Although Cory Band was unable to successfully defend its European title in Oostende, their television appearance on ITV's 'Tonight at the London Palladium' programme hosted by entertainment star Bradley Walsh just days before they headed to Belgium, may have given them the perfect inspiration to reclaim the trophy in Utrecht next year.
Millions
3.25 million viewers enjoyed their short set under MD Philip Harper, with the Welsh, British Open, National and Brass in Concert champion sharing the spotlight on the night with the cast of the West End musical 42nd Street and US vocal sensation Lea Michele.
There was also comedy from Mark Watson, the Japanese Yamato Drummers and a performance from pop legend Rick Astley — a singer who has made a remarkable comeback almost 30 years after his hit 'Never Gonna Give You Up' reached number 1 in the UK, the USA and 23 other countries.
Blur
"That day is still a little bit of blur,"Philip Harper admitted to 4BR at the recent RWCMD Cory Composition Prize evening in Cardiff.
"To say it was 'showbiz' is under-estimating things. It was non-stop from the moment we got to the London Palladium to the time we finally managed to pack up and head for home. It was a terrific experience — and a real eye-opener to how these programmes are produced.
Having your make-up done in a chair next to Rick Astley was a bit surreal. He was a great bloke though and said he was blown away by the band in our rehearsal."
Sensational
With the Palladium packed with over 2200 people Cory performed part of their Brass in Concert winner 'The World's Greatest Storyteller' set inspired by Roald Dahl, which Bradley Walsh called 'sensational'.
However the most never racking moment for Phil was the impromptu joshing with the host — especially when he picked up the famous European Trophy only to pull out the top for a comic effect 'Brexit' joke.
Grasp
Phil added: "You can just see me making sure the base didn't fall off when he grabbed it! Good job I did. Having such a high profile television appearance just days before the European was a bit different in terms of preparation, but we wouldn't have missed it for the world.
Now we want to do it again next year — with the European trophy hopefully back in my grasp!"
Having such a high profile television appearance just days before the European was a bit different in terms of preparation, but we wouldn't have missed it for the worldMD, Philip Harper
Enjoy the band
You can still see the band's performance at around the 29 minute mark at:
https://www.itv.com/hub/tonight-at-the-london-palladium/2a4379a0011
