asking how many choirs there were but I'm not sure what else we were talking about because we were all just stunned," Sarah added. "He said he'll have to have more than 80 concerts and get a new set of wives each night."

The choir went on stage for half an hour and performed tracks from their album Stronger Together.

She said: "It was fabulous. It was amazing, the weather was fantastic which was great because it was outside.

"We sang album tracks and the crowd knew our songs, we got a great reception and a standing ovation."

Fans on social network sites described the performance as "splendid" and "amazing", with one even saying it had brought a tear to their eye.

The choir's previous biggest performance was in front of 650 people at Theatre Severn in Shrewsbury.

They will next be on stage at Cosford Proms at RAF Cosford on July 6.