The initial Opera House reception that greeted the announcement of Oldham Band (Lees) Grand Shield victory may have been somewhat muted, yet about 15 minutes or so later on the concourse of the Winter Gardens, the celebrations were raucously fortissimo.

That was when conductor John Collins and his players started what was sure to be a long night of revelry accompanied by the famous old trophy and the certainty that they will be heading to Birmingham in September to play at the British Open.

20 year journey

20 years after they made their Fourth Section debut playing against Uppermill, Greenfield and Gawthorpe Brass, they will now take to the stage at Symphony Hall against the likes of Foden's, Black Dyke and Treize Etoiles.

They will be joined by Carlton Main Frickley Colliery — a band with 80 more years of history behind it, but who would also have toasted their own runner-up celebrations in ending their short two-year break from the Open.

The bitter taste of disappointment though on 'A Brussels Requiem' for top-six finishers Rothwell Temperance, Friary, NASUWT Riverside and Desford, who will have to make arrangements to head back to Blackpool in 2025 after an absorbing contest of intrigue and contentiousness.

Banding image

Oldham Band (Lees) attracts both in abundance. A banding 'model' unlike any other in the Grand Shield, they wear their obstinance with as much pride as their musical talent.

It is a band moulded in the image of their conductor — brash and bravura certainly, but also impressively hard working and generous in financial and personal spirit.

Speaking to 4BR following day he said: "It's a dream come true. We've built something that may be different to others, but we are still a community band at heart. We'll be heading to Whit Friday and we will still do the local jobs, but when it comes to contesting we want to prove ourselves against the best in the world."

Core

He added: "People may look at the players — but this was 95% the same band that played at the North West Area this year and last year here. There is also a core that played with me when we won the Fourth Section Area contest in 2005, and the Third Section in 2007, the Pontins Second Section title in 2009, Brass at the Guild in the First Section in 2014 and the Senior Cup in 2018.

I know people look at the likes of Roger (Webster), Chris (Gomersall), Ian (Shires) and others who have committed long term to us, but they also forget that this was our first win since 2019. I'm up front about how the band is run, but people forget how much work we have all put in too."

That was revealed in the decision to field seven percussionists as John was insistent that a player who had been unwell could play a part.

"This has been one heck of a difficult piece to master — and I've sought help to conduct it — so no apologies for enjoying the success," he said. "This is a band that is here to stay."

Secure glasshouses

That may well send a shudder down the spines of traditionalists and rivals — but until the current BBP registration system as well as contesting rules are comprehensively overhauled, bands will continue to seek 'help' in different forms to compete against each other here and at different contest events.

At Blackpool it was also noticeable that the Spring Festival banding glasshouses didn't suffer too many broken panes from stones thrown in registration protest from embittered rivals.

The identity parade of imported talent — from European and British Open winners to top flight British Open and National Finals contenders, pro players to one-off signings has become endemic. More and more bands are treading an increasingly fine line between short term success and long-term sustainability.

That is perhaps an argument to resolve for another day — and here the purely musical decision to decide success and failure came down to the opinions of Lynda Nicholson and Morgan Griffiths (replacing David Hirst who had to step down due to ill health).

Balanced

In her pre-results analysis Lynda said that they were looking for the bands that gave a performance of 'A Brussels Requiem' that was dynamically and texturally balanced — noting composer Bert Appermont's wind band background to highlight those that were unable to "bring lines through"in consideration of "sensible tempos that brought clarity to complex rhythms".

"Some got out of control," Lynda added. "We wanted to hear good basic band skills. The most successful did that — good tuning, accuracy, balance etc. There were four outstanding performances, one of which was exceptional."

Exceptional

The exceptional one was to be Oldham Band (Lees).

"A very classy performance underpinned by a great bass and percussion section. Bravo all soloists. Thank you MD", Lynda wrote in her adjudication remarks after they played from the early number 5 draw.

Morgan Griffiths was equally impressed. "Great stuff. So much space for rhythms to speak. So precise (and) full of clarity. Super performance — well done to all."

With Roger Webster providing the ideal 'Best Instrumentalist' 'Innocence' start, it was certainly a performance of impressive note, although as even their MD later told 4BR "it was not perfect".

