The Fairey Band is considered to be one of the finest bands in the world and competes regularly in the British National & Open Championships along with an extensive concert / entertainment schedule. Founded in 1937 by a group of employees at the Fairey Aviation Works in Stockport, the Band achieved many musical successes under the brilliant direction of Harry Mortimer, their Musical Director for over thirty years. Since those early days, the Band has been 16 times British Open Champions and National Champions of Great Britain on 9 occasions. Winners of the BBC ‘Best of Brass’ and Granada ‘Band of the Year’ titles add further touches of distinction to this famous Band. The early-mid 1990s saw probably the most successful period in the Band’s history, winning both the British Open and National titles in 1993, before going on to complete a unique ‘treble’ when they were crowned European Champions in 1994. The Band is also extremely proud of its successes at the annual Whit Friday marches – most notably in 1997 when they achieved 10 first prizes, 2 second prizes and a third prize of the 13 contests that they attended. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.