Foden's receive Heritage Lottery Funding

Mark Wilkinson • May 10, 2021

Foden’s are pleased to announce that they have been successful in an application to the Heritage Lottery Fund for £26,400. The total project cost is £29,910 with the Heritage Lottery awarding an 88% grant to this project.


This latest award will see the Cheshire based Band record un-published works which will be uploaded to their heritage website www.fodensbandheritage.co.uk as well as a large number of new and innovative videos. To build on their community links a piece of Public Art, an interactive information board with QR codes, will be housed in Sandbach to attract and inform local interest to supporting the band’s heritage and culture. To increase awareness of the band and local history, 20 members of their Youth and Junior Bands will undertake the ‘Arts Awards Scheme’ working with a heritage artist resulting in the young people attaining a nationally recognised award. The main part of the project will see the bands archive housed in a central location where visitors will be able to view the artefacts in person as well as via a virtual tour. A new work will be commissioned to celebrate the opening of the ‘Museum’ as well as a launch concert to an invited audience. 


Speaking about the project Mark Wilkinson commented ‘We would like to thank the ‘Heritage Lottery Fund’ for the award which comes on the back of a previous grant in 2016. The grant enables us to protect and share our history as well as working with our younger members and community to gain a greater understanding of the band. To increase the outreach of the project, we will be collaborating with a number of partners and this includes furthering the work of our recently awarded Arts Council England grant where we are working with a group of young people with hearing impairments to add sign language and subtitles to make the heritage accessible to all. The Trustees of the band are extremely grateful to Vice President Carole Crompton for her work in submitting this bid. The association with Carole has now resulted in six combined successful applications to both the Heritage Lottery Fund and Arts Council England over a five-year period.’

Heritage Site - Discover our legacy

By Mark Wilkinson • April 13, 2026
Foden's Band are extremely proud of their history and were delighted to showcase it through a dedicated Heritage Site. The project commenced following the band's devastating bandroom fire in 2016. The site brings together a rich collection of articles, photographs, concert programmes, player lists and so much more – preserving and celebrating their story for future generations. A major highlight was the digitisation of over 100 original ‘78s alongside recent recordings of previously unrecorded works, brought to life using the original manuscript parts. The project was made possible due to funding from the Heritage Lottery. Explore the enjoy the archive via https://www.fodensbandheritage.co.uk/

Foden's are delighted to support the Sandbach Transport Festival on the 26th April!

By Mark Wilkinson • April 13, 2026
The Sandbach Transport Festival is a large annual community event (attracting thousands of people) celebrating the town’s strong history in transport and engineering. It originally grew from Sandbach’s heritage as the home of famous commercial vehicle manufacturers like Foden and ERF trucks. What is it ? It’s a weekend festival featuring: Classic cars, vintage trucks, motorcycles, and modern vehicles A large vehicle parade through the town centre Live music from local bands Family entertainment, fairground rides, food stalls, and displays Sometimes stunt shows (motorbike/BMX) and special exhibitions Join us as we take to the stage on Sunday 26th (between 3:00pm – 3:45pm) before proudly leading the Sandbach Transport Procession through the town

Congleton Town Hall - Salute to Sinatra and the Swing Legends

By Mark Wilkinson • April 7, 2026
Join Foden’s Band and special guest Matthew Ford for an unforgettable afternoon of music…  Widely regarded as one of the UK’s finest big band vocalists, Matthew Ford returns to Congleton alongside the multi-award-winning Foden’s Band. Expect timeless classics from Frank Sinatra and the golden age of swing. With accolades including ‘Best UK Male Big Band Vocalist’ and performances with the BBC Big Band, John Wilson Orchestra and at the BBC Proms, Matthew brings world-class entertainment to the stage. Foden’s will provide the perfect backdrop for a spectacular celebration of swing music. Congleton Town Hall - Saturday 11th July - 2:00pm Tickets: £20 via: info@fodensband.co.uk Don’t miss what promises to be a fantastic afternoon of iconic swing hits performed by one of the UK’s leading brass bands and one of its finest vocalists!

