Grimethorpe Colliery Band

A South Yorkshire brass band founded in 1917 by members of the disbanded Cudworth Colliery Band, world-famous since the 1996 film Brassed Off dramatised its championship win four days after Grimethorpe Colliery itself closed — still performing at the highest level today, from the 2012 Olympics to Coldplay's Glastonbury 2024 headline set.

The mining history in this record

Grimethorpe Colliery Band was formed in 1917 by members of the recently disbanded Cudworth Colliery Band, as a leisure activity for workers at Grimethorpe Colliery in South Yorkshire. The band broadcast on radio for the first time in 1932, and from 1941 to 1951 held a monthly slot on UK national radio. Under musical director George Thompson, who led the band from the early 1950s until 1972, it won its first British Open Brass Band Championship, establishing itself among the country's leading colliery bands.

Grimethorpe Colliery itself closed on 13 October 1992. Four days later, on 17 October, the band scored 99 out of 100 points performing Philip Wilby's The New Jerusalem to win the National Brass Band Championships at the Royal Albert Hall — a victory that directly inspired the 1996 film Brassed Off, for which the band recorded the soundtrack and received a BAFTA nomination. The film, dramatising a fictional colliery band's fight to survive its pit's closure, made Grimethorpe internationally famous.

People

Formed by former members of the disbanded Cudworth Colliery Band; musical director George Thompson led the band from the early 1950s to 1972, winning its first British Open title.

Legacy today

The band has continued to perform at the highest level long after the colliery it was named for disappeared: it performed the Olympic Hymn with the London Symphony Orchestra at the 2012 Olympic Games opening ceremony in London, won the British Open Championship again in 2015, and on 29 June 2024 joined Coldplay on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury Festival, performing to around 125,000 people in the crowd and a global television audience the band's own website estimates at over 25 million.

Recorded claims

Individual factual claims, each tagged with how solidly it's grounded and attached to the source(s) that support it. Where sources disagree, both are kept.

• The band was formed in 1917 by members of the recently disbanded Cudworth Colliery Band. (documented fact) ^1,2
• Grimethorpe Colliery closed on 13 October 1992; four days later, on 17 October, the band won the National Brass Band Championships at the Royal Albert Hall, scoring 99 of 100 points performing Philip Wilby's The New Jerusalem. (documented fact) ¹
• The band's championship win directly inspired the 1996 film Brassed Off, for which the band recorded the soundtrack and received a BAFTA nomination. (documented fact) ^1,3
• The band performed the Olympic Hymn with the London Symphony Orchestra at the 2012 Olympic Games opening ceremony, and won the British Open Championship again in 2015. (documented fact) ¹
• On 29 June 2024 the band joined Coldplay on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury Festival, performing to a large festival crowd and, per the band's own account, a global television audience of over 25 million. (later recollection) ^2,4

Mines

• Grimethorpe Colliery — South Yorkshire
  The colliery whose workforce founded the band in 1917 and whose 1992 closure preceded the band's most famous victory by four days.

Sources

1. (secondary) Grimethorpe Colliery Band — Wikipedia
2. (secondary) Brief History — Grimethorpe Colliery Band (official site)
3. (secondary) About Us — Grimethorpe Colliery Band (official site)
4. (secondary) Coldplay at Glastonbury 2024 review: the house band make history — NME

Record created: 28 August 2026 · Last researched: 28 August 2026