Since the early 1980s, the London Gospel Community Choir has been bringing positive vibes to the city with their vibrant gospel sound — not to mention collaborating with the likes of Madonna, Nick Cave and Elton John. Leonn Meade recently took over from his father Basil, as the choir's Creative and Musical Director. Here he tells us what it's like fronting one of the city's most in-demand vocal ensembles.
I was only 18-months-old when my fate was almost certain.
By the time I was able to crawl I was on tour with my father, and founder of the London Gospel Community Choir, Basil Meade, across Europe, already absorbing the music and getting on with my baby tour experience.
Back in 1982 there was a feeling, a need, a desire to take the Gospel out of the church and into the world. But first it would need to hit the community. Realising the potential and knowing the talent that was huddled inside the church buildings, the youth wanted to do more. My father and a few other youth and choir leaders wanted to unite for a one-off show at the Kensington temple in London, to showcase what the gospel, Black community looked and sounded like.
It was a call to all that felt the same, to all that wanted to sing, fellowship, dance and take the word embedded in the style of gospel music, into the bars, clubs, festivals and concert venues that were often prohibited. That one-off concert became 44 years of gospel legacy. Game changer.
Having been part of the scene from the beginning of my life, I started playing drums for the choir when I was 18, stepping in for John Fisher, who was my hero growing up. My first serious tour involved 20 shows across 20 Japanese Cities in 21 days. An unbelievable experience.
As the latest Creative and Musical Director, it's my job to make sure the set has the right songs for the show. It's a mix of modern gospel and traditional gospel — all the way to R'n'B, Caribbean and, of course, we throw in a few pop arrangements. We usually perform our own original material. I take into consideration the style of venue, the audience demographic, and also the size of the band and choir performing. Requests come flooding in for some shows and we invite them of course, but to keep things fairly stress free, I put a cap on it.
It's tough to speak of favourite collaborations, as there have been so many legends and amazing artists. Luther Vandross was a stand-out moment purely because of who he was, his talent and how treated LCGC on and off the stage during their collaboration. True Gentleman. We have always loved working with Damon Albarn, Blur and Gorillaz. There is a special relationship there for sure.
We audition a couple times a year in order to keep things fresh. People send in performance/audition videos and if they pass that stage we invite them in for face to face session. Then we go through the motions: singing, dancing, harmonising and performance. If they've got what it takes, an incredible experience awaits them.
The London Gospel Community Choir perform a Christmas show at the Royal Albert Hall on 16 December 2025. Other shows in London and elsewhere are also scheduled for 2026.
