New Alumni page posted

We've just posted a new Alumni page, with a list of all past members of the band.

If your name is missing of you can't see someone who should be there please let us know by using the comment box at the bottom of the page (you will need to sign in to post). Or you can also contact us via Facebook or Twitter.

New photo galleries

New photo galleries

I've now added a new page for photo galleries here.

There are currently 3 galleries to choose from. You can set them as a slideshow or simply scroll through at you own speed.

Don't forget to send me any pictures you want me to add to the galleries.

Does anyone have any photos...

... that they would like to share?

You can either send them to me (comment on a post here to let me know or via Facebook) and I'll add them to the gallery section. Or if you prefer send me a link to the photos and I'll add them as a link from this site.

I don't have any from the last reunion so a few of them would be good too.

S

You know you're a child of the 80's when...

• You remember when the biggest mystery in the world was who shot J.R.
• Alvin Stardust taught you how to cross the road, using the classic phrase “you must be out of your tiny minds”... a bit rich coming from a man wearing a glove and a ring on the outside!
• You remember a 'Man's got to chew, what a Man's got to chew'.
• You remember when there was no breakfast TV and when TV shut down at midnight, and when there was nothing on TV in the middle of the day except for that test card girl with the stupid clown and a blackboard.
• You know that another name for a keyboard is a Synthesizer.
• You can name at least half of the members of the elite Brat Pack.
• You wanted to be a Goonie.
• You remember when ATARI was a state of the art video game system.

New video page added to site

I've now added a video page to the site. Only a handfull so far but more to come.
See all of the current videos here.


British Marching Band Championships 1984 part 1

Join the Bristol Unicorns on Facebook

Facebook seems to be the place for finding old friends these days, you can also view a load of old videos and much more in the Bristol Unicorns groups.

Steve Annette's Unicorns group
Nikki Fossey's Unicorns group

The Drake Music Project

The 2003 Reunion raised £398.92 for our chosen charity The Drake Music Project

We recieved this message from them on the 13th Nov 2003:

"Hi folks,
Thank-you so much for your donation of £392.98 to our project, supporting disabled musicians of all ages using technology. You have touched the lives of some wonderful people through your support, and that coming from your music making makes it all the more special. Many thanks to all who have been involved on behalf of the team in Bristol, and to Steve Annette for getting in touch with us."

Best wishes from Anna Batson
(Project Co-ordinator)

Introduction

We were all, at one time or other, questioned and perhaps even criticised by friends outside of the movement for the amount of time we dedicated to the Bristol Unicorns. "Can't you miss it, just this once?" they'd ask as they told us how great it would be to go and see Rovers thrash City! To many people our age it must have seemed a sad way to spend our spare time. They couldn't imagine getting up at 6am on a Saturday or Sunday for an all day rehearsal at Colerne, only to be shouted and bawled at if things didn't quite go as expected. It must have seemed really masochistic to go back for more every Tuesday and Thursday evening!
These people however, would later see the obvious benefits of belonging to an organisation such as this. With the hours of hard work and commitment came the rewards of travel, championship titles and consequently all the accolades and publicity. No one could ever say it was handed to us on a plate, because we all, members and supporters alike, had to make sacrifices to achieve the successes we did.

1991 - The final curtain

At the beginning of 1991 quite a few of the members from the previous year attended a concert band rehearsal at Patchway High School. Dave had decided that his spare time would now be dedicated primarily to the dance band and a new concert band. Much of the concert band repertoire would consist of old Unicorns music to begin with, in order for the band to re-establish itself once more.
On the weekend of 16th-18th March the band returned to Eire, and took part in the St. Patrick's Day Parade through Dublin. This was to be our final marching engagement.
We travelled overnight to Dublin and stayed in YMCA accommodation near the centre of the City. There was a return journey to Arklow for a small parade through the town and a chance later to meet up with our hosts from the previous year.

1990 - Comforters philosophers and lifelong mates

(SELECTIONS FROM THE MUSICAL, LES MISERABLES)

Castle On A Cloud	At The End Of The Day	I Dreamed A Dream
Master Of The House	On My Own	Do You Hear The People Sing?
Finale

That's Entertainment	Yankee Doodle Dandee	At The End Of The Day
I Dreamed A Dream	Master Of The House	On My Own
Do You Hear The People Sing?	Finale

On Tuesday 9th January the band returned from the Christmas and New Year break for a rehearsal at Pearce Construction. The main objective of the evening was to find out what sort of sound this much younger band could produce. A few of the members who had previously decided to leave returned in the new year, and after some minor changes in instrumental categories, there appeared to be a promising foundation for another good year.

