The Bradwell Bugle Newsletter of the Bradwell Silver Band December 2009 Inside this issue: From the Editor Bill Holding 1 Hello everyone The Band is into its busiest time, so please do all you can to get volunteers for the AGM Report 2 collections so we can raise lots of money. Christmas Music? 3-4 As you will see from the AGM notes, you have my company for the next year—please can I have yours?! Thanks very much to those who contribute for which I’m very Every picture…. 6 grateful. I wish you all a very happy, peaceful and joyous Christmas and all the best for 2010. Member News 7 More Member News 8 Maggie x Engagements 8 Contact Us 9 BILL HOLDING Membership Info 10 We were very sad to hear that Bill died unexpectedly on Thursday 3rd December. Our deepest sympathy and condolences go to his wife Audrey and family in their time of sorrow. He will be sorely missed. Bill’s funeral will be held on Friday 18th December at Hanslope Methodist Church. If you have any memories of Bill you’d like to share with us, please write to the Editor. …………………….WELCOME!.............................. THE BAND IS PLEASED TO WELCOME ABI MILLS AND LUCY BEDFORD AS NEW MEMBERS OF THE BAND. ABI JOINS US ON 1ST BARITONE FROM WOLVERTON BAND. LUCY IS NO STRANGER TO BRADWELL AS SHE HAS HELPED US OUT ON MANY OCCASIONS. BOTH LADIES HAVE FITTED INTO THE BAND VERY QUICKLY AND ARE ALREADY INVOLVED WITH OUR MANY CHRISTMAS ENGAGEMENTS. BRIAN www.bradwellband.co.uk PAGE 2 THE BRADWELL BUGLE DECEMBER 2009 AGM Report —by Robin Allen The annual event of fun and hilarity that is otherwise known as the Annual General Meeting took place on 12 th November this year. We were fortunate to have our newly elected President, the Rev’d Chris Collinge with us and she opened the meeting by saying that she was very pleased to accept the presidency of something that was such a big part of the life of New Bradwell and that she looked forward to being involved with the band. Musical director Brian Keech then took us through a resume of the last 12 months’ activities. Brian said that we have managed a good cross section of events both during the Christmas and summer seasons. We have occasionally suffered from a lack of players, and we need to say thank you to those people who regularly help out . It’s nice to be able to welcome back players such as Mike and Pat, and also to see new faces appearing such as Joe. On the down side we have lost key players and our goal is to find a Principal Cornet. Our contest performances still need to be improved although the area test piece was probably a step too far for many 4 th sect bands. Our playing standard has improved but not as much as it could, more teamwork is need beginning within the sectional groups. Brian concluded by saying that he had one wish for the forthcoming year – to have full rehearsals whenever possible! Our outgoing chairman was unable to be with us but had sent a report in which Robin read out. Sue said that she wished to thank band members and their families for the efforts that they make to support the band and also to the supporters club for the work they do throughout the whole of the year, to those members who helped and encouraged our juniors, to Brian for his work and encouragement and to Mike for his efforts behind the wheel of not one but two buses! Secretary Robin echoed these sentiments and included the rest of the committee and also Maggie who edits the Band’s monumental journalistic tome with unflagging enthusiasm and who needs much more input from everyone - not just Keith! Dave presented the balance sheet which is very healthy and noted that we had managed to turn last year’s small loss into a reasonable profit for this year. Election of officers followed and were as follows: Chairman; Mike Sanders Secretary; Robin Allen Treasurer; Dave Sanderson Librarian; Sam White Quartermaster; Vince Jarjadian. Committee members; Gary Morris, Mike White, Karen Wilson, Luke Wilson, Luke Colvin. Magazine Editor; Maggie Snape www.bradwellband.co.uk PAGE 3 THE BRADWELL BUGLE DECEMBER 2009 Christmas Music—or is it? By Keith Jones For our forthcoming Christmas concerts we will include a number of very familiar tunes. When you look into these further, you may find it surprising that a lot of the music traditionally associated with Christ- mas has very little to do with the true meaning of the festive season. That’s not to decry the efforts of the composers, rather the fact that these tunes have been commercially marketed to exploit the feel good factor of the winter holiday season. Somewhere along the line, sleigh bells and snow have become syn- onymous with Christmas although very few of us will have ever actually experienced the white one we all supposedly dream about. For instance, Leroy Anderson’s "Sleigh Ride" is mainly