Redbridge Brass conducted by Jeremy Wise produced one of the most significant contesting victories for a London based band for perhaps well over 50 years, by winning the 2009 Butlins Mineworkers Championship in Skegness on the weekend.

Brace

A brace a second place finishes in the set work and entertainment formats gave them the narrowest of winning margins over Hepworth (Cookson Homes) directed by Ian Porthouse, with reigning champions Desford under Russell Gray in third.

It was that consistency over the two legs of the contest which saw the beautiful Warwick Vase and the mammoth £7,000 first prize find its way south to the capital for the first time in its history, after Hepworth could only manage 4th place in the entertainment discipline on Sunday to go with their well earned victory on the set work ‘Harrison’s Dream’ on the Saturday afternoon.

Too much

Desford meanwhile, just left themselves too much to do on the Sunday after coming 5th on Peter Graham’s test piece. Their high class mix of entertainment featuring the star talents of solo winning xylophonist Emily Cumby wasn’t enough to secure them a hat trick of Mineworkers titles.

I felt we played very well over the two days and I have nothing but the highest praise for the players efforts. They did everything I could of asked of themMD, Jeremy Wise

Progress

For Redbridge however it further confirmed the progress they have made in the past 12 months under the direction of Jeremy Wise, and follows on from impressive performances at the All England Masters and National Finals in 2008.

They will now look forward to defending their Regional title in Stevenage in a couple of months time with real confidence, as well as building on this significant result at the Grand Shield and Masters later in the year.

Delighted

A delighted Jeremy Wise told 4BR: "This really is a tremendous result for the band, and one that is down to a great deal of hard work and commitment. I felt we played very well over the two days and I have nothing but the highest praise for the players efforts. They did everything I could have asked of them."

The remaining top six places saw Virtuosi GUS pip East Yorkshire Motor Services to fourth place, thanks to gaining 3rd spot on the set work on the Saturday, whilst Wingates, although winning the Butlins prize, and £1,000 as the most entertaining band on the Sunday, dropped to seventh after they lost a placing in the overall results due to them significantly misjudging their timings.

First Section

In the First Section, there was a great deal of confusion over the final placings in the play off to decide the eventual champions from the split 26 band field of contenders.

However, the organisers ensured that the minor placings were sorted out, although there was no confusion over the destination of the £1,500 top prize, which was won in fine style by Blackburn & Darwen conducted by Nick Sheppard.

There was also a hugely encouraging result for the newly formed Cornerstone Brass, a band made up of Salvationist players from Yorkshire, conducted by Gavin Lamplough, whilst the final podium spot was taken by VBS Poynton under Kevin Gibbs.

After the organisers had scrutinised the placings again from the four adjudicators in the play off, it was Hebden Bridge who took fourth place ahead of Stocksbridge and Foresters Brass 2000.

Second Section

A highly enjoyable Second Section contest also saw victory go to a band from London & the Southern Counties, with a delighted East London Brass conducted by Jayne Murrill taking the honours and the £1,500 top prize.

Their performance of Rieks van der Velde’s colourful test piece, ‘Crusades’ saw them snatch the title from Kippax, conducted by Colin Hardy, who had set the marker to beat off the number one draw earlier in the day. In third place came the improving Dodworth MW Band directed by Eliott Darwin.

The win for East London Brass also gave Jayne two first prizes on the weekend too, as she was also playing solo trombone with Redbridge in the Championship Section, whilst victory for the revitalised band also sets them up with confidence ahead of the Regional Championships in Stevenage in a couple of months time.

Third Section

Unfortunately the bands in the Third Section had to battle somewhat against the man made elements in the Centre Stage venue on the Saturday morning, as the organisers seemingly had failed to put on the heating overnight.

Thankfully, there were a whole host of warmly played renditions of the set work, ‘Haydock Variations’, the hottest of which came from Shirebrook Miners Welfare conducted by Mark Wilkcockson.

They retained their Butlins title in splendid fashion ahead of two strong contenders in the form of Stamford Brass conducted by Robert Prew and Fulham Brass, directed by Simon Jones (who also played for Redbridge too!)

Fourth Section

There was a keenly fought contest in the Fourth Section too, where Eccles Borough conducted by Les Webb showed just how much they enjoy making the trip from the outskirts of Manchester to Skegness each year, by retaining the title they won in 2008.

Their performance of Philip Sparke’s ‘The Four Noble Truths’ was enough to take the £1,500 top prize ahead of second placed Ireland Colliery (Chesterfield) directed by Ian Knapton, who improved on last year’s third place, and Backworth Colliery conducted by Duncan Beckley.

Youth Section

Finally there was a fine display of music making in the Butlins Youth Championship which took place at the Reds Theatre on the Sunday morning.

Three fine performances were adjudicated by Lynda Nicholson and Brian Buckley, and it was a splendid performance from Youth Brass 2000 under the direction of Petr Collins that won the day, the title and the £1,000 top prize, from Shirland Welfare Training directed gy Andrew Dennis, with Coleshill Town Youth under the command of Stephen Fagg in third.

