History of the Chinewrde Marching Band 1990

The Accident and the March onwards and upwards

Tragedy struck in 1990, with the loss of the founding member Myrtle Appassionato. She had created a fantastic band and encouraged them to have an input in how they performed, where they performed and what they performed. This encouragement was to contribute to her downfall!

When Stixx joined the band he was immediately liked and is still a popular figure within the band today. His personality and background has influenced his showmanship qualities and therefore from his professional stance within the Marine Corps he strives to be precise and perfect at all times. His time with the cheerleading group has also equipped him with a keen eye for elaborate formations and how to organise them. Therefore during the beginning of 1990, Stixx had been introducing exotic formations for the band to perform during their many gig’s.

Meanwhile, Dotty had also taken to introducing new qualities to the band’s performance. It is at this time that she started to talk about the tribe she was part of as a child – Sqwistpe. It turns out that this tribe was a group of orphans who lived in the workhouse and they communicated using high pitched squeals and squeaks. Dotty had transcribed the various squeaks and squeals into a type of language and could use her whistle to communicate in a similar way. So in 1990 Dorothy started to introduce the concept of using her whistle to communicate with the rest of the band on directions, beat, speed and various other types of valuable information. She felt she needed to do more with this exceptional instrument than just the first note in Yakety Sax.

Also during this year, Ann had started drinking heavily due to her second divorce and the band was trying desperately to keep her sober. The trumpet section was becoming increasingly difficult to work with; their volatile behaviour was getting much worse. Barbara had put on such a lot of weight that she had to keep resting in between her notes and finally Stixx’s formations were getting more and more dangerous as the year progressed.

Late in 1990 the disorientation and disorganisation took its toll. During a very difficult formation for the theme tune to the Pink Panther disaster struck. The formation consisted of a human pyramid - marching extremely slowly - with Myrtle on top conducting, while various other members of the band clicked their fingers to keep time. This was supposed to last for the entire song, but the trumpet section remarked that the band would look stupid and Sophia added that it was dangerous and she especially did not want her mother that high up. Barbara was complaining that the weight of people on her shoulders was taking its toll on her already weak ankles. With all the complaints and commotion from the trumpet section, and Dotty’s incessant whistling which no one understood – let alone reacted to, an argument ensued.

The Chinewrde Marching Band was entangled in a human pyramid while arguing with each other. They were still linked to each other but moving in different directions and at different speeds; thus they all came tumbling down instruments and all. Unfortunately Sophia was trying to help her mother down from the pyramid before they all toppled and she too was caught within the heap of band members and instruments. When she eventually disentangled herself she found that Lady Fleur’s drumsticks had been embedded into her legs, from this day forth Sophia was unable to walk. Much more tragic than that, was the realisation that they had lost their founding member Myrtle Appassionato.

Myrtle was later found crushed to death under Barbara and her tuba - the Chinewrde Marching Band were without a leader. After the funeral, they scattered Myrtle’s ashes over the Abbey Fields so that she would remain a part of Kenilworth forever. And In January 1991 the band voted Dorothy Crochet as the new leader of the Chinewrde Marching Band. Dorothy happily took to the role and continued in Myrtle’s footsteps.

Official Biographer – Godfrey Yammerstein: A Profile of a Great British Marching Band

History of The Chinewrde Marching Band 1940

KIDDUUMS to MMB

The KIDDUUMS band had changed its name between 1932 and 1940, and was now known as Myrtle’s Marching Band or MMB for short. The band had been going strength to strength and had a repertoire so unique and diverse, that many people were stunned into silence whenever they performed. Their rendition of Aint nobody here but us Chickens;  Bye bye birdie and Flanagan & Allen’s Run Rabbit Run were popular favourites.

In the summer of 1940 Myrtle introduced three trumpet players to the MMB, and they continued to turn up to rehearsals. The rest of the members of the band were concerned as they did not know anything about the three trumpet players including their names. The three trumpet players turned up on time for rehearsals, and left on time at the end of the evening. They never let the band down and were always present and played their best at any gig. They never spoke a word to any of the band members, except to Myrtle who couldn’t even hear what they were saying. There was an air of uncertainty around them but no one asked them any questions, after all this band was unprejudiced and diverse.

The incident that changed the band forever!

