By Kathryn Cooper,
President, Footscray-Yarraville City Band
It was 1975, and Footscray-Yarraville City Band were riding high. They had just returned to Australia victorious after winning the Canadian International Brass Band Championships. They won all three sections and defeated 28 other bands to win the title.
FYCB had just come off a glorious three years, taking out the Australian National Championships in A grade in three consecutive years. Ballarat in 1972, Tanunda in 1973 and Hobart in 1974, winning every category under the baton of Merv Simpson (a feat that has never been replicated in Australian banding).
Bill Darwin, a band member at the time, had returned from the Second World War via Canada, where he formed many close contacts and persuaded the band to go to tour Canada. FYCB toured Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg and finished with the contest in Toronto. The Federal Whitlam Government was pouring money into the Arts at the time, and the band were awarded a $60,000 government grant for the tour.
They returned victorious to an Australia that had seen a disappointing year in the sporting calendar. Australia had lost the cricket and the tennis team cup, and according to Keith Hamilton, former band Secretary and Life Member, this was the only thing the western suburbs of Melbourne had to cheer about.
The band recorded their famous album Victors Return at studios in North Melbourne, on the Crest Records Label, owned by Marcus Herman. FYCB made 50 cents on every album sold. Once the record label had sold 25,000 records, the band was awarded a gold record for album sales. The gold records were presented at a sold-out concert at Dallas Brooks Hall, along with a spectacular giant 3-metre record which was paid for by Crest records.
FYCB were so popular at the time that Linda Phillips, the music critic from the Herald and Weekly Times in Melbourne, attended and reviewed every concert, and the publicity was invaluable to the band.
The second record that went gold was recorded at the Camberwell Civic Centre in a TV special, and was titled Songs of Faith, Hope and Glory, from which money was donated to the Royal Children’s Hospital.
Current day members of Footscray-Yarraville City band knew about the gold records and were led to believe they were lost when the old band hall was demolished. The story goes that the band had been given notice that their hall was to be demolished and that they had a few weeks to move their gear. But the demolition crew got in early. The Secretary at the time was driving past the band hall when he saw the wrecking ball hit the band hall. He hurried home and called everyone to get to the band hall to rescue the instruments, trophies and memorabilia. The original records had not been sighted by the band since that day.
The band was contacted by Erin Pearce a few weeks ago to say that she had cleaned up her grandfather’s garage and that she had some memorabilia to return to the band hall. When she arrived at the current band hall to see a full rehearsal we were delighted and surprised to see the original gold records returned. Stratton Pearce must have rescued the records and kept them safe all this time.
In a year that we celebrate over 150 years of Footscray-Yarraville City Band, we are thrilled to have the gold records returned to us in mint condition ready to be displayed at our 150th Celebration Concert at the Melbourne Recital Centre. The band is gearing up for a concert with incredible guest artists from the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, and Glyn and Helen Willams from Cory Band. FYCB will be drawing from an incredible range of music, the best of the British brass band composers, virtuosic solo works for trumpet, trombone, euphonium and flugelhorn, and orchestral works for brass.
