The Kenyan Boys Choir | en

The Kenyan Boys Choir, the only international choir to take part in Barack Obama’s inauguration celebrations in January, has secured a recording deal with Universal in dramatic circumstances.

The group was making their way back from Washington DC to Nairobi when they were signed up by Universal Music’s A&R Manager, Tom Lewis, in the transit lounge at Heathrow Airport. Lewis, who considered buying a ticket just to enter the departures lounge before finally gaining special permission from the airport to meet the choir, said: ‘They’ve already taken the US by storm. Their sound is amazing and when I saw them on YouTube, I knew they could light up the world. You can’t help but smile when you hear them sing.’

The Kenyan Boys Choir’s first CD, of traditional African chant and songs from across the continent, was recorded in Nairobi and will be released in June. .