Gerald Harrison
Gerald Harrison, former BBC Producer and Presenter of brass band programmes, sadly passed away on Wednesday in Fairfield Hospital, Bury, following a stroke, at the age of 87. His long-term partner Fiona, and sons Dave and Neale, together with their respective partners Bobbie and Wendy, were at his bedside. Gerald came from Derby where he worked on the local newspaper, before getting a job with the BBC in Manchester, working as a reporter in radio and television. He was a familiar face as a reporter on BBC1’s regional programme Look North. He moved into producing music and documentary programmes - as well as the two mentioned he also produced A Grand Sing, and The Brass Beat with Roy Castle.
Brass bands became his passion, and living in Dobcross, home of the world-famous Dobcross Band Club, gave him access to some of the big names in the brass band world, who became personal friends. He used his contacts to entice them into the competitive world of knock-out TV programmes, which did so much to bring this fine music to the masses.
As the Presenter of Best of Brass on BBC2, and Champion Brass on BBC1 North West, Gerald was a well-known face on the brass band scene. He lived in Dobcross in Saddleworth, in a fine Pennine stone house overlooking the village green where the Whit Friday Band Contest took place every year. Some of the banding world’s top conductors, such as Prof. Nicholas Childs and Richard Evans, would regularly pop in to pay their respects just after their bands had performed.
Nick Peake was a familiar figure alongside him at that event and remembers him fondly: “I directed the third series of Champion Brass in the 1980s, and we were firm friends ever since. We shared a love of music in general and brass bands in particular. He was warm and generous in company, with a ready wit, and a real passion for music. He was always a popular figure on the brass scene, and will be sadly missed.”
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