History

Rayleigh has had its own brass band for over a century and has undergone many name changes. These have included the Rayleigh Mission Band, Rayleigh Brass Band, Rayleigh Town Band, and Rayleigh and District Silver Band. The shortened, punchy title of Rayleigh Brass was adopted in the early 1980s. Today’s group of players are enthusiastic amateur musicians who are able to put on a first class concert performance, as well as provide music for a variety of functions including school fêtes, garden parties and civic occasions. In fact, there is little the band will not consider tackling, as the band secretary, Kevin Hall, recounts. "We were contacted by one of the popular tabloids around the time of the Euro 2000 football tournament. It seems that the German supporters had rustled up a large oompah band to play all night outside the hotel where the England squad were staying. As a retaliatory strike, the newspaper thought it would be only polite to return the compliment for the German team, so they were out to hire a full English brass band." Whether it was due to the short notice given, or the desire to avoid involvement in an international incident, the band graciously declined the invitation.

The band has had an eventful history. Rayleigh Town Band is known to have been in existence shortly after the end of the First World War, but some sources suggest the band predates 1910. In the early 1920s the band performed regularly on summer evenings in Rayleigh High Street, retreating, somewhat unsurprisingly, to the local hostelries in the winter months. The players were accompanied by a local character known as Singer Nash, who would make a couple of musical offerings to the patrons, and pass a hat round to swell the band coffers. At this time the band rehearsed at Charlie Smith’s builders shed in Bull Lane, and the proprietor was permitted to sit in with the bandsmen and play his clarinet. Uniforms were acquired around this time, purchased second hand from Thurrock Band. These were replaced in 1934 by new, made to measure garments. With the outbreak of the Second World War the band folded, but re-formed as a casual group shortly afterwards. The band flourished until the early 1950s, when financial problems forced the organisation to be disbanded again. Nearly a decade passed before the band’s history continued. In June 1961 a meeting of the Urban District Council of Rayleigh was held "to consider the advisability of re-forming the Rayleigh Town Band". Present at this meeting was one Hedley M Grover, a multi-talented individual who was a heating engineer by profession, but also involved in musical composition and literature, as well as running the recently formed Rayleigh and District Girls’ Choir. He championed the cause of the band, and at the conclusion of the meeting was appointed the new bandmaster. Mr Grover had very grand plans for the band, and even wrote a signature tune for them entitled "Rayleigh Mount". One of his projects was a Sunday Spectacular Concert held at the Kingsway Theatre Hadleigh, combining the talents of Rayleigh Town Band, Luton Girls’ Choir, and the band of the Irish Guards. Unfortunately, the event drew a very small audience, and Mr Grover resigned from the band shortly afterwards. The band suffered financial troubles for a period after this event, before a local bandsman, Bob Dean was approached to take over and rebuild the band. He was responsible for attracting many new musicians to the band, and by the early 1970s fresh uniforms and instruments were being purchased for the thirty strong members. Bob Dean left for an extended holiday in New Zealand in 1975, and the principal cornet player, Peter Hammerton took over. Peter relinquished the baton two years later to be succeeded by a local secondary school music teacher, Mike Griffiths, followed by Salvation Army musician Eric Jones.

The band's reins were then taken by Alan Thorpe, a civil servant in the city, and a member of many musical organisations in the region. As well as conducting, Alan also arranged music for the band, and sat in as a player when there was a gap to fill in a section. "I joined the band over thirty years ago, while still at school," he recounted. "My first instrument was an old "peashooter" trombone that emerged completely black from storage in someone’s loft, and I lovingly polished until it shone! I had my first spell conducting the band in the early 1980s for about ten years, followed by a few years’ break, returning in the late 1990s" Alan held the fort well into the 2010's and focussed on delivering high quality and entertaining concert programmes at the same time as maintaining a very friendly and inclusive atmosphere. "We don’t enter contests like many bands, and seek instead to broaden the appeal of the band beyond the traditional ‘brass band’ image, playing a wide and challenging repertoire, at the same time trying to relate to our audience." 

Rayleigh Brass's relationship with its audience is at the heart of most of their performances, and the conduit for this through the 80s and into the turn of the millenium was compere and former bandmaster Peter Hammerton. Peter had a long history with the band, having played a variety of instruments with them for nearly forty years. He recalled the he had only one music lesson in his life – a C major scale on a trumpet. It transpired that shortly after he was de-mobbed from the Royal Air Force in 1953, Peter became interested in a young lady in the Hadleigh Forum Fellowship Club Orchestra. This resulted in two major events in his life: meeting his future wife Doreen, and his first contact with a brass instrument. He became a member of the then Rayleigh and District Silver Band in 1966, and hasn’t looked back since. Affectionately labelled "that old fool on 2nd baritone", he took great pride in his association with the band personnel, and his easy-going banter with both them and his audience was a clear indication of a man in his element. He is sorely missed by the band.

Alan’s tenure as Musical Director was followed by Pete Bearman.  Pete was a worthy successor, having been a member of the band since he was knee-high to a trombone player. For many years prior to his appointment, he conducted the Rayleigh Brass Training Band and also served as Alan’s deputy, leading the occasional rehearsal, working on challenging pieces with the main band and also taking the band for some pieces during concerts. 

Born and raised in a musical family (his father Bob plays cornet with the band, while his mother Mandy is a fine woodwind player and teacher) Pete built on the firm foundations built by Alan and brought a new sense of adventure to the band. He was also critical in helping the band through the Covid-19 pandemic when players were unable to rehearse.

Pete decided it was time to hand over the baton at the end of 2022 after nearly five years at the helm. With a young family he was finding it increasingly challenging to juggle playing cornet in championship section Redbridge Brass and conduct Rayleigh, so reluctantly decided something had to give. But Pete still occasionally plays with Rayleigh Brass and we are always delighted to see - and hear him!

At present the band is under the joint tutelage of Bob Bearman and Tom Marshall, who both bring a wealth of musical experience and knowledge to the role. We look forward to seeing where they will take Rayleigh Brass on the next stage of the band’s musical journey.

The fortunes of Rayleigh Brass in its many guises have certainly had some ups and downs, but for over a century there has been a body of men and women playing – and enjoying playing – their musical instruments to bring listening pleasure to their audiences. With concert bookings on the increase, and appearances at new venues continuing, the future of Rayleigh Brass is looking very promising indeed. The future’s bright – the future’s brass.

Thanks to Rob Hall for his extensive research into Rayleigh Brass's history.