Black Dyke Band

Conductor: Nicholas Childs

Dean Close School, Cheltenham.
Saturday 9th June 2001

The quiet town of Cheltenham is famous for three main things – horse racing (especially when the Irish are in town), spying (the Government has it's HQ on the outskirts) and very well heeled private schools (young ladies of the rich and famous). Also it must be added, has a well deserved reputation for the arts, and as part of this years ongoing programme, Black Dyke were in concert at the very plush and decidedly non comprehensive, Dean Close School.

We last came across Dyke a few months ago in Cardiff where they put together a pretty good programme under the baton of Nicholas Childs, and in the intervening couple of months there has been a considerable sharpening and cranking up of both their concert performances and stage management. In Cheltenham they were red hot.

Nicholas Childs and his players have certainly been putting in the hours practice and on this evidence it is working brilliantly. "Queensbury" was given a polished rendition to start and the overture to "Russlan and Ludmilla" was given a spankingly good whipping through. Roger Webster was on top form with a wicked Harry James "Cornet Concerto" (complete with clip on bell a la Dizzy Gillespie) and the whole cornet section displayed their talents on "Trumpet Blues and Cantabile".

The main chunk of the first half saw a very high quality performance of Malcolm Arnold's "Cornish Dances" and a very slickly choreographed "Berne Patrol". They finished with the exciting "The Battle of Trafalgar". For a first half performance, this had real class and certainly whetted the appetite of the capacity audience for the second.

Off to another slick opening with "Olympic Fanfare", followed by the obligatory plug for CD sales with the "Groundforce Suite". A band may not enjoy doing this time and time again, but just look at the bank balance – people love Charlie Dymock's two good points.

The bands soloists were on top form all night, with Joseph Cook, Brett Baker and David Thornton confirming that Dyke now have a set of cornermen as good as any around, with performances of real style and class with "Largo Al Factotum", "Hailstorm" and "Brilliante". A whisk through "Gaelforce" and "West Side Story" and the obligatory encore of "Toccata in D Minor" saw Dyke end with a flourish. The audience were suitably impressed.

In a couple of months Dyke have really tuned up and are now giving the type of performances that should guarantee full houses, high CD sales and satisfied punters. It also sets out the stall for contest hopes later in the year with the band now displaying a huge rounded tone, detailed neat and clean playing throughout the band and a core of inner players that are very much the equals of the stars on the corners of the band. The back row cornets in particular are a quality bunch of lads who go about their business with an air of confidence and style – that's a sure sign things are looking good for any band.

Dyke are on top form – catch them if you can and stick a fiver on a place in the winners enclosure come the Nationals and the Open.

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