Comments ~ 2008: November

Brass in Concert.... and some other bits...

What happened to Joe Public?

Thanks for the excellent coverage of Brass in Concert this year guys, and for the retrospetives too – some interesting points of view were brought up by Iwan Fox again.

One of which concerned the entertainment question and the award of points. It set me searching high and low for a letter I remember being printed in Brass Band World magazine in 1996 (February issue 51 to be exact) where the late Cyril Beere outlined the judging policy for the contest.

There he stated: “..from the very begining  it has been the policy at Brass in Concert to see these adjudicators (the entertainment judges) as representatives of Mr & Mrs Joe Brass Band Public. We try to appoint people with different backgrounds, so as to get a cross section of opinion – and musical qualification is not a requirement.”

When did this change I wonder?

Nigel Easter 

4BR statement: No further correspondance on this matter will now be published

Puerile and reckless

I can't think of an uglier more insidious slant to throw at a band than the one made against Fairey Band by Cath Stokes. 

It is without doubt the most puerile and reckless set of comments I have ever seen written and published in any form relating to brass bands.

There is no place for such ignorance in our movement. Last year, Fairey performed a beautiful arrangement from Porgy and Bess and  Ms. Stokes will no doubt be very surprised to learn that Phil Chalk and the band worked really hard to dedicate the whole of their last years Brass in Concert programme to music influenced by the African Diaspora, which was also to be presented by a Black narrator and singer, namely, Mr. Cornelius MacCarthy.

It was only the rules of the contest regarding narrator and performers from outside of the band that made this venture sadly unworkable in the end.

To accuse then a year later the same conductor and band would stoop to the utter depths of taking to the stage in the uniform of one of the most evil organisations ever to infest the planet is indeed an absolute disgrace.

Ian Brownbill 

Unfounded and silly

As Del Boy would say about Rodders "WHAT A PLONKER" That's exactly what this woman is. 

The BiC is a well run contest, with some of the best bands in the world, trying to win a Brass band contest.

No one is stood on the steps of the Lincoln memorial trying to make a political comment. They are stood on the steps of the Sage in Newcastle, enjoying making music and trying to entertain the public.

For this "woman" to insinuate that there is anything other than harmless fun and a passion to win a band contest is abhorrent.

As well as the unfounded and frankly very silly comments from a very silly woman, it must be extremely hurtful to the organisers, who spend year upon year making sure this event gets better.

If she thinks she can organise an event that would rival the BiC without the need to try and entertain, let her get on with it. The movement doesn't need people like her, but it does need good bands like Faireys and it certainly needs people like the Beeres who organise such a wonderful day.

I just hope that when this woman has angered so many people, that they decide the effort isn't worth it anymore, she'll step up to the plate and organise something better.

I doubt it very much.

Chris Lee 

Get a grip

In your own words Kath Stokes..... 

" if you haven't got a brain in your head, put a hat on it"

Maybe you should put a sock in it while you are at it.

Get a grip!

Julie Gray 

Spiteful

Firstly, I would like to point out I have no affiliation to the Fairey Band. I have never played or conducted them. However, I can't help but leap to their defence when I see what this woman has written.
 
Firstly, let’s get things in perspective. Dr. King's incredible speech and the history making election that saw Senator Obama become President-Elect of the USA, are both hugely significant events – not only in the USA, but globally too.
 
The Brass in Concert contest held at the Sage quite honestly wasn’t. And it never will be. It has importance to those involved in playing, organising, listening (Including myself in that), but it’s impact on millions, if not billions, of people is nil. It will not change lives for the better, it will not help people live a fair and equal life, and it won’t stop conflict in the wars we are involved in.
 
So I think it’s fair to say that you have lowered yourself and your argument before you had even made it.
 
As for Fairey taking to the stage dressed as the Ku Klux Klan – I have never heard so much rubbish in all my life (And also I would imagine you are on pretty thin ice legally there too). To me, and all I spoke to, it seemed as though they had come on stage dressed as druids or some other medieval costume. If Kath Stokes’ argument is that we are no longer allowed to where white, you have to wonder if winners of the contest should be stripped of their title!?
 
