Mike Weaving first joined the Cinderford Brass Band as a schoolboy, and now, six decades later, he has re-joined the famous Forest of Dean music ensemble after a 40-year absence.

It was football that tore Mike away from the brass band four decades ago – he played for Cinderford Town – but he’s now returned to the band and says he couldn’t be happier to be back. He said: “I’d just started secondary school when I first joined, I’ve got so many good memories of playing with the band. Even when I left the band I would always come along and support them whenever they were playing. Some of the members started asking me if I’d like to return a few years ago. Eventually I gave in to their demands! It feels good to be back, I’ve so many friends who play alongside me and we’re lucky to have such a busy schedule.”

That schedule includes an upcoming performance this Sunday when the Cinderford Brass Band will be playing a concert at the Ross on Wye Bandstand. Mike continued: “We practise twice a week, on Wednesday and Sunday evenings. Summer is a busy time for us, our diary is always busy. We play a real variety of music, from classical right through to songs from films and modern pop music.

“I’ve always played the tenor horn but there were no vacancies for that instrument when I returned to the choir, so I started playing the tuba. It’s got a bit of a bigger mouthpiece, but I enjoy playing it.”

The Cinderford Brass Band became widely known in Gloucestershire and throughout south-west England in the 1960s and 1970s. They were the very first brass band from the Forest of Dean to be invited to play at the Royal Albert Hall and would regularly compete in the highest division of competitive brass band playing. Mike continued: “I’ve played at the Royal Albert Hall twice, it’s a very special place, it’s one of the most famous music venues in the world. Back in the 1960s and 1970s we rose from the lowest section right through to the best standard, the Premier League for brass bands I suppose.”

Mike was fortunate enough to travel abroad in his youth, and there’s one memorable trip he says he’ll never forget. He explained: “I was a member of the Forest of Dean Youth Band and we were lucky enough to travel over to Germany on a couple of occasions which was a great experience for a load of young musicians. The first time we went over was the day of the World Cup Final in 1966, England were playing West Germany as chance would have it! I had the bus completely covered in England flags, by the time we got to the border of Germany we’d won the World Cup, so you can imagine the kind of welcome we got by the Germans!

“There’s 25 of us in the band, sometimes during the summer people are on holidays so we miss them at practice but that’s standard for a lot of musical groups. The great thing about being in the Forest of Dean is there’s so many brass bands so we do sometimes borrow a player or two from another group.

“We’re a very good concert band, the band members are a loyal bunch, with lots of families who play in the band. We’ve got a great mix of ages represented with some very talented youngsters as well as a collection of more senior members. We always want to see the next generation of players come through, there’s a lot of talent here in the Forest of Dean.”