Beyond the Colliery

Westoe Brass Band
Conductor: Steve Malcolm
Soloists: Tom Cooke, Linda Wilson, Steve Kyle
CD Recording: WESTCD20051
Total Playing Time: Approx 65 mins

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Westoe Brass Band is not for the vast majority of people in the banding world a name that readily falls from the lips when discussing the great brass bands of the movement – but then again, Westoe Brass Band do not profess to be one of them.

They are though a band with a long and proud history (as far back as 1873) and those of the slightly more anorak nature amongst us will know that in a former guise they originated as the Harton Colliery Band which under the baton off G. Hawkins Esq won the 1919 British Open Brass Band Championships ahead of the likes of Wingates, St. Hilda and Black Dyke Mills.

They never quite recaptured those glory days, but remained a proud band in the North of England right up to the closure of the Harton Colliery in 1968, and as Westoe Colliery (they merged in 1958) thereafter. Like many colliery bands they were very nearly destroyed by the Thatcher inspired Miners Strike, but an unshakable belief and a great deal of hard work and pride saw them rise from the ashes with an emphasis on youth development and with additional support from the local NHS (hooray for a Labour Government invention!).

Today they are a Championship Section band with a bright future ahead of them, but they have never forgotten whence they came, and this release is both a celebration and commemoration of their roots. The release is locally produced, has been something of a labour of love and is dedicated to the memory of the Westoe Colliery, the name of which still gives the band its identity.

It is a light and breezy production, aimed with one eye on potential concert audiences and occasional brass band fans, and as such the 15 tracks cover familiar ground with an occasional nod to more serious but easy listening items and three good quality soloists.

Appropriately the Miners Hymn tune ‘Gresford' opens proceedings (Gresford being the site of one of the very worst coalfield disasters in mining history) and it is followed by a well managed and up tempo run through ‘Let's Face the Music and Dance'.

'Amazing Grace' is played with warmth and accuracy before Tom Cooke puts in a fine effort on ‘Virtuosity' that is just marred by some poor intonation and a few little clips that you would have thought could have been edited out.  ‘Water of the Tyne' is a neat touch of geographic musicality (although it is not known how far away the bandroom is from the river itself) before they get to grips with an authentic quickstep through Rimmer's classic old ‘Punchinello'. Not quite with the swagger Dicky Evans would bring to it, but still with a nice sense of style and authority.

Brodsky's ‘I'll Walk with God' and Gregson's ‘Laudate Dominum' are well played before Linda Wilson produces a very neat and well shaped account of ‘On My Own' from the pens of Shonberg, Boublili, Kretzmer, Caird, Nunn and Natel – who you are happy to know are not a local firm of injury insurance solicitors!

A bit of a harsh run through Henry VIII's ‘Pastime with Good Company' – the old boy may have been in the habit of lopping off the heads of his spouses and declaring War on the Roman Catholic Church, but he could write a fair old ditty, before a much better balanced ‘Erin Shore' from the pen of Leigh Baker, who we don't know if he is married or not, but can certainly write a lovely lyrical tune.

A trip to the Saturday morning pictures with Danny Elfman's ‘Batman' theme is followed by Steve Kyle on fine form with ‘Benedictus' from Karl Jenkins ‘The Armed Man'. The recording ends off with that old 70's favourite, ‘Music' by John Miles and a nice Vegas inspired bit of Elvis with his ‘American Trilogy'.

It rounds off a well thought out programme that although it does have its moments of poor intonation, lack of balance and nasty clips, is still of fine advertisement of the band and its talents.  A great deal of hard graft and preparation has evidently gone into this production and you can both hear it and see it (there is an excellent slightly wistful but witty cover) on this release.  Bands like Westoe form the backbone of our movement and given the rude health they appear to be in here, you don't think they will need the services of the South Tyneside NHS who are now in partnership with the band to keep going for years to come. 

Iwan Fox. 

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