On Saturday 7 September 1996, audiences arrived at Manchester’s brand-new Bridgewater Hall for one of the most prestigious competitions in the brass band world. There was just one unusual detail: The Bridgewater Hall had not officially opened yet.
The Hall’s official opening concert, given by the Hallé, would take place four days later on Wednesday 11 September. But before then, the auditorium had already welcomed a paying audience for the 144th British Open Brass Band Championship, bringing 22 of Britain’s leading bands to Manchester for a full day of competition.
By the time the final notes had sounded, history had been made. The new Hall had hosted one of its earliest major musical occasions, and Marple Band had achieved the greatest victory in its history.
Thirty years later, with the help of memories and memorabilia from members of the winning band, we look back at an extraordinary day just before The Bridgewater Hall officially opened.
The British Open arrives at a brand-new concert hall
First held at Belle Vue in Manchester in 1853, the British Open Brass Band Championship is one of the oldest and most prestigious contests in the brass band world. After many years at Manchester’s Free Trade Hall, the competition moved across the city to the newly completed Bridgewater Hall for its 144th edition on Saturday 7 September 1996.
The timing made the occasion particularly remarkable. The Hallé would give The Bridgewater Hall’s official opening concert on Wednesday 11 September. Four days earlier, however, the new auditorium was already alive with music as 22 bands competed for one of the biggest prizes in brass banding.
Their test piece was Sir Edward Elgar’s The Severn Suite, meaning audiences heard 22 different interpretations of the same work over the course of the day. And at the very end of the running order came Marple Band.
A community band taking on the best
Marple Band’s history stretches back to 1883, when Thomas Carver, owner of Hollins Mill and a keen drummer, formed the Mission Army Band with workers from the mill. The Marple Reed Band followed in 1900 and would eventually develop into the brass band known today.
By the 1980s, the band had begun an extraordinary rise through the contesting ranks. Garry Cutt became conductor in 1983. Marple went on to become Third Section National Champions in 1986 and Second Section National Champions in 1988 before reaching championship level. By the early 1990s, they were regularly challenging some of the biggest names in British banding, finishing fourth at the British Open in 1992, 1993 and 1994.
Band member Paul Beetham remembers both the scale of the challenge and how far Marple had come to reach that point:
“This being known as the most difficult band contest to win, having 22 of the best bands in Britain, many of these top bands enjoyed large commercial sponsorship deals compared to The Marple Band being supported by its home community, performing concerts and other engagements to raise funds. For ten years before this ‘big win’ the band had been continuously developing momentum arising from the lower sections of ‘village’ bands… the big name bands were now beginning to take Marple seriously… becoming the British Open Champions in 1996, hard earned and very well deserved.”
The victory was therefore anything but an overnight success. It was the culmination of a decade-long rise through the contesting ranks, achieved by a community-supported band increasingly able to challenge the biggest names in British banding.
Drawn 22nd – so they went bowling
At the British Open, playing order was decided by draw, and Marple drew number 22 – they would be the final band to perform.
Paul remembers that, despite the significance of the day, circumstances seemed to work in their favour:
“Lots of things seemed to fall into place just at the right time.”
One of the band’s supporters had a connection to the nearby Midland Hotel and secured a rehearsal room for them. There was, however, the small matter of waiting for 21 other bands to play first.
Rather than allowing the tension to build all day, Marple found a rather less conventional way to prepare for the biggest performance in the band’s history:
“So many hours had to be occupied waiting to play, the band went ten pin bowling to destress before reforming the momentum in a later rehearsal before the performance.”
It is difficult to imagine a better example of keeping nerves under control before a major championship!
Discovering The Bridgewater Hall’s acoustics
While the players waited, musical director Garry Cutt was listening carefully to what was happening inside the new auditorium. The acoustics of the brand-new Bridgewater Hall had already attracted plenty of attention, and Cutt was keen to hear for himself how the auditorium responded before Marple took to the stage.
