| 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.
Dave made his intentions clear at the beginning of the year. This was to be his final year as bandmaster of the Bristol Unicorns Showband before retiring and concentrating on the dance band and a concert band.
Dave attended the Colston Hall for a concert presented by the (incredibly talented!) Band of Her Majesty's Royal Marines, and decided upon a selection of music from Les Miserables for this year's marching show. The piece proved to be a challenge for us, especially in trying to achieve the right balance within the band. Many of the brass members were still unable to read music properly, but thankfully we were afforded a little more rehearsal time indoors to get to grips with the music.
Rifle Guard
Our first performance of the year was at Shepton Mallet on April 21st for an evening concert. The dance band were featured in the first half, whilst the Showband closed the concert, proving that although we were down in membership we'd still managed to maintain the standards and versatility of previous years.
On April 8th a coach load of band members and supporters left Bristol at 6am to travel across to Great Yarmouth for the British Youth Band Association Individual and Ensemble competitions. We had four entries from the band, two in the under-21 individual brass category, and one each in the colour guard and wind ensemble categories. In an incredibly poorly organised event we came home with two first placings for the individual brass and wind ensemble category, and two third placings for the individual brass and colour guard.
Saxophone Section Individual Brass
In order to learn the new marching display we attended four all day rehearsals at Colerne before entering our first competition at Eastleigh on June 9th. Unfortunately we only won one trophy on this day which was awarded to Charlotte Brownlee for best field commander. We were eventually placed second behind the Senators of Eastleigh. Undeterred from this little setback we travelled north the next day to Great Barr and won the supreme title there. It was whilst listening to some of the judge's taped comments from the two days of competition that we realised we were possibly in for a long hard season! Two weeks later we entered our third competition at Plumpton, near Brighton, and were placed third behind the Senators and Midsomer Norton.
Once again the band were invited to the REME Open Day in Reading where we performed our marching display and were asked to participate in a massed band procession with the military bands. The band stayed overnight at the barracks in Reading before travelling onwards the next day to Hove for another regional championship. During the course of the past week we had implemented a few alterations to the routine in preparation for our forthcoming trip to Arklow, Eire and it seemed fitting to try out these changes at the Hove contest. They included the introduction of 'That's Entertainment' and 'Yankee Doodle Dandee' (!) to open the show, replacing the duet, Castle on a Cloud.
This new opening clearly surprised many of the judges, so much so that they placed us third, some forty points behind the Senators who were announced as runners-up behind Midsomer Norton! Feeling somewhat frustrated at the way the results were going against us, we returned home, looking forward to the next day when we would leave for our trip to Eire.
The band met the next evening and departed for Fishguard for the ferry crossing to Rosslare. We arrived in Eire early the next morning and were taken by coach to Arklow, Co. Wicklow, some fifty miles north of Rosslare. Here we were met by residents of the town who were to be our hosts for the next five days. Most of the day was free to relax until later in the evening when we performed in concert at the Bandshell in the centre of the town. Conditions were somewhat cramped, but still the performance was well received by the enthusiastic Irish crowd, and a few of our very own supporters who had made the journey over.
The following morning we met at 10am for a parade through the streets of Arklow and were joined by three other Irish bands and a German band. We all marched to the local outdoor dog track (!), and put on our marching displays. It was here that the forthcoming "Yankee Doodle Championships" were to be held on the Saturday. Our evening was left free as many of us met up at one of the local watering holes for the very tense 1990 World Cup Semi-final between England and Germany. What a result!
Over the next two days the individual and ensemble competitions were held at the Yankee Doodle Stadium. The weather conditions were extremely poor on both days, with strong winds and some torrential rain. Nevertheless, undeterred, we all had a great laugh bringing back the element of "fun" to banding, especially with the late percussion entry and their cymbal player extraordinaire, Ian Womack! The woodwind ensemble beat the brass (I demand a recount!), the rifles won their caption in the guard ensemble (thoroughly deserved, but me thinks the colour guard were let down slightly by the force 10 gale!), the mallets won their section and there were individual successes for the brass and rifle guard.
