Strike up the band!
Meet the touring musicians who make up the Caravan and Motorhome Club Concert Band
It’s a busy day for members of the Caravan and Motorhome Club Concert Band (CAMCCB). As we speak with them, they are rehearsing in a marquee at Exeter racecourse where the band is playing at the club’s week-long summer rally. Busy they may be, but playing with the band is very much a labour of love and combines many of the elements that make motorcaravanning such a pleasure – working together as part of a community and supporting friends.
Formed in 1993 by a group of caravanning musicians under the leadership of first conductor Major Brian Smith, CAMCCB has grown from strength to strength and is now something of a fixture at large Club events and rallies. Musicians come from across the UK with members from Devon, London, Yorkshire, Cheshire, Cambridgeshire, Carmarthenshire in South Wales and Scotland, including Bob Black who is the ex-chairman of the Caravan and Motorhome Club. The group rehearses about five or six times a year over a full weekend. At most rehearsals they expect to see between 45 and 50 players who between them will bring 35 to 40 vehicles – which tends to be an even split between caravan and motorhomes.
“We support the Caravan and Motorhome Club at various events,” says CAMCCB chairman Ian Clowes. “We pay the rally fees when we rehearse at weekends, but the Club pays for rehearsal rooms, provides us with a trailer for storage, and buys the music for us. They fund the operation of the band and in return we support Club events. For example, in August we are going up to Cumbria where Cumbria Centre Caravan and Motorhome Club is having its 60th anniversary rally - a 60th anniversary plus one, because of Covid. We play at a lot of the big regional events.”
“In a normal year we do the national rally, and every couple of years we do a big Proms night,” says Ian who plays percussion with the band. “We end the night with Land Of Hope And Glory and it goes down really well. We can get up to 2000 people on the Proms night so it’s a great event for the band as well as the audience.”
“We can get up to 2000 people on the Proms night so it’s a great event for the band as well as the audience”
Covid, of course, has presented the band with difficulties – the key challenge had been finding venues that will take 35 caravans or motorhomes and has a room big enough for rehearsals. Traditionally this has been at schools, but with many unable to host events because of the pandemic, the band has had to look at alternatives – hence the marquee at Exeter racecourse. The band is currently led by conductor Chris Cobon, who is head of music at South Bromsgrove High School. A keen caravanner, he used to play in the band, and leads them through an easy listening programme that includes everything from The Dambusters March through to Abba hits and Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture.
Ian says: “It’s music that people want to listen to. The audience always enjoys Prom Night – it’s the typical Last Night music.”
For many, CAMCCB has become something of an extended family, and many members form friendships and go on holiday together. One couple is even about to tie the knot – bass player Stephen Carr, whose parents also played in the band, is getting married to cornet player Crystal Helens, the musical duo having met in the band.
If all this talk has whet your musical appetite and you fancy joining yourself, the good news is that the band is recruiting, and everyone is welcome whatever their experience.
“You’ll need access to a brass or woodwind instrument or percussion,” says Ian, “but there are no auditions. If you play that’s good, but we’ll take any level, including beginners. We’re particularly keen on recruiting young families. It’s great to get the kids playing alongside their parents, and with audiences of up to 2000 it’s a real experience. Those Proms concerts have a phenomenal atmosphere. You just need to be a member of the Caravan and Motorhome Club.”
New members have plenty to look forward to as the band has an illustrious history playing international events. When the Caravan and Motorhome Club was in the FICC the band played in Ghent in Belgium, Bologna, Northern Italy and Ireland. And with its 30th anniversary coming up in 2023 they are planning an active programme followed by attendance at the Waterford Spraoi Festival in Ireland in 2024. They are also looking to perform at Disneyland Paris and the Menin Gate in Belgium.
● For more information about joining the band, email Chairman Ian Clowes at Ian@goldy.uk. You can see the band’s Facebook page @CAMCBand and their YouTube at tinyurl.com/CAMCBand.