The amazing youngsters of Dobcross Youth Band have just completed an incredible 24-hour non-stop rehearsal to help raise funds for their forthcoming trip to Belgium and France in August.

It's believed that the attempt is a world record for a brass band, and saw the players all aged below 18 start blowing at 12.30pm on Friday afternoon and deliver their final chord exactly 24 hours later.

Media attention

Their efforts also gained widespread media attention, with pictures taken by Lorne Campbell published in both the 'The Times' and 'The Daily Telegraph' newspapers on Saturday.

Band Secretary Jenny Wood told 4BR that the band has now exceeded their fund raising target of £3,000, whilst the youngsters were helped along by a small army of parents, family and ex-member player volunteers, as well as support from the local community.

Exhilarating experience

"It's been an amazing, exhilarating experience,"she said. "We started with a small concert which featured our very youngest players in our beginners group in a small concert performance, and then just carried on with our training band members and our youth band players.

We soon lost count of exactly how many pieces we played, but the enthusiasm and the will power of the youngsters was fantastic — especially in the middle of the night!"

We soon lost count of exactly how many pieces we played, but the enthusiasm and the will power of the youngsters was fantastic — especially in the middle of the night!Band Secretary, Jenny Wood

Camp beds and mattresses

Jenny revealed that camp beds and mattresses were set up for players to get some sleep between shifts, whilst local restaurants provided potato pies and bacon butties to keep energy levels up.

"The response to our Just Giving page has been incredible and we thank everyone for their support. The youth band can now look forward to an amazing trip to Belgium where they will play at the Menin Gate and then go on and enjoy time at Disneyland Paris, so it's going to be a trip to remember."

However, Jenny did point out that after the last chord was played, the first announcement was a reminder of the date of the next band practice!

Image copyright of Lorne Campbell