It seems the brass band world may well have found itself a new fan in Top Gear's Jeremy Clarkson.

Ferrari

Writing in the Sunday Times about a day out at a local beetroot contest in his beloved Yorkshire, he waxed lyrical about brass bands in a way he usually reserves for a Ferrari sports car...

Bliss

".... But the best thing about a village show is that there’s always a brass band. Brass bands make the best noise in the world.

I have seen the Who. I have seen Pink Floyd. I have seen opera, ballet, piano recitals and the Proms. I have even heard a Ferrari V12 at full chat. But for sheer heart-tugging joy, nothing has matched the brass band I saw performing one chilly day at the National Coal Mining Museum in Wakefield.

It is the soundtrack of the community. The village. The mine. The youth centre. And that’s why it works so well at a village show.

Bending over to peer at something you would never imagine you could possibly find interesting while a group of spotty youths with some trumpets oils your ears with a rendition of Danny Boy — it’s bliss ...."

Mistake

Apart from the obvious mistake of thinking brass bands have trumpets in their ranks (a bit like a brass band journalist writing about the glory of a diesel engined Ferrari car) it is nice to know he likes the sound of a true brass band — whoever they were.

So, if you were the band at Wakefield Mining Museum on the day, we not ask Jezza if he would like to perhaps sponsor you a few bob for a new set of 'trumpets' or ask him for a go in his Ford GT car...

Read the artilce
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/jeremy_clarkson/article6735911.ece