Brass Bands Play an important part in Barnsley's rich cultural and musical heritage. The collieries and heavy industry, on which the town's prosperity was built, proved fertile ground in which talented musicians were to gather together and develop the skills of their neighbours and workmates. They formed bands to entertain themselves and others, to compete with the peers and to lend tone and rich colour to community activities. Eric Jessop calls upon the history of his own family and of Dodworth, the place in which he has always lived, to tell a wider story of the manner in which the brass band tradition has enriched and still enriches the social and cultural life of the Barnsley area. He shares experience and anecdotes, recalls humour and alcoholic excesses and provides wise counsel on the means of promoting the movement to a new and younger generation of potential performers. The book includes brief histories of many local bands and is lavishly illustrated with archive photographs and pictures.