How it all started : late eightiesTenth Avenue Band was the brainchild of Ken Patterson. Ken was inspired by other bands he’d seen, such as Grand Union, Welfare State International, Pineapple Agogo (Dodgy Clutch) and Peace Artistes. Originally a community band called The Heaton People's Band, it was open to people of all ages and musical levels. Ken was a teacher at Chillingham Road primary school, which serves the Heaton area of Newcastle, and gained funding as a focus of the school's work in the community. He held weekly rehearsals in the school. Children from the school joined local adults by playing musical games and learning simple tunes and rhythms by ear. Ken selected and taught the music played, again by ear. Steel pans were a central part of the band. Members paid a weekly subscription to cover costs. The first gig was at the Fish Quay Festival, North Shields in May 1988.
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Getting stronger : early ninetiesBy 1990, we had enough tunes to do short sets at local events. More adults joined, expanding the age range from teenagers to forty-somethings, and the range of instruments expanded. Heaton has an interesting population, and the band was made up of an eclectic mix of members, including many teachers, a gardener, medical doctors, psychologists, a hairdresser, university professors, artists and a piano tuner. When Ken left the school to became a freelance musician and tutor the band became more independent of the school.
In 1990 we played a major part in hosting the National Street Band Festival in Newcastle/Gateshead. We were nowhere near as strong as other bands but it was an inspirational event. In the same year a French player from Mona Lisa Klaxon band in Rouen joined the band temporarily; through her contacts the band went on its first European trip to Rouen in April 1991, camping on a goat cheese farm in very cold weather! We spent our time practising and busking. This greatly increased our togetherness as a group, increased our confidence as players and our performance as street entertainers. |
We started to experiment with costumes but it took some years to settle on black and white. We got more gigs back in Newcastle and started to charge a small fee. In 1992 we changed our name to the Tenth Avenue Band and had around 25 members. At the Sheffield National Street Band Festival in 1992 we were able to put on a pretty good performance, and having visited the Dournanez festival in 1992, we were invited back in 1993 as part of the programme, where we did well (except for a performance at 4am, which was unbelievably awful!). Also in 1993 we made our first recording for sale on cassette tape (Chilli Fingers). Ken remained our leader and continued to choose and arrange most of the tunes, some of which were generously passed on to us from other street bands.
Feeling confident : mid ninetiesWe continued with Ken leading the band, building up our repertoire, doing more gigs, and building up some funds. We have a bit of money to pay Ken and subsidise trips. We went to National Street Band festivals. These were really positive times, where we could see what other bands were doing, and sometimes learning music from them. We developed our European links and trips (below) which again were very positive and supportive times, lots of playing, fun and memorable champagne moments, as we called them. Steel pans became a burden so we gradually stopped using them. Through our local gigs and at big Christmas parties we built up real support in the region amongst friends and community music organisers.
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Changes : the new millennium
In 1996, Ken left the band to do other things, so we had to develop other approaches to everything. We tried a variety of models, all with their challenges: different band members took it in turns to plan and lead rehearsals, either singly or in pairs; we paid external local musicians to lead rehearsals; individuals suggested new tunes, some from CDs, some from our friends in other street bands; we started ‘tune-choosing’ evenings to make it more systematic and democratic; different band-members organised and gaffered gigs. Leading rehearsals was the most difficult issue. During this time, we moved rehearsals to the function room of a nearby pub for a more conducive atmosphere. We got a good number of paid gigs and kept up a varied repertoire. By 2000 we had our first functional website. During 2003 we put a lot of effort into getting a grant to organise an International Street Band Festival in Newcastle/Gateshead with seven visiting bands from around Europe and even part of band from Canada. Ken composed a special piece 'Tyne Times' for us all to play together on the banks of the river Tyne - a great experience. The event was a great success, organisationally, musically and socially. On a smaller scale, our wonderful Christmas parties and musical picnics on a pleasure boat down the Tyne were also great successes. European trips continued to be an annual high point.
A low period : 2007
Dave, one of our key and much loved members, developed terminal cancer. We organised a mini international event for him, inviting several of our sister bands from England, Germany and Holland. This was timed to coincide with the Durham Brass Festival where we all played. After Dave's death in 2007, several long-standing members left and the band was in danger of collapse. Recruiting new members was hard work, but gradually paid off with enough new people sticking and becoming very committed. An existing member of the band developed her role as rehearsal facilitator. The new members gradually learnt some of the old repertoire. We chose new tunes democratically at special listening / choosing evenings, and we paid for the arrangements and tuition from a range of musicians, including Ken.
Getting back on track : 2008 onwards
During 2008, more people joined the band; we became stronger and numbers returned to around 15-20. Our repertoire increased and we agreed to add a dash of red to our costume. In 2009 our good friends IG Blech invited us for a weekend of concerts and busking in Berlin. This was rather nerve wracking, but a very positive time. It really felt like we were stepping forward into the future.
There was still a long, slow journey to be made however, and it took a fair few years to feel like a strong band again. It probably took 2 or 3 years, maybe more, for the band to feel like it had really arrived again!
There was still a long, slow journey to be made however, and it took a fair few years to feel like a strong band again. It probably took 2 or 3 years, maybe more, for the band to feel like it had really arrived again!
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We now still continue to perform regularly at gigs in the region, some free for our members, some for charity events with little pay, some for private parties - weddings, birthdays etc - some for financed events for a higher fee. This makes enough money to pay rehearsal leaders and subsidise trips. We endeavour to plan something exciting each summer; we've been to Hamburg, Ireland a few times, sometimes more local festivals such as Stepping Stones or Lindisfarne. This year we are planning to visit Amsterdam to celebrate 25 years of Tenth Avenue Band in partnership with a Dutch sister band, Toeters and Bellen, who are also celebrating their Jubilee!
We continue to work as a collective with decisions taken by the band, either as a whole group or in smaller working groups. We are not an open band but seek out new members where there are gaps in our line up.
We absolutely love to perform and share our music with others - in the street, in the garden, at parties, at festivals, on a boat, at your wedding - just ask and we'll give it a try!
We continue to work as a collective with decisions taken by the band, either as a whole group or in smaller working groups. We are not an open band but seek out new members where there are gaps in our line up.
We absolutely love to perform and share our music with others - in the street, in the garden, at parties, at festivals, on a boat, at your wedding - just ask and we'll give it a try!
