Over 130 Years of Proud History!

In addition to having a first class and formidable reputation for highly entertaining concerts of wide public appeal, the Brighouse and Rastrick Band has many other notable triumphs to its credit in the highly competitive contesting field - the major means bands use to match themselves against each other. Whilst obviously not winning every competition they enter, they are often amongst the prizes and their record of major championship victories since they first came to national prominence during the 1920s is certainly impressive.

• July and September Belle Vue Champions: 1929

• September Belle Vue Champions: 1932, 1933, 1934, 1936
(barred 1935)

• British Open Champions: 1978

• All England Masters Champions: 1993, 1998, 2001

• National Champion Band of Great Britain: 1946, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1980,1997, 1998, 2010, 2011

• Champion Band of Europe: 1981, 1998

• World Champion Band: 1968, 1969

• BBC Band of the Year: 1968

• Granada TV Band of the Year: 1975

• ‘Brass in Concert’ Champions: 2006 and 2007

• Saddleworth Open Champions: 2006, 2007, 2008, 2011 and 2013

• Saddleworth Whit Friday March Contests - more prizes won than any other band.

One extra ‘purple patch’ in this fine record came in 1998 when the band held concurrently the English Masters, British National and European Championships, a unique ‘Triple Championship’, still not equalled!

Amongst the general public Brighouse and Rastrick is perhaps most popularly known for its famous 1977 hit parade success ‘The Floral Dance’ for which it won both Silver and Gold Discs for massive record sales and tremendous national and international acclaim.

Very firm roots were re-established in the town of Brighouse in 1995 with the building of its own purpose-built headquarters, ‘West Ridings’. In 2010 and 2011 the Band won the highly competitive Yorkshire Area Championship before being crowned ‘Champion Band of Great Britain’ at the Royal Albert Hall in the same two years. So successful was 2011 that Brighouse and Rastrick were voted ‘Band of the Year’ and Professional Conductor David King, ‘Conductor of the Year’, by the readers of the 4BarsRest brass band website.

Today, the band continues to make its mark on the new century with all the promise that holds, whilst maintaining their great traditions and continued quest for musical excellence. With over 130 years of proud history behind them, the band is still fiercely financially independent and beholden to no one other than itself.

It is still true to say that no other public subscription band has held such high status for as long as the Brighouse and Rastrick Band!