This is the press release for compilation CD as featured on the Alan Titchmarsh show yesterday.
'THE MUSIC LIVES ON NOW
THE MINES HAVE GONE'
THE MINES HAVE GONE'
25 YEARS SINCE THE END OF THE MINERS' STRIKE
THE BEST COLLIERY BANDS TOGETHER ON ONE ALBUM FOR THE FIRST TIME
THE BEST COLLIERY BANDS TOGETHER ON ONE ALBUM FOR THE FIRST TIME
Released: 1 March 2010 on Universal
London, 22 January 2010: Universal Music today announced that the best Colliery bands in the UK have come together for the very first time and will release 'The Music Lives on Now The Mines Have Gone' on 1 March 2010.
The release of the album will coincide with the 25 Anniversary of the end of the miners strike. The 3 March 1985 was a day that saw some of these legendary Colliery bands play as the miners went back to work – they became known as the 'loyalty parade'.
'The Music Lives on Now The Mines Have Gone' is an album featuring the UK's most historic Colliery Brass Bands including the award-winning Grimethorpe Colliery, Kent's Betteshanger Brass, Scotland's Buckhaven & Methil Miners Brass Band, Point of Ayr in North Wales, Carlton Main (Frickley) Colliery, Desford Colliery Band and many more across the length and breadth of the UK. The album will be released on 1 March 2010 on Universal, some 25 years after the end of one of the country's bitterest and most divisive industrial disputes. The mines did close but the music stayed on thanks to the Colliery bands – today a potent symbol of a great heritage, the beating heart of many former mining communities.
The quality of the album is not only stunning proof that these historic colliery bands have deserved to survive for 25 years, but also with each of the bands on the album receiving a royalty from the sales, it will help the dwindling colliery bands of the UK survive for another 25 years to come.
'The Music Lived on Now The Mines Have Gone' will include tracks of classic songs, such as 'Largo from the New World Symphony' to 'Concerto de Aranjuez' as well as some unique choices including 'McArthur Park' and 'He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother'. As is evident on the album, the musicianship of the bands is of the highest order with many of them having toured overseas and reached the finals of the annual National Brass Band Championship held each October at London's Royal Albert Hall.
The Grimethorpe Colliery Band, formed in 1917 in South Yorkshire, achieved international fame from the film Brassed Off (1994), the plot of which was based on Grimethorpe's struggles against pit closures. The band provided the film soundtrack, which was later nominated for a BAFTA award. They have gone on to perform at the Eurovision Song Contest and have recently completed tours in Japan, Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong. In 1970 the band won the National Brass Band Championships and went onto win it a further three times in 1992, 2006 and 2007.
'The Music Lives On Now The Mines Have Gone' is released on 1st Rule Records via Universal on 1 March 2010.
Read more...
Proposed Band Trip
Latest news is that the band is planning a trip to the Albert Camus
School in the Pas De Calais region of France. This is expected to take
place sometinme next year.
Help for Heroes.
Betteshanger Brass Band was proud to present a concert to support wounded British Forces.
The concert was held on a very windy and rain swept Saturday the 14th November at St. George's Church, High Street, Deal.
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| From 2009-11-14 Help for Heroes |
This venue has been much improved in recent times and is an excellent venue both from a performers and an audience point of view. The old wooden pews have been removed since we last played there and replaced with more comfortable individual seats and the lighting has been radically altered giving the event far more atmosphere.
MD Dave Cutting had put together a varied programme and had made a conscious effort not to make the event too sombre. There was an obvious point to the evening and this was not lost but there was also an opportunity for the audience and band to enjoy themselves.
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| From 2009-11-14 Help for Heroes |
The scene was set for the concert with Rimsky-Korsakov’s Cortege from Mlada and followed by the trumpet solo ‘Manhattan’ with yet another excellent performance by Solo Cornet player Nigel Bogue, despite his cold!’
Goff Richard’s ‘Doyen’ followed as did the Euphonium Duo ‘Softly as I Leave You’ which was beautifully played by Dave Mason, fresh from his ‘Best Euphonium’ at Folkestone prize, and his apprentice Benn Lunn.
Next up was the Phillip Sparke arrangement of ‘Cute’ before Keith Davies performed the moving ‘Concierto De Aranjuez’.
