ELO’s most famous work in brass band form Piece: Mr Blue Sky; Composer: Jeff Lynne; Arranger: Christopher Wormald. “More…” You want more… For this year’s Brass Banding Advent Calendar, we finish off our virtual concert with an ELO song from 1977. One that is as well known by toddlers as it is with grandparents and […]
Read More Brass Banding Goes Pop: EM60’s 2020 Advent Calendar: 26. Mr Blue SkyA Merry Christmas to you all with a modern day classic Piece: Happy; Composers: Pharrell Williams; Arranger: Michael Pilley. Well, you have shouted and clapped loud enough for the encore set. Let’s start with a modern-day classic, one that has increased in popularity over recent years.
Read More Brass Banding Goes Pop: EM60’s 2020 Advent Calendar: 25. HappySorry folks, I couldn’t find any brass band pieces related to elves… Piece: An American Trilogy; Composers: Various (arranged by Mickey Newbury); Arranger: Goff Richards. We have come to the last door of our Brass Banding Goes Pop Advent Calendar. We thought it was rude not to have an Elvis Presley classic in our virtual […]
Read More Brass Banding Goes Pop: EM60’s 2020 Advent Calendar: 24. An American TrilogyThe ultimate feel good song in brass band form Piece: Don’t Stop Me Now; Composer: Freddie Mercury; Arranger: Philip Harper. What can we say other than “a Happy Christmas Eve Eve to you all”? Queen’s Don’t Stop Me Now encapsulates excitement in a little under three minutes. From the 1978 LP Jazz, it has pure […]
Read More Brass Banding Goes Pop: EM60’s 2020 Advent Calendar: 23. Don’t Stop Me NowJohn Miles’ best known chart single, another concert classic Piece: Music; Composer: John Miles; Arranger: Derek Broadbent. Music, so to misquote the Jarrow-born composer of the said song, is our first love and our last love. On East of the M60, we have written about its future and its past in some way, shape or […]
Read More Brass Banding Goes Pop: EM60’s 2020 Advent Calendar: 22. Musica brass band transcription of Charles Aznavour‘s most famous work Piece: She; Composer: Charles Aznavour/Herbert Kretzmer; Arranger: Alan Fernie; Soloist: Mark Wilkinson. Charles Aznavour is probably the only French-Armenian born singer to top the UK Singles Chart. His most famous song, She, did just that in 1974 with a four-week stay at the top.
Read More Brass Banding Goes Pop: EM60’s 2020 Advent Calendar: 21. SheThe Pogues’ most famous (or infamous) contribution to Christmas playlists? Piece: The Fairytale of New York; Composer: Kirsty MacColl; Arranger: Jock McKenzie. In the last three decades, The Pogues’ and Kirsty MacColl’s Christmas song has topped many a personal Christmassy playlist. From mixtape to MP3 and Spotify, it is a must at Christmas parties, pub […]
Read More Brass Banding Goes Pop: EM60’s 2020 Advent Calendar: 20. The Fairytale of New YorkGimme Gimme Gimme (A Band After Midnight) Piece: ABBA Gold; Composers: Benny Andersson/Bjorn Ulvaeus; Arranger: Ron Sebregts. No Christmas do or playlist is complete without a few ABBA tunes. The pinnacle of Dad Dancing classics is arguably Dancing Queen whereas Mamma Mia!‘s preeminence in the Singing In The Show Stakes is undisputed.
Read More Brass Banding Goes Pop: EM60’s 2020 Advent Calendar: 19. ABBA GoldWhy, why, why… More Tom Jones? Piece: Delilah; Composers: Barry Mason/Les Reed. What links Glasgow with Hyde, Pontypridd and Stoke-on-Trent? It is this song, covered by The Sensational Alex Harvey Band and Biggles Wartime Band, originally sung by PJ Proby, though more famously by Tom Jones. As for the Stoke-on-Trent connection, it is a long […]
Read More Brass Banding Goes Pop: EM60’s 2020 Advent Calendar: 18. DelilahThe theme from Flashdance in brass form Piece: What A Feeling; Composer: Giorgio Moroder; Arranger: Frank Bernaerts. Metal on metal: a phrase that can be descriptive about rail travel. Without welders, Kraftwerk’s favoured mode of transport would be impossible. Even welders of a fictitious kind.
Read More Brass Banding Goes Pop: EM60’s 2020 Advent Calendar: 17. What A Feeling
