BAND TIMELINE

1870 – Whitburn Band, as it is now known, is formed in the West Lothian town to serve as an outlet for members of the local mining community to perform at the gala day .

1917 – Members of Whitburn Band are among those from the town fighting in the First World War. Private William Aitken did not return.

He was killed in action aged just 20.

1954 – Contesting is now an important part of the band’s activities and Whitburn becomes the first Scottish brass band in history to win any UK national title in any section when it wins the Third Section National Championships in London

1968 – Whitburn becomes the Scottish Champion for the first time.

1978 – Major Peter Parkes is appointed as the band’s conductor, leading Whitburn to becoming one of the best brass bands in the world.

1980s – Whitburn regularly perform on television and radio around the UK in the BBC Best of Brass and Fanfare competitions, and at the most prestigious concert halls in the world such as the Royal Albert Hall. The band still performs regularly at the UK’s biggest concert halls.

2002 – Whitburn represents Scotland as it performs at the Queen’s Golden Jubilee celebrations in London

2009 – Whitburn starts performing the national anthems of the away teams at Scotland’s rugby internationals.

The band still does this, which sees Whitburn performing to millions of people on live TV.

2015 – Professor Nicholas Childs is appointed the musical director of Whitburn, bringing in a new period of success on the concert and contest stage

2018 – Whitburn perform at Celtic Connections and the Edinburgh International Festival in the same year, as well as becoming the Scottish Champion for the 20th time

2020 – When the pandemic hits during the band’s 150th anniversary year, Whitburn continues to play, and its virtual performances are featured by Classic FM and STV.

So far, they have been viewed hundreds of thousands of times across social media.