Ref. 28859A SWINDON men's choir that has beaten Welsh competitors in the traditional home of all-male singing is looking for young recruits.

Its musical director and officers fear that the ageing Swindon Male Voice Choir will be unable to maintain the winning formula which has won awards at the Llangollen eisteddfod and similar events unless it can attract youthful tenors and baritones to swell its ranks.

"We are fully booked with concert dates until August 2005, but we are getting older," said the choir's public relations officer Gareth Jenkins, who lives at Highworth. "Without some younger voices there is a limit to how long we shall be able to continue."

Many of its members are in their sixties and at least two are octogenarians.

The oldest, 83-year-old former railway works fitter Wilf Blackwell, who started singing in a Methodist church choir when he was a schoolboy and has been part of the line-up for more than a quarter of a century. He still has a strong bass voice.

"Unfortunately young men now don't seem to want to sing in choirs like ours," he said. "Those who do show an interest get diverted by university or college and then by jobs, marriage and a family."

Mr Blackwell, who is married with a grown-up son and daughter and lives in Cricklade Road, goes to rehearsals every Monday night and spends several hours a week preparing at home for the choir's concert appearances.

The choir is hoping to get its message across in the next few months during an appearance on Classic FM radio, having been invited by chief executive Ralph Bernard

"Ours is not the only male voice choir that is facing this problem," said Mr Jenkins, who has been a member for more than 20 years.

"Young men in their 20s might not seem interested in performing our kind of music, but I guarantee that if I could get more of them to come along they would find themselves becoming really involved."

The choir's repertoire takes in everything from songs from the shows to spirituals, from Bach to Burt Bacharach.

During the past 20 years it has proved so popular with audiences that most of its concerts are sell outs and it has raised around £500,000 for charities.

Top military bands have frequently shared the programme. Last May it performed in Holland with the full band of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers and raised £6,000 for a hospital in Veldhoven, which is a centre of excellence in the care of premature babies.

On February 7, the REME band will share a Swindon Male Voice Choir programme at the Mayor's charity concert at the Wyvern Theatre.

Two concerts with the band of the Gurkha Regiment are also on its schedule.

"Male voice choirs were part of the work scene for several generations," said musical director Max Brockman-More, director of Learning at St John's secondary school in Marlborough. "The Welsh choirs were made up of men from the pits. Ours started in 1919 in the railway factory's running sheds.

"But now the work scene has changed and that is why we have a problem." The choir, which has around 50 voices, needs 60 to ensure it can fulfil its bookings in the event of flu outbreaks and other crises.

"Our youngest member is Simon Groves, who is in his early 30s. We need more like him," said Mr Brockman-More, who at 47 is himself one of its more youthful associates.

Half a dozen comparative youngsters are waiting to be auditioned.

To book tickets for the Mayor's charity concert call the Wyvern Theatre box office 01793 524481. They cost £10.