2026 marks 140 years since Backworth Colliery Band was established in 1886, within the mining community of Backworth, North Tyneside. The band is one of the few living links to the collieries that shaped the village.
From the pits to the present
The band began as a wind band, with clarinets and flutes alongside the brass, and became wholly brass during the 1920s. For nearly 80 years it rehearsed in the Miners’ Welfare, across the road from Backworth Club, with its players drawn largely from miners and their families.
When the last of Backworth’s pits, the Eccles, closed in 1980, the industry that created the band disappeared. The band did not. Today its players come from every walk of life, but the colliery name and the tradition behind it remain.
Still playing, still competing
The band rehearses on Monday and Thursday evenings at Backworth Club and performs throughout the year at concerts, galas, parades and civic occasions, from the Durham Miners’ Gala to Remembrance services. At the North of England Regional Championships it finished third in the Fourth Section in 2015, 2020, 2022 and 2024.
Be part of the anniversary
- Come to a concert, including our Annual Fundraising Concert in North Shields on Saturday 7 November (book tickets).
- Join the band, whether you’re an experienced player or returning after a break.
- Learn to play with the Training Band.
- Share your memories, photographs or programmes for the band’s archive.
- Support the band through sponsorship, donations or volunteering.
Read the full story in 140 Years of Backworth Colliery Band, or browse the gallery.