Black Dyke has become the first British brass band to notch up 20,000 'Likes' from its Facebook page.

The site has now become an essential way for the Queensbury Band to communicate to the social media world, and in the past year has been boosted by the proactive approach spearheaded by baritone player Ben Wright.

As we've found on our concert travels this year, making a connection to an ever more diverse supporter base is essential and the use of 4Barsrest, Twitter and Facebook has given us a significant profileBen Wright

Increasingly important

He told 4BR: "The use of social media is becoming increasingly important for a band such as Black Dyke. As we've found on our concert travels this year, making a connection to an ever more diverse supporter base is essential and the use of 4Barsrest, Twitter and Facebook has given us a significant profile."

He added: "As the most famous brass band in the world we are keen to develop further avenues and this shows that our worldwide fan base is eager to find out more and more about us — so keep an eye out for further exciting developments."