At a practice in Kenilworth town centre, November 1940, things changed for the band forever.

Myrtle was trying to get the band to march in formation, which was something new to the group. Unbeknownst to her and because of her balance issues she was having trouble keeping to a straight line,  each time she showed them what to do and then watched them march in formation she could not understand why they kept veering to the right. During this practice - which was going on for quite a long time - certain members of the band were starting to question the Trumpet section, what were their names? Where were they from? and more importantly how come they were not fighting in the war? The trumpet section was getting agitated and argumentative (something which continued from this day forth) and started shouting and waving their trumpets about in a fit of rage. Myrtle was trying to calm everyone down when a big explosion occurred up by the Globe Hotel.

We now know that the explosion was a German landmine going off, but at the time the band did not have any clue what it was. The Trumpet Section fled, Myrtle was thrown backwards and crawled to safety under some rubble with Dorothy and Sarah following close behind. In a strange twist of fate, all the other band members who were questioning the Trumpet section died that day leaving only Myrtle, Sarah, Dorothy and of course the three trumpet players.  For the second time in her life Myrtle vowed to create the best band ever, with new recruits... again!

And the new name would be The Chinewrde Marching Band

Official Biographer for the CMB – Godfrey Yammerstein: A Profile of a Great British Marching Band

History of The Chinewrde Marching Band (1925 - 1932)

Myrtle Appasionato, Photo courtesy of Sophia

Myrtle and Sarah leave their lives in search of a perfect beat and meet a Dotted Crochet!

The beginnings of this fantastic marching band start with a travelling Carnival passing through these parts in autumn 1924. Myrtle Appasionato and Sarah Somaton were part of that travelling Carnival and in spring 1925 they ran away from their troupe in order to settle here in Kenilworth. Myrtle was excellent at keeping time and was pitch perfect, so with these natural talents she knew she could make it as a conductor. Myrtle and Sarah packed their things and left in search of a band to lead. According to the limited records that I managed to source Myrtle was born in 1913, and left her Carnival aged 12. I cannot find any records for Sarah Somaton.

Life was hard for the pair, as they scrambled to survive. They were ridiculed for being travellers, but they managed to live day to day surviving by any means they could. Myrtle had heard that a band would be playing in the Abbey Fields after the Carnival procession that year and as the pair were missing the entertainment limelight they decided to join the band. Although the band gladly took on Myrtle, they were not interested in a baton twirler and so they turned Sarah down. The band did indeed play the Abbey Fields after the Carnival procession that year, but unfortunately Myrtle was not conducting!

After being cast aside by Myrtle’s new friends Sarah was distraught and begged Myrtle to find another band for them. Myrtle asked the band to reconsider, but it seemed the band was scared of Sarah – due to her childlike features and her accompanying adult outlook. Myrtle accused the band of being prejudiced and attacked them with her baton and a fight ensued ending with the percussionist boxing Myrtle’s ears with his cymbals and the pair were sent on their way.

It wasn’t long before Myrtle reaslied that having her ears boxed had seriously affected her talents at conducting music. She could no longer hear, and was slightly off balance when she was standing or marching. She was so angry at how they had treated her friend Sarah that she vowed to get even and create a better band which would be more diverse than any other band before. There would be no prejudice within her band and being different was a pre-requisite - it would be open to all who wanted to excel! Myrtle Vowed to create the most diverse, dynamic and innovative marching band ever and so The Kenilworth innovative, diverse, dynamic and un-prejudice, un-conducted marching or static band (or The KIDDUUMS Band) was born!

Myrtle took the band all over the place while she searched for the best player of each instrument. In 1932, during this search for excellence, she came across a former workhouse where some children were still living.  In this former workhouse she met an 8 year old girl called Dorothy who had been born in the workhouse and therefore believed it to be her home. Myrtle was so taken by the girl’s talent to use anything as a musical instrument including an old battered whistle, grass, an old shoe and a mouldy old carrot that she rescued the girl and Dotty joined the band! With Myrtle and Shirley both searching for new band members and recruiting as many as they could, the band grew into a large group of 25. The KIDDUUMS Band was on its way!

Official Biographer for the CMB - Godfrey Yammerstein – A Profile of a Great British Marching Band (first published March 2011. 2^nd publication May 2011)