Fairey are not a Cory or a Grimethorpe at the moment (No one is!). I get the impression they are a very hard working band who are improving from contest to contest, and with that in mind they put together a musical entertainment show that suited them and the contest, maximising their resources. Bravo I say.

Kath Stokes: Invoking Dr. King and President-Elect Obama the way you have and potentially libelling yourself the way you have can only lead me to believing you were having a bad day when writing this letter. That or there is a very bitter reasoning behind your rather spiteful, idiotic rhetoric.

Neil Clark  

Stuart Broadbent

I have just read your article about the sad death of Stuart Broadbent.

I played with Stuart at Hammonds under Geoff Whitham and was instrumental in him taking the job at Fred Rhodes as sales representative in the very early days, being a rep myself he asked my advice.

Stuart was a great guy and a very good cornet player indeed. It is ironic that in this issue you show a pic of the Hammonds band with Stuart in his coffee band uniform. The Band movement will miss him.

Geoff Berwick

Official Fairey Brass in Concert statement

Having just read the potentially libellous statement from Mrs Sandy Smith (Kath Stokes) on your comments page, we would like to issue the following statement:
 
In law, defamation (also called calumny, libel, slander, and vilification) is the communication of a statement that makes a false claim, expressly stated or implied to be factual, that may give an individual, business, product, group, government or nation a negative image.
 
We categorically state that The Fairey Band deny any reference, implied or otherwise that they represented, and were dressed as an organisation that promoted such hatred, during their performance at Brass in Concert.
 
It is an absolute outrage to suggest such an abhorrent notion.  We will, in due course be exploring all avenues open to us to seek redress. 
 
The Fairey Band  

Thrown accusations

I'd like to respond to the comments of Kath Stokes.  Firstly I'd like to say that it is a shame that she did not enjoy our performance, and feels the need to throw accusations about.  

We clearly did not wear the capes to look like the KKK (We enjoy multiculturalism, and even have a foreigner or two in the band!).  

We wore white capes because we couldn't get hold of any cheap black ones.  We did not wear hoods, and no fires were lit.  As for our choice of music, we just wanted our audience to have fun, and I think for the most part we succeeded. 

We had fun too, and in a world where audiences are waning and less people want to play in bands surely this is a good thing.  

As for the band being talentless, I find this personally insulting, and am mildly angry on behalf of my colleagues (I say mildly because some comments you just HAVE to take with a pinch of salt!). 

Are you a player?  Perhaps you could audition to try to bring some talent to the band, which includes so many talentless people such as Mark Bowsie, Mike Eccles, Laura Hirst, Brian Taylor, Lucy Murphy, etc, etc...  I wouldn't normally have responded but this was just too good to turn down.

Chris Pannell 

Together with the ISB

I have just returned from Tesco having purchased a brass band CD that was in the Top 20 Albums!

Congratulations to the ISB for that achievement, I hope "Together" makes The Salvation Army a stack of money with which to address the social needs of this country.
 
On the subject of Brass Bands in the charts, can anyone recall the last time a band CD got into the Top 20?
 
 Greg Davis

How to hang yourself… 

On 28th August 1963 Martin Luther King Jnr stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington and delivered the now famous speech "I have a dream".

On Nov 2nd 2008 - 40 years after the unofficial end of Black American Segregation Barack Obama became the 44th President of the USA.

It was and a struggle that the black people of America conducted on the high plane of dignity and discipline. Obama now brings hope to the future of a new America.

In 1937 the Fairey Band (whose logo is "Excellence in Brass") was established. With such famous conductors as Harry Mortimer, Major Peter Parks, Howard Snell etc and many more the band has won no less than 24 major titles.
 
On 16th November 2008 the Fairey Band took to the stage dressed as the KKK - any high plane of dignity that the history of the band has built up over the last 70 years was destroyed in one flick of a baton.

