TV’s Ben Shephard swapped the television studio for Bournemouth’s Square this morning to bring smiles to people’s faces as they walked to work. Persistent rain made way for brilliant sunshine as a gospel choir sang mood boosting songs and Ben chatted to the passing Bournemouthians.
Ben Shephard and the gospel choir in Bournemouth's sunny Square
Proven morning person Ben said: “Having spent years presenting early morning TV, I know first hand how tough it can be waking up, so I am helping Tropicana to brighten Bournemouth’s mornings.”
Tropicana, the orange juice company, commissioned research that discovered the five top smile-inducing songs. Led Zeppelin was pipped to the top spot by Take That’s ‘Greatest Day’, which Ben told UpToSpeed was his favourite Take That song, saying: “It certainly works for me!”
Soul’s of Prophecy Gospel Choir gospel choir sang versions of the Top 10 cheering songs while Ben swayed along, but he declined to grace Bournemouth with his own dulcet tones saying: “If I start singing I’m not sure it will brighten anyone’s day.”
The researchers, Mindlab International Laboratory, monitored brain and body activity in men and women to identify which songs provoked the most positive emotional stimulation. This revealed some interesting differences between people’s personal choice of music and their body’s physical response. In fact ‘Greatest Day’ ranked only 29th in men’s choices but their brain and bodies showed it to be a real guilty pleasure.
Mindlab’s study shows that 54% of Bournemouth people believe listening to music makes their mornings better and 41% claim it allows them to banish the morning blues altogether.
Ben has visited Bournemouth once before today, on his father-in-law’s stag party, but was impressed with the sun-soaked town and its people. He described residents’ reactions to this morning’s serenade as: “Initial bemusement but growing enthusiasm and I think everyone has gone away with a bottle of Tropicana and a smile on their face.”
Tropicana delivered nearly 10,000 free bottles of juice to Bournemouth residents this morning as part of the campaign. The gospel choir and Ben will continue the South West tour with a stop in Bristol.
