LINGDALE HISTORY 3

It's all about Brass                                                             000204 

‘The Lockwood Band’ the result of Yarm and Lingdale Bands joining forces in the interest of economy. 
Back Row – Adrian Beadnal, Brain Smith, Cath Jackson, Matther Smith, Brian Coleman, Allison Potter, Brain Accerley, Dave Rumney, Graeme Laird, Peter Andrews. 
Second Row – Andrew Wilkinson, Bradley Smith, Nigel Barnes, Fiona Johnson, Kirsty Linkin, Sue Merser, Crawford Hall, Graham Robinson, Stephen Baxter. 
Front Row – Martin Hatfield, Bruce Holloway, David Shawcross, Lesley Reid, John Roberts, Ann Myers, Catherine Hatfield, Brian Tams, John Accerley. 

It’s all about brass 

Then in 1853, there were over 40,000 brass bands playing in the UK, many of which had a vast army of supporters who enthusiastically followed their musicians where ever they were competing in the prestigious brass band competitions. Over 16,000 fans turned up for the Bellevue contest in 1853 and later, in 1937, thirty three special trains and a fleet of motor coaches were hired to bring band supporters to a competition held in Skegness. One musical instrument maker at that time had 10,000 bands on his books. 
All this interest in brass bands had come about with the industrial revolution, when towns began to rise rapidly and the new workers sought recreation in coming together to play music. Many bands therefore were linked to communities, mills and pits, and as a result had working class sympathies and supported campaigns for political reform. 
In 1819 the Stalybridge Old Band was engaged to play at one such political meeting at St Peter’s Field in Manchester which was to become known as the infamous Peterloo Massacre when the Manchester Yeomanry were called in to disperse a 50,000 crowd after the Riot Act had been read. In so doing they left 11 people dead and 400 injured. 
The first brass band contest took place in 1845 at Burton Constable near Hull when five bands competed. Since then band contests have become an integral part of the brass band scene. Competition is fierce and feelings can run high. In 1892 Lincoln supporters chased a judge across country to throw him in a lake after he had read the names of the winners in the wrong order. 
Gradually with the advent of new valve instruments, the standard of performances began rising dramatically and bands such as Black Dyke Mills, Grimethrope Colliery and Hammonds Sauce quickly became household names. 
The North East with its mining connection has produced many bands of distinction and in Cleveland the tradition is being maintained with a number of award winning bands. 
Yet the future is far form rosy. There are no longer 40,000 bands in the country, the figure is nearer 2,000 and many of these are suffering the financial hardship imposed by the increasing cost of running an assembly of up to 27 musicians. 
The Lingdale and Yarm bands were typical of the problem. Both had a long proud history – Yarm player performed at the opening of the Darlington to Stockton railway, but in recent times it began to flounder, as younger members began to move away to work. In East Cleveland financial support of Lingdale disappeared as ICI started to pull out of Teesside, and the future for these two bands looked bleak. The answer was an amalgamation and alliance is surviving well under the new name ‘Lockwood Brass Band’. 
Euphonium player David Shawcross was a young boy of 11 when he first joined the Lingdale 27 years ago “The future is not encouraging for those self supporting bands constantly facing escalating costs. We are continually dreaming up fund raising activities to meet our annual cost of £5,000 but it is not easy”. 
The Lockwood now has 28 members between the ages of 13 – 70 years. Under their Musical Director Nigel Barnes, they will be competing this year in the National Championships qualifying final at Harrogate and will also be taking part in the French Open in June. 
To grasp the scale of the financial problem, equipping a 27 piece band with instruments costs at least £38,000, a tuba cost £4,000 and a trombone over £2,000. On top of this are the additional costs of uniforms, music and renting rehearsal accommodation. 
In the past sponsorship has been the answer, with many bands suffering the indignity of becoming associated with a sauce bottle (Hammonds) or a car battery (Ever Ready). But as one harassed treasurer said – if it pays the bills you swallow your dignity these days. 

Taken from ‘Now & Then’ February 2005 East Cleveland Edition, written by Wilton Price.