Black Dyke - An Inside Story

John H. Clay
171 Pages
Jagrins Publications
£30.00 plus postage and package

There can be no more fascinating a band than Black Dyke. From their formation as a brass band in 1855 theirs has been a history steeped in success and triumph, but the medals and the trophies make up only a small part of the mystique that surrounds them. For some reason, Dyke are special – special like no other band in the world.

Much has been talked and written about them over the years, but it was the advent of their 150th anniversary that saw a veritable explosion of celebratory coverage. Concerts and contests, recordings and broadcasts and even two books – what other bands could demand, or deserve such attention?

Of the two publications that came out during 2005, Roy Newsome's ‘official' history was most readily available and promoted. It was a fine work indeed. Less well known though was this publication from John H Clay, written as a personal labour of love and based on the extensive amount of memorabilia he had collected during his long association with the Queensbury band. In addition to his own personal recollections, he was able to use significant material given to him over the years and which for the most part have never before been published before.

It is therefore a much more colloquial publication, but equally fascinating, covering in 11 chapters and 9 separate appendices a much more informal history of the band from its humble beginnings right through to the present time. In addition there is a DVD included which also gives further insight into the bands history, past and very nearly the immediate present.

The strength of the book lies in much of the material that John Clay has managed to get his hands on – real gems of antiquity such as the diary of Willie Jeffrey, the moustachioed second flugel horn player of the band on its amazing Canadian and American Tour of 1906, or the correspondence between James Kay (and not Kaye) and the band concerning the ownership of the famous ‘Queensbury' march. There is also a most welcome results appendix which is a treasure trove of almost Wisden like statistics.

However, the weakness of the book is in fact that material itself and the way in which it is presented.     

The Tour diary for instance should have been edited or linked in historical perspective. What was happening in Canada or the USA at the time of the bands visit? (The trip took place not long after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake).

Jeffrey was not a great diarist, and therefore his account of the trip becomes parochial with the lack of explanatory reference points. What could be fascinating (Thursday 16th August: ‘There has been a lot of our fellows at the goal today to see a fellow hung for wife murder') therefore becomes lost amid his other daily ramblings.

The same problem, but in different form comes in other chapters too with the author's style of writing meandering too often into cul de sacs. There are real veins of gold throughout the book, but like the precious metal itself, they are difficult to prise from the surrounding bedrock. What the book desperately needs is a strong piece of editing to tighten up the narrative line and to bring it into some form of order.

The book is at its strongest when the author himself describes his period with the band, whilst it is at its weakest when he was not. It also suffers in much the same way as the Newsome book in that the author does not, or possibly is unwilling to allow the darker, less salubrious aspects of the Dyke history to be aired. The Kay story is an exception, but that is a mere footnote interesting though it is, whilst the end of the more recent tenures of David King and James Watson are glossed over, the former in just two sentences. The appointment of Nicholas Childs is given similar short shrift.

The appendices however are well researched, with the results appendix in particular a most valuable insight. However, the inability not to state where the band came when it didn't feature in the prize lists comes across as rather selective to say the least, whilst there are some years from major contests which are totally ignored.  The DVD is a nice enough add on feature, but isn't really of a good enough quality really to demand extended play time.

One final query though comes with the size and price of the book itself – in a ring bound A4 size for £30.00 seems to be odd and a little expensive. It doesn't make it the easiest book to read.

'An Inside Story' tells a fascinating story in a friendly but rather haphazard manner that should have benefited from a strong overview in the editing process. It does however add to the mystique that surrounds the most famous band in the world, and perhaps that is how it should be viewed and enjoyed.

Iwan Fox     

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