Mallet Section
On completion of the individual competitions on the Friday the band travelled south to Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford for the town's annual strawberry festival! We assembled alongside a disused railway track and marched through the town, eventually coming to a bandstand in the centre of Enniscorthy, where we put on a brief concert in front of a large, but somewhat bemused audience. The rest of the evening was free to spend with hosts in Arklow and many of us took advantage of the spare time to go down to the town's bandstand and watch the Senators of Eastleigh perform a half hour concert. They had arrived earlier in the day and were also competing in the next day's competition.
At 10am the next day the band were taken by coach to a field on a housing estate for a rehearsal of the marching display. We attracted a lot of local interest as we practised on this extremely uneven surface. The rehearsal was abysmal. With many of the band suffering from hangovers and lack of sleep Dave showed no shame in absolutely rollicking us all in front of the local residents! Suitably embarrassed we made our way to the "stadium", but not before a long wait as one of the coaches got stuck in the entrance to the stadium! So far it had not been a good day. A few of the band members were feeling unwell and as a result it was decided they would not take part in the competition. The weather was dull and overcast so overall it was looking like a miserable day for us. The band was then told that our scheduled performance time had to be brought forward as some of the other competing bands had pulled out of the competition.
Due to the poor weather conditions there was a low crowd attendance, made up mostly of supporters from the two competing British bands! Our performance was a complete contrast to the earlier rehearsal. In adverse conditions we managed to put on a show that was good enough for us to take the supreme title. It was the first time we had beaten the Senators this year, although admittedly this victory was won as a result of points being deducted from the Senators for a breach of competition rules (i.e., they didn't play Yankee Doodle Dandy in their show!). However it was clear from the results that the margin between the bands was now closing significantly. A little later all the competing bands paraded through Arklow for an hour long procession, and on completion we were announced as the winners of the Yankee Doodle Parade competition. The evening was free and most of us went down to the local pubs to enjoy an evening with members from the Senators and their supporters, before having to leave for the return journey home early the next morning.
It had been an excellent few days away. This was a trip that had undoubtedly brought the band closer together, and was a welcome break after all the recent disappointments.
The band was kept very busy for the remainder of July with various weekend performances at the Basingstoke Tattoo, Ledbury, Stroud, Badminton, Colerne and Shepton Mallet, before our four week summer break in August.
The band returned at the end of August to rehearse for a carnival parade in Seaton. With many of the band members still on their summer holidays we had to contend with a much smaller band for the parade and then go on to perform a marching display the next day at Tockington. From hereon much of the band's rehearsal time was spent outdoors, preparing for a regional competition in North London on Saturday 22nd September. We were a late entry into this competition because we had learned that unless the band entered five or more competitions throughout the year, we would not qualify for the British Youth Band Association Championships later in the year. It was because of our late application that the band was drawn to go on first in the Premier Class.
Much of the talk was centred round the fact that this was more than likely going to be the Bristol Unicorn's last ever regional competition. A suitable successor to Dave had still not been found. Many of the band members had made their intentions clear for the end of the year, and it seemed increasingly unlikely that there would be a marching band for the start of the next season. With this in mind we entered the competition determined to give one final exhibition to the spectators, whilst also setting out to improve on our previous defeats. It proved to be a fantastic show, undoubtedly the finest of the year so far. However, we were once again placed third, some fifty points behind the Senators of Eastleigh who were announced as the runners-up. A feeling of despair was now entering the camp as we realised it was very unlikely the band could go on to win the BYBA title at the NEC in November.
For the very last time the Bristol Unicorns led the veterans to the Bristol Cenotaph on Sunday 11th November for the Remembrance service. The following Sunday the band held its annual concert at the Colston Hall in front of a sell out crowd. The combination of Dance Band music followed by the Showband proved to be an outstanding success. It was here that Dave was presented with the British Youth Band Association President's Award for his outstanding contribution to the organisation.
