Composers Messages and Early 1990's

Composers’ messages received by Grimethorpe Colliery Band – winter 1992

Although the majority of the band would be out of work in the not too distant future, all the players vowed to carry on playing with Grimethorpe. For a while the band were left with only a token financial support and their future looked uncertain. However, a board of trustees was formed to manage the finances and steer Grimethorpe through a very difficult period. Grimethorpe Colliery closed in 1993 and financial sponsorship from British Coal ended in 1994. Then in 1995, RJB Mining Plc and their Chief Executive Richard Budge became the band’s saviours with a sponsorship deal for an initial three year period. The band is still sponsored by the Company but the name has been changed from RJB Mining to UK Coal after the departure of Richard Budge from the company.

Through all the media coverage, the band were booked for three concerts from the 23^rd to the 25th November 1992. There’s nothing unusual in that, but this was to be as one of the support groups for the international pop group The Beautiful South in Birmingham NEC, Wembley Arena and the Sheffield Arena playing to 14,000 at each venue, with some of the members actually backing the Beautiful South in a few of their songs.

A national news paper the “News of the World” took an interest in the bands predicament and got involved by releasing a single called “The Miners Prayer” which included, Ruby Tuesday, Organ Symphony, Ravenswood and Paganini Variations. Another single was also released with the pop group “The Woodthieves” with the band backing on a track called “The Day the North Left Town”.

The following year the band got booked for 70 concerts and this took some reducing, even now the band are doing 50-60 concerts / competitions a year and has a full concert list a year in advanced.

In 1993/1994 Frank Renton hit on an idea for a new radio show, so in conjunction with BBC Radio 3, shows were recorded entitled “Stars in Brass”. The format was six half hour shows recorded at BBC Studio 7 in Manchester and Studio 1 Pebble Mill in Birmingham with each show having a different star from the Brass Band, Big Band and Jazz World.

As Frank explained, “…the whole point of the series is to bring together great musicians who have made their reputations in other areas of music, and see them, with a Brass Band creating different sounds and styles”.

The stars in the series were, Nicholas and Robert Childs, Maurice Murphy, Don Lusher, Guy Barker, Gordon Campbell and the brilliant Derek Watkins, screeching in the gods on “We’ve only Just Begun”. Needless to say that excerpts from the series were used to make a CD entitled “Stars in Brass”.

In 1995, Major Peter Parkes became Professional Musical Director and Garry Cutt became Resident Musical Director in a three year partnership deal.  Also in this year the band moved into new premises in the Acorn Centre in the village of Grimethorpe. These premises, offered by Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council, are part of a regeneration project funded by European grants in response to industry closure, and are located in the refurbished Coal Board Area Headquarters buildings. The Major left the band in 1999 where Garry Cutt took over the mantle of Professional Conductor.