Soldiers march on with 14-date tour

FAILSWORTH soldier Richie Maddocks will belt out hits from his debut album to raise awareness of Army life.

The Soldiers — Sgt Maddocks, L/Cpl Ryan Idzi and Sgt Major Gary Chilton — play Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall on Sunday.

The 37-year-old left North Chadderton School at 16 to join the Army where he worked as a medic in the first Gulf War.

An instructor at the Royal Military College of Music, he now lives in Cambridgeshire with his wife Nicci, but still has family in Oldham.

The group’s first album “Coming Home” went platinum after selling more than 600,000 copies and raising thousands of pounds for the Army Benevolent Fund, Help for Heroes and The Royal British Legion.

The Soldiers will be supported on their 14-date tour by “Britain’s Got Talent” stars Faryl Smith (an opera singer) and Julian Smith (a saxophonist).