At the time of writing it is poignant to recognise that Kings Korner Band has a history that dates back to 1893 and that the band has been going in some shape or form for 120 years ! That is some history of which to be proud. My personal involvement with the band began in 1984 when I moved back to Wiltshire for work reasons. Mum and dad ran The Farriers Arms in Pewsey and I had seen the band come into the pub during the Pewsey Carnival fortnight several times before. My mum began playing with the band and suggested that I bring my tin whistle out one night and join in.

At first I found it difficult as I did not know many of the tunes. Coming from a folk background the tunes seemed unfamiliar but being a musician who plays by ear I did not let that deter me. I persevered. I listened to the vinyl that was available (March Past 1983) and began learning the tunes by trial and error. Gradually I grew more confident and one by one the tunes began to sink in. If the band played something I didn’t know I would simply stand aside : after all there were plenty of other people in the band who could ‘make the noise’. Eventually I found a way of making a tin whistle fit in with the ‘jazzish’ sound of the band and began to try and play in the higher octave of the C whistle as often as possible so that the whistle sound was staged above the pitch of many of the other instruments. Many of the band commented on how they could always hear the whistle above what else was going on. I took that as a compliment. Eventually I was’ honoured’ with a few solos !

The band was indeed quirky. We’d play the most varied of events about 15 times a year. There were band members who had experienced the war, members who were out and out Wiltshire folk, jokers and oddballs who always dressed in a most wonderfully original and colourful way. And whilst all this was going on I was always very aware of the rich traditions and history that pervaded the band and made it what it was. Audiences were always intrigued and many people asked questions as to who, what, where and why various things happened. It seemed as though they were never really given a straight answer but were often left wanting to ask more. Perhaps this was a clever marketing ploy by the band or more likely a fob off because nobody really knew the proper answer.’ What key do you play in’? was a question often asked. ‘Yale’ was the standard reply.

There was one event that has always struck a chord (forgive pun). We were warming up in the carnival field one year ahead of the procession and we decided to play ‘The Saints’. Essentially this is a very simple tune we played in the key of ‘C’ and is of course a street busking jazz standard. There were some other trumpet and trombone players from another band standing by us and I drifted over to them and said ‘why don’t you join in’. They replied that they would love to but couldn’t because they didn’t have the music score. They were fine musicians as I heard them warming up as well but I found it hard to think that they could not muster a bit of improvisation around our playing. They seemed to envy our ability to just turn up and play.

At its’ peak I remember up to 30 musicians playing, 15 events a year ranging from steam fairs to village fetes and carnivals, trips to Guernsey and Le Havre and recording CD’s at The Phoenix and The Coopers Arms. The band was indeed in a healthy state and financially we were well topped up from selling CD’s and taking collections at the various events. It was probably taken for granted that this would last.

But last it did not. Situations can change both gradually and suddenly.

Over the years we have lost some musicians because they have moved out of the area. We have had stalwarts who have sadly passed away and some unable to play on a regular basis due to ill health. This has all contributed to a situation where the very essence of the band has been somewhat eroded and we have been fighting hard to keep the band afloat and recruit new members. We no longer have a regular set of drummers, are short of brass instruments and can no longer put a band out that resembles the Kings Korner of old. We struggle to aspire to people’s expectations and perceptions of what the band should be. Consequently we are currently playing very few events.

I suppose the modern day thing is to rebrand the band as a ‘smaller, more intimate ensemble of still quirky musicians who gather from time to time to play for the sheer enjoyment of playing’. Perhaps we should change the music we play to accommodate this arrangement. Perhaps we should be more open about musicians coming in and perhaps altering the direction of the band. Maybe there are folk out there who would like to join us. Maybe some of our recruitment drives will reap rewards. Maybe when we next play there will be musicians who stumble upon us and are intrigued by what we have to offer. My optimism continues.

If there are musicians out there who would like to play on a casual basis with no commitment to rehearsals and who enjoy a good day with banter galore then please do contact us. A quick internet search can reveal several YouTube clips and photos of the band over the years. If you are a musician who may consider joining us I look forward to meeting you at some point in the future.

May the Kings Korner Band journey continue for many more years.

Charlie Foster : member of the Kings Korner Band since 1984

Please do look at our other website pages and feel free to contact our secretary for further information or to arrange to meet us.