Pete Postlethwaite: Pit band mourns one of acting's top brass

Pete Postlethwaite, the Oscar-nominated star of Brassed Off, which made the Grimethorpe Colliery Band a household name, has died aged 64 after a long battle against cancer.

Postlethwaite, who was awarded the OBE in the 2004 New Year Honours, was once described by Hollywood director Steven Spielberg as "the best actor in the world".

But he is most fondly remembered in Yorkshire for his role as Danny, the passionate band conductor in the 1996 film Brassed Off, which was based on Grimethorpe's struggle against pit closures and was largely shot in the South Yorkshire village.

Set in the fictional village of Grimley, the film explores the social and personal devastation caused by the loss of the colliery and the aftermath of the 1984-1985 miners' strike, one of the most bitter disputes in British industrial history.

For many, Postlethwaite's performance captured perfectly the wounded pride and vulnerability felt in Grimethorpe and many other mining communities at the time.

The soundtrack for the film was recorded by the real Grimethorpe Colliery Band, whose members also appeared as extras on screen.

The collaboration led to the band forming an enduring friendship with Postlethwaite, and the musicians were among those paying tribute to him yesterday.

David Barraclough, 51, Grimethorpe Colliery Band librarian and cornet player, said it was "a very sad day".

"He was a great person to be around, a really good character and a good laugh," he said.

"We had many good times recording the film. I remember when we first recorded the soundtrack in Abbey Road he came down and sat at the back of the room for a couple of hours, and when some of the music was recorded he was sat there with tears rolling down his face. He was a very emotional man.

"It's a very sad day.

"I've been in the band for 32 years and he made a special effort to come to Barnsley for my 30th anniversary concert, and that was a special honour for me.

"They had a cornet made for me but it wasn't ready in time so Pete gave me his baton from the film to keep until I got the cornet, then I sent him it back.

"Whenever we've been doing concerts around the country if he was in the area he would turn up. He's never really been away this past 15 years."

Father Peter Needham, of St Luke's Parish Church in Grimethorpe, said Postlethwaite had made a genuine connection with the village.

He said: "Of all the actors from the film Pete Postlethwaite was regarded as one of those who the people of Grimethorpe liked.

"I don't think the other actors felt at home in Grimethorpe but the people of Grimethorpe felt that Pete Postlethwaite did.

"People remember him of all the members of the cast with great affection. He did come back afterwards and was made welcome."

Former Deputy Prime Minister and ex-Hull MP Lord Prescott also paid tribute to the actor.

As Environment Secretary in the 1990s, Mr Prescott as he then was credited Brassed Off with encouraging him to take action to regenerate former coalfield communities – and he said The Age Of Stupid, another of Postlethwaite's films, had also influenced the previous Labour government.

Writing on micro-blogging website Twitter, Lord Prescott said: "So sad to hear of Pete Postlethwaite's death. Brassed Off and Age of Stupid had a real effect on me and our government."

Although Mr Postlethwaite had laughed off Spielberg's description of him, actress Julie Walters said it was accurate.

She said: "He was quite simply the most exciting, exhilarating actor of his generation.

"He invented 'edgy'. He was an exhilarating person and actor.

"Spielberg was right when he said he was the best actor in the world."

Postlethwaite received his Oscar nomination for his performance as Guiseppe Conlon in the 1993 film In The Name Of The Father, about the wrongful convictions of the Guildford Four for an IRA bomb attack.

Gerry Conlon, one of the Guildford Four, praised the actor's portrayal of his dying father. "There were times when he turned and these quirky mannerisms that he performed, it was like looking at my dad," he said.

It is thought Postlethwaite was first diagnosed with cancer around the time of filming In the Name of the Father.

He died in hospital in Shropshire on Sunday and is survived by his wife, Jacqui, his son Will, 21, and daughter Lily, 14.

Theatre training led to top roles

PETE Postlethwaite was born in Warrington and had originally planned to become a priest.

He later became a teacher but eventually followed his passion for the stage, beginning his career at the Everyman Theatre in Liverpool where he rubbed shoulders with such future stars as Bill Nighy, Julie Walters, Alan Bleasdale, Jonathan Pryce, Matthew Kelly and Anthony Sher.

In 2008 he returned to the Everyman to play the lead in King Lear, a role he had always wanted.

Postlethwaite's films included In The Name Of The Father, Brassed Off, The Usual Suspects, The Shipping News, Inception, Romeo and Juliet, The Constant Gardener and The Town.

He was also a political activist who marched against the war in Iraq, supported the Make Poverty History campaign and starred in the 2009 film about global warming, The Age of Stupid.