Salvation Army band hit silver screen in Alan Bennett film The Choral

A Salvation Army band is having its moment on the silver screen as it featured in the recent Alan Bennett film The Choral. 

Released last month the movie, which stars Ralph Fiennes, tells the story of members of a local choral society in the fictional Yorkshire town of Ramsden during the First World War. 

Leeds West Hunslet band member Lyndon Moorby was put in touch with the film’s composer George Fenton via a friend, professional trumpet player Dan Newell with George then asking Lyndon to put together a five-piece band to play in some of the street scenes. They recorded the music in a park in Saltaire near Bradford then spent four days on set last summer. 

The band was made up of Lyndon on trombone, with Laurence Moorby, Leeds West Hunslet Bandmaster, on cornet. Also playing their part was Jayne Griffin on tenor horn, Ashley Griffin on tuba and Sheffield Citadel member Christian Lewis on drums. 

Lyndon, who has been Bandmaster of the Salvation Army Yorkshire Youth Band and a member of the Salvation Army’s International Staff Band, and now conducts the choir at Leeds West Hunslet, said: “It was a fantastic experience. Alan Bennett, Nicholas Hytner and George Fenton have worked together on a number of films like The Lady in the Van, The History Boys and the Madness of King George, so to be part of a production like this was a real experience.

“My friend, who is a professional trumpet player, was asked by George Fenton if he knew any Salvation Army bands in Yorkshire so they put me in touch. George rang and we talked through what we do on a Sunday and he asked if we could put a little band together. 

“We had a few conversations about the music and came up with four hymns in the end, two of which we ended up playing on set. The film is set in 1916 so they were Christian tunes of the time period and what you would expect to hear from a Sally Army band on the street.

“It all moved quite quickly. We were approached in April last year and by June we’d done an open air recording in a park in Saltaire. We recorded four tunes with George and the production team, trying not to arouse suspicion from members of the public!” 

The band spent four days on set in July – although as the music was already recorded and so as not to interfere with the sound of the dialogue – they didn’t play a note on set. 

Lyndon continued: “We’d get there early and get into our stand-up tunics and go through make up. We all had to grow moustaches as well. We had the full experience where in between takes they’d come and brush your hair, check your uniforms and make up. We were well looked after by the production team. 

“Another interesting thing is that we supplied our own instruments. We needed them to be of the period and thankfully we had some in the band room. The trombone I used was displayed on the wall with a flower arrangement on it so I had to take it down and dust it off. We had an old bass drum which the art department altered to add the name of the fictional town to it. We’ve still got that drum, now a piece of a movie set!” 

The band got a sneak preview of the film earlier this year, and went to see it again together after it was released.  

And Lyndon’s verdict?

“I thought it was good. It’s a typical Alan Bennett film with a similar sort of feel to his previous ones, which I really like. It’s certainly very watchable,” he said. 

“We also got a credit at the end with our names, which we weren’t expecting.” 

You can see Leeds West Hunslet band, not in the Hollywood hills, but in streets and supermarkets across the city playing carols throughout December.