The Leyland Band is a brass band

Brass band

A brass band is a musical ensemble generally consisting entirely of brass instruments, most often with a percussion section. Ensembles that include brass and woodwind instruments can in certain traditions also be termed brass bands , but are usually more correctly termed military bands, concert...

 based in Lancashire

Lancashire

Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...

 in the UK

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

.

History

The Leyland Band was established in 1946 in the heart of industrial Lancashire as the Leyland Motors Band, taking its name from the world famous truck and bus company. Now an independent group of some thirty musicians, the Band has retained its local connection and now proudly bears the name of its home town.

The last twenty five years of the Bands existence has been the most consistently successful in its history. After a meteoric rise through the various sections, the Band has witnessed scores of prize awards at all the major competitions in the brass band arena.

Leyland Band has also rightly earned its reputation as an unrivalled concert entertainer by producing dynamic and unique performances both at home and abroad. Leyland Band has always fostered a strong sense of originality. In 1980, the ensemble was the first western brass band to tour Japan

, a country it revisited along with South Korea

South Korea

The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

 in the 1990s. In the last decade, four coast to coast tours of the United States of America are testament to the Band’s far-reaching appeal. Numerous performances on continental Europe have been a feature of the band’s work on the concert platform. It has also had great success at the Brass in Concert Championship of which it is the current title holder.

Leyland Band has appeared in numerous television and radio broadcasts, specifically for the Granada Band of the Year, BBC Radio 3

 and Listen to the Band. It has an impressive discography and has recorded many commercial CDs.

Previous Names

• Leyland Motors Band (1946 - 1979)
• Leyland Vehicles Band (1979 - 1988)
• Leyland DAF
  Leyland DAF
  Leyland DAF was a commercial vehicle manufacturing company based in the United Kingdom, and a division of DAF NV. In 1993 DAF NV became insolvent and Leyland DAF went into receivership.-History:...
  
   Band (1988 - 1992)
• BNFL
  BNFL
  British Nuclear Fuels Limited was a nuclear energy and fuels company owned by the UK Government. It was a former manufacturer and transporter of nuclear fuel , ran reactors, generated and sold electricity, reprocessed and managed spent fuel , and decommissioned nuclear plants and other similar...
  
   (Leyland) Band (1992 - 1997)
• JJB Sports
  JJB Sports
  JJB Sports plc is a United Kingdom sports retailer. It currently operates 251 stores in the UK and Ireland.- History :The sportshop chain was founded in 1971, when ex-footballer Dave Whelan acquired a single sports shop in Wigan. The original store was established by JJ Broughton in the early...
  
   Leyland Band (1997 - 2000)

Contest successes

• Champion Band of Great Britain: 2005
• British Open Champions: 1994
• All England Masters: 1989, 1992, 2003
• Brass in Concert Champions: 1989, 1991, 1992, 1997, 2011
• North West Regional Champions: 1982, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 2004, 2005
• Grand Shield Champions (Spring Festival): 1981, 2008

Conductors

Audio clips

• Spanish Eyes - by Bert Kaempfert
  Bert Kaempfert
  Bert Kaempfert was a German orchestra leader and songwriter. He made easy listening and jazz-oriented records, and wrote the music for a number of well-known songs, such as "Strangers in the Night" and "Spanish Eyes".-Biography:He was born in Hamburg, Germany - where he received his lifelong...
  
  .
• Sunshine of your Smile - by Lilian Ray
• People by Stanley Black
  Stanley Black
  Stanley Black OBE was an English Bandleader, Composer, conductor, arranger and pianist. He wrote and arranged many film scores and recorded prolifically for the Decca label...