4BR was in listening to all the bands over the weekend, and full retrospectives of each contest will appear on the site a little later this week.

Results:

Championship Section:

Venue: Centre Stage, Butlins Skyline Resort
Date: Saturday, 17th January
Draw: 12.00 noon (Saturday)
Commence: At conclusion of Third Section
Test Piece: Harrison’s Dream (Peter Graham)
Adjudicators: Philip Sparke & Alan Morrison

Date: Sunday 18th January
Draw: During Lower Section results on Saturday evening
Commence: 9.30am
Adjudicators: Philip Sparke & Philip Harper
Compere: Frank Renton

Results:
(Set Work/Entertainment = Total)

1. Redbridge Brass (Jeremy Wise), 12/1, 2nd place+2nd place=4pts
2. Hepworth (Cookson Homes) (Ian Porthouse), 5/8, 1+4=5pts
3. Desford Colliery (Russell Gray), 10/4, 5+1=6pts
4. The Virtuosi GUS Band (John Berryman), 11/9, 3+6=9pts
5. East Yorkshire Motor Services (Jason Katsikaris), 3/5, 4+5=9pts
6. Carlton Main Frickley Colliery (Allan Ramsay), 9/7, 6+7=13pts
7. Wingates (Andrew Duncan), 4/10, 7+3=10pts*
8. SWT Woodfalls (Dr Nicholas Childs), 1/12, 9+8=17pts
9. Yorkshire Imperial Urquart Travel (David Evans), 6/2, 8+12=20pts
10. United Co-op Milnrow (John Ward), 2/1, 12+9=21pts
11. Skelmanthorpe (John Roberts), 7/6, 10+10=20pts*
12. Thoresby Colliery (Martin Heartfield), 8/3, 11+11=22 pts

Best soloist: Emily Cumby, Xylo, Desford
Most Entertaining Band: Wingates
Highest placed Mining Band: Desford Colliery

* Two bands incurred time penalties by playing over the 23 mins total plus 60 sec buffer. Skelmanthorpe played 25’27’’ and Wingates played 26’58’’. Each of these bands therefore automatically lose one place in the overall standings.

Final positions will be derived by the aggregate placings of the Set Test Piece and the Entertainment Contest.

In the event of a tie, the placings of the Set Test Piece will take precedence.

First Section:

Venue: Reds, Butlins Skyline Resort
Date: Saturday 17th January
Test Piece: Hostile Skies (Richard Grantham)
Draw: 8.45am/9.00am
Commence: 10.30am
Adjudicators: Section A: Frank Renton & Paul Norley
Adjudicators: Section B: Denis Wilby & Philip Harper

The top three bands from each section will challenge for the title in a play off. The Play Off will take place as soon as possible in the Reds Theatre when Section A & B have concluded. All four adjudicators will be in the box together for the Play Off.

Play off results

There has been much confusion surrounding the 1st Section results with those being announced off stage on Saturday evening being incorrect. Throughout the day we have posted several different versions following discussions with the contest organisers. The results list below is the one made by Frank Renton off stage on Sunday evening at the results ceremony for the Championship Section.

1. Blackburn & Darwen (Nick Sheppard), 1
2. Cornerstone Brass (Gavin Lamplough), 2
3. Vernon Building Society Poynton (Kevin Gibbs), 3
4. Hebden Bridge (Dennis Hadfield), 6
5. Stocksbridge (Miles Davison), 4
6. Foresters Brass 2000 (Mike Fowles), 5

Highest placed Mining Band: GT Group Peterlee

Competing Bands:

Section A:

Play off: Cornerstone Brass (Gavin Lamplough), 11
Play off: Foresters Brass 2000 (Mike Fowles), 3
Play off: Hebden Bridge (Dennis Hadfield), 12

4. Haverhill Silver (Mark Ager), 10
5. Gresley Colliery (Nigel Boddice), 2
6. United Yorkshire Coop (Simon Kerwin), 9
7. Markham & District Colliery (Nigel Seaman), 5
8. Johnstone Silver (Raymond Tennant), 7
9. Pontardulais Town (Burns Pet Nutrition) (Paul Jenkins), 8
10. Barton Town (Gary Oglesby), 4
11. The Cawston Band (Colin Swaep), 1
12. Bedworth Brass (N/K), 6
13. Ibstock Brick Brass (Ken Ferguson), 13

Section B:

Note: The adjudicators in Section B for some reason placed bands differently to those in Section A. Placings shown here will appear two places lower than shown on their adjudications.