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| From 2009-11-14 Help for Heroes |
It was nice to see Fred Thomson playing with the band again and Fred stood in on Second Baritone for the night. Of late Fred has taken something of a back seat from a playing point of view making way, as he puts it for younger players. It is testament to the quality of the band at present that we are able to put in a player of Fred’s quality as a reserve player!
Although it is a little early in the year the band played Fred’s arrangement of ‘Elegy on Away in a Manger’. This decision was taken because of the very emotive circumstances surrounding Fred arranging the piece. I will document these reasons for posterity in a future article but suffice to say that the band always plays this piece with the tenderness and subtlety it deserves.
This was, I believe, the first time many of Fred’s family had heard the piece and they had travelled a significant distance in numbers to support the concert, Fred and the ‘Heroes’.
The first half finished with Excepts from Tchaikovsky’s ‘Little Russian’, quite a blow at the end of the first half, but this exciting piece seemed to ensure that the audience did not disappear during the interval.
The second half opened with ‘Fanfare for the Common Man’ with the front row swapping their cornets for trumpets and set the scene for what was to follow.
We were extremely happy with the assistance of local Soprano singer Margaret Threadgold who joined with the band to perform a very moving arrangement of Michael Kamen’s ‘Requiem for a Soldier’ used in the TV series ‘Band of Brother’s’. This piece had been specially arranged at short notice by Baritone played Dave Alexander to allow the band to accompany Margaret.
‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ changed the mood again before a complete change of mood in the shape of 12th Street Rag. Given that I was one of the three soloists it would be inappropriate to say too much other than the fact that Rosie Cullen and Ian Warner were superb!!!!
We were now into the final part and climax of our concert and began a phase of music to specifically celebrate the young men and women who have sacrificed either their lives or their physical well-being in the conflicts. ‘Hymn to the Fallen’ was followed by ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’
This arrangement saw Nigel Bogue, Ian Warner, Rhys Warner and James Pooley perform the soloist’s part with Margaret Threadgold singing the well known words. I would defy even the most cold-hearted person not to be moved by this rendition which was accompanied by images of the troops who had made the ‘ultimate sacrifice’.
Margaret then led the audience in a rousing rendition of the ever popular and inspirational Jerusalem which preceded ‘Sunset’ performed by Ben Worsforld, James Pooley, Tiffany Adams and Rhys Warner.
The ‘National Anthem’ ended the concert and I, for one, thought that this was completely fitting and should be played at all concerts.
Special thanks for the organisation of this event must go to Band Chairman Karen Griffiths and to Band Manager Nigel Bogue who were the main driving forces behind the event and who spent many hours making the necessary arrangements, and to MD Dave Cutting who has driven the band forward to produce the standard of performance they did on the night.
The band was pleased to welcome, as its guest of honour, the Worshipful Town Mayor of Deal Bill Gardner and thank him for his support.
Thanks too must go to 2235 Deal Air Training Corps who assisted with the evening and who were, as always, efficient, organised and cheerful. This assistance was invaluable and we would like to return the assistance with a concert on their behalf in the future.
Sir Roger Manwood’s Grammar School Combined Cadet Force also assisted and we thank them for their support.
Dave Cutting had laboured long and hard, agonising over the programme, and made his final decisions last Thursday. I had given up hope of being able to produce a programme in time and was surprised to see Band Treasurer Andy Pooley on my doorstep on Friday night looking for all the world like Neville Chamberlain, and clutching a bit of paper. This turned out to be an excellent programme put together by James! Well done James.
The performance was recorded and we hope that the resulting recording will be of sufficient quality to use for a future project and would like to thank the two gentlemen, Mike and Mike, who gave up their time to do this for us and Emma who was a great help in setting up the venue.
Of course we would like to thank Margaret Threadgold who looked and sounded every inch the professional and we sincerely hope to be able to work with her again in the future.
This was a highly successful night in excellent surroundings to an appreciative audience. It was unfortunate that more people had not braved the weather to attend the concert given the nature of the event as all proceeds from this concert will be sent to the 'HELP for HEROES' fund which raises money to assist troops wounded in battle. The fund does not seek to justify the rights and wrongs of war but simply aims to support British troops injured in them.
Nevertheless even though there were some empty seats in the venue the turn out was more than acceptable and the people who had made the effort were treated to some excellent entertainment and contributed to a very worthwhile cause. Read more...
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