Behind the Brass
Sherman Rabbit dives into the history of brass bands in Bradford and meets some of the local musicians behind the Big Brass Blowout.
Published: March 11, 2025
Author: Sherman Rabbit
With a long-standing tradition of local town and company brass bands and with many Bradfordians picking up their first brass instrument in school, Bradford 2025 is bringing the Big Brass Blowout to showcase brass music in all its many forms.
The tradition of brass music in Bradford has existed for over a hundred years. Brass bands flourished during the Industrial Revolution, starting in the mills and mines, with company brass bands providing entertainment and creating a community for workers across the district. One of the bands to come out of this boom in brass music was the iconic Black Dyke Band.
The Black Dyke Band’s history dates back to 1855 when mill owner, John Foster, formed a band he could play his French horn in. Today, Alison Childs plays the tenor horn and is the longest-serving female musician in the band’s 175-year history. She first started playing in her local school band aged 10 before going on to join the Black Dyke Band in 1999.
“The Black Dyke Band have performed with The Beatles, Paul McCartney and Wings, and Sir Elton John, who said Black Dyke was the greatest brass band! In my professional life, I have been a PA, and director of a recording company. However, music is my passion and brass bands are my love, where I have literally travelled the world as an amateur musician.”
Company brass bands aren’t the only traditional bands whose roots run deep in Bradford. With a long radical history of protest in our city, street bands have long provided entertainment for dedicated activists.
The Peace Artistes were formed in 1983 from Bradford University’s peace studies department, after students attending anti-nuclear protests wanted a beat to march to. Kate Howe is a musical newcomer, who started playing alto sax five years ago. After several unsuccessful auditions for other bands, she stumbled across The Peace Artistes and was welcomed with open arms.
“I had no idea that street bands even existed in the UK! It is unusual to find a band that is so inclusive, welcoming and engaging, not only with its players but also with the wider community.”
Member of 40 years, David Gill, plays the bass drums in The Peace Artistes and his love for brass music has continued to grow.
“We’re a melting pot of world traditions in brass rather than just the English tradition. The Peace Artistes is a non-profit making community interest company. What we do is work within our community to assist or help with any kind of event or kind of action that the community wants.
“Street bands are seen in various forms across the world. It’s all acoustic, nothing’s recorded. It’s an inclusive sort of band, in the sense that you don’t have to be particularly talented or gifted with the instrument that you play – that’s often not a requirement, in the way it might be with other traditional brass bands. It’s an inclusive, democratic way of playing. For example, we don’t have a leader or a conductor. As long as you perform at your very best, that’s all that’s important.”
Gill’s interest in brass stretches far beyond our Yorkshire traditions.
“There are different bands who play with brass instruments and percussion around the world other than our traditional ones. For example, a Salsa band never has a drum kit in it. We have a perception of what a brass band is, but those ideas are only related to a certain cultural norm and throughout the world there’s different types of bands which are brass bands.
“We have an Asian community in Bradford and one of the roots of that community is in India. In India, they have their own style of brass band that started in Rajastan. In the Balkans, they have a totally different way of playing brass based on their connection with the Roma community. The Roma travelling tradition has been continuing for about a thousand years.
“Roma musicians play instruments because they can make money by entertaining people. They were effectively being the recording machine throughout the ages before recording machines were invented, because they would go to a town, hear something and learn it. Then go to another town and play it and get paid to play it. Our traditional style that we have with [bands like] The Black Dyke Band, who are one of the best in the world in their tradition, wouldn’t have a clue how to play in the Balkans style.”
While rooted in these global traditions, there are some truly innovative brass sounds coming out of the UK in 2025.
London-based collective, KOKOROKO, are blurring the lines on incorporating brass instruments into contemporary music. The septet flawlessly fuse Afrobeats, funk, jazz, and soul to create fresh sounds through brass. They are fronted by a three-piece all-female horn section led by trumpeter Sheila Maurice-Grey. Don’t miss out on one of the most exciting live bands in the UK right now, find them at St George’s Hall on Sunday 13 April as a part of The Big Brass Blowout.
Hot Aire! Are a symphonic concert band based in Bradford, performing a range of contemporary music including pop classics, film scores and beloved musical theatre numbers. Their chairman, Daniel Khan, was born and raised in Manningham and was first introduced to brass by his wife 30 years ago.
‘I mainly play trombone but can play pretty much anything brass. They all get their look in now and again. My wife used to play for a contesting brass band in the 80s and it always looked like more fun to play on stage than just sitting in the audience so she taught me how to play.
‘Hot Aire! originally started out as a brass band in the 50s. We can trace it back to ‘56 but it wasn’t what it is now. In the 80’s, there were a couple of brass bands that folded, so Barry Stephens rang round members from these two bands and said ‘Look, do you guys fancy meeting up on a Saturday for a rehearsal?’
The Black Dyke Band, Peace Artistes, KOKOROKO, Hot Aire! and lots of other brass acts are performing as a part of Bradford 2025’s Big Brass Blowout from Friday 11 April till Sunday 13 April across Bradford District. Find out more about The Big Brass Blowout including plenty of free events.
