Gordon Higginbottom was the superstar horn player of his generation - one whose prodigious talent and appetite for hard graft opened up a pathway for those who he certainly inspired, to follow.

Without him, there would be no Sandy Smith, Owen Farr or Sheona White, let alone the plethora of ambitious exponents of an instrument underappreciated and underutilised for far too long in the brass band medium.     

Talent and hard graft

His talent was obvious; any youngster good enough to attract the attention of the mercurial Alex Mortimer at the great CWS Manchester Band saw to that: But so too was the inherent desire to improve himself - and not just as a player.

His autobiography - candidly written in a friendly, episodic manner, is therefore a story of endeavour and exploration as well as the success and occasional failure of a musician, who through necessity, had to create a professional life for himself and his family. 

It covers the formative years on the treadmill banding circuit to international trips around the globe to play and work alongside world class musicians – taking in Versatile Brass and Yamaha, the great trips and occasional nightmare outings, the people and the players. 

Behind the mellophonium and bumblebee comedy outfit has always been a serious man with a professional reputation to maintain. His ability to separate the two ensured that each was enhanced wherever he went. 

Honesty

What underpins it all though is his honesty.

He knows how lucky he has been - but also how hard he had to work to get the breaks. This is not a tale of a player being handed everything on a plate: Far from it.  

Behind the mellophonium and bumblebee comedy outfit has always been a serious man with a professional reputation to maintain. His ability to separate the two ensured that each was enhanced wherever he went. 

Sharp witted, a touch Machiavellian, occasionally blunt and demanding, he did not suffer fools gladly, but generously recognised in others the traits that made them into world class performers – especially the talent and the work ethic to succeed. 

It’s a book the new generation of ‘entitlement players’ should read to find out just how hard it actually is to become a legend.

Iwan Fox