Still, the flowing narrative picture was maintained; 'In Cold Blood' driven and disturbing, followed by 'In Memoriam' that created a sombre, reflective mood. The impassioned 'A New Day' rounded off a performance that many who heard all 20 renditions felt could well feature in the prizes, if perhaps not a winner.

Graceful Carlton

Allan Withington's graceful take on the score with Carlton Main Frickley drew deep emotional contrasts — with the main solo leads and richly hued ensemble bring drama as well as pathos to bear.

As with the winner it was not perfect (some errant entries), but there was also little doubt that it would also be very much in the mix come the results.

The smile on Ray Sykes' face on collecting the trophy for second place told you just how much it meant to bounce back to the British Open.

Grimace of disappointment

A grimace of disappointment though for Rothwell Temperance — as third place could have been second or even first on another day.

David Roberts' band mixed delicacy (with a wonderful opening) with driven determination (a pulsating energy with 'In Cold Blood') to just fall short on an immediate return to Symphony Hall. The crumb of comfort was that they missed out by the narrowest of margins.

The final 'outstanding performance' came from the opening band of the contest — with Friary Brass providing a very fine marker under Nigel Taken that saw excellent solo leads balanced by detailed ensemble work.

It was a hugely encouraging performance for a band that will now head to the Royal Albert Hall buoyed in confidence.

Contentiousness

Behind them came that contentiousness.

NASUWT Riverside just couldn't quite do enough to push themselves into the qualification frame, despite winning admirers for their approach under Prof Nicholas Childs, whilst Desford were left to wonder just what more they could have done to impress the judges.

With Lynda Nicholson saying that there was that one exceptional performance on the day, those who had heard all or the majority of the performances felt that the remark was referring to the Midlands Area champion, as Ian Porthouse directed a rendition of impressive coherence and understanding.

It wasn't to be. Just where they fell short was in the gift of the opinion of Lynda and Morgan — but fall short it did. Sixth was harsh, but Grand Shield contesting invariably brings varying opinions and results.

Deep-bite chunks

Behind them, 'Brussels Requiem' bared its teeth — taking increasingly deep-bite chunks out of qualification hopes, despite some thoroughly engaging musical approaches.

Little to choose then between the main midfield finishers — from a delighted Skelmanthorpe in seventh down to Wingates in thirteenth. On another day they could have been matched differently, whilst the St Dennis, Fishburn and EverReady just did enough to maintain a safe distance between themselves and the relegation trap door.

Not so Milnrow, Ratby Co-operative, Llwydcoed and City of Hull who will return next year to compete in the Senior Cup.

Oldham Band (Lees) meanwhile will look forward to making their debut at the British Open.

Iwan Fox
Thanks to Chris Thomas

A very classy performance underpinned by a great bass and percussion section. Bravo all soloists. Thank you MD.Adjudicator Lynda Nicholson on Oldham Band (Lees)

Result:

Grand Shield

Test-Piece: A Brussels Requiem (Bert Appermont)
Adjudicators: Morgan Griffiths & Lynda Nicholson
Opera House

1. Oldham Band (Lees) (John Collins)*
2. Carlton Main Frickley Colliery (Allan Withington)*
3. Rothwell Temperance (David Roberts)
4. Friary Brass (Nigel Taken)
5. NASUWT Riverside (Prof Nicholas Childs)
6. Desford Colliery (Ian Porthouse)
7. Skelmanthorpe (Jonathan Bates)
8. Rainford (Sarah Groarke-Booth)
9. Camborne Town (Gareth Churcher)
10. GUS (Dr David Thornton)
11. Redbridge (Chris Bearman)
12. City of Bradford (Matthew Ryan)
13. Wingates (Martin Heartfield)
14. St Dennis Silver (Darren R Hawken)
15. Fishburn (Duncan Beckley)
16. EverReady (Russell Gray)
17. Milnrow (Lee Skipsey)**
18. Ratby Co-operative (Chris Jeans)**
19. Llwydcoed (Joshua Ruck)**
20. City of Hull (Dean Jones)**

*Qualify for invitation to 2024 British Open
**Relegated to Senior Cup

Best Instrumentalist: Roger Webster (cornet) — Oldham Band (Lees)