1989 - Euro success leaves the eagle's feathers ruffled!

An American In Paris	Russian Dressing	Feelings
Finlandia

This year the band was to return to Kerkrade, Holland, in July, attempting to retain our World Championship title. Much of the year was spent fundraising and included numerous weekend trips to Weston-super-Mare sea front where we put on marching displays and concerts.

On Saturday 10th June we entered our first regional competition of the year at Eastleigh and won the title for the eighth consecutive year. Unfortunately we weren't so successful at the Hove Championship where we were beaten into second place by the Midsomer Norton Marching Brass with only half a point separating the two of us. To this day, past members of Midsomer Norton Marching Brass talk of this victory and hail it as a highlight of their existence. We had travelled up to Reading the night before, and once again were honoured to take part in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineer's Open Day.

On the evening of the 14th June the band was invited to play at the Colston Hall in a concert presented by The Band of Her Majesty's Grenadier Guards. Our local press reported the next day "The Band of the Grenadier Guards, though in rousing form, is likely to remember the evening for being upstaged by the Bristol Unicorns."

1988 - Yahoo! We rise from the ashes

Strike Up The Band	Sabre Dance	2001 Space Odyssey
Battlestar Galactica	Where No Man Has Gone Before	Can You Read My Mind?
Cantina Band	Star Wars

At the end of 1987 we once again lost a number of members due to work and family commitments, but thankfully we were able to maintain the standard of previous years with recruiting and another reshuffle of instrumental categories. One of our first public performances of the year was at the Nat West Festival of Marching Bands at the Royal Albert Hall on Sunday 16th February.
It was again decided that this year's show would be based primarily on a theme, so selections of music from various space anthems were chosen. Strike up the Band was kept as an opening piece to the routine.

1986 - A triple conquest

Return Of The Jedi	Russian Dressing	Feelings
Finlandia

The year started with a slightly younger band after many of the older, more experienced members decided that family commitments meant they would be unable to dedicate as much time to the band. We kicked started the season with an appearance at the Royal Albert Hall for the Nat West Festival of Youth Bands on Sunday 16th February.

Six competitions were entered at the first half of the season. At Crawley the band continued to play the 1812 Overture as the closing piece to the show until it was finally replaced by Finlandia for the second contest at Hornchurch. Having gained first place in both competitions we went on to win other titles at Eastleigh, Midsomer Norton, Hove and Sandy. Out of a possible 47 trophies to be won at these contests we came home with 40.

1987 - Howdy folks!..welcome to the circus

Strike Up The Band	Send In The Clowns	El Companchero
Selections From Barnum
A Sucker Born Every Minute	One Brick At A Time	Come Follow The Band
The Colours Of Life	Come Join The Circus

At 7am on January 1st we travelled to London for the New Years Day Parade through the City. It was obvious that most of us were feeling the effects of a hangover from the night before, so the 2 hour journey to the centre of London was very quiet. It was an extremely cold morning which only added to our woes and severe sense of humour failures. We arrived at the muster point and soon marched off, parading through the streets of London past some of the famous landmarks. At the halfway point the Mayor of London sat watching the procession and acknowledged the participants of the parade. There were a panel of judges sat alongside the Mayor taking note of the drill, appearance and musical ability of the band. We stopped here and played through The Return of the Jedi before marching off again. We were eventually announced as the runners-up behind the Conquest Alliance, and whilst many believe that there was a slight mix-up in the rules, I believe it was the overpowering stench of alcohol coming from the band that let us down! We were grateful to get back on the buses and return home after what has to go down as one of the band's worst engagements.

1985 - A year to remember

Magnificent Seven	Greatest Love Of All	James Bond Theme
Two Imps	Moon River	1812 Overture

Magnificent Seven	Greatest Love Of All	Russian Dressing
Feelings	Moon River	1812 Overture

This will undoubtedly go down as the bands finest and most successful year. Having entered five regional championships in the first half of the year at Nuneaton, Crawley, Hornchurch, Midsomer Norton and Sandy, we came home with all five supreme titles.

