The Fairey Band is one of the most successful contesting brass bands in the world. Founded in 1937 by a group of employees at the Fairey Aviation Works in Stockport, the band achieved many musical successes under the brilliant direction of Harry Mortimer, their Musical Director for over thirty years. Since those early days, the band has won every elite band event on the contest calendar, including the National Championships of Great Britain on nine occasions and the British Open an incredible 16 times. More than any band in the last 80 years.

In the early-mid 1990s, the band enjoyed the most successful period in its history, winning both the British Open and National titles in 1993, before going on to become the first band ever to complete the ‘treble’ when they were crowned European Champions in 1994.

1998 saw the band once again crowned British Open Champions and 2002, 2003 the band won back to back National Champions of Great Britain.
Since the 1990s the band has enjoyed further recognition outside the confines of the Brass Band movement, with its involvement in the ‘Acid Brass’ project. Under this banner, the band has been able to display its versatility in adapting to a very different musical concept and consequently, has performed in rock/pop festivals in the UK and overseas, bringing brass bands to a new audience.

Acid Brass performances have included the Opening of Tate Modern, the re-opening of Olympic Park and Late @ The Tate as well as the Whitworth Art Gallery closing festival and the victory party for Manchester City FC at the end of the 2013-14 season. Further afield the band performed at the annual “Foreign Affairs” Festival in Berlin, the Louvre and the 25th Quartier d’Ete Festival in Paris

The music of the Fairey band can also be heard on BBC 2’s Pottery Throw Down Challenge, BBC1’s The Last Miners and prior to this was featured in the “trail” to the Royal Wedding of Prince William. Sky TV has also used the band in its Christmas Wonderland production and Sky 1 Rovers series.
All this and more makes up the pedigree of what is, undoubtedly, one of the World’s leading brass bands.