As for any amount of discipline - none was evident as the music was hardly taxing. If this is the hope and dream for the future that the contest organisers have in mind - then hang me now.

It reminds of an old saying " if you haven't got a brain in your head, put a hat on it" equally so "if you have got a band with talent, dress it up"
 
The only saving grace is that the winning band played "music".
 
I wonder if the organisers will change the name from Brass in Concert to Brass in Costume.
 
Kath Stokes
Holmfirth

4BR Reply:
We think you may just have hung yourself by your own petard…. 

Poor humour from 4BR…

As a regular visitor to and admirer of your website I was disappointed to read the comments included within the live comments of Fodens performance at Brass in Concert - ie "but as balanced as Heather Mills McCartney on a unicycle".

Considering that 4BR is the worlds premier website for brass bands and that whoever was responsible for at least some of the live comments was quite willing to criticise a number of bands at their attempts at humour ... can I suggest that he/she gives very serious consideration to their own attempts at so called humour before entering them on such a popular website!

Surely 4BR would agree that comments such as these do nothing to enhance their reputation and could prove very offensive to those who read them.

David Kay  

YBS clarification

I don't usually feel the need to comment on articles written by 4BarsRest contributors but I felt that a little clarification was needed on the YBS Trail write up. Malcolm Wood so eloquently wrote:

"As I discovered, the original plan was for Benjamin Tubb to compose repertoire for the band, but with his departure the whole concept of the programme had to be looked at again."

I would just like to stipulate that my departure from the YBS band had no consequent result regarding the changing of the concept of the programming at Brass in Concert 2008. My commission for a piece of music for YBS to play at BiC was not a hidden secret, it was announced on 4BR and was the headline of the YBS website for several months.

Subsequently "Hallelujah, that Saint can Swing!" was produced, a no-holds barred funk-fest and an ideal opener. It was rehearsed in late August with positive comments and put in the pad until closer to the contest. Mid-September, and in the few rehearsals before leaving YBS, the band was told that we would be opening with "Goldcrest", which was eventually used as the opener without as much as a phone call or explanation as to why my piece was not getting player. 

I was also asked to arrange the finale from Shostakovich's 5th symphony for an finisher, which in these rehearsals also appeared to be forgotten, favoured for "Peel Park" from the "Lowry Sketchbook", a comedy item that I had commenced for the band was also ignored.

For the record, I would just like to say that leaving YBS wasn't an easy decision, and as far as I was aware was an amicable split. I said that if needed I would gladly finish and edit the items they had asked from me (as the opener was written for the players in the band when I was asked in July) and when I was asked if wanted any of my compositions back I declined and urged them to play them and keep them.

I know this is a little petty, but read in the wrong context this quoted sentence paints me out to be a dodgy character and my reputation does not need battering at this early stage in my career.

I really do wish YBS all the luck in the future.

Benjamin Tubb 

Great CD reviews

As a regular reader of 4BR, can I congratulate you on your latest batch of CD reviews.

Honest, informative and humorous – especially the last few releases. No punches pulled either. If its good you have said so, if it falls short, you have pointed that out too.

It makes a change from other publications which seem to just award releases the highest marks possible or don’t criticise their own ‘in house’ releases.

It may not make you popular in some quarters I’m sure, but it is a refreshing change.

Keep it up!

Ian Felling 

How to write to your MP
 
Just a thought but you might wish to publicise that writing to your MP is actually fairly straight forward and quick through http://www.writetothem.com/  You just need your postcode and a valid email address.
 
As well as our top bands providing world class musical excellence, well run local bands can and do play an important role in society and put back in more than they take out through youth and community schemes and local performances etc.

A good example is Shepherd's Band in York who have over 100 players on their books, both young and old, playing in 3 bands catering for the wide range of playing levels. Brass Bands should therefore be cherished and supported by society wherever possible.

Perhaps this is the central message that our movement should be trying to get across to those in power.

