Tsars of the show: all-male choir from rural Australia become unlikely Russian folk heroes

Andrew Swain (right), director of the Dustyesky Choir, leading choir members during a rehearsal in Mullumbimby, where a group of men from rural Australia have discovered music, mateship and a dash of international fame through their Russian choir - despite never living in the country or speaking the language. Photo: AFP

The idea of starting a Russian choir in rural Australia began as a vodka-fuelled lark, but five years on a rag-tag bunch of farmers, lawyers and labourers have become unlikely international folk heroes.

None of them speaks Russian, only one has ever travelled to Russia, and absolutely no one would mistake their tiny coastal hometown of Mullumbimby for Moscow.