A tale of victory grabbed from the depths of despair marked the heart warming success of Norfolk Wherry Brass in the Fourth Section National Finals.

Registration problem

Just minutes before they took to the stage an oversight in registration meant that the name of teenage repiano player Ashley Gibbs was missing from the official list, forcing him to miss out on the biggest contest day of his young life.

However, as befitting a man with years of inventive military life to fall back on, MD Andy Craze quickly grabbed the opportunity to reshuffle cornet parts and send his pumped up band onto the stage with what he later called, ‘an unbeatable determination to win’.

Unbeatable attitude

With the heartbroken teenager sitting stoically in his band uniform in the audience, Andy led Norfolk Wherry through what judges Mike Kilroy and Colin Hardy described in their written comments as ‘a super performance’ to claim the National title.

In addition, their principal cornet player Leigh Sharpe added the ‘Best Instrumentalist’ prize to add to the armful of silverware they took back to the small village of Neatishead about 20 miles from Norwich, which is home to a band that was formed by the MD back in 2004.

North and West podium

In an enjoyable contest full of well constructed performances, second place went to Parr Band (Richardson Ltd) from the North West, with fancied Andover Town from the West of England in third.

The remaining top six places were claimed by the North West representatives, Golborne and Darwen Brass, with Ireland Colliery (Chesterfield) in sixth.

Tears of joy

With victory announced it was little wonder there were plenty of tears of joy to be seen on stage as Norfolk Wherry (named after the famous sailing boats found on the Broads) celebrated becoming the first London Area band to win the National title since 2004.

And as the winning MD led the celebrations, the 17 year old cornet player displayed a remarkable degree of sangfroid about the whole affair.

Happy now

"I’m so happy now," Ashley said. "I was disappointed at the time, but there was nothing that anyone could do. I just sat in the hall. The band was brilliant."

With his spirits restored he dryly added: "I’m told I’ve made banding history by winning a National title without playing a note on stage. And I still think we would have won by an even bigger margin if I had been playing of course!"

MD, Andy Craze led the tributes to his band – and his young player.

"There was nothing we could do when the problem arose. The officials were excellent and very understanding, and Ashley just maturely accepted he couldn’t play."

He went on: "We also accepted the decision and went about making a small problem into a big opportunity. A quick reshuffle of parts and we headed for the stage. The band was so determined to win for Ashley that I think they knew they were unbeatable before they played a note. They were simply amazing."

Consistency

Before the announcement of the results the adjudicators revealed that they were looking for consistency throughout the four movements of ‘A British Isles Suite’ by Jonathan Bates.

Mike Kilroy highlighted many of the pitfalls that undermined chances – from the tempo variations in the first movement to the delicacy of tone required in the middle section, the joyfulness of the third and the feel of Waltonian pomp and substance to the approach to the finale.

Balance

"Some got it others didn’t he later," told 4BR. "It was about consistency and about a balanced approach to tempos, dynamics and interpretation. The best did it very well indeed, but others did struggle. The winners were excellent – a really super performance in every way."

Schneewalzer

Behind Norfolk Wherry, runner-up Parr Band (Richardson Ltd) St Helen’s certainly added an interesting visual element to their performance, with MD John Ludden leading his ensemble in what looked like Schneewalzer swaying back and forth in the third movement.

Their band spokesperson later told 4BR: "It was just something John thought would help us capture the spirit of the music. We went along with it and it worked!"

Meanwhile, a more conservative visual approach in a precise and solidly constructed performance from Andover Town directed by Steve Large certainly made an impression in the hall as they claimed a deserved podium finish.

North West strength

The strength in depth of North West banding (all four qualfiers in the top 10) was shown with the experienced duo of Paul Andrews and Steve Hartley helping Golborne and Darwen to deliver purposeful accounts in ending fifth and sixth, whilst there was an equally well thought out interpretation from Ian Knapton to lead the Midlanders of Ireland Colliery Chesterfield into sixth.

Hard luck stories

Behind them there were a few hard luck stories and missed opportunities as fancied contenders such as the Scots of Kingdom Brass B and Bon Accord B didn’t quite get the rub of the contesting green as many of their supporters may have wished for on the day.

Perhaps they should have taken note of how the eventual winners turned potential disaster into brilliant triumph.

Iwan Fox

The band was so determined to win for Ashley that I think they knew they were unbeatable before they played a note. They were simply amazingMD, Andy Craze

Saturday 22nd September
Test Piece: 'A British Isles Suite' — Jonathan Bates

Adjudicators: Colin Hardy & Mike Kilroy

Results:

1. Norfolk Wherry Brass, Andy Craze (London & Southern Counties)
2. Parr Band (Richardson Ltd), St Helens, John Ludden (North West)
3. Andover Town, Steve Large, (West of England)
4. Golborne, Paul Andrews (North West)
5. Darwen Brass, Steve Hartley, (North West)
6. Ireland Colliery (Chesterfield), Ian Knapton (Midlands)
7. Kingdom Brass 'B', Andrew Duncan, (Scotland)
8. Linthwaite, Tony Jaeger-Fozard, (Yorkshire)
9. Armthorpe Elmfield, Haydn Griffiths MBE, (Yorkshire)
10. Hawk Green, Neil Hewson, (North West)
11. Cleobury Mortimer Concert Brass, Steve Pritchard-Jones, (Midlands)
12. Severn Tunnel, Joshua Ruck, (Wales)
13. Amersham, Paul Fisher, (London & Southern Counties)
14. Dunston Silver, Steven Archer (North of England)
15. Wilton & District, Colin Herbert (West of England)
16. Launceston Town, Dave Dobson, (West of England)
17. Kingsway Printers Cleethorpes, Steven Askew, (North of England)
18. Bon Accord 'B', Richard Kidd, (Scotland)
19. Rhyl Silver, Keith Jones, (Wales)
20. Burbage (Buxton), Steve Critchlow, (Midlands)
21. Bletchington Silver, Nigel Hall, (London & Southern Counties)
22. Midsomer Norton & Radstock Silver, Joanne Sykes, (West of England)
23. Newhall, Kevin Holdgate, (Midlands)

Best Instrumentalist: Leigh Sharpe (cornet) — Norfolk Wherry Brass