Peter Jones 

Men 101, women 9
 
That's the number of men and women respectively invited by your 'Dinner Guests' writers to their fantasy dinner parties. 

And of the nine women, four are the contributors' wives or partners who might reasonably expect to be present anyway!  Perhaps all the other women are too busy in the kitchen to get to the table?
 
If there is a student of brass band sociology out there, looking for a fruitful subject for their thesis, this might be it!
 
Jim Yelland
Hinckley 

Salute to errors?

Has it registered with anyone yet that if you order a new set of parts and score for Salute to Youth (top section regional test piece) you get a reset version with errors galore?

Those of us with an original set can compare and correct but those without need to be warned. Expect copious errata.

Peter Hartley
Bournemouth 

Thanks Dave

We would like to give our thanks to David Ashworth for the excellent band training weekend he gave us in September.  David came to Suffolk with his wife Paula to spend a weekend of band training with the Waveney Valley Brass Ensemble, we are an eight piece group. 

David spent hours of rehearsal from the Friday night through to the Sunday morning followed by an hour’s concert on the Sunday afternoon in Lound Church, Lowestoft which is next to Lound Village Hall where we rehearse each week. 

The concert was a great success, with us performing several pieces that we had only viewed from the beginning of the rehearsals on the Friday evening, with all the proceeds of the afternoon going to the Church Funds. 

David thank you, and we are all looking forward to future events.

Waveney Valley Brass Ensemble 

Major help

In the comments section of the 4th November, C. Ingham wrote: ‘Could you help me to obtain a copy of the Keith Hollinshead 1994 publication' ‘The Major and his Band'
 
Keith lives in the Wigan area close to Pemberton Band, and Brian Halliwell has his address if you could forward my e – mail address
 
glfthebass@gmail.com
 
Mr Ingham can contact me and I can see how I can help..
 
George Fairhurst 

Keep up the good work 

Thanks - I really enjoy your web site; it keeps me up to date with banding around the country

The new page format works well, too - nice clean look to it

Suggestion on site navigation - I miss the ability to easily return to the 'home' page from some of your inner pages when I'm browsing the site. I think the old format pages did have a 'home' link. Also, have you considered breadcrumbs?

Best regards and keep up the good work

Dave Johnston

4BR Reply:
We always appreciate comments about the site and how you think it can be improved. To return to the homepage at anytime, just click on the 4barsrest logo. Further improvements will come along over the next few months. 

Pontins positivity?

I feel that I need to respond to your comments from the First Section retrospectives at Pontins. 

If you were one to motivate players I would certainly leave!

I have played for the Chalford Band now for 7 years and enjoy every minute. We work hard as a team with an MD who knows how to motivate us thank goodness.
 
The only mention we ever have from 4BR is that we have 'come a long way' as in distance, but I think we know that. We did win in 2006 and even then it seemed to be a result that you were not in agreement with.

Thank you for mentioning the car crash, I do however sense from your writing that yet again we did not deserve our position.

I know I felt so happy on the day we loved our performance and I wondered if you had read the comments from the Adjudicators? Great comments - perhaps you would like to access our website to read them.
 
We really do value your comments negative and positive. The most depressing thing was the negativity in your writing; I also enjoyed listening to other bands. Winning for us is NOT the be all and end all of competing and I feel the comment 'money for very old and scraggy musical rope' unjustified.
 
I would never normally comment and it shows how depressed and upset I am and I am sure others will feel likewise, though this is only my opinion.

The other very positive issue I would like to point out is that our main kit percussionist won the youngest player award and was outstanding, I would like to see other 12 year olds achieving that, something perhaps 4BR could be positive about.
 
I welcome your response

Helen Acock 

Big T remembered

It was indeed sad to hear of the death of Terry Ince, a friend for almost 40 years. Terry had been troubled with heart problems for a number of years, but he never seemed to let it get him down, keeping a cheery face whenever you met him.

I would bump into him regularly around lunchtime, out with his grand children chatting to friends in our local town centre. He always had a good “tip bit” to gossip on or a good story to tell.

