The Fairey Band, which owes its name to WFEL’s predecessor the Fairey Aviation Company, has received a big helping hand from the leading engineering business in its move to a new home.

After a fire destroyed the band’s practice hut, located on the grounds of WFEL HQ, the world leading tactical bridging specialist made a match funding pledge that saw it help to raise thousands of pounds towards a new hut which has been erected on the same site.

WFEL, which boasts tiebar operative Jimmy Leggat as a member of the Fairey Band, also lent storage for instruments and its canteen as a practice room while the band waited for its new home to be built.

The band and WFEL have shared a long history together with the famous collective playing a special concert to mark to re-instatement of the company’s historic logo based on the Fairey Fox design, which both share, during a visit to the factory by local MP Ann Coffey in 2009.

The new practice hut is opening at an exciting time for the Fairey Band shortly before it is set to appear in a BBC documentary on the origins of Acid Brass.
Acid Brass — a unique fusion of traditional Brass Band music, Acid House and Detroit Techno — was born following collaboration between the Fairey Band and Turner Prize winning artist Jeremy Deller in 1997.

The band has since performed Acid Brass across the UK and overseas, released two albums and had one of its tracks featured on the soundtrack of the 2010 Chris Morris film, ‘Four Lions’.

The documentary is set to air on The Culture Show on BBC2 on 24th February at 19.00