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.

The St. Patrick's Day Parade on Sunday took us past some of Dublin's historical landmarks and we were asked to put on a small marching display en route in front of some of the country's dignitaries. It was an incredibly tight squeeze, but the band adapted to the conditions, choosing to play the opening sequence of Les Miserables from the previous year's display. We were judged on our performance and were later announced as the overall winners in the parade.

Despite the local publicity no one stepped forward offering to take over leadership of the Showband from Dave so it was absolved on our return from Eire. The Bristol Evening Post ran a feature late in 1990 with the headline "Will the Unicorns become extinct?" It read, "Bristol Unicorns are in danger of being wound up after 11 years of taking every award in the calendar. If the worst happens, it will be a sad day for Bristol. But their competitors will breathe a sigh of relief." The article went on, ".......where Dave scored with the Unicorns was by not copying the American bands so slavishly. He merged the transatlantic razzamatazz and slick showmanship with the solid British brass-band tradition-and the result was a world-beater."
Whilst it was an emotional and sad end perhaps one of the most fitting comments to sum up the feelings of those in the band came from Dave Fear who was quoted in the Evening Post as saying "We've had a good run and that's something all of us will treasure."