The Band on the Prom

The Band on the Prom tells the remarkable story of Llandudno Town Band and its role in the musical life of the town. Drawing on extensive archive material, the book explores more than a century of performances, community service and brass band history.

“It is 1910, and Llandudno, the most fashionable seaside resort in Wales, has a problem: the Town Band is not providing entertainment to the standard expected by its discerning visitors. The Bandmaster can’t make ends meet, but the Council won’t allow him any more money. No one else is volunteering for the job, except the local brass band…“

This is the story of how the St Tudno Silver Band came to an arrangement with the Llandudno Urban District Council; of its extraordinary bandmasters, who took on the challenge of providing music whenever the town required it; of the phenomenal success of the nightly shows on the promenade bandstand, that brought visitors flocking back to the resort year after year.

It is also the story of the working men – joiners, plumbers, engineers – who dedicated decades of their leisure time to playing the iconic ‘tiddly-om-pom-pom’ on the promenade.

The history of the Llandudno Town Band’s first 100 years is told through unprecedented access to the Band’s archives and reveals the previously hidden story of the amateur musicians who became the very public face of Llandudno.

THE BAND ON THE PROM
The Story of the Llandudno Town Band from 1900
by Susan M. Wolfendale

Available from bookshops and online

Find Out More

Interested in learning more about the band’s history?

• Explore our History page.

• Browse historic newspaper articles and photographs in our Archive.

• View photographs from concerts, performances and events in our Gallery.

• See where the band is performing next in Our Diary.