The Aldbourne Band was formed in the middle of the 19th century by the village church organist, Richard Brown-Bunce. Originally made up from a variety of instrument types, including clarinet and flute, the Band gradually evolved, as most English Bands did around the turn of the century, into the familiar format based around 3-valved brass, trombone and percussion.

The first contest the Band entered was before the First World War and during the ’20s and the ’30s, the Band achieved great acclaim performing at the Crystal Palace, London. The Band maintained a consistently high standard, competing locally and nationally, regularly winning prizes and in 1963 was promoted to the Championship Section of the national organisation.

In the early eighties, the band was at the height of its game when it was placed first in the West of England Championship Section and consequently qualified to perform in the National Finals at the Royal Albert Hall. Out of a movement of some 800 bands, the best two from each region (18 Bands in total) perform at the National Finals. By the year 2000, the band held a ranking of 5th place in the West of England Championship Section, drawing in players from the North Wiltshire and Berkshire areas and remains a formidable force in the contesting arena.

We have two tracks from the band’s 2014 ‘100% Christmas’ CD on this week’s show.