Most of the next week was spent rehearsing outdoors for the BYBA finals. The band introduced more visual movements and changed the opening marching sequence. The day before the competition there was a half day rehearsal at Colerne where most of the time was dedicated to tidying up various parts of the display.
At 630am on November 25th the Bristol Unicorns met at the Bristol Polytechnic for their final marching band competition and departed for the Birmingham NEC. We had learned that we would be performing first in the premier class which meant being in the inspection arena for 1140am and then performing at midday. Unashamedly emotions were running high as the reality dawned on us that this was going to be the last time we would all be together in the field of competition.
After warming up with a vocal rendition of "Do you hear the People Sing?" we entered the arena for our championship performance. It was probably one of the most emotionally charged shows that the band has ever performed and we all felt the routine could not have gone any better. Many of the more neutral spectators had remarked that it was a great show and that the final result would be a close one between us and the Senators.
We were placed as the runners-up, some fifty points behind the Senators of Eastleigh. It was a truly disappointing way to end a remarkable competitive history for the Bristol Unicorns. All of us desperately wanted to win the contest on that day, but unfortunately, for whatever reason it was not to be.
" The End "
Throughout the year the results at various competitions had not gone our way, and many of the judges, rather unusually, compared our performances to those of previous years. This was perhaps a little harsh as we knew we weren't the same band, primarily because it was a much younger organisation. However, we never felt as though we'd lost the overall quality of entertainment.
Even now, some twelve years on, it is hard to fathom just how the Unicorns were left trailing so far behind the field this season. Many of the judge's comments were extremely ambiguous and inconsistent. Admittedly this may sound like sour grapes, but it is well documented that the Bristol Unicorns had a proud history of accepting defeat with a great deal of dignity, and we kept that tradition to the end.
It was inevitable that one day the Bristol Unicorns would be beaten. There were so many bands/corps out there that longed to beat us, and towards the end it was evident just how much. Even in victory we did not indulge in over zealous celebrations in front of other bands, because for us it was not the done thing. Besides, Dave would never have allowed it! Over the years he reiterated the importance of keeping level headed. The same could not be said for one band in particular, who this season at one of the regional competitions saw fit to rub our noses in it when finally, after so many years of trying, they achieved their goal. Whilst we all agreed at the time it was an extremely sad way to celebrate, it was also clear that from hereon this was the way BYBA and the band world was progressing. Frankly, many of us were glad to be shot of it.
It has since come to light that the Bristol Unicorns would not have won a major Title this year no matter what, as it was reported by members within the Association that many of the BYBA bands were fed up with the inevitable outcome of results at regional contests. I was privileged enough to enjoy the major successes of the band and I accept that we were not the same band in 1990 as we were then, but I cannot believe that the margin in overall quality was as drastic as the judges this year would lead us to believe. I got the impression that many of the bands/corps were under the illusion that we would turn up to competitions expecting to win! That was never the case. Otherwise none of us would have felt as nervous as we did before each contest and for me personally, the nerves were all part of the enjoyment. I am certainly not undermining the quality of other bands because to do so would be arrogant, and as I said earlier we were always discouraged from showing any signs of superiority towards other bands. It is certainly true that this year the gap closed significantly between us and the rest of the field, and I am not suggesting that we should have beaten any particular band/corps this year, but fifty points?! That was a major kick in the teeth.
It was disappointing because the Bristol Unicorns undoubtedly promoted BYBA a great deal over the years and my feeling is that we were dumped because we were of no further use to them, especially as it became clear we would not be competing the following year.
Apologies for the sudden outburst of controversy, but I was never one for holding back when I felt things needed to be said!
It was obviously not the way that we would have hoped to have gone out, but it certainly was not all doom and gloom for us this year. This was a thoroughly enjoyable season overall, full of some fantastic memories.
We were all extremely proud of ourselves, especially for all that we had achieved over the years. Our successes, even to this day, have never been matched by any bands/corps, past or present.
Undisputedly, the Bristol Unicorns Youth Marching Band was, and still is the most successful British organisation of its kind, EVER!
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