Celebration for Imps

The Yorkshire Imperial Urquhart Travel Band is marking its 80th anniversary on Saturday 22nd October with a special concert in Ossett Town Hall where present and former members of the band will join forces to celebrate the Band’s remarkable musical history.

The band was originally formed in 1936 as The Yorkshire Copper Works Band and was based in Stourton near Leeds where the Copper Works factory was based.   When an industrial merger created Yorkshire Imperial Metals in 1958 the band’s name changed and they became affectionately known to the banding fraternity as ‘ The Yorkshire Imps’.  Following the ending of the sponsorship from Imperial Metal Industries in the 1990’s David Urquhart Travel stepped into the breach in order to keep the band and its proud Yorkshire name in existence.  David Urquhart has generously sponsored the band for the last twenty years and the band is now known as the Yorkshire Imperial Urquhart Travel Band. 

For much of the band’s 80 years it has featured consistently as one of the finest bands in Great Britain.  Indeed, in Dr. Roy Newsome’s ‘The Modern Brass Band’ (Ashgate, Aldershot 2006), they are listed as one of the top ten bands of the second half of the 20th century.  The band has represented Yorkshire some twenty times at the National Finals been placed on no less than 15 occasions. Their success in the Yorkshire Area includes 24 top three places and 9 wins. Amongst some of their other notable achievements The Imps have been British Open Champions on 3 occasions with 13 places and a runner up position to add to their proud heritage.

The celebration concert on the 22nd October provides an opportunity for supporters past and present and concert goers to join the band in an evening of musical favourites which will feature many of the band’s star soloists, chart key moments in the band’s history, led by the band's new Musical Director - David Hamilton. 

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