Brighouse and Rastrick is given special honour

THEY'RE the most famous name in Brighouse.

And now every visitor to the town will have the chance to see a lasting memorial to the Brighouse & Rastrick Band.

Special carved stones honouring the band are going up on the town's ring road.

The stones will be unveiled at one of Brighouse's most prominent roundabouts at a ceremony next week.

The roundabout is at the interchange of Bradford Road, Huddersfield Road and Elland Road, outside the Tesco store.

And not only do the stones celebrate the world famous Brighouse and Rastrick band, they are also a tribute to Marshalls, the UKs' leading manufacturer of superior concrete and natural stone products.

Eight-tonne quarried boulders have been engraved with the band's logo and face each approach road to the roundabout, with a taller central stone inscribed with musical notes representing the bands signature tune 'West Riding'.

The proposals for the tribute were originated by Calderdale's current Mayor, Brighouse councillor Colin Stout who will open the new decoration on Tuesday, May 15, between 7:30pm and 8pm.

The band will also perform a new work, 'Brighouse Flourishes' by composer/arranger in residence Leigh Baker, which was written especially for the occasion.

The work features clever musical references to other pieces synonymous with the band, such as West Riding and, of course, Floral Dance, and also the hymn tune 'Rock of Ages'.

A spokesman said: "The band would like to say a huge thank you to Marshalls who started work at 4am on Bank Holiday Monday to put the stones in place without disrupting traffic in the area.

"Special thanks go to Gordon Hines (natural stone division product manager for Marshalls), production manager Phillip Mallinson-Powell and Calderdale Council project manager Richard Binks all of whom have put considerable time, effort and care into the project."

The intricate detail and wording was put onto the stone by Jason Fry, the creative director of Design 69.