Play off: Blackburn & Darwen (Nick Sheppard), 9
Play off: Stocksbridge (Miles Davison), 3
Play off: Vernon Building Society Poynton (Kevin Gibbs), 13

4. Sandhurst Silver (Ian McElligott), 4
5. Meltham & Meltham Mills (Stuart Fawcett), 1
6. GT Group (Peterlee) Stephen Malcolm, 10
7. Carlton Brass (Walter Ritchie), 7
8. Langley Band (Cliff Parker), 2
9. Denham Hendon Brass (Gordon Davies), 8
10. Hopkins Blidworth Colliery (Kevin Steward), 12
11. City of Coventry Brass (Stephen Cooper), 5
12. NW Ellington Colliery (TBA), 11
13. Foss Dyke Band (Andrew Keegan), 6

Second Section:

Venue: Lakeside Butlins Skyline Resort
Date: Saturday17th January
Draw: 8.30am
Commence: 10.00am
Test Piece: Crusade (Rieks van der Velde)
Adjudicators: Derek Southcott & Peter Roberts

Results:

1. East London Brass (Jayne Murrill), 16
2. Kippax (Colin Hardy), 1
3. Dodworth MW (Elliott Darwin), 18
4. Middleton (Matthew Stringer), 15
5. Holme Silver (Duncan Beckley), 17
6. Haslingden & Helmshore (David Holland), 20
7. Becontree Brass (Graham Chambers), 6
8. Alder Valley Brass (Roger Burke), 7
9. Strata Brass (David Hirst), 12
10. The Matlock Band (Roger Jepson), 11
11. The Flixton Band (Alan Hobbins), 9
12. Rockingham (Graham O’Connor), 13
13. Shirland Welfare Band (Andrew Dennis), 14
14. Grange Moor (John Ingman), 4
15. Lewis Merthyr (Gareth Pritchard), 3
16. Frickley South Elmsall (David Nichols), 21
17. Chinnor Silver (David Pegram), 10
18. Leicester Cooperative SMW (Graham Jacklin), 2
19. Yiewsley & West Drayton (Christopher Cole), 5
20. South Yorkshire Police Band (Leigh Baker), 8
21. Delph (Phil Goodwin), 19

Highest placed Mining Band: Dodworth Colliery

Third Section:

Venue: Centre Stage, Butlins Skyline Resort
Date: Saturday 17th January
Test Piece: Haydock Variations (Stuart Pullin)
Draw Time: 8.15am
Commence: 10.00am
Adjudicators: C Brian Buckley & Tony Swainson

Results:

1. Shirebrook MW Unison (Mark Wilcockson), 7
2. Stamford Brass (Robert Prew), 5
3. Fulham Brass (Simon Jones), 9
4. Hitchin Band (Craig Patterson), 3
5. Garforth Brass (Steven Bailey), 10
6. West Yorkshire Police (Gary Clegg), 6
7. Pemberton Old JJB (B) (Peter Ashley), 1
8. Dunstan Silver (Sue Murrill), 11
9. Waterbeach Brass (James Utting), 2
=10. Kirkby Colliery Welfare (Stephen Berrill), 8
=10. The Watford Band (Richard Graves), 4
MacTaggart Scott (Loanhead) (Alan Fernie), w

Highest placed Mining Band: Shirebrook MW Unison

Fourth Section:

Venue: Crazy Horse Theatre, Butlins Skyline Resort
Date: Saturday, 17thJanuary
Test Piece: The Four Noble Truths (Philip Sparke)
Draw: 9.15am
Commence: 11.00am
Adjudicators: Lynda Nicholson & Simone Rebello

Results:

1. Eccles Borough Band (Les Webb), 18
2. Ireland Colliery (Chesterfield) (Ian Knapton), 3
3. Backworth Colliery (Duncan Beckley), 11
4. Maltby Miners Welfare (Terry Clifford), 17
5. Whitwell Brass (David Fretwell), 9
6. Bestwood ‘Black Diamonds’ (Brian G Draper), 2
7. Tewkesbury Town (Nigel Morgan), 16
8. Thoresby Colliery Youth (Christine Gent), 12
=9. The Melton Band (Graham Sutton), 5
=9. Thurcroft Welfare (Ken Vernon), 1
=9. Rivington & Adlington (Malcom Wilson), 6
=12. Banovallum Brass (Steve Ingham), 10
=12. Swineshead Silver (Simon Drew), 13
=14. Dronfield CMW (Alan Needham), 14
=14. Royston Town (Steve Earley), 8
16. Linthwaite Band (Chris Askew), 7
=17. Kingsway Printers Cleethorpes (Steven Askew), 15
=17. Pleasley Colliery Welfare (David Cutting), 4

Highest placed Mining Band: Ireland Colliery (Chesterfield)

Youth Championship:

Venue: Reds Theatre, Butlins Skyline Resort
Date: Sunday 18th January
Draw: Before the contest weekend
Commence: 11.00am
Adjudicators: Lynda Nicholson & C Brian Buckley

Programme Content: March, Sacred Item & Own Choice item (not to exceed 20 minutes in duration)

Results:

1. Youth Brass 2000 (Peter Collins), 1
2. Shirland Welfare Training (Andrew Dennis), 2
3. Coleshill Town Youth (Stephen Fagg), 3