Captain Tom Moore became the oldest person ever to record a UK number one single beating Sir Tom Jones and dethroning Canadian pop star The Weeknd. The cover of ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ went straight to No.1 selling 82,000 copies, with proceeds going to the NHS Charities Together fund.
Retired 99-year-old military veteran Captain Tom Moore who rose to fame raising over £29 million for the U.K.’s National Health Service (NHS) has successfully challenged The Weeknd for number one on the U.K. singles chart through an adaption of Gerry and the Pacemakers’ classic ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ featuring Michael Ball and the NHS Voices of Care Choir. The veteran is now also confirmed to be the subject of a documentary through British broadcaster ITV around his experiences in the Second World War.
National hero
Rising to viral fame, Captain Tom Moore raised money for the NHS walking 100 laps of his 25 meter garden in Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire with his frame. In the process he has inspired people across the nation to donate. His actions resulted in him being gifted the Pride of Britain Award.
The WWII veteran has also broken two Guinness World Records – the most money raised by an individual charity walk ever and now also the oldest person to reach number one in the UK charts.
The documentary
The 30-minute documentary special, which will air on Victory In Europe Day (VE Day) in the UK next month, will chronicle Captain Moore serving on the frontline in Burma, where Allied troops fought against the Imperial Japanese forces over a three year period. At the time he fought to secure a British colony in the territory and was involved in a number of daring missions.
In a statement, ITV’s Controller of Current Affairs, Tom Giles, said: “Captain Tom’s War will shed light on a campaign which comparatively goes unmentioned but in which our troops suffered unthinkable hardship and tens of thousands of British soldiers fought and died.
Hearing this from Captain Tom Moore, who fought in Burma, means we will find out a lot more about the man who has done so much to raise our spirits at this time and the experience he and many others faced during World War Two, on an occasion when we rightly come together to thank them for their sacrifice.”
The music
Meanwhile in music, the battle for number one took an unusual turn when The Weeknd backed Captain Moore publicly, urging his fans to help get him to number one for his 100th birthday on April 30 after the Canadian musician’s numbers shot up suddenly.
The final Official Chart Top 40 was revealed on BBC Radio 1’s Official Chart with Scott Mills on Friday and the documentary will air on Friday, May 8, at 8pm.
Royal Mail birthday postmark
Captain Tom will also be honored with a special postmark. Royal Mail will stamp all letters with the message to celebrate Captain Tom Moore’s 100th birthday on Thursday.
All stamped post up until Friday will be marked with: “Happy 100th Birthday Captain Thomas Moore NHS fundraising hero 30th April 2020.”
You can still donate to Captain Tom Moore’s JustGiving page and help him get to £30 million by his birthday this Thursday. Click image below:
Article text sourced from originally published by Josh Wilson on Forbes.com and some updates from BBC News.
