Well-known band Echo will be making an appearance at the River of Life Church located at Carr Road on Friday, 30th June, during a very special concert. The seven piece band is known for turning well-known Motown hits into Christian song. Sometimes, the band will change only a few of the lyrics to turn the hits into songs of worship.
During the event, the members of the band will also share their stories. The event will be presented by Unity Worship.
Dave Hunt, the organiser of the event said that the aim of the band was to bring worship into streets and they’ve been very good at doing that outside of church and wherever they find people. The members of the group had different home churches and backgrounds. Hunt continued by saying that the band’s been aiming to help churches to build bridges with the communities around them and that people should bring their dancing shoes as their music is lots of fun. Tickets will cost 5 pounds and you can either purchase them on the floor or in advance.
Echo was started around eight years ago and it was once a gospel choir and had 10 members in it. They were led by Marti Tyson and his wife Lisa. At that time, they were based in East Ham, Newham. After the departure of Martin and Lisa, the choir fell apart but it was around this time that new members also joined. The band originally started with a few positive songs such as ‘Something inside so strong’ and ‘I can see clearly now’. Since some of the members knew many Motown hits from their time playing in other gigs, the decided to put together a few of these positive songs, unlike the usual choruses that choirs do. The band developed a 45 minute set and played for the first time in café located in a church’s foyer. The band managed to sell out the tickets before they’d even done anything.
After the success of their first performance, the band was encouraged to carry on and they’ve done well over 100 shows since then. There are conservatives in the church who aren’t too sure about a band singing hits by the likes of The Four Tops and Jackie Wilson but the band members are convinced that God has no problem with the concept.