Clarkson's Hawkstone Choir releases first single

Jeremy Clarkson's Hawkstone Farmers' Choir has released its first single, with the song a "recognition of the daily grind" farmers go through.

The choir - which describes Clarkson as its "biggest cheerleader" - won Britain's Got Talent earlier this year, and has since announced a nationwide tour and an album.

Absolution, the first song from the debut album, was released on Friday and explores reconnecting with other farmers in the often lonely agriculture industry.

Hearing the song played on BBC Radio Oxford for the first time, choir member James Florey said it was "very, very surreal".

Florey, from Oxfordshire, said the song was "a recognition of the daily grind that we all go through, working in long hours in isolation, within the rural and farming industry".

"It's about letting that weight daily life fall away for a while, stepping away from it, and finding your space away from the pressures of everyday life."

In May, the choir won the ITV talent show and received a £250,000 cash prize, as well as the chance to perform at the annual Royal Variety Performance.

It has since announced a UK tour at venues across the UK, including Oxford, in the spring, which will follow the release of its debut album, This Is Home, in November.

"It's been such a whirlwind 12 months since we auditioned for Britain's Got Talent," Florey, who is a fourth-generation farmer, said.

"Trying to juggle the day job and everything that has come with the choir is becoming a challenge, but it's something that we're relishing and really getting stuck into."

He said organising rehearsals was a "real challenge" because the choir members were "spread around the whole country".

"So we are on our farms singing along to the songs, trying to rehearse ourselves, get our parts ready - we are generally outside on the farm singing to our livestock."

The choir was initially founded by Clarkson as part of an advertising campaign for his Cotswolds-based brewing firm, but has since used its platform to help raise awareness around mental health in farming.

Last month, the group donated £50,000 of its £250,000 Britain's Got Talent prize money to five charities supporting farming, mental health, and rural communities.

Florey said the past few years had "been a real challenge across across all sectors of the farming industry".

"So being able to do this and to deliver our message through song has been such a such a great thing to be part of."