The Band of the Coldstream Guards is one of the oldest and best known bands in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...

, having been officially formed on 16 May 1785 under the command of Major C F Eley.

History

The band of the Coldstream Guards was officially formed under the direction of Music Major C.F. Eley on 16 May 1785. The band received its first British bandmaster in 1835, Charles Godfrey. On 18 June 1944 over one hundred twenty people were killed at Wellington Barracks when a German flying bomb hit the

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common type ...

. The director of the band was amongst the dead, prompting the appointment of Captain Douglas Alexander Pope. In 1985, during the band's two hundredth anniversary year, the Coldstream Guards kicked off the

Live Aid Live Aid was a multi-venue benefit concert held on Saturday 13 July 1985, as well as a music-based fundraising initiative. The original event was organised by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise further funds for relief of the 1983–1985 fami ...

concert at

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, performing "a fanfare composed by the Director of Music Lt Col Richard Ridings". Two especially unusual performances took place in the immediate aftermath of the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commer ...

in the United States. On September 12, 2001, Queen

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 durin ...

broke with tradition and allowed the Coldstream Guards Band to perform

The Star-Spangled Banner "The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written on September 14, 1814, by 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key after witnessing the ...

at Buckingham Palace, London, during the daily ceremonial Changing of the Guard. The following day at a St. Paul's Cathedral memorial service, the Queen herself joined in the singing of the American national anthem, an unprecedented occurrence.

Ensembles

There are several ensembles within the Band of the Coldstream Guards: * Concert Band * Marching Band * Brass Quintet * Jazz Trio * Fanfares Coldstream Guards fanfare team2018

Woodwind Woodwind instruments are a family of musical instruments within the greater category of wind instruments. Common examples include flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, and saxophone. There are two main types of woodwind instruments: flutes and re ...

Quintet * 18th Century Band

Events

Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting MOD 45164084

The Coldstream Guards Band plays regularly for ceremonial occasions and events. Some are listed below but this is not a comprehensive list. * Changing of the Guard * The Festival of Remembrance * Trooping of the Colour *

Beating the Retreat Beating Retreat is a military ceremony dating to 17th-century England and was first used to recall nearby patrolling units to their castle. History Originally it was known as watch setting and was initiated at sunset by the firing of a single ...

The band also performs at other non-military events in the same way as other military bands such as the Grenadier Guards Band or other civilian professional organisations.

Key personnel

* Director of Music: Major Stewart Halliday * Band Sergeant Major: Warrent Officer Class 2 Glen Little * Bandmaster: Warrent Officer Class 2 Simon Lindley

Album and Record Deal

In June 2009 the band signed a record deal with Universal Music imprint Decca, reportedly worth £1 million. Their debut album 'Heroes' was released on 30 November 2009 and was nominated for Best Album of the Year for Classical Brits. The Band of the Coldstream Guards performed at the Classical Brits Awards gala at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

In media

In the closing credits of ''

Dad's Army ''Dad's Army'' is a British television sitcom about the United Kingdom's Home Guard during the Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft, and originally broadcast on BBC1 from 31 July 1968 to 13 November 1977. It ran fo ...

'', the band played a instrumental

march March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the second of seven months to have a length of 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March ...

version of the theme tune, Who Do You Think You Are Kidding, Mr Hitler?, conducted by Captain (later Lieutenant Colonel) Trevor L. Sharpe.

References

External links

Home of Coldstream Guards Band

Former personnel website
* {{Authority control British ceremonial units Royal Corps of Army Music 1785 establishments in Great Britain Coldstream Guards