The Kirkwood
The making of It Must Be Love - The Kirkwood Chorus

Film & Campaign Description

There is a lot of stigma associated with the words Kirkwood and Hospice- people assume The Kirkwood just means end of life care for people living with cancer but The Kirkwood supports people to live well with a wide range of conditions  and supports them to  focus on what matters most to them. The Kirkwood offer many different services to support people with their wellbeing and one of these is The Kirkwood Chorus - a once weekly singing group held in the centre of Huddersfield.

The Kirkwood Chorus started as an online singing group in late 2020 serving as a light touch way for people to engage with the support of The Kirkwood as well as to gain all the benefits that singing has to offer. It went from strength to strength and has now become a much loved focus for over 30 people every Friday afternoon.

One of the group's favourite songs, It Must Be Love, inspired an email trail starting  in June 2022 which eventually lead to the publishing company of singer-songwriter Labi Siffre. The group were delighted when they heard that Labi gave full permission for the group to record and release the song with the aim to raise awareness of the support that The Kirkwood can offer.

On the 15th September 2023, The Kirkwood Chorus spent an exciting day in the beautiful St Paul's Hall, University of Huddersfield recording the audio and video of the song It Must Be Love. This video captures this wonderful day and tells the story of their adventures so far.

You can also see the music video to the performance of the song HERE . If you would like to download your own copy of the single click HERE

The Kirkwood

The Kirkwood provide specialist care, free of charge, to anyone affected by a life-limiting condition, at any time from diagnosis to the end of life, respecting their individual needs and wishes. Care and support is also provided for their family members, friends and carers, both during the illness and after death. We support people affected with lots of different conditions including dementia,chronic lung conditions, heart failure and cancer to name but a few. We offer many services in the community to do this , one of which is The Kirkwood Chorus.

The Kirkwood Chorus, delivered in partnership with music therapy charity Nordoff and Robbins, is a light-hearted singing group that aims to make you smile. It offers an opportunity for people to benefit from  all the wellbeing effects that singing offers as well as helping dispel many of the myths associated with hospice care. It’s all about bringing people together for an afternoon of fun in a welcoming environment and allowing them to focus on what matters to them. 

The idea of releasing a cover version of the song " It Must Be Love"  became a reality when the singer- songwriter, Labi Siffre, gave permission to the group to record their version of his beautiful love song. The ultimate hope for this song , is that it will help share the message that The Kirkwood supports people to live well from the beginning and not just at the end.