Marsden brass musicians to star in Yorkshire Tea TV ad and at the Ashes in summer

A HUDDERSFIELD band has become TV stars after being put in the ‘tealight’.

For Marsden Silver Prize Band is starring on the current Yorkshire Tea TV advert.

And they will now be better known nationwide as the Yorkshire Tea Band as they are scheduled to entertain the crowds at the five Ashes Test matches this summer.

Yorkshire Tea has given the band money to boost its finances, so for at least the next year the band has renamed itself Marsden The Yorkshire Tea Band.

For the TV ad the band dressed in unmissable tailor-made costumes which included huge Yorkshire Tea mugs for hats. Some members of the band replaced their traditional instruments with teapot cornets, a rather heavy tea urn drum and a glockenspiel made from tea spoons.

The filming took place on two days from dawn to dusk on a cricket pitch just outside Bradford. The soundtrack to the commercial was also recorded by the band in their own band room a few weeks later.

But it meant the band was not allowed to play to their usual high standards as it had to sound as though they were playing live and marching around.

Sound engineer Keith Farrington from Music House Productions worked hard with the commercial’s production company to make sure the recording sounded as if it were made out doors.

The band’s contest secretary Helen Williams – wife of band conductor Glyn Williams – said: “It really went against the grain.

“Normally we try to get every note perfect but the TV ad company didn’t want that and insisted we had to play as though we were marching about.

“The advert has been absolutely brilliant for the band. At the moment it seems as though it’s on TV every five minutes.”

The production company put the role out to tender and it was won for Marsden by its band manager Philip Lamb.

Helen added: “Such has been the success of the pairing of Yorkshire Tea with Marsden Band that the relationship is set to continue well in to the future.

“The band has already performed at the in-house launch of the advertisement and over the next few months will be making more appearances as The Yorkshire Tea Band.”