The Choir was formed in 1975 and at first was to be a choral society of mixed voices. However as the number of ladies declined and the men increased, it was decided to form Côr Meibion Y Fflint – ‘Flint Male Voice Choir’ and so it has remained, initially made up largely by workers in textiles, mining and steel, which were the dominant industries locally.
The Choir has seen ups and downs over the years, not least being the closure of those industries which prompted and gave rise to the BBC documentary, ‘’The Choir, the Passion and the Song” detailing the effect of the decline on the Choir and Flint as a whole. The Choir survived, taking the documentary title as its unofficial motto, and has proudly carried the flag of Wales to our neighbours across the border and to those further afield, such as Malta, Prague and Brittany, making friends wherever we go.
The Choir made its first trip abroad in 1985 when the town of Flint was twinned with Menden in Germany and were invited to sing with the Menden Police Choir. Now the group organise foreign trips every 2 years and have visited Austria, Czech Republic, France, Germany and Malta.
In 1997 they were the Welsh representatives at the Interceltic Festival in Lorient where they took part in the first performance of the Celtic Epic by Eddie McGuire and were there for the second at the Glasgow Celtic Festival in 1999. In 2001 they returned to Lorient and had a resounding success, it seemed the audiences had been waiting for just such a return and their enthusiasm knew no bounds as the choir sang to huge and appreciative audiences. Following this success the Choir have appeared three times at the Stade De France when the Interceltic Festival has been staged there and also at Paris, Nantes and Rennes. In 2014 the Choir was the first male voice choir to receive a standing ovation in 40 years!
The Choir was delighted to be among the singers selected to perform at the Millennium Dome Opening Celebrations on New Years Eve 1999. The audience of 10,000 included the Queen and Prince Phillip, the Prime Minister Mr Blair and his wife along with many celebrities, as well as people from all walks of life. To have been chosen for this auspicious occasion from all the male choirs in the U.K. is a tribute to an organisation committed to excellence, enjoyment and public service and we believe it is because we honour our commitments, never give anything less than 100% and always know our work.
There have been many, many other highlights for the Choir; winning the National Eisteddfod in 1990 and 1991, Côr Cymru in 2007, coming 3rd in the Llangollen International Eisteddfod and repeated trips to the Royal Albert Hall to sing as part of the massed Welsh Choirs. In 2015 the Choir sang in the moving BBC film ‘Reg’, starring Tim Roth, and have recently sung alongside Cerys Matthews and Welsh tenor Rhydian.
Multiple wins at the North Wales Choral Festival and at the Isle of Man Festival of Choirs in 2017 have seen the Choir remain in the public eye, most recently recording the BBC pre-match lead-in video (see below) and then at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff to sing with Pendyrus MVC as the pre-match entertainment before the Wales v England 6 Nations match in February 2019. Plaudits flooded in, not least than that from the MD Dr Haydn James and the WRU itself…
‘It won’t last 6 months,’ they said in 1975, but here we are in 2022, COVID Pandemic hopefully behind us, still going strong! The textile, mining and steel industries closed down a generation ago. Members joining since then have come from a variety of backgrounds, and have been welcomed into what amounts to a second family for all of us. We are forward-looking and progressive in outlook, and there have been many changes over the years. That said, there are three things that we hope will always go from strength to strength: ‘the Choir, the Passion and the Song.’