Who says a band can’t win off the number 1 draw?
Certainly not Hazel Grove as the band from the North West defied the odds and 'Kelly’s Eye' to take the Fourth Section title on Sunday.
Poker face
Conducted by former Fairey baritone star, and keen poker player Nigel Beasley, Hazel Grove delivered a performance of 'A Royal Mile Suite' by Alan Fernie that could not be beaten, despite the best efforts of 20 rivals who played after them.
Pocket 10s
Nigel was of course understandably ecstatic when he talked to 4BR, and his poker player’s instincts and analysis proved to be perfect:
"It was a bit like being dealt a pair of pocket 10s before we played a note – but after we played I thought we had shown the adjudicators four Aces!"
That was certainly backed up by one of the judges, Ian Brownbill when 4BR spoke to him after the results.
"We knew we heard a good performance off number 1. It was good solid musical playing. The draw didn’t mean a thing – it was a worthy winner."
It was a bit like being dealt a pair of pocket 10s before we played a note – but after we played I thought we had shown the adjudicators four Aces!Hazel Grove MD, Nigel Beasley
Runner up praise
Ian also had praise for the runner up — North West rivals Besses Boys under James Holt, who played as the last band on at number 21 — some seven hours after Hazel Grove.
"They really did come close to the winners," he said – helped in no small part by the contribution of 'Best Instrumentalist', Claire Mumford.
There was also much to commend from the men in the box for third placed Farnworth & Walkden conducted by Peter Ashley, on what proved to be a long and testing set work – so much so that both he and fellow adjudicator Jim Davies felt the overall standard was, '...a little disappointing'.
Worst in 2009
There was certainly no disappointment for the winners however, and 18 months after his band was, as Nigel stated, '...the worse band in the North West — officially' at the 2009 Area Championships, five consecutive victories now means Hazel Grove will be promoted to the Third Section in considerable style.
No wonder the MD was smiling as if he had just won a World Series of Poker bracelet and a million dollars!
Strong trio
With the strong trio of bands from the North West claiming the podium prizes, it was left to Rushden Town from the Midlands to claim fourth place under conductor John Hudson, with a rendition that found favour with many experienced observers in the hall, whilst Downton Brass flew the flag for the West of England with a sterling performance to come 5th under Roland Wright.
Wales continued its good run of form at the finals as the youngsters (and a few older mums and dads) of Upper Rhondda claimed sixth place under the command of Nigel Seaman.
Youthful talent
Behind the top six the standard did fall away a little, although as always at the contest there were a number of bands packed with young players giving their all.
One notable youthful competitor was NASUWT Concert under John Bell making their national debuts to come a battling 15th.
Meanwhile, the intriguing prospect of the composer taking a band at the contest on his own test piece saw Alan Fernie lead a slightly unlucky Langholm Town to 19th place.
Time consuming
On what proved to be a taxing contest in terms of time (with most performances taking around 14- 15 minutes and well over 20 minutes in terms of time on stage) it meant that many bands had a lot of time on their hands at the International Conference Centre.
"We could do with a pre draw to help us," one rather tired looking parent of two small children told 4BR. "We were up at 6.30am and it does become a long drawn out day."
No problems
No problems for Hazel Grove however, and despite a performance that started at 9.30am, the time spent waiting to hear the results some seven hours later was well worth every minute…
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Results:
Sunday 26th September
Test Piece: 'Royal Mile Suite' — Alan Fernie
Adjudicators: Ian Brownbill and Jim Davies
1. Hazel Grove, Nigel Beasley, (North West), 1
2. Besses Boys, Jamie Holt, (North West), 21
3. Farnworth & Walkden, Peter Ashey, (North West), 12
4. Rushden Town, John Hudson, (Midlands), 15
5. Downton, Roland Wright, (West of England), 19
6. Upper Rhondda, Nigel Seaman, (Wales), 6
7. Battle Town, Jon Penton, (London & Southern Counties), 4
8. LGB Brass, Ian Stewart, (London & Southern Counties), 9
9. Dinnington Colliery, Jonathan Beatty, (Yorkshire), 2
10. Trentham, Mike Caveney, (Midlands), 20
11. Dumfries Town, Peter Heyes, (Scotland), 10
12. Stape Silver, Tabby Clegg, (North of England), 11
13. Worsbrough Brass, John Hodgkinson, (Yorkshire), 17
14. Test Valley Brass, Steve Large, (West of England), 3
15. NASUWT Concert, John Bell, (North of England), 13
16. Market Rasen RPC, Alan Needham, (Midlands), 7
17. Shipston Town, Howard Gibbs, (Midlands), 5
18. Hatherleigh Silver, David Hayward, (West of England), 16
19. Langholm Town, Alan Fernie, (Scotland), 8
20. Amersham, Paul Fisher, (London & Southern Counties), 14
21. Seindorf Crwbin, Michael Thorne, (Wales), 18
Best Instrumentalist: Claire Mumford (cornet) — Besses Boys
