AMERICA’s top brass band has been charmed to make a return visit to a legendary Saddleworth village band club because of its “community spirit”.

Fountain City brass band from Kansas will entertain a delighted audience at Dobcross Band and Social Club next month as part of a tour to compete in the prestigious Brass in Concert staged at Gateshead.

Initially, the US band used a cheeky beermat as a unique “invite” to play in concert in the village. The beer mat, claimed to be “Stolen from Dobcross Band Club” was given to them by a local on a visit to America.

And the band flew more than 4,000 miles to entertain an enthusiastic capacity audience at the 100-year-old club.

This year they will share the stage again with Dobcross Silver Band on Friday, November 16.

Andy Black, Dobcross Silver Band chairman, said: “We are delighted at the return of this brilliant band.

“Currently, they are North American Brass Band champions and are visiting the UK again to face top class opposition from the UK and overseas.

“And under the guidance of charismatic musical director Dr Joseph Parisi they always provide fantastic entertainment to complement their great technical skills.”

Referring to their debut concert, Mr Black added: “The players always wanted to finish their tour with a visit to authentic brass band heartland.

“Heritage is very important to them and they were fascinated to learn the village had brass band roots going back such a long way.”

Yorkshire born Helen Harrelson, president of Fountain City Youth Brass Academy said: “The band are excited to return to Dobcross as part of this years UK tour.

“We were so impressed with the history and community spirit we found when visiting last year.

“The hospitality shown to us was amazing. I feel like band is coming back to visit old friends.”

She added: “We forged a friendship with Dobcross some years ago but when we won a major US national championship in Chicago, we picked up one of the club’s quirky beer mats.

“That acted a a trigger as we were performing at Brass in Concert, the Scotland plus a couple of stand-alone concerts in the UK.

“Our 30 players where really excited about playing at such a renowned band club. They wanted a full cultural experience while they were in the UK. “Everyone in the village made us feel so welcome. It was very gratifying. We actually took some of the beer mats back to the states at momentos of our visit.”

Tickets for the concert, priced at £8, are available from Dobcross band club, Platt Lane, Dobcross. Tel:01457 873741. E: info@dobcrossbandclub.co.uk