'I used to hate it' - Brassed Off writer on the music which inspired his hit film
It is 30 years since Brassed Off hit the cinemas. As part of Shibden Park’s centenary celebrations, there will be a special screening with its writer and members of the original cast. Catherine Scott reports.
It is purely by chance that the iconic hit film Brassed Off! actually became a reality. Its writer and producer Mark Herman was diverted due to roadworks on the A1 and ended up in Grimethorpe where he was shocked by what he saw.
"I was driving on the A1 and roadworks sent me on to the M1 and I ended up driving through all the pit villages in South Yorkshire.
"In a former life I used to be a bacon salesman and I used to sell bacon in that area when it was thriving and to see it then was just shocking.
"All the shop I used to go through were boarded up and that sparked the idea to write something about the destruction of the coal industry and the effect that had on the communities.
“About four days later I was on another car journey listening to the radio and there was something about a brass band in Newcastle having to pack in and so I came up with the idea marrying those two stories together.
"The first story I came up with was a bit depressing so marrying it to a brass band story is what made it work.
"I’d had a film (Blame it on the Bell Boy, 1992) starring Dudley Moore that had been a bit of a bit of a disaster and the advice to me was to write about something you care about,” says Herman, who grew up in Bridlington and now lives in York.
Herman admits he never used to like brass band music until he started writing Brassed Off and met the Grimethorpe Colliery Band.
"I used to hate brass band music I bought lots of brass band music and fell in love with it while I was writing the story.”
He said the film “actually wrote itself pretty quickly. Scripts can take me two to three years, but I wrote Brassed Off! in nine months".
He decided to shoot the film in Grimethorpe during which time he learnt a lot of more about the plight of the people who lived there and incorporated many of their stories into his script.
Looking back Herman says he had no idea that he was writing and subsequently directing a film that would become loved by millions over three decade and become am important part of social history.
"I thought it might be of interest to a few people within an eight mile radius of Barnsley for about three weeks so to see what feels like a very parochial story it travel across the world was very rewarding."
Herman says although the film is 30 years old it is still relevant today. "I think that’s why it is on telly all the time and still has an audience. “
Herman was determined not to cast any ‘stars’ in the main roles.
"Because it is an ensemble piece I didn’t want any big stars out of kilter with that. I was keen on getting known faces but not stars and that’s what we went for and it worked really well not just for the end film but in the shooting of it.
"Ewan (McGregor) had shot Trainspotting but it hadn’t come out yet so we were lucky to get him before his meteoric rise.”
But one of the main stars is the Grimethorpe Colliery Band, many members of the band played on the film as part of the fictional Grimley Band.
Art definitely imitated life as, like in the film, every member of the Grimethorpe band had been given their notice from the colliery one week and then had to perform in the National Brass Band Championships which they won the next week.
Current band manager and euphonium player Andy Kennedy’s dad Mick was in the band that appeared in Brassed Off! The band and the film have been a major part of Andy’s life.
“My dad played the cornet for Grimethorpe for 15 years and was in the film. It was really bizarre. He was a former miner so it was really strange times.
"Dad had lost his job and then the band got asked to be part of the film. I don’t anyone really appreciated how successful the film was going to be,” says Andy.
“In 1992 the band was made up predominantly of miners who all lost their jobs one week and then had to appear in the national finals on the Saturday followed by the press down to London. The film tells that story.”
And Brassed Off! has become a massive part of the band’s history – with them still playing music from the film. Two members of band that appeared in the film still play with the band.
And next weekend sees a special screening of the film, live scored by the band – which will also see Andy and his dad reunited.
Brass at the Lake (Sunday, August 16) is the finale of the four-day Stage at the Lake event, celebrating 100 years’ of public ownership of Shibden Park in Halifax.
The night will conclude with a special in-conversation with Mark Herman and some of the original cast members including Sue Johnston, Stephen Tompkinson, Tara Fitzgerald and Peter Gunn as they reunite to reflect on filming in Calderdale, including at Halifax’s Piece Hall, and the film’s enduring legacy.
“We’d never have dreamt, filming in the Piece Hall back then, that we’d be coming back to Halifax 30 years later with this kind of screening,” says Herman.
“We’ve done a few of these ‘Brassed Off Live’ shows and they’re just stunning. It’s not just the music that blows me away every time, it’s the sheer technical brilliance of Grimethorpe.
"This isn’t just background score being played - that would be simple – it’s an incredibly difficult skill to match, to the frame, the music that’s being played, sometimes in close up, by the band on the big screen behind them and the result is astounding.
"The skill, dedication and practice involved is immense, and my admiration of Grimethorpe grows every time I witness it.
"And the added bonus is each show gives us film-makers and cast a very good excuse to have a good get- together.”
As well as performing Brassed Off live at Shibden they are doing one in Birmingham and then the Albert Hall in October where they have performed it a number of times.
"To fill the Albert Hall three times is amazing, especially 30 years on.
"People wouldn’t go to the Albert Hall to see the film on its own and I don’t think they would fil it to see Grimethorpe, but it’s the mixture of the two that makes it a really magical show.
"I get knocked out every time I see it.”
After Brassed Off Herman went on to make more films including the acclaimed Little Voice and the Boy in the Striped Pyjamas but it is Brassed Off that remains closest to his heart.
"If I had to choose a favourite it probably is Brassed Off because it’s the one I wrote rather than adapted, and because it’s had this enormous life.”
As well as the universal themes, Herman puts the success of the film down to the Yorkshire humour.
"The things that makes Brassed Off work is the mixture of humour and tragedy and it’s that delicate line. It’s not just ordinary humour, it’s very specific to an area. and that’s what makes it work.”
Herman doesn’t believe that it would have been possible to make Brassed Off today.
"It is very hard to get those sort of midbudget films made now,” he says. “I have been trying for ten years to get two or three projects off the ground and it is proving impossible and that it the only sort of film I want to make. I am a bit weary of the industry which is only interested in making blockbusters. If I can’t make the films I want I won’t make any.” But he is keeping busy with Brassed Off Live and the 30th anniversary events.