Before I get to them again, I need to talk about the moment the film really turns. “How you feeling?” “Death’s door. And the bastards still take the piss!” Dialogue [ edit ] Gloria: Do you want to come up for a coffee? Andy: I don't drink coffee. Gloria: I haven't got any. The stars in the series were, Nicholas and Robert Childs, Maurice Murphy, Don Lusher, Guy Barker, Gordon Campbell and the brilliant Derek Watkins, screeching in the gods on “We’ve only Just Begun”. Needless to say that excerpts from the series were used to make a CD entitled “Stars in Brass”.

Williams Fairey 2nd – Desford Colliery and the 1992 National Champion Band of Great Britain were announced. With 99 points the band which played number —17 Grimethorpe Colliery. For theirs isn’t the key relationship in the film. Ultimately, that honour falls to father and son, to Danny and Phil. We trouped on stage at 6.15pm a little disconsolate. However, the band played really well, Ray Curry was absolutely amazing and played the horn solo as if he had been playing it for weeks. There were problems though, -not all of the horn parts had been covered and some trios turned into duets late on in the piece. We knew this immediately and retired to the pub to drown our sorrows and think what might have been. But it may have been Grimethorpe’s very youth that has helped it to break with tradition, and interest some of the world’s leading composers in writing for a medium which has, up until now, been regarded as apart from the mainstream development of music. Despite the stubborn refusal of some brass band ‘diehards’ to accept Elgar Howarth and the avant garde music, one cannot escape the fact that it has been those two major contributions which have toppled the prejudices of those who still equate brass bands with Miners’ Galas and renderings of ‘Abide with Me’This delightfully entertaining comedy treat features hot screen stars Ewan McGregor (STAR WARS EPISODE 1: THE PHANTOM MENACE, MOULIN ROUGE) and sexy Tara Fitzgerald (SIRENS). It’s the critically acclaimed story about two old friends — and ex-lovers — whose surprise reunion turns their lives … and the lives of everyone else in town … hilariously upside down!” The film is set ten years after the year-long strike in 1984–85 by the National Union of Mineworkers in Britain. Before the privatisation of British Coal, a wave of pit closures took place. Depleted of resources and in debt following the labour militancy of 1984–85, the miners were unable to continue a resistance against the policies of the government. Many had been in debt ever since the long strike, and were prepared to take redundancy money whilst it was on offer. The most haunting shot in the film is the triumphant band returning, disembarking the coach, and being faced with a pit that’s already stopped working. The protests are gone, the battle lost.

a b Walker, Alexander (2005), Icons in the Fire: The Rise and Fall of Practically Everyone in the British Film Industry 1984–2000, Orion, p.280 .I need, therefore, to declare my cards here. The late Pete Postlethwaite was and is one of my favourite actors of all time. In the 90s in particular, barely a month went by without him appearing in a new film. Phil is in a marriage to Melanie Hill’s Sandra that’s feeling the strain of debt, and a bleak future. Not that Danny sees that. The one thing that gets him through, while the world he knows falls apart around him, is his love of music, and his love of the colliery band. Even to the expense of seeing just how much trouble his son is in. The main inspiration behind the band’s emergence into the new music field is Elgar Howarth, a musician with unique experience of composing, conducting and brass playing. In 1997 Grimethorpe became the first band to perform in the European Parliament Building in Strasburg, also travelling to Norway to appear in the Norwegian Film Festival at Haguesung to premier the showing of the film Brassed Off. The following year they appeared to an estimated television audience of 100 million people when they were part of the interval entertainment at the Eurovision Song Contest at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham accompanying violin virtuoso Vanessa Mae and opera singer Lesley Garrett. The band appeared at, and in the World premier of the stage version of Brassed Off at the Crucible theatre, Sheffield, and also became Brass Band in Residence at London’s Royal College of Music. In 1993/1994 Frank Renton hit on an idea for a new radio show, so in conjunction with BBC Radio 3, shows were recorded entitled “Stars in Brass”. The format was six half hour shows recorded at BBC Studio 7 in Manchester and Studio 1 Pebble Mill in Birmingham with each show having a different star from the Brass Band, Big Band and Jazz World.

This was the first tour for the band organised by International Concert Attractions Pty Ltd and the schedule was gruelling. The tour started spending 5 days in Japan and performing on 14/02 with two concerts in the Orchard Hall – Tokyo, followed on 15/02 at Kouseinenkin Kalkin – Tokyo, 16/02 Hagoyashi Koukaido Nagoya, 17/02 Festival Hall – Osaka and 18/02 Meil Parque Hall – Kukupka. How did some of the male characters act toward Gloria? How did Gloria cope in these situations? Did you think she handled it well? Is it acceptable to make lewd or sexist comments if they are lighthearted and jokey? In the case of that movie, people are taking their clothes off for money, because, well, what else is there? Don’t forget: there’s a haunting suicide attempt in the midst of the film too, one of the many parts of the movie that continue to resonate. Beginning in early 1993, groups of miners' wives camped outside some pits' gates and outside the Department of Trade and Industry in London. [3] This is referred to in the film. It contrasts with the muted response from the mineworkers, some of whom sang Shut the pit! to the tune of the song Here We Go! from the 1984–85 strike. [3] Plot [ edit ] The film follows the lives of the local Grimley Colliery Brass Band as they attempt to reach, and then win, the National Brass Band Championship. Led by ex miner and musical director Danny (Pete Postlethwaite) and inspired by newcomer Gloria (Tara Fitzgerald) the band battle through adversity to reflect the real history of Grimethorpe and become Champion of Great Britain.

The band supporters were ecstatic, but other bands had also played well. The reigning champions Desford Colliery had evidently played very well a few bands earlier than us. Fairey’s had also given a very worthwhile performance and these two seemed to be our main contenders. So we waited and waited for the results. Although miners had a tradition of fighting for their jobs, the risk of losing the redundancy money on offer by going forwards to privatisation swung the votes in most ballots to be in favour of pit closure and redundancy. The loss of hope, pride and fighting spirit in what were previously proud mining communities was the basis for the idea of being "brassed off", an expression used in the North of England, meaning "angry". Did you know anything about this period of British history? Has it inspired you to learn more? Discuss how movies can teach us about the past. The piece for London had already been chosen. It was to be ‘A New Jerusalem’ by Philip Wilby. The piece starts with an off-stage trumpet part that was fundamental to the whole ethos of the piece. The Voice of God started the work and returned twice more, the final time very near the end. To make the effect convincing and achieve the spine-tingling character of the whole piece – The Voice of God needed to be unseen by the audience throughout. Grimethorpe incidentally did not take part as Elgar Howarth was in the box with William Relton and Roy Newsome, but such was the furore that many conductors thought it “undesirable” and the following years saw the Open revert to ‘Epic Symphony’, ‘Diadem of Gold’ and ‘Benvenuto Cellini’.