BBC television to spearhead Yorkshire band revival

Dinnington Colliery revival to be covered on BBC2

The BBC has commissioned three one-hour programmes about the revival of Dinnington Colliery Band in South Yorkshire, which has recently fallen upon hard times, with its playing membership dropping into single figures. Speaking to BB on behalf of Shine Productions, which is making the series, to be broadcast in March 2010 on BBC2, Claire Callaghan commented: “Dinnington Colliery Band has survived two world wars, the miners’ strike and the closure of its pit, but now it needs the public to keep it alive” Claire Callaghan continued: “The band means everything to the members, but they are few and far between. Joan Herdman, her sister, Kay, and their family have played in it for over 30 years, barely missing a rehearsal in all that time. They’ve witnessed the band go through phenomenal highs and crushing lows, and now they’ve hit a rough patch, but they’re on a mission to save the band and blow life back into their community. However, it is extremely difficult in a landscape of apathy, with a myriad of modern-day distractions.”