Elgar International Festival of Brass

By Mark Wilkinson • April 7, 2026
On the 7th June Foden's look forward to performing in the prestigious 'Elgar International Festival of Brass' at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire The Festival will also include performances from Black Dyke, Flowers, Brassband Willebroek, Royal Birmingham Conservatoire Band as well as a recital from the fantastic David Childs Foden's programme will feature John Barber (who recently celebrated his 30th year with the band!) PROGRAMME Tallis Variations - Sparke Concertino for Trombone - Larsson Soloist : John Barber Sounds - Golland Antiphonary – Lane Orbital – Blackwood​​​​​ Further info via https://www.eifob.org.uk/

Armagh Old Boys Brass Band Summer School 2026

By Mark Wilkinson • April 7, 2026
A number of our members will once again travel to Armagh, Northern Ireland in August to lead sectionals and full rehearsals on the 'Armagh Old Boys Brass Band Summer Course' which promises to be a great week of music, fun and friendship! The course is open to brass and percussionists regardless of age For further information contact Julie-Anne Stevenson - jastevenson4@hotmail.com Location: City of Armagh High School - Alexander Rd, BT61 7JH Dates: Monday 10th - Saturday 15th August 2026 Cost: £60.00 Apply Now: https://docs.google.com/.../1SqJIe0-o-SxUu3srz6.../edit

Thank you Market Drayton and Mark Landon!

By Mark Wilkinson • March 23, 2026
On Sunday 22 nd March Foden's travelled to Market Drayton to perform to a sold out 'Festival Drayton Centre' programming a reprise of their 'Exodus: Moses in Egypt' set as well as music from the pens of Pallhuber, Graham, Downie, Lome Barry, Elgar and Mangione! During the concert a presentation was made to long standing percussionist Mark Landon who has decided to step away from full time banding. Mark has been a fantastic asset and servant to Foden's for the past 26 years and despite stepping away, will join their pool of percussionists providing cover when needed! 

Foden's at the Crucible!

By Mark Wilkinson • March 16, 2026
In late January Foden's returned to the recording studio to record music for a production of 'The Ladies Football Club' which is being shown at the Crucible, Sheffield between the 28th February and 28th March. This high profile production was written by Stefano Massini (The Lehman Trilogy) and adapted by Tim Firth (Calendar Girls) which shows that the final result is not always the one on the scoreboard at full time! Foden's contribution was to record excerpts from a well known championship section test piece used during the performance (visit the show to find out!!) 'The Ladies Football Club' was chosen as one of 'The Times' best shows to see in 2026 with further details via https://www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk/events/the-ladies-football-club 

''The Little Percussion Company" becomes a 'Partner'

By Mark Wilkinson • March 12, 2026
Foden's are delighted to announce that they have entered into a partnership with 'The Little Percussion Company' TLPC was formed in 2022 by its founder, Tony Lucas who spent over 20 years at JAM Percussion, concentrating on products that are easy to obtain in the UK.  Since forming a partnership with Adams Percussion, the band are delighted that TLPC have provided all cases / bags to protect these fantastic instruments! For further info about Adams and TLPC please visit https://www.tlperc.com/ https://www.adams-music.com/en/percussion

Foden's crowned the North West Area Champions for the 10th consecutive year!

By Mark Wilkinson • March 2, 2026
On Sunday 1st March Foden's competed at the 'North West Area' contest held at the Winter Gardens Blackpool. The UK is split into various 'regions' and the top two placed bands at each regional contest is invited to represent their 'region' at the National Finals, held at the Royal Albert Hall London in October. . Foden's competed against 11 other bands performing the set test piece 'Elgar Variations' by Martin Ellerby, being subsequently announced as the Champions for the tenth consecutive year also winning the prize for the best Principal Cornet Test piece: Elgar Variations (Martin Ellerby) Adjudicators: Dr Robert Childs; Gavin Saynor  1. Foden's (Russell Gray)* 2. KNDS Fairey (Phil Chalk)* 3. Pemberton Old Wigan DW (Thomas Wyss) 4. Freckleton (John Atkinson) 5. Leyland (Daniel Brooks) 6. Milnrow (Christopher Binns) 7. Wardle Anderson Brass (Jamie Cooper) 8. Boarshurst Silver (Martyn Evans) 9. Rainford (Adam DJ Taylor) 10. Whitworth Vale & Healey (Mike Golding) 11. Acceler8 (Jef Sparkes) Best Cornet: Mark Wilkinson (Foden's) *Qualify for National Final

Celebrating 30 years of service - John Barber

By Mark Wilkinson • February 23, 2026
Last weekend saw Foden's make a welcome return to Burton Town Hall, where they were delighted to mark a very special milestone. During the concert, a presentation was made to their outstanding and every-loyal Solo Trombone, John Barber, in recognition of his remarkable 30 years of dedicated service to Foden's!