A Discussion on the roles of music in the film ‘BRASSED Off’
...anny’s son Phil, however, the other things in life are more important. ‘I love the band, we all do, but there’s other things in life that’s more important.’ For him the band represents a source of pressure, in that he feels compelled to not let his dad down. This is why he finds it so hard to tell Danny of the band’s decision to quit, as he knows that the hope of winning the national finals is the only thing that is keeping his dad clinging to life. Despite being in trouble with loan sharks and his rocky marriage to Sandra, he still buys a new trombone for the semi finals in Halifax. Phil’s own son understands that he does this so ‘Grandad’ll die happy’. Even the other band members appreciate how important the band is to Danny, for after being given the money to play at the Albert Hall, they jump at the chance, thanks to Gloria. Gloria has a genuine love for music and tradition. She plays the same flugel that her Grandfather played with Danny years before. Music binds Gloria and Danny together. Ironically she becomes Danny’s closest supporter and proves to be a valuable asset to the band. Even when Gloria’s role at the colliery is exposed, Danny is the only person to ignore this fact, seeing her purely in terms of her musical ability unlike other band members who see her as a meddler. For others in the band, such as Gloria’s childhood flame, Andy, the way they view the band is greatly affected by the uncertainty of the pit’s future. The sense of demoralisation is perfectly exemplified by Andy’s gambling away of his instrument on a game of pool. Purse strings are tightened and even the weekly kitty becomes an issue for some of the band members, particularly Jim and Ernie, who now view the band as an unnecessary expense. This strong link between affordability and the band members is often revisited through the film. Unlike Danny’s passion, the viewer gets the impression that for many of the band members the band simply represents a bit of a social life outside of the pit. Although they enjoy it, they don’t really love it. This is reinforced by the views of people outside the band, such as Jim and Ernie’s wives, Betty and Vera, though it is interesting to note that they support the band later in the film, after they discover that the music really moves them, even going to the lengths of dying their hair in the band’s colours. The community of Grimley is indeed extremely close knit. Just as, as miners, the band members wash the coal off each other’s backs in the shower, so too do they all contribute collectively to producing the overall sound of the band. The band only sound as good as it’s weakest link, just as the miner’s only have any power in solidarity. The colliery band is a source of local pride and its music provides a welcome reprise from the bleak backdrop of impending redundancy and economic duress. In a climate of depression and anxiety, the band’s chance of making it to the national finals provides the only source of optimism and hope, for the band members and community alike. The band get a great send off when they leave for the final. Playing music provides an important source of escapism for the band members and is a creative outlet from the routine of their work down the coalmine. The most important role that music plays for all the members of the band is that the competition represents something that they have not lost before starting, unlike their futile fight to keep their pit open. Harry sums things up nicely when he says to his wife Rita “at least people listen to us”, which is exactly what the viewer does throughout the film. The soundtrack to ‘BRASSED Off’ is almost exclusively provided by The Grimethorpe Colliery Brass Band. This adds authenticity to the film right from the start and reinforces focus on the band itself, giving completeness to the film. The soundtrack is used cleverly throughout the film to enhance the emotive content of many crucial scenes, through the use of crescendos, contrasts in mood and tempo. A good example of this technique is when Gloria Mullins takes the flugel solo in the piece the band knows as ‘Orange Juice’. During the climax the scene shifts from the rehearsal room to ima...