No shame in singing along...but I promise to be clothed

ANDREW Gale shares his long-time love for belting out a tune.

ONE OR ANOTHER: Singing in the shower is one thing, but would you sing in public? Picture: NicolasMcComber

THE good wife and I were channel surfing through the offerings on late night television the other night, when we came across an odd program.

Not surprisingly, it was on SBS.

Yeah, and I know what you're thinking, and yep, you're right.

It contained nudity.

It was a dating show but with quite a difference. Two complete strangers get hooked up on a tropical island. Complete with palm trees, pretty beaches and all that. Just minus their clothes.

Adam looking for Eve was the name of this strange bit of entertainment from Germany.

Anyway, in the bit we watched, the guy and girl, let's call them Jurgen and Helga, were chatting nicely.

Pretty normal stuff except that their "private areas" were on display for all the world to see.

At one stage Jurgen asked Helga if she would sing to him.

"Oh no", the naked Teutonic nymph replied.

"That's embarrassing."

"What?" my wife and I exclaimed simultaneously.

"Helga, you're naked on a TV show, sitting there with a complete stranger, likewise un-clothed, and you're too embarrassed to sing?"

That seemed weird to both of us.

We both love to sing. Loud and proud. I'm not saying we are the best singers in the world. We just love doing it.

My wife went to a girl's school where much effort was devoted to the pastime. School choir, eisteddfods and all that.

Likewise, I can remember singing from an early age at school.

One childhood memory is singing Sixteen Going on Seventeen, from The Sound of Music, aged eight or nine, in front of the entire school at weekly assembly. On the big school stage with just a sweet little girl singing the girl's part.

I remember being nervous, but my teacher had selected me to do it and being a good little boy, I dutifully complied.

We must have been as sweet as sugar. I can remember seeing all the female teachers and staff "gooing" and "gaahing" as we performed.

It certainly impressed the choir mistress as next thing you know I was drafted into the senior choir to perform at the upcoming Choral Festival that was held in the Town Hall.

Alas, the festival I imagined was a deception.

There wasn't a piece of coral in sight. All we did was sing.

I've sung in choirs and musicals.

I tried to front a rock band for a while and even sing a bit while I strum the guitar.

Sometimes I get a bit over-exuberant. Like at a recent funeral where we sang How Great thou Art.

Most people were just moving their lips, as they do. I was being respectful, with my volume set at one, rather than my normal 10.

When we got to the line, "Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee" I was overcome with a desire to belt it out, in the style of The King, Elvis Aaron Presley, in his inspiring version of this classic.

My wife knows the drill. A quick elbow to the ribs soon took care of that.

One singing thing though remains on my bucket list. I'd love to sing our national anthem at the start of some event.

That would truly be a great honour.

Hey, and if I ever get to do it. I promise I'll do it with my clothes on.