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.