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At first glance, a church hall at Yarraville in Melbourne’s inner west on Sunday resembled a jeans factory.
There were 100 people wearing denim jeans, jackets, scarves and shirts, but it wasn’t a jeans commercial, or some religious worship of workwear pioneer Levi Strauss.
It was the Pitchface community choir, sweetly singing 1980s and ′90s pop songs, in rehearsal for their concert this Saturday at St Kilda’s Palais Theatre – where they will attempt to break the world record for the most number of people wearing double denim in one place.
With 100 people in the choir and 1700 ticket holders, so far, asked to wear all denim, the odds are good of smashing the previous record of 357 set in Tokyo in 2024.
The choir’s co-founder, ABC newsreader Tamara Oudyn, said attempting a world record seemed like a fun way to get the crowd involved.
But who can you call to judge your record? Pitchface turned to Helen and John Taylor, who have quietly become popular verifiers through their website The Australian Book of Records.
Do you claim to have the loudest burp, or the longest leg hair? The Taylors can verify that.
The couple were in the desert near Broken Hill on August 23 last year to confirm that 6779 people smashed the world record for dancing to Tina Turner’s hit Nutbush City Limits.
Last November, at Melbourne’s Federation Square, Helen presented the certificate when 374 pipers played AC/DC’s Long Way To the Top, smashing the world record for largest bagpipe ensemble.
The Taylors previously travelled the world for Shell, as ambassadors in fuel efficiency.
They each hold more than 90 world records. John holds the record for the most number of times crossing the British mainland, between John O’Groats in Scotland and Lands End in Cornwall.
But they love seeing others’ excitement at smashing records.
“We like to make people’s dreams come true,” John says. “People walk away feeling good about themselves.”
The Taylors aren’t paid; they only charge for expenses to cover costs, and their efforts have helped raise millions of dollars for charity.
The 11 Nutbush record attempts, at Broken Hill and Birdsville, have raised $800,000 for the Royal Flying Doctor Service.
Tamara Oudyn said Pitchface choir’s upcoming record attempt was inspired by a report in March this year of over 979 students raising awareness for the charity Fight MND by tipping icy water over their heads in Kew.
The world record was set for the number of people taking part in an ice bucket challenge.
That event was adjudicated by Helen Taylor.
“We love the cut of their jib,” Oudyn said, of the Taylors. “Imagine having that as a job? How fantastic.”
“That sort of stuff is contagious – people all pulling in one direction together to achieve something.”
She said Pitchface choir, which backed Coldplay at Marvel Stadium, and sang at the Australian Open women’s tennis final, aims to bring joy and levity to others.
Of Saturday’s concert, which guest stars Kate Miller-Heidke, Oudyn said: “It’s going to be a really fun, joyous reprieve from the world.”
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