Brassed Off and Memorials

Greater world fame came to the band in 1995 with the filming of Brassed Off!

When government policy lead to the painful process of pit closures in the late eighties and early nineties writer/director Mark Herman decided that he wanted to make a movie about the way in which the closures affected the communities and people. The true story of Grimethorpe and its famous band gave him his vehicle and Brassed Off was the result.

The film is set in the fictional mining town of Grimley where the local pit is rumoured to be under threat of closure. While the women maintain a picket line outside the colliery gates the men wrestle with their conscience over whether to keep the mine open or accept management’s generous redundancy offer.

The film follows the lives of the local Grimley Colliery Brass Band as they attempt to reach, and then win, the National Brass Band Championship. Led by ex miner and musical director Danny (Pete Postlethwaite) and inspired by newcomer Gloria (Tara Fitzgerald) the band battle through adversity to reflect the real history of Grimethorpe and become Champion of Great Britain.

The film also stars Ewan MacGregor who falls for the beautiful Gloria, and Stephen Tompkinson as Danny’s son Phil whose life is slowly being destroyed by the uncertainty surrounding him.  A strong acting cast is, of course, augmented by the Grimethorpe Colliery RJB Band who supplied the bulk of the fictional Grimley Band as well as playing all the music. Said Mark Herman “It was interesting to blend four or five actors with a real band to the extent that people can’t see the join, which means that the band had to be as good at acting as the actors were as musicians.

Brassed Off was a phenomenal success at the box office worldwide and the soundtrack was nominated for a BAFTA Award. The soundtrack CD won a gold disc for sales of over 100,000 in the UK and a gold disc for sales of over 30,000 in Australia. In a recent survey of all-time favourite films in the UK Brassed Off came 11^th, beating Titanic and all the James Bond films.

In 1996 Grimethorpe became Yorkshire Champions once again as well as the top English band at the National Finals, thereby qualifying for the 1997 European Championships at London’s Barbican where the band gained 3^rd place

The band played at the World Premiere of Brassed Off at the Odean Cinema Leeds as part of the Leeds International Film festival. They were invited to play at the 50^th BAFTAS at a star-studded event at the Royal Albert Hall. Virgin Radios Chris Evans also invited the band to perform on the Christmas show of TFI Friday for Channel 4 television.

In 1997 Grimethorpe became the first band to perform in the European Parliament Building in Strasburg, also travelling to Norway to appear in the Norwegian Film Festival at Haguesung to premier the showing of the film Brassed Off. The following year they appeared to an estimated television audience of 100 million people when they were part of the interval entertainment at the Eurovision Song Contest at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham accompanying violin virtuoso Vanessa Mae and opera singer Lesley Garrett. The band appeared at, and in the World premier of the stage version of Brassed Off at the Crucible theatre, Sheffield, and also became Brass Band in Residence at London’s Royal College of Music. 

The band undertook an unusual invitation to play at the World Cup Carnival at Saint Denis near Paris and returned to Paris again in July to perform at the Cite De La Musique conducted by Peter Bassino the Head of Brass at the Royal College of Music in London. September saw the band fly to Switzerland to undertake a three-concert tour and immediately returned to London to record the first of two television shows with Leslie Garrett. The band appeared in the second Series of Leslie Garrett Tonight which was shown in June 2000. In December the band appeared on the television show ‘Goin Home with Lesley Garrett’ on the new Sky “Artsworld” Channel. Lesley also features on the band’s compact disc – Classic Brass – which reached number three in the Classic FM chart. In September 2000 the band took part in the Quincentenary Concert for The Worshipful Company of Musicians, conducted by Elgar Howarth held at the Birmingham Symphony Hall.

Over the years, the band has performed at many memorial services for distinguished personalities in the country.

On The 9th July 1986, the band performed at a Memorial Service of Frank Cousins (1904 – 1986) held at St Martin-in-the-fields, with readings by Rt. Hon Neil Kinnock (Politician), Bill Owen (Actor), Norman Willis (General Secretary of the Trades Union Council) and Ron Todd (General Secretary of TGWU).

A Service of Thanksgiving for the life and works of the comedian Harry Worth (1918 – 1989) was held at All Souls, Langham Place, with readings by Erik Vick (Lords Taverner), Bill Cotton CBE, Vince Powell (Co-writer of ‘Here’s Harry’), John Ammonds CBE (Producer of ‘Here’s Harry’) and finally Sir Harry Secombe CBE.

On 14^th July 1994, the band played at the Memorial Service for the Right Honerable John Smith (1938 – 1994) QC, MP and leader of the Labour party until his death, held at Westminster Abbey. As well as family and friends, the service was attended by all the leading members of Parliament from the major political parties of the day and the Prime Minister.

The band returned again to Westminster Abbey on 7^th October 1999 to play at a Service of thanksgiving for the life and work of the Right Honourable The Lord Robens of Woldingham, PC (1910 – 1999). A remarkable man who was MP for Wansbeck (now Blyth) in 1945, a Labour Minister for many years, Chairman of the National Coal Board in the 60’s where he reshaped the industry into a modern industrial power source for the 60’s and 70’s, was on the Board of Governors of the Bank of England for 21 years, Chancellor of the University of Surrey establishing a leading Science & Technology Park, took the chairmanship of many international companies and was chairman of the committee on the Health & Safety of People in the Work Place which grew into the unique Health & Safety at Work Act and Executive.