A Brief History of Fairey.

First heard of in 1937, Fairey was an instant hit. Originally dubbed Fairey Aviation Band, after Sir Richard Fairey who owned the Fairey Aviation Company, where the employees started a brass band, following the trend of many different firms at the time. Their first director, Harry Mortimer, spanned over 3 decades with them, the first major success being winning the British Open in 1941.

Pictured above, Harry Mortimer, legendary composer, player and director.

He was one of the most prevalent cornet players of his era who composed many different technical pieces, as well as conducting and performing.

Since their first successes, they have achieved a lustrious title in the Brass Band comminuty, as they have attained the National Championships of Great Britain 9 times and the British open a gob-smacking 16 times.

During the long and eventful history, the band has seen a multitude of directors, including the following. Harry Mortimer, Leonard Lamb, Kenneth Dennison, Walter Hargreaves, Roy Newsome, Major Peter Parkes, James Gourley, Howard Snell, Alan Withington, Simon Stonehouse, Philip Chalk, Russell Gray and Garry Cutt. And it is fair to say, that looking at the rich tapestry of history possessed by the band, each one has lived up to the honourable title of the last.

Something that the Fairey band pride in is the annual Whit Friday marches. The late Alan Lawton MBE led the band to an incredible feat at the 1987 Whit Friday Contest, gaining the then record of 10 first places.

The most notable time in Fairey's past was when they won the famed "treble," where they held the number one spot in the British Open and National Titles in 1993, then against the odds in 1994 being crowned European Champions.

They are not just English based either, and have done many different tours to the far corners of the world, such as Canada and Hong Kong. This has garnered their world famous reputation, which is still going strong to this day.

They have also decided to branch out! They have created a new concoction of Acid House anthems and the timbre of an old fashioned brass band, an unlikely combo! This has even been performed in Paris and London, it goes down a storm! This has allowed a new, younger audience to be reached and has further perpetuated the brass band image, even over seas, challenging the steriotypes of old and boring.

Recently they were featured in 'A Brass Band Wonderland' along with the Hackney Colliery band. This was led Jason Manford who introduced them in a unique festive concert from the wonderful Peak Cavern in the Peak District.

Despite lockdown, they are still going strong and have released a few songs on YouTube, keeping band spirit alive. Despite being isolated from one another, listening to these videos they have managed to maintain their famous tone and quality that has been associated with Fairey over the years.

Taken from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lm0M40u82gc

Thank you for reading! I do not own any media displayed here nor do I have any affiliation with the band. The information given may not be 100% accurate.