Paul recalls:
“Musical Director Garry Cutt had been considering the reports of wonderful acoustics in the new hall and went in to listen to a couple of early bands. He came out and told the band to drop all the written dynamics, the sounds carried so well. That became significant as many bands fell victim to overblowing (too loud) by the adjudicators.”
It was a crucial insight. Rather than trying to force the sound, Marple trusted the new auditorium to carry it. Then, after waiting almost the entire contest day, it was finally their turn.
Fifteen minutes that changed everything
By the time Marple walked onto The Bridgewater Hall stage, the audience had already heard Elgar’s The Severn Suite 21 times.
Marple made the 22nd performance count.
Listen to Marple Band’s winning performance of Elgar’s The Severn Suite, recorded live at The Bridgewater Hall on 7 September 1996 below.
They were awarded 196 points, taking first place ahead of Tredegar, with BNFL Leyland third. Principal cornet Helen Fox was also awarded the individual championship prize. Speaking to The British Bandsman shortly after the victory, band secretary Eileen Murphy summed up the achievement:
“We don’t think we’re the best band in the world, but for 15 minutes last Saturday we were!”
For a community-supported band from Marple, defeating many of the most celebrated names in British brass banding was a remarkable achievement. Paul remembers the significance of the result in similarly emphatic terms:
“Becoming British Open Champions is simply the best thing that has ever happened to Marple Band.”
A family victory
For Lucy Cutt, the day was particularly special. Lucy was a member of the winning band. Garry Cutt, now her husband, conducted it. Her father and one of her brothers were also playing, while her mother was the band secretary.
Looking back 30 years later, Lucy still has a vivid reminder of the day. As she explains:
“As it was such a momentous occasion for Marple Band my husband had a lot of memorabilia framed in a large collage and this is currently sitting in a bedroom!”
The collection includes photographs, press cuttings, the championship certificate and a bandsman’s ticket from the contest – a personal record of a remarkable day for both Marple Band and The Bridgewater Hall. Together, they provide a wonderful snapshot of both a band at the height of its powers and The Bridgewater Hall at the very beginning of its life.
‘Honest Toil’
The sound of Marple’s historic victory was preserved on the band’s 1996 CD Honest Toil. The album featured a wide-ranging programme of music, but its final track was particularly special: the live recording of Marple’s British Open-winning performance of The Severn Suite on 7 September 1996.
The photograph used for the CD was also closely connected with the occasion, taken four days later at their next appearance….
Back at The Bridgewater Hall four days later
Marple’s relationship with the new Hall did not finish when the contest ended.
Four days later, on Wednesday 11 September 1996, The Bridgewater Hall officially opened with the Hallé in concert.
The British Open shield was displayed in the foyer that evening and Marple Band was invited back to perform for the audience as they left. It completed an extraordinary few days.
On Saturday, the band had entered the Hall as the last of 22 competitors. By Wednesday, they were back as British Open Champions on the night The Bridgewater Hall officially began its concert life.
Thirty years on
The British Open moved to Birmingham the following year, making the championship of 7 September 1996 a unique occasion in The Bridgewater Hall’s history. For Marple Band, meanwhile, the victory remains part of a much longer story.
Paul writes:
“The Marple Band is still going strong.”
Today, the band continues to perform locally and compete, albeit away from the pressures of top-flight championship banding:
“It is more of a family band these days performing at local concerts and the occasional contest… but will be proud of its heritage forever.”
The band’s history tells a story of resilience. From its earliest days, Marple Band has survived two world wars, recessions, financial difficulties, changing fashions, and global pandemics. More than a century later, it remains an important part of the Marple community. And 30 years after that extraordinary Saturday in September 1996, the day occupies a special place in the history of The Bridgewater Hall too.
With grateful thanks to Lucy Cutt, Paul Beetham and Ruth Groves for sharing their memories and archive material, and helping us tell the story of Marple Band’s historic 1996 British Open victory.