I am sure many readers will remember Dennis Masters from those hal­cyon days of champion­ship contesting at the Royal Albert Hall in the post war years. Then through the 1960’s and early 70s when he conducted both Lang­ley and Ransome and Marles bands.

Having conducted Langley for 46 years, he retired from full time conducting in 1993, then aged 70. He was the conductor at Ransome and Marles from 1963 through to 1974.

Dennis has many fond memories from his lifetime of music making. One particular event he recalls dates back to the 1960s when the BBC ran a radio contest ‘Challenging Brass’. This was when two bands competed each week playing in their respective BBC Studios, with the adjudicators listening from a studio in London.

As a knock-out competition it worked well for all those bands taking part, that was until Langley and Ransome were drawn against each other, after winning their earlier rounds.

The BBC produced the programme in Birmingham, and being ‘live’ transmissions Dennis had the daunting task of conducting both bands in the same studio.

Ransome won that round and went onto win the final which was held in Sheffield Town Hall, and Dennis billed as the conductor who could not loose. Now I wonder if that has ever happened before?.

Chris Helme