The weeks after these triumphs were spent rehearsing for the World Showband Championships, to be held in Kerkrade, Holland on July 21st. A week before the competition, the band held its first youth band tattoo at the home of great West Country football, Eastville Stadium!
Supporters of the band had been up for hours erecting scaffolding that was eventually covered by a canvas sheet, giving the effect of a huge castle. As the gates to the "castle" opened, out came the bands onto the arena to perform their field displays. Midsomer Norton Marching Brass, 37th Kingswood Scout Band and Bath ATC were among the guests asked to participate in the event. The weather conditions were poor, but we took this as an opportunity for a dress rehearsal before the World Championships. It was the last time we would perform the show in public before departing for Holland.
Under floodlight, in the pouring rain, we produced one of our finest ever shows, earning a standing ovation from those inside the stadium. We were perhaps inspired even further by the fact that there were many members of the West Coast Cadets Drum & Bugle Corps, another local band, stood in the stands watching our performance!

1984 - Overture to a new era

Magnificent Seven	Greatest Love Of All	James Bond Theme
Two Imps	Moon River	Buck Rogers Theme
Land Of Hope And Glory

Magnificent Seven	Greatest Love Of All	James Bond Theme
Two Imps	Moon River	1812 Overture

Sadly the band was not able to compete at the Albert Hall for this year's National Championships in March because we were no longer recognised as a traditional marching band. With the band continuing to grow it was perhaps for the best as it would have proved very difficult to design a show for so many people in such a confined space. This obviously meant the band had more time to rehearse the display and music for the coming British Youth Band Association competitive season, commencing in May.

Two new pieces of music were introduced for the beginning of this season's show, with the James Bond Theme, Buck Rogers and Land of Hope and Glory being kept for the first half of the year. The Two Imps was put into the routine to feature the whole of the percussion section. The band would often rehearse indoors to get to grips with the 1812 Overture, a huge challenge that would eventually replace the Buck Rogers Theme and Land of Hope and Glory in time for the British Championships in November.

1982 - Going Dutch

Alabamy Bound	God Only Knows	Don't Worry Baby
Fun Fun Fun	Moon River	Black Magic Woman
Classical Gas	Quincey Theme	Land Of Hope And Glory

Once again the competitive season began at the Enfield National Marching Band Championships at the Royal Albert Hall, and again the Unicorns won the supreme title. It was a very close contest with the band only coming home with three caption trophies, including best colour guard for the first time, best mallet and percussion sections, whilst coming consistently second in every other caption. Seven regional contests were entered throughout the season between March and July and the band took all seven titles. These successes obviously meant automatic qualification into the BMBC at the NEC for the third successive year. The band did not compete at the International Festival of Marching Bands this year, but instead represented Great Britain in the evening.

1983 - Time for change

Alabamy Bound	God Only Knows	Can't Buy Me Love
Just The Way You Are	James Bond Theme	Classical Gas
Walk Through A Storm (You'll Never Walk Alone)	Buck Rogers Theme	Land Of Hope And Glory

At the beginning of the year numerous trips were made to an RAF hangar at Locking near Weston-super-Mare to learn the new championship routine. The pom-pom majorettes, who for so long had been a feature in the band displays, were now officially permitted to compete with the band under a new ruling laid down by the British Youth Band Association. Once again, more members joined in the New Year, and a saxophone section was introduced to the marching display to complement the clarinets.

1980 - The road to success

California Girls	God Only Knows	Mack The Knife
Solitaire	Drum Display	Chatanooga Choo Choo
Land Of Hope And Glory	Auld Lang Syne

This was the bands first full year in competition. The season began with an appearance at the National Youth Marching Band Championships on Saturday 22nd March at the Royal Albert Hall. Out of seven regional championships entered around the country, a total of 27 trophies were won, including four supreme titles.

On Saturday 5th July, the very first International Festival of Marching Bands was held at the Wembley Arena. Bands of various styles from all over the world were invited to take part in the event and it proved to be a tremendous success. The Bristol Unicorns were placed as the overall runners-up in the competition. The following day the band travelled to Hove for a regional contest where they beat the current British Champions, Thurrock Marching Brass. Over a weekend of competition the Bristol Unicorns had collected a total of ten trophies.

1981 - From strength to strength

On The Street Where You Live	God Only Knows	Don't Worry Baby
Fun Fun Fun	Moon River	Drum Display
Consider Yourself	Land Of Hope And Glory	Auld Lang Syne

As the bands reputation grew, so did the membership, and with that came some already accomplished musicians from other bands in the region. However, it was not a mandatory requirement that all those wishing to join should be able to read music as there was a team on hand to assist in the teaching of basic rudiments. Much of the brass manuscript had the valve and slide positioning written in to aid those unable to read music, and many of the band members were therefore able to "play by ear". A tremendous amount of self-discipline and dedication is required in order to maintain an aptitude for music, so many of the band members were encouraged to practice individually at home, as well as being expected to rehearse on Tuesday and Thursday evenings as an ensemble. The standard of discipline was high from the outset as it was soon realised that this was what was required in order to succeed.

