THE Soldiers created history by being the first group of serving soldiers to hit the British pop charts.

They remain soldiers first and foremost, having served in Afghanistan, Iraq and Kuwait, and can be called up at any time, although right now they are on a different kind of tour, playing the Grand Opera House, York, on Sunday night.

In the ranks are Sgt Maj Gary Chilton, 43, Staff Sgt Richie Maddocks, 39, and Lance Cpl Ryan Idzi , 26, who will be performing songs from their three albums: Coming Home, the fifth biggest-selling British album of 2010; Letters Home; their second Top Ten album of that year; and 2012’s The Soldiers.

Sales for the first two exceeded 800,000, helping to raise more than half a million pounds for army charities, and their fund-raising continues with their self-titled latest album.

First touring in 2007, The Soldiers were the brainchild of the management team of Nick Patrick and Jeff Chegwin, brother of presenter Keith. “Because of the Army being in the public eye, both good and bad, they said ‘Let’s have some singing soldiers,” recalls Staff Sgt Richie Maddocks. “We’d each performed individually and were then put together as a group.We already knew each other anyway because being in the British Army you tend to know each other.”

Their momentum was immediate when issuing their debut album. “It went to number four in the Christmas chart, ahead of Cheryl Cole, ahead of Michael Jackson,” says Richie, beaming at the memory.

Ever since, they have had to balance work and play, military duty and singing. “It’s been difficult; it still is. We’re serving soldiers and proud of that, and we’ll always be serving soldiers, but we’re also proud of what we’ve done with The Soldiers, raising money for army charities.”

To combine a soldier’s and Soldiers’ duties, Richie, Gary and Ryan tend to record in the summer. “That’s when we’re on leave, and for the tours we save up our leave during the year to play the concerts,” says Richie.

“My wife, Nicci, has been really supportive and has been happy to miss out on holidays, but for me it’s always about getting back home to see my wife. I’ll be 41 this June and in September, it’ll be 25 years since I joined the Army.”

Richie served in the Gulf War in 1991 and received his Gulf Medal for serving months there, being presented with it while posted at Catterick for two years. “It was a difficult time; I was serving as a medic at the age of 18,” he says. “The training we get is second to none. It kicks in and you just get on with the job. It’s only later you reflect on it and deal with it. When you’re back with your mates, you talk about it over a cup of tea or a beer at home.”

Whether playing clarinet in the Band of the Grenadier Guards in the Olympic Stadium at the closing ceremony of the 2012 London Olympic Games, or taking part in The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee parade at Buckingham Palace, variety is the spice of life for soldier Richie.

Now he is on the road in The Soldiers’ “Up Close Tour”. “We like the audience to have a chat with us,” he says. “What we do is just sing some good songs. We’re not Take That, we’re not Westlife; we’re just three squaddies at the end of the day, and we like to have a sing and a laugh.”

• The Soldiers play Grand Opera House, York, on Sunday, 7.30pm. Box office: 0844 871 3024 or atg.tickets.co.uk/york