Origins of the St Helens Concert Band
The history of the band can be traced back to 1859 to the Ravenhead Brass Band which was later renamed the Ravenhead Military Band, the first use of this name was recorded in 1925.
In 1950 the Ravenhead Military Band changed its name and became the St Helens Military Band under the leadership of Mr. Ellis the bandmaster. Older members were dissatisfied with the change in name and this led to a decline in membership. From the mid 1950s the band had to struggle to survive but amazingly the band lasted until 1971.
In 1971 the St Helens Military band was under the leadership of Mr. William Burrows who sadly died in the summer of 1971. The band played for the last time in public in Victoria Park St Helens in late summer of 1971.
After the final concert of St Helens Military band Mr. Ron Feeney, the Band Secretary, asked for the help of Mr. Fred Mathias who had previously been musical director to the Scottish and Northern Ireland Royal Marines Band. Fred had been appointed as a brass peripatetic music teacher in the St Helens schools and agreed to help set up a new band, where he brought along his own music students.
In 1972 the new St Helens Concert Band was formed with Harry Hampton as president. The first rehearsal took place in January 1972 at the Elephant Hotel function room. The first public performance took place on October 25 that year at Thatto Heath Junior school.
The early 1980s saw the formation of the Parents Association, which supported the band in many ways, but mainly by raising money for band funds. During this time, the band took part in concerts with some well known celebrities, including Geoff Love, Stan Boardman and Sir Ken Dodd.
17th June 1989 was a notable date for the band, not because they were playing at a concert in St Annes Church Rainhill, but because on that same day 4 of the ex-band members were playing at the Trooping of the Colour ceremony in London – they were Andrew and Stuart Henderson, in the Scots Guards, Stephen Davies in the Welsh Guards, and Kevin McHale in the Coldstream Guards.
In December 1991 the band said farewell to an old friend and mentor, as Fred Matthias decided to retire as Musical Director after nearly 20 years service in the band. He was replaced briefly by Colin Moore, and then John Perry took over as Musical Director.
In 1992 the band celebrated its 20th Anniversary with a concert at St Helens Town Hall. The band moved location, firstly to the Triplex Club Knowsley Road St Helens in 1998, then to the St Helens Cricket Club Ecceleston in 2001. Norman Frost took over as Musical Director in 2001, and greatly improved the ability of the band with his love of the older musicals.
Norman was followed as MD by Iain Dickie, who first conducted the band at a Ruritanian Ball in the Victoria Museum Liverpool in December 2011. Iain was followed by Ola Ness, MD from 2017 until 2019 when he sadly had to leave us to move to Germany. Peter Ledder then became MD until covid struck.
Jim Cooke took up the position of MD in June 2021 when the band restarted after more than a year’s gap in rehearsal. The band then moved to it's current rehearsal venue, St Andrews Church, St Helens.
2021 was also a notable year for the band as it marked John Henderson's retirement as band chairman, a position which he held for over 49 years. He was then appointed as the bands honorary president which represented his extraordinary dedication and commitment to the band.