1979 - A Band is Born

Dave Rogers had been involved with the 234th Northwinds Scout Band for ten years, and in that time made it one of the most successful scout bands in the country. Unfortunately, being involved in the scouting movement meant there were certain restrictions. For example, before entering competitions or booking engagements the band would first have to consult with the scouts, ensuring that there were no planned weekend activities or camps. At that time the organisation did not allow Girl Guides in the band, changes in uniform were not permitted and Dave felt he was restricted to a particular style of music.

Inevitably, Dave broke away from the Northwinds in the hope he could form an independent band, allowing a change uniform, inviting girls to join and being able to perform a more varied range of music. With the formation of a Youth Band, came the introduction of baton majorettes and a colour guard to provide more of a spectacle and showmanship for the field displays and concerts.

In January of 1979 Dave fronted a meeting with his brother Keith at the Filton Avenue Junior School. An open invitation was offered to anyone who wished to join the band. By the end of the evening approximately thirty members were signed up, and with £3000 credit supplied by Potters of Aldershot for new instruments, the band was formed. Who could have foreseen that from that evening the Bristol Unicorns would become the most successful marching band ever to come out of Britain, with a list of achievements that even today is still unrivalled?

On January 21st a sponsored event took place from the Duke of York Inn, opposite Horfield Common. Members and supporters of the band walked from the pub to Blaise Castle and back to raise money for uniforms and more instruments. There were no uniforms as such for the first few months so the members had to make do with dark trousers and red or green sweatshirts. These were specially made until a more suitable uniform could be introduced. The band's name was inspired by the two golden unicorns on either side of the Bristol City Council building, overlooking College Green and by Dave's own admission the bands colours of red, gold and green were influenced by the very similar colours of the Northwinds Scouts.
On the 14th May the band made its first ever public appearance and performed at the Little Theatre, Bristol. A lot of the music played at this concert was brought over from Dave's fondly remembered days with the Northwinds and included pieces such as Yellow Bird, Over There and Jesus Christ Superstar. He felt the need to establish the musicians before embarking on a more versatile programme of music.
There was no woodwind section when the band first formed and so to emulate a sound similar to the style of the military bands, clarinets were introduced. Later in the year Dave asked members of the band to choose some music from a stall at the British Marching Band Championships, and consequently a medley of Beach Boys hits including California Girls, Don't Worry Baby, Fun Fun Fun and God Only Knows was selected. This piece introduced the band's first unique and original sound by combining the Brass and Woodwind.

Colin & Suzanne Bracey

The uniforms were now well on their way to being completed. Grace Bracey and June Watkins were tasked with making the red cravats, gold cummerbunds, green trousers and skirts with gold piping at the seams, whilst the band members were instructed to purchase plain white shirts, bottle green socks and plain black shoes. Badges were designed and placed on the shirts to add the finishing touches. The colour guard were eventually given red dresses whilst the majorettes were dressed in red leotards.

Broadmead Bristol

On Saturday September 8th the band entered its first competition, held at the Brighton Centre. Understandably there were a lot of nerves on the day, and it was due to this that they knocked 30 seconds off the time it usually took to complete the display! Out of seven competing bands in their class the Bristol Unicorns were placed sixth ahead of the 234th Northwinds. It was a tremendous experience for all the members, especially considering many of them had never taken part in competition before.

A lot was learned from the contest at Brighton and consequently Dave decided to revise much of the marching display in preparation for a competition at Dagenham two weeks later. He spent a great deal of his spare time at home making shapes with bits of lego in order to make more of an impression on the display and showmanship judges! Even at this early stage Dave was making his intentions clear, wanting to leave his mark on the banding world. Two weeks of intense rehearsals paid off as the Unicorns came home as runners-up overall in the contest, winning some of the individual captions outright or coming second.
Throughout the year more fundraising events were held in an effort to raise money for instruments, uniforms and equipment. These events included a sponsored slim by Lynne Rogers, jumble sales, raffles, dances and a sponsored silence by the majorettes.

After only eleven months in existence, the Bristol Unicorns were earning themselves a good reputation as already their rise to fame was being noticed. On Sunday 11th November the band was asked to lead the veterans in the Remembrance Day parade through Bristol City centre and on to the Cenotaph, an honour that was bestowed every year until 1990.