大象传媒

Ray Sykes joined Carlton Main Frickley Colliery Brass Band near Pontefract when he was just a young boy. His dad, who also played in the band and was a deputy manager at the local colliery, told him to come along to the pit yard one Saturday morning and from then on he was a member of the junior band.

Ray playing in the band

In 1983 the band won the 大象传媒 Best of Brass Championships and everything looked like it was going really well. Then they were hit by the Miners' Strike. Twenty one of the band's members were miners and while on strike their pay was stopped. Ray says they were approached by other bands offering them jobs and houses and certainly doesn't blame the men for leaving the band.

Ray says he took some comfort from playing in the band during the strike - it was a welcome distraction to what was going on all around him.

Today the band are one of the top ten bands in the world and Ray has high hopes for them for the future!