There have been some surprising facts and oddities that have come to light following the National Finals at the Royal Albert Hall on the weekend.
Ten little facts to bore your friends...
1. Cory’s victory will mean that they will end the year as the number 1 ranked band in the world for the seventh year in a row, with the highest ever accumulated ranking points total.
2. If results go their way at Brass in Concert they could be the first band ever to break through the 2000 ranking points barrier.
3. Theirs was only the fifth victory off the number 13 draw since 1945 at the contest – following Brighouse in 1946 and Black Dyke in 1951, 1961 and 1979.
4. They also won the National the last time an Edward Gregson work was used – back in 1984 with Dances & Arias under Major Arthur Kenney.
5. Meanwhile, Tredegar’s second place means that the two Welsh leviathans are currently the only bands with over 1000 ranking points to their name in the banding world.
6. They also have the odd record of coming runner-up three times at the Albert Hall – each ten years apart – in 1993, 2003 and again this year.
7. Despite Welsh success, both were actually conducted by Englishmen – although the highest placed UK resident English conductor, conducting an English band, was Dave Lea with Jaguar Land Rover in 13th place.
Tredegar also became fifth British Open winner since the turn of the Millennium to come runner-up at the National Finals4BR
8. This year we had a couple of Aussies (David King and Marieka Gray), a pair of Swiss (Michael Bach and Thomas Wyss), a Dutchman (Erik Janssen) a trio of Scots and Welshmen (Phillip McCann, Russell Gray, Alan Duguid; Robert & Nicholas Childs, Paul Holland) and even an Norwegian/Anglo/Francophile in Allan Withington!
9. Tredegar also became fifth British Open winner since the turn of the Millennium to come runner-up at the National Finals, following Cory (2002), Black Dyke (2005 & 2006) and Foden’s (2008).
10. 2013 was the first time since 1971 that both the names of Black Dyke and Fairey were missing from the line up of competing bands.
