After the success at the Scottish Championships, the band were looking to the forthcoming Entertainments Contests as a chance to not only to consolidate our position as the top 2nd Section band in Scotland but also to try and pit our wits against the 1st Section bands. To win the 2nd Section Prize at the Grand Hall, Kilmarnock was, if not expected, then a realistic hope. To win the competition outright in a field which included a band soon to be in the Championship Section was not even talked about beforehand. It was however to be a day of surprises and very good signs.

At the Flugel Horn player's request, the band opened its programme with Major George Willcocks classic march, 'The Champions'. Chosen in honour of our achievement at Motherwell, the band started the show as we left off that day. What a sound! The Grand Hall when not full, can be abit of a cavern at times but no band so far had managed to fill it in this manner. The quiet stuff was all there too, well most of it. Most importantly the march was full of the dynamic contrast that makes the difference between an exciting opener and a big blast.

The biggest gamble of the programme was most definitely Andy Duncan’s arrangement of John Williams score for the epic film ‘Born On The Fourth Of July’. A gamble not on talent, but time. This was one of the big changes to the last winning performance only a month previously at Carnegie and can test both band ensemble and soloist. A cornet solo, although usually performed on trumpet, tests quality of sound, style and range. The band and in particularly the bottom end, always have to be wary of intonation.
Principal Cornet Alan Taggart was superb and deservedly won the Solo Cornet Prize on the day, a trophy held previously by Roger Webster, Russell Gray and our very own Brian Keachie. The band contributed too and although there were moments of concern overall it was a very good effort from all round the stands. Oliver Stone, the director of the film once mentioned that Williams was a poet. The melodies used here are haunting and very moving, many agreed that it was a performance that reflected that.

After the risky number had gone well it was now onto two pieces that the band know inside out. The first, an Alan Fernie arrangement of the Beatles’ ‘Obla-Di-Obla-Da’ is not only full of the kind of shmaltz that the ‘punters’ love to hear and tap their feet to but is a musical box of tricks. With various effects, dynamic contrast and accents in every bar it is a challenge to pull off correctly and on the whole the band did. Where it suffers perhaps is over-familiarity. When the band first performed it, at the Borders Entertainment Contest last November, it sparkled along. In some instances at the Grand Hall it was perhaps too boorish and overblown in places with not enough attention to the detail. However the piece still had its moments with special mention going to Cornets and Trombones.

The Solo item was the Flugel Solo made famous by ‘Brassed Off’, Rodrigo’s ‘Concerto de Aranjuez’. In the Grand Hall it’s very easy to play a solo like that as the sound travels very smoothly. The performance, although nowhere near perfect, was still of a good standard and it was pointed out by the adjudicator that if there had been an Instrumental Solo Prize on offer it would have won. There was a prize for the youngest band member so best not to be bitter! What must be mentioned, from the soloists point of view, is the great support of the band’s playing. From the first chords and huge cymbal crashes to the superb cornet playing in the melody it was a first class accompaniment. A joy to play in front of!

Now to the final item and we were feeling pretty good by this point. The ‘Cossack Wedding Dance’ from Peter Graham’s ‘Call Of The Cossacks’ was featured no less than four times on the day and again it was a number that wasn’t long in preparation for the band. It started, maintained and finished at a steady-to-fast tempo and was very energetic. All the syncopated accents were delivered with a piercing sharpness that was found wanting in other performances. A few slips of course, but overall a good performance and finish to an entertaining programme.

Thankfully Colin Hardy, formerly of Black Dyke, agreed and awarded it the
winning performance. One distinguishing feature was the band’s sound which, even the most pedantic critic would have to agree with. It was a fitting end to what has been a very successful season for the Barrhead Band and one which sets us in good stead for a very demanding season to come. November sees the band make a welcome return to the 1st section and July next year will attend the inaugural World Championships in Kerkrade, Holland. But first we make our way, as Scottish Championships to Harrogate for the National Finals.
In the box that day? A Mr Colin Hardy ......