Brassed Off band play charity concert

Ewan McGregor as 'Andy' in the film Brassed Off.

The band that provided the soundtrack for the film Brassed Off are playing a charity concert in Rochdale.

The Grimethorpe Colliery Band hit the height of their fame in 1992 when the film, starring Ewan MacGregor, Pete Postlethwaite and Tara Fitzgerald, was released.

The soundtrack was nominated for a BAFTA award, went to the top of the hit parade on Classic FM and has sold more than 60,000 copies in the UK.

Now the Rotary Club of Rochdale are offering the opportunity to enjoy a Sunday afternoon with the band at The Gracie Fields Theatre on Sunday 2 November, starting at 2.30 pm.

The profits made by The Rotary Club from this concert will all go to charity.

For many years the name of Grimethorpe Colliery has been synonymous with brass banding at the highest standard. On numerous occasions they have won the National Entertainment Competition, "Brass in Concert", and their successes in the British Open Championship, the National Championship of Great Britain and the European Championships mark abilities.

One of their younger players, Nicholas Jackson, was a former pupil of Wardle High School who went on to the Royal Northern College of Music and has just obtained a 1st Class Honours Degree. He plays solo cornet in the band.

Tickets for the concert are available from Touchstones, Sandifords Gallery on Drake Street, Molesworths Bright Clegg Solicitors at the Rochdale Exchange Shopping Centre or by sending a stamped addressed envelope to Rotarian Tom Hobson, 29 Lloyd Street, Cowm Park, Whitworth, OL12 8AG.