The Soldiers is a singing trio consisting of serving

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

soldiers, whose debut album, ''Coming Home'', was released on 26 October 2009, and who have since continued their singing career whilst remaining full-time army personnel. Signed to CPW Productions

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

, the trio consists of Ryan Idzi, Richie Maddocks and Gary Chilton. The Soldiers' first national interview was with '' The Sun'', with a free download of the lead song " Coming Home" from the debut album '' Coming Home''. The song was written by Jake Hook, Nick Patrick and Jeff Chegwin. It was delivered as a free download for 48 hours through ''The Sun'' website as a promotion for the forthcoming album. Proceeds from the single were donated to The

Army Benevolent Fund ABF The Soldiers' Charity, formerly the Army Benevolent Fund,Third Sector Magazine"Charity rebranding: a change of vision and strategy" ''Third Sector Magazine'', 06/04/10 is the national charity of the British Army. Since 1944, it has provided ...

. The Soldiers were also featured in ''Big Sing 2009'', hosted by Aled Jones from London's Royal Albert Hall, with special guests also including Bryn Terfel, Ruby Turner, Amy Nuttall. The show was broadcast on BBC TV on 25 October 2009. The Soldiers have released four studio albums, '' Coming Home'' (2009), '' Letters Home'' (2010), '' Message to You'' (2011) and the self-titled ''

The Soldiers The Soldiers is a singing trio consisting of serving British Army soldiers, whose debut album, ''Coming Home'', was released on 26 October 2009, and who have since continued their singing career whilst remaining full-time army personnel. Signe ...

'' (2012) and two compilation album ''Best of The Soldiers'' (2011) and ''Greatest'' (2013).

Members

Sergeant Major Sergeant major is a senior non-commissioned rank or appointment in many militaries around the world. History In 16th century Spain, the ("sergeant major") was a general officer. He commanded an army's infantry, and ranked about third in th ...

Gary Chilton lives in

Andover, Hampshire Andover ( ) is a town in the English county of Hampshire. The town is on the River Anton, a major tributary of the Test, and is situated alongside the major A303 trunk road at the eastern end of Salisbury Plain, west of the town of Basi ...

Family Announcements
Retrieved 3/5/21. and joined the Army in 1984. He served in the

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...

and is

Band Sergeant Major Band sergeant major (BSM)Note that in the British Army, the plural is "band sergeant majors" and not "band sergeants major". The earliest usage of "sergeant majors" in ''The Times'' is in 1822. The last of the (very occasional) usages of "serge ...

of the

Army Air Corps Army Air Corps may refer to the following army aviation corps: * Army Air Corps (United Kingdom), the army aviation element of the British Army * Philippine Army Air Corps (1935–1941) * United States Army Air Corps (1926–1942), or its p ...

. * Staff Sergeant Richie Maddocks was born in

Oldham Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham ...

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: Manchester, Salford, Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tam ...

, and attended South Chadderton Secondary School where he played in the school band, and the Jazz band, plus varies lead roles in school plays and concerts. He joined the Army at the age of 16. He is also a Gulf War veteran and is Drum Major of the Minden Band of the

Queen's Division The Queen's Division is a British Army training and administrative apparatus for infantry regiments from the east and south of England and the remaining regiment of Fusiliers. Formation The Queen's Division was formed in 1968 with the regime ...

. *

Corporal Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non- ...

Ryan Idzi (born 1985) was born in Caerphilly,

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

, and is of Polish ancestry. In 2007, he appeared in

season 4 Season 4 may refer to: * "Season 4" (''30 Rock'' episode), an episode of ''30 Rock'' See also * * Season One (disambiguation) * Season 2 (disambiguation) Season 2 may refer to: * ''Season 2'' (Infinite album) * '' 2econd Season'' See also * ...

of the UK ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...

'', auditioning with " Lean on Me". He reached the "Bootcamp" stages of the competition. A member of the

1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards (QDG) is a regiment in the Royal Armoured Corps of the British Army. Nicknamed The Welsh Cavalry, the regiment recruits from Wales and the bordering English counties of Cheshire, Herefordshire, and Shropshire, a ...

, he has served in Afghanistan and Iraq as a member of the 20th Armoured Brigade.

Discography

Studio albums

;Special album releases

Compilation albums

Singles

References

External links

Official website
English boy bands English pop music groups Musical groups established in 2009 British musical trios Warner Records artists {{England-band-stub