The Hammonds Band
Hammonds Band has an impressive pedigree, with an unbroken sequence of 77 years under various names, and roots going back 150 years to when, in 1855, a brass band was formed as one of the amenities for the people of Saltaire. This was one of the famous ‘model villages’ built during the first half of the 19th century by wealthy industrialists and was the brainchild of Sir Titus Salt, a philanthropic mill-owner and one-time Mayor of Bradford.
In recent years the band has contested throughout Europe, recorded numerous CDs and performed at some of the best concert venues in the world as the Yorkshire Building Society Band. Prior to that the band (as Hammonds Sauce Works) enjoyed contest and concert success under the baton of Geoffrey Whitham for nearly 30 years.
Hammonds Band have enjoyed great success on the contest platform. As the Yorkshire Building Society band we were European Champions 8 times in 9 years (1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 & 2004) and have won the British Open and All England Masters on several occasions. Being a Yorkshire band they were proud to be crowned Yorkshire Champions in 1994, 1999 & 2004. In March 2011 we were delighted to yet again be crowned Champions of Yorkshire for the fourth time in their history and the first time with their then name, Hammonds Saltaire.
On the contest stage 2014 saw the band return to the British Open
Championships, gaining a highly credible sixth place. This success has proven to be a building block for the band as 2016 saw us achieve one of our long-term contesting goals of a top six finish in the Yorkshire Area contest. This success has continued in recent years. After two years in lockdown, like all of the bands in the country, Hammonds Band went to the Yorkshire Area after a period of rebuilding the band. After a two year break from contesting and performing we were delighted to come second at the contest, securing a place for us to represent Yorkshire at the National Brass Band Championship of Great Britain, taking place at the Royal Albert Hall in October 2022. After achieving a very credible fifth place at the 2022 contest we are delighted to have qualified again in 2023 for another visit to the Royal Albert Hall. Building upon the success of the previous year we secured another top six result at the contest this year. This is in addition to two top ten results at the British Open over the last two years. This year also saw the band perform at the French Open for the first time. As well as having the honour of performing at the gala concert in the evening the band also took part in the contest as well. We were delighted to be crowned French Open Champions 2023, as well as being awarded the best march and soloist prize (accompanying Adam Warburton on solo trombone playing The Blue Bells of Scotland).
Fancy some food before the show? Why not book to join us for our Sunday Roast Dinner before the show. Click the image below to book.
