Tattoo 2016 -Top Secret Drum Corps (25989524673)

Top Secret Drum Corps is a drum corps based in

Basel, Switzerland , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS), ...

. With 25 drummers and

colour guard In military organizations, a colour guard (or color guard) is a detachment of soldiers assigned to the protection of regimental colours and the national flag. This duty is so prestigious that the military colour is generally carried by a young ...

section, the corps became famous for its demanding six-minute routine performed at the

Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo is an annual series of military tattoos performed by British Armed Forces, Commonwealth and international military bands, and artistic performance teams on the Esplanade of Edinburgh Castle in the capital of S ...

in 2003. With its invitation to Edinburgh, Top Secret became one of the first non-military, non-British Commonwealth acts to perform on the Esplanade at

Edinburgh Castle Edinburgh Castle is a historic castle in Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland. It stands on Castle Rock (Edinburgh), Castle Rock, which has been occupied by humans since at least the Iron Age, although the nature of the early settlement is unclear. ...

. Since its success in 2003, Top Secret was invited to return to Edinburgh in 2006 with a new routine. They were invited a third time in 2009 and again in 2012, 2015, 2018 and 2022. Under the leadership of Erik Julliard, the band is also responsible for the founding of the

Basel Tattoo Basel Tattoo is an annual military tattoo show performed by International military bands, display teams, popular musicians, and tattoo formations in Basel, Switzerland. Since 2006, Basel Tattoo has had annual stage-arena performances within the B ...

, a

military tattoo A military tattoo is a performance of music or display of armed forces in general. The term comes from the early 17th-century Dutch phrase ''doe den tap toe'' ("turn off the tap"), a signal sounded by drummers or trumpeters to instruct innkeeper ...

show similar to the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, now held annually in Basel.

Drumming style

Top Secret was founded in , with its roots in the rich drumming traditions of the band's home city, Basel, which is known for its annual carnival called ''

Basler Fasnacht The Carnival of Basel (german: Basler Fasnacht) is the biggest carnival in Switzerland and takes place annually between February and March in Basel. It has been listed as one of the top fifty local festivities in Europe. Since 2017, the Carnival ...

''. The city is said to have over 3,000 active drummers at any one time. These drummers perform at traditional events such as

Fasnacht The Swabian-Alemannic Fastnacht, Fasnacht (in Switzerland) or Fasnat/Faschnat (in Vorarlberg) is the pre-Lenten carnival in Alemannic folklore in Switzerland, southern Germany, Alsace and Vorarlberg. Etymology Popular etymology often links '' ...

, the

Vogel Gryff Vogel may refer to: Places *Vogel (lunar crater) *Vogel (Martian crater) *11762 Vogel, a main-belt asteroid *Vogel (mountain), a mountain of Slovenia **Vogel Ski Resort *Vogel State Park, Georgia, United States *Vogel Glacier, a glacier of Antarcti ...

Charivari Charivari (, , , alternatively spelled shivaree or chivaree and also called a skimmington) was a European and North American folk custom in which a mock parade was staged through a community accompanied by a discordant mock serenade. Since the c ...

, and various parades associated with the city's guilds. A ''Trommelkönig'' (Drummer King) competition is also held every year by the city's Fasnacht Committee. Basel drumming style is militaristic, derived from the military drumming drills of Swiss soldiers dating back to the Middle Ages. Top Secret in many ways adheres to the military nature of Basel drumming, but differs in many respects. Its drummers play at a much faster rate. Also, while traditional Basel drumming is somber and favors traditional marching tunes (accompanied by fifes during the Fasnacht), Top Secret's drumming style is upbeat and playful. Segments of their routines feature a

rhumba Rhumba, also known as ballroom rumba, is a genre of ballroom music and dance that appeared in the East Coast of the United States during the 1930s. It combined American big band music with Afro-Cuban rhythms, primarily the son cubano, but also co ...

, a drummer's duel, drumstick juggling, exploding flagpoles, and other crowd-pleasing details. Perhaps because of their 18th century uniforms and precision work, the band is often referred to as a military band or a part of the

Swiss Army The Swiss Armed Forces (german: Schweizer Armee, french: Armée suisse, it, Esercito svizzero, rm, Armada svizra; ) operates on land and in the air, serving as the primary armed forces of Switzerland. Under the country's militia system, re ...

, but it is not affiliated with any military unit.

Ongoing success

Since its 2003 performance at Edinburgh, Top Secret has enjoyed worldwide success. They have performed at various venues in Europe, the United States, Australia and at the 2008 South African Tattoo held from 11 to 14 September 2008.City of Johannesburg Website
, ''Tattoo gives drumming an edge'', 27 August 2008 In 2011, they performed at the

Quebec City Military Tattoo The Quebec City International Festival of Military Bands (FIMMQ) was a major cultural event in Quebec City that notably included a military tattoo by Canadian military bands, Canadian and foreign military bands as well as display teams. It has t ...

. They are the subject of a documentary film by Swiss television which recounts their rise to fame at the

. A feature film based on the Edinburgh endeavour is currently in the works with Insert Films, Switzerland. Top Secret made an appearance on an episode of the 2014 series of ''

Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway ''Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway'' (referred to simply as ''Saturday Night Takeaway'' or ''SNT'') is a British television variety show, created and presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (colloquially known as Ant & Dec), and b ...

'', as the act for the "End of the Show" show. In their routine, show presenters

Ant and Dec Ant & Dec are a British television presenting duo, consisting of Anthony McPartlin (born 18 November 1975) and Declan Donnelly (born 25 September 1975), from Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Formed after their meeting as child actors on CBBC's dr ...

joined in as drummers, colour-inverted versions of the drummers' jackets (Ant and Dec wore white; the drummers always wear off-black). The routine included the ever-present drummers' duel, the stick juggle, and the fire-stick routine. A Top Secret Drum Corps drumming loop features heavily on British

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...

band

The Prodigy The Prodigy are an English electronic dance music band formed in Braintree, Essex, in 1990 by producer, keyboard player and songwriter Liam Howlett. The original line-up also featured dancer and singer Keith Flint and dancer and occasional l ...

's 2015 release "

The Day Is My Enemy ''The Day Is My Enemy'' is the sixth studio album by English electronic music group the Prodigy. It was released on 30 March 2015 by record labels Take Me to the Hospital/Cooking Vinyl in the UK and Three Six Zero Music/Warner Bros. Records in th ...

", which also became the title of the album released the same year. The Prodigy's founder and producer

Liam Howlett Liam Paul Paris Howlett (born 21 August 1971) is an English record producer, musician, songwriter, co-founder and leader of the British electronic band The Prodigy, and an occasional DJ. Early years Howlett was born in Braintree, Essex, Engla ...

is said to be a big fan of the Top Secret Drum Corps and asked permission to record a drum section for use on the band's album. In May 2016, Top Secret Drum Corps provided one of the performances in the 90th Birthday Celebration for

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

, the Queen of the UK and 14 Commonwealth realms. For Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee the Top Secret Drum Corps performed at the pageant on 15 May, 2022.

Members

Top Secret's members include highly dedicated drummers with diverse day jobs: bankers, civil servants, factory workers, college students, and others. They give up their leisure time to practice nearly every day of the year. Due to the demanding nature of the work, its membership changes frequently.

References

External links

Official website

featuring a video of Top Secret at the 2009 Edinburgh Tattoo. {{authority control Drum and bugle corps Swiss musical groups Musical groups with year of establishment missing