Brassed Off!

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On arriving in Japan the band were welcomed to an official reception provided by the Japanese Brass Band Association where there were representatives from 11 bands from around the Tokyo area. After a day off on the Sunday to get over the jet lag, it was down to work. The stars in the series were, Nicholas and Robert Childs, Maurice Murphy, Don Lusher, Guy Barker, Gordon Campbell and the brilliant Derek Watkins, screeching in the gods on “We’ve only Just Begun”. Needless to say that excerpts from the series were used to make a CD entitled “Stars in Brass”. Andy was a chronic diabetic, and at lunchtime had inadvertently missed a meal. His wife had taken their young son out for the day, knowing that Andy was tied up with the contest. In mid-afternoon, Andy suffered a ‘hypo’ and was laid motionless on the kitchen floor until his frantic mother found him at around tea-time. He was rushed to Barnsley General and was later released, but was in no fit state to play an Area Contest. We realised this as we signed on, minus a solo horn player. Andrew Owenson again took over as Resident Musical Director but he did not reign long and resigned his position for the second time just prior to the Summer Season of 1957. The band was again helped out of its difficulties by Bill Foster (by now in his Seventies) until George Thompson was persuaded to take up his old position with the band. He had been conducting a band in Cornwall but he welcomed the opportunity of returning to Yorkshire. Towards the end of the 1950’s things began to improve, mainly as a result of this appointment in 1958. Known as a fine band trainer, Thompson set new standards of musical discipline, re-established the youth band ‘nursery’, and proved to be a source of inspiration to his players throughout his long period with them. Under his leadership, the band’s record at the ‘Open’ Championship of Great Britain was First in 1967 and 1969, Second in 1963, Third in 1960, 1961, 1968 and 1971.

The band entered its first contest in July 1918 at Belle Vue, Manchester and under their professional conductor, J. A. Greenwood, obtained third prize playing ‘The Taming of the Shrew’ by Hermann Goetz. Six conductors came to Grimethorpe between 1917 and 1931 and in 1931 William Foster took over. He was a hard uncompromising man whose solid grit brought the best out of the bandsmen. The first contest under his leadership was on 12th March 1932. The band was unplaced on this occasion but on the 28th March and on the 16th April the band won first prizes under ‘Bill’ Foster. Holden, Stephen (23 May 1997). "Brassed Off (1996) Sentimental Coal Dust With a Brass Band". The New York Times. For theirs isn’t the key relationship in the film. Ultimately, that honour falls to father and son, to Danny and Phil.

On the 17th May 1979, the band gave a concert performance in the Dvorana Lisinski in Zagreb, Yugoslavia. On the 28th July, the band left the UK for a tour of Italy, returning on the 9th August, 1979. The band participated in the Montepulciano Festival in Tuscany and also gave concerts in Florence, Pavia and Turin. This particular tour was the subject of a documentary film called “Arrivederci Grimethorpe” made by Granada Television and which was subsequently shown on most networks in the UK in 1980. Both of these visits were with Elgar Howarth as conductor. Phil: I love the band - we all do - but there's other things in life, you know, that's more important. Danny: Not in mine there isn't. Over the years, the band has performed at many memorial services for distinguished personalities in the country. The ‘first’ on the 16th April 1932 started a run of successes for the band, and it is notable to recall that the band made its first broadcast in late April of that year. Broadcasting continued at varying intervals, until 1941 when the band broadcast on no fewer than eleven occasions. This yearly average was maintained until at least as late as 1950 and 1951. For the record, the fiftieth broadcast was made on the 4th March 1942; the hundredth on the 11th April 1946; and on the 26th January 1951 the band completed its one hundred and forty-second broadcast.

Phil is in a marriage to Melanie Hill’s Sandra that’s feeling the strain of debt, and a bleak future. Not that Danny sees that. The one thing that gets him through, while the world he knows falls apart around him, is his love of music, and his love of the colliery band. Even to the expense of seeing just how much trouble his son is in. The story starts in March 1992 on a spring Sunday afternoon. The day of the Yorkshire Regional Championships at St. Georges Hall, Bradford. This delightfully entertaining comedy treat features hot screen stars Ewan McGregor (STAR WARS EPISODE 1: THE PHANTOM MENACE, MOULIN ROUGE) and sexy Tara Fitzgerald (SIRENS). It’s the critically acclaimed story about two old friends — and ex-lovers — whose surprise reunion turns their lives … and the lives of everyone else in town … hilariously upside down!” Due to the massive success of the Australia/Japan tour in 1999, International Concert Attractions booked the band again for a further tour of Australia in 2001 but this time including concerts on the North and South Island on New Zealand and a one off date in Hong Kong on the way home.The main inspiration behind the band’s emergence into the new music field is Elgar Howarth, a musician with unique experience of composing, conducting and brass playing.

Originally a small Hamlet – Grimms Farm – it became noteworthy at the turn of the century with the discovery of Coal and the establishment of an important colliery. And yet, Grimethorpe’s claim to fame stemmed not solely from the colliery itself, but from the brass band that bears the same name. When the Junior Band was reformed in 1960 it was felt that the band would be extremely fortunate if it found one player in every five years who was good enough to hold down a position in the Senior Band. In its first 16 years, there have been eight players who have seen service with the Seniors. In 1977 the band was involved in seven television ventures, an Everyman programme, a television advertisement, a Granada winning programme and four with singer song writer Peter Skellern, the pianist and vocalist which began the band’s association with the artist. In 1978, the highlights were an award winning recording which sold over 60,000 copies, and a one night show at the London Palladium. This recording entitled ‘Skellern’, was followed by a further recording entitled ‘Astaire’ which sold in excess of 100,000 copies. The band has a Silver and Gold award for the two recordings.In 1986 Grimethorpe (with Sunlife) were the first band to perform at the Kenwood Bowl, Conducted by Geoffrey Brand, finishing with the 1812 Overture, complete with Fireworks. After graduating from Manchester University, Elgar Howarth studied at the Royal Manchester College of Music, working with composers Harrison Birtwistle, Alexander Hoehr and Peter Maxwell-Davies. When first hearing Grimethorpe he said that there was a unique sound from virtuoso players which had not yet been used by the composers with whom he normally worked.