I first met Terry in the early seventies when I joined Prescot Band. Terry had left the Grenadier Guards and was working on some very large construction projects.

Eb Tuba was his passion and he played until the demise of his beloved Prescot Band in the mid nineties. He gave up playing then and concentrated on officiating at major brass band championships.

During our friendship, Terry kept a keen eye on my career in bands and whenever he could he would accompany me to rehearsals and concerts. Terry was never one to stand still and would get involved, helping to load the van and coach and even driving the van for Fodens on the odd occasion.

At Prescot he took on the role of secretary and was the major delegate of the band representatives that met with Fred Pontin to discuss the possibility of running a brass band contest at the Ainsdale Camp near Southport.

It was pure “opportunity knocks” - no one had any experience of running a contest and at the time, the band had a contract to play at the camp on Sunday afternoons throughout the summer season and due to the hit with “Campers” the concerts were extended for a further number of years.

During the first season, Fred Pontin literally dropped in by way of helicopter to listen to the band, after which he asked to see the bands committee to discuss his idea. Who could have envisaged how the contest would eventually evolve, from such humble beginnings.

Terry was a key figure and administrator in the success of the Pontins Championship and worked hard behind the scenes as part of a team led by Christina Lawton.

Such was the success, the staff involved became very experienced administrators and have extended their expertise to manage other major contesting events.

This was no more evident, than when Harry and Margaret Mortimer visited the contest and being so impressed with the ease in which the team operated, decided to channel some of the personnel involved to assist in running the British Open Championship.

Consequently, it was at the major championships, where you could guarantee to see “Big T” as Terry was known to everyone, officiating in various roles in his usual effervescent, professional and gentlemanly way.

He made friends very easily due to his pleasant persona and these friendships extended over many years to all parts of the UK and Northern Ireland.

He would speak affectionately about lots of people associated with brass bands and I am sure all who knew him will sadly miss him.
 
Bernard Logan 

Bickershaw remembered

I have read your article about Rowland Jones and was especially interested in the references to 'Bickershaw' including the cornetist Jack Mawdsley shown in the photo of the band in 1946. 

I received cornet tuition from Jack's younger brother Willie when he was Principal Cornet for the Pressed Steel Co. Band (Southern Areas Championship Section).

Could you help me to obtain a copy of the Keith Hollinshead 1994 publication' ‘The Major and his Band' and help me to find out about the history of Jack Mawdsley who I believe was an excellent cornetist.

Incidentally I later became the Principal Cornet of the Pressed Steel Band at the age of 21, a post that I held for 7years during which I was acquainted with David Read (another of  your subjects) when he was assistent cornet to Gwyn Davies of Morris Motors Band.

I hope that you can help me or direct me to someone who can.

C. Ingham 

4BR Reply:
If anyone can help, please let us know 

Black Magic

I feel I must write a letter to 4BR comments in respect to with my recent visits on two separate occasions with Black Dyke Band.

On Saturday 25th October I attended the concert at Derngate Theatre, Northampton and was just more than impressed by the presentation by the band and their conductor Nick Child's. It was so very professional.

Nick Child's gave a great insight to what each piece was about and you just knew it was going to be played to a really high standard. Throughout the concert the band showed why they are the National Champions - each piece was played as if they were competing at the finals and going to win the contest.

All the soloists, Richard Marshall, Brett Baker, Sandy Smith and David Thornton with contributions from Alexander Kerwin were just great. Nick Child's had the audience in his hand it was what you call a real class concert -just awesome from first to last note played.

I was also in Yorkshire for my holidays of that week and went to Black Dyke's practise on Monday 27th October.

It was a great experience to hear the National Champions in a practice as well showing also what a great friendly bunch of people they really by making mef more than welcome for the 2 hrs practice. Something I will never forget.

I would just like to say through your website: "Thank You Black Dyke & Nick Childs for 2 evenings of pure magic!"

Ian James Perks

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