It seems almost incomprehensible that the Battle of the Bands has only been running since 2018. A biennial event (in part thanks to a certain pandemic) until this year, the Battle of the Bands has, in just four iterations, established itself firmly as one of the most exciting evenings in the annual music calendar.

Plans started way back in the winter, but rehearsals (and the associated mess, which to be honest I won’t miss!) began in earnest this term. It’s important to note that the children are very much left to their own devices with a minimum of adult input. They are challenged to work together, as a band, to learn and rehearse their songs. Inevitably some get along better than others! However, as the day drew closer, the excitement was building amongst those taking part, their parents too, and many bands spent their exeat weekend finessing their performance, whilst one band (so I’m told) even hit the recording studio.

The evening itself did not disappoint; in fact, it rather exceeded all expectations. After a long day of rehearsals and sound checks, the heat of the Recital Hall draining any last sap of energy from everyone, the children stepped up the microphones, plugged in their guitars, grabbed their drumsticks, and programmed their keyboards to present an array of accomplished performances. When I say accomplished, I really mean phenomenal such was the standard and it would be churlish of me to single out any performances save to say we were treated to the following:

Ultraviolet – Bittersweet Symphony (The Verve)
The Father McKenzies - Eleanor Rigby (The Beatles)
Code A – Brazil (Declan McKenna)
The Green Knights – I’m a Believer (The Monkees)
Rolling Diamonds – Wild Thing (The Troggs)
Pix and Stix – Next To Me (Emelie Sandé)
88 Miles Per Hour – Mr Blue Sky (Electric Light Orchestra)
The Five Amigos – (Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay (Otis Redding)
Diamond Geezers – Sweet Caroline (Neil Diamond)
The Four Musketeers – Black Magic (Little Mix)
Rolling Revolution – Rolling in the Deep (Adele)
Hit the GOATies – Hound Dog (Elvis Presley)
Cool Under Pressure – Yellow (Coldplay)
No Tears No Fears – Everybody Wants to Rule the World (Tears for Fears)

In all, 85 children performed including 17 string players who took part in performances of both Bittersweet Symphony and Eleanor Rigby. Their contribution was vital, and it was lovely to be able to include string players in an event of this nature. Hopefully, this is the start of something new 

We are all indebted to the efforts of the amazing team who put it all together, especially Mrs Barnfather (who also compered and played bass guitar for many of the bands), Mrs Hickson, Mr Hough and Mr Mullowney. These four amazing colleagues really were the backbone of the evening, each making sure their pupils knew exactly what they were doing and carefully supporting them throughout the weeks leading up to the day itself. They, in turn, were supported by music teachers from across the entire department to whom we must also extend huge thanks: Mrs Flower, Mr Frampton, Ms Givens, Ms Levine, Miss Mullens, Mrs Oliver, Mrs Rockhill and Mrs Weager. Finally, we must pay tribute to the phenomenal Mrs Henderson, who (amongst many other things) not only coached her own pupils but also crafted bespoke rehearsal timetables, made sure bands had the equipment they needed to rehearse, chased-up missing band members, arranged the string music and sent countless emails in the process. I’m certain the evening would not have been the success it was without her input.

The challenge of finding a winner amidst all this talent fell to this year’s adjudicator, Nick Ferretti, winner Germany’s Das Supertalent in 2020. Having opened the evening with an energetic mash-up of Stand by Me and Watermelon Sugar (I think the audience could happily have heard (and seen!) more), he ended the Battle with lashings of warm praise for the children’s efforts before awarding the runner-up place to the Diamond Geezers for their performance of Sweet Caroline before handing the winners’ trophy to The Four Musketeers for their performance of Black Magic.

Elton John’s first and last Glastonbury performance this year may have drawn a record crowd, but the Recital Hall too was packed to the rafters with parents and supporters eager to enjoy the atmosphere of this year’s Battle. One needed only to watch their reaction to each performance to get a sense of just how much they were enjoying themselves. It wasn’t just them, the children and staff too had a blast. We’ll be back next year, the planning has already started!

Marcus Reeves, Director of Music