Enderby Youth Band scoops three awards at national Brass Band Entertainment Contest.

“Very entertaining programme” say judges

“Love and peace” was one of the keynotes of the Enderby Youth Brass Band’s programme at the 26th Action Medical Research Youth Brass Band Entertainment Festival of Great Britain – very appropriate for a contest which this year was held on St. Valentine’s Day.

In the prestigious surroundings of the Opera House in the Winter Gardens at Blackpool the Youth Band presented their Swinging Sixties-themed production, with a whirl of op-art costumes and outrageous wigs, bringing back the era of flower power and tie-dyed kaftans to a highly appreciative audience.

What more appropriate opener could there be but Manfred Mann’s “5-4-3-2-1”, which introduced “Ready Steady Go” in the Sixties – the Band bounded on to the stage, with Musical Director Trevor Hounsome in full mod gear including a Parka, and took the place by storm.

Hardly pausing for breath they then launched straight in to the march “Out of the Blue”, the well-known theme tune to the 60’s T.V. sports programme “Sports Report”, bringing back many memories to those of a certain era, when football matches were only played at 3pm on a Saturday!

Compere Nick Diablo (also known as Ali Smith) then introduced The Beatles – the Enderby Youth Band’s very own Beatles, that is, who played a superb rendition of “Penny Lane”. Paul McCartney, in the guise of soprano cornet player Paul Bosworth stepped forward to play a fantastic solo, before being mobbed by screaming fans, falling at his feet.

After this excitement, the Band took the tempo down a few notches, and the audience were urged by Nick Diablo to ‘relax and float away’ whilst listening to the Band’s sublime version of Delibes’ “Flower Duet”, with the cornets of Paul Bosworth and Vikki Day combining to produce a performance described as ‘serene’ by one of the judges.

Then it was maximum volume once again for Quincy Jones’ “Soul Bossa Nova”, or, as it is better known, the theme to the Austin Powers films. Cue a hilarious spoof of Austin Powers, International Man of Mystery, with tenor horn player Jonathan Whitely in the title role, and flugelhorn player, Jack Pilcher-May as Dr Evil – groovy, baby !

One of the anthems of the Sixties was the Band’s choice for their closing number – the complex “MacArthur Park”, written by Jimmy Webb – hard to believe that all this music and action was compressed in to little more than twenty minutes, but that’s all the time you have to impress the judges in a Contest like this.

And impressed they certainly were. The judges, Stan Lippeatt and Alan Morrison, are both former players with the celebrated Grimethorpe Colliery Band, and so not easily impressed. But Alan Morrison’s view was that the Band’s programme was “well put together and thought out, with excellent soloists and lead players”, whilst Stan Lippeatt added “The stage dress was fab !”

After such a stunning performance by the Band, their supporters were confident that a top three place was in sight, and they were proved right when, to great acclamation, the Band lifted the Cup for second place in the Entertainment Section, only a single point behind the eventual winners, Elland Silver Youth.

 In the Music Section Enderby Youth were awarded the trophy for fourth place, and to make it a hat-trick of awards, soprano cornet player Paul Bosworth received the Paddy Briggs Trophy for the best soprano, for his outstanding solo in “Penny Lane”.

The Band would like to thank the Limelight Theatre Group of dancers for their support and excellent choreography. As Alan Morrison concluded in his comments, “You all achieved great things today, and can be justly proud”.

Videos of the Band’s Blackpool performance will shortly be on the Enderby Youth Band’s You Tube channel