associated withChristmas and often appears on compilation albums. However the song's lyrics mention of pumpkin pie in the last verse would suggest an association with American Thanksgiving Day rather than Christmas. “The Snowman (Walking In The Air)” featured in the 1982 animated film The Snowman , which was based on the Raymond Briggs book of the same name. In the animated movie, which has become a perennial Christmas favorite on British television, English choirboy Peter Autey sings this song. However it was the then Welsh choirboy and now presenter of BBC’s Songs Of Praise, Aled Jones, who recorded the vocals on its subsequent single release. “Stop The Cavalry” is an unusual combination of anti-war protest set to a brass band style backing and again has become a Christmas standard. The song is set in the trenches during the First World War where a soldier is expressing the wish to be home for Christmas. Jona Lewie who wrote the song told the Daily Express on March 12, 2005: "The soldier in the song is a bit like the eternal soldier at the Arc de Triomphe, but the song actually had nothing to do with Christmas when I wrote it. There is one line about him being on the front and missing his girlfriend: 'I wish I was at home for Christmas.' The record company picked up on that from a marketing perspective, and added a tubular bell. The song went to number three in the UK, and topped the charts in several European countries “A Winter’s Tale” was a 1982 hit for David Essex but is a song about winter and has no direct link with Christmas. “All I Want for Christmas Is You " is a song by American singer Maria Carey and Walter Afanasieff, re- corded for Carey's album ’Merry Christmas’ (1994). The singer declares that she does not care about Christmas presents or lights; all she wants for Christmas is to be with the one she loves. “Mistletoe and Wine” This song was originally performed by ex-model Twiggy in the 1986 British televi- sion Christmas musical The Little Match Girl , which was based on the Hans Christian Andersen story of the same name. The show's producer thought the song would be ideal for Cliff. Cliff loved the song, but he wanted to put in a few lyrical alterations, to give the song a more religious message to tie in with its Christmas release. Jeremy Paul, Leslie Stewart and Keith Strachan, who wrote the song, were happy for him to do so and the song became the UK No: 1 during Christmas 1988. “Schneewalzer” is a great thigh slapping Bavarian beer-festival style waltz extolling the virtues of danc- ing in the snow. As someone once said, Schneewalzer has the same effect as Land of Hope and Glory - it doesn't matter what you play beforehand, the audience will still go home happy! And finally,"Jingle Bells " which is one of the best known and commonly sung winter songs in the world. It was written by James Lord Pierpont (1822-1893) and copyrighted under the title "One Horse Open Sleigh" on September 16, 1857. Despite being inextricably connected to this season, it is not specifically a Christmas song. It is one of many "joyful songs" written in New England during the late 19th century. In the end, we play what people expect to hear at this time of year and as long as the concerts include a good balance of traditional carols I for one am happy to belt out the same pieces for the umpteenth time. On the following page is a list of the 40 biggest selling Christmas hits. See how many of these you can identify as playing now or in the past. www.bradwellband.co.uk PAGE 4 THE BRADWELL BUGLE DECEMBER 2009 Christmas Music—continued Artist Title Year 1 Band Aid Do They Know It's Christmas? 1984/1985/2007 2 Boney M Mary's Boy Child 1978 3 Wham! Last Christmas 1984/1985/2007/2008 4 Harry Belafonte Mary's Boy Child 1957 5 Band Aid 20 Do They Know It's Christmas? 2004 6 Slade Merry Xmas Everybody 1973/1981/1983/1998/2006/2007/2008 7 Bing Crosby White Christmas 1942/1977/1998 8 Cliff Richard The Millennium Prayer 1999 9 Johnny Mathis When A Child Is Born 1976 10 Cliff Richard Mistletoe And Wine 1988 11 Jona Lewie Stop The Cavalry 1980 12 John Lennon / Yoko Ono Happy Christmas (War Is Over) 1972/1980/1981/2003/2007 13 Mud Lonely This Christmas 1974 14 Shakin' Stevens Merry Christmas Everyone 1985/2007/2008 15 Paul McCartney Pipes of Peace 1983 16 Band Aid II Do They Know It's Christmas? 1989 17 Mariah Carey All I Want For Christmas Is You 1994/2007/2008 18 Wizzard I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday 1973/1984/2007/2008 19 Greg Lake I Believe In Father Christmas 1975 20 Wombles Wombling Merry Christmas 1974 21 Shakin' Stevens Blue Christmas (Shakin' Stevens EP) 1982 22 The Darkness Christmas Time (Don't Let The Bells End) 2003 David Bowie & Bing 23 Crosby Peace On Earth / Little Drummer Boy 1982 24 Cliff Richard