Five for Foden's in the venue that time forgot

Alan Jenkins reports from the North West Regional Championships in Blackpool

Living in a technical age in which the emphasis is on constant change, with all things new and better introduced one after the other at a dizzying rate, it was like a breath of fresh air to arrive in Blackpool for the North West Regional Championships. The fresh air, which cannot be bought, sold or improved upon, while not actually reaching gale force, was certainly invigorating. Alas, there is nothing invigorating about Blackpool’s Winter Gardens, where nothing has changed since Noah jettisoned the monstrosity from his ark as he sailed past. Situated inside the various rooms within the ill-favoured eyesore are tiny ‘boxes’ for a person to sit in for many hours, unseen and unseeing, listening to brass bands play the same piece of music. It has been said that the British brass band adjudication system also was handed down by someone aboard the ark - it could have been Noah - but this claim has not been verified. Beyond question is the fact that, from generation to generation, status quo rules and, in the matter of a North West ‘Area’ contest, Foden’s Band (Garry Cutt) wins the Championship Section. This time it was courtesy of a stunning performance of George Lloyd’s English Heritage, appropriately, another institution that has little interest in upgrading or downloading anything.

After the contest, adjudicator C. Brian Buckley described the music as “wonderful” and said that it had been superbly played with one performance of an exceptionally high standard. He also noted that the music contained so many difficult technical challenges that failure of some bands to overcome them inevitably resulted in stopping them from making music. However, he believed that, for those bands, the work spent on preparing for this contest would prove helpful in the future. Foden’s Band had already qualified for the National Final via a second-placed finish in last year’s Royal Albert Hall event. Nevertheless, no superlative could possibly do justice to describe the rich quality of the overall performance. Conductor, Garry Cutt, was in majestic form and so were the members of his superb band, both in the matter of ensemble, quality of sound and their understanding that when making music at this level, team work is of the essence. This ingredient was also evident in the searching duet between principal cornetist, Mark Wilkinson, and flugel horn player, Helen Williams, with playing of an ethereal quality that allowed the lovely chorale to start its journey in the choicest of atmospheres. Foden’s victory was its fifth in succession for both band and conductor, which is a record for the North West Region and leaves Foden’s with more victories in this championship than any other band since 1945.