For the press, promoters & printers
PRESS PACK
Everything you need to write about the band or put it on a poster — the words, the facts, the crest and the photographs. All of it may be used freely to promote a concert we are playing or to write about us.
About the band
THE WORDS
In fifty words
The GUS Band is a championship-section brass band from Northamptonshire. Founded in Kettering in 1933 as the Munn and Felton Works Band, it is six times National Champion and was World Champion in 1971. Based in Northampton today, it plays concerts and contests across the country under Musical Director Christopher Bond.
In a hundred and fifty words
The GUS Band is one of Britain’s longest-standing championship-section brass bands. It was formed in Kettering in 1933, in a shoe factory, as the Munn and Felton Works Band, and has carried seven names since — GUS among them — while keeping one standard: the band has been National Champion six times and was crowned World Champion in 1971.
Today the band is based in Northampton. It is thirty Midlands area titles to the good, the most recent in 2026, when it also regained the Royal Trophy at Bugle after seventy-one years and reached the National Final. Its Musical Director is Christopher Bond, a composer and conductor whose music has been performed on five continents and set as a test piece at the UK Regionals.
The band plays concerts of its own, from tributes to Christmas at the Deco, and is available for festivals, civic occasions and live-to-film performances across the UK.
Checkable
THE FACTS
- Name
- The GUS Band. The charity behind it is the Virtuosi GUS Band, registered charity 1170993.
- Founded
- 1933, in Kettering, as the Munn and Felton Works Band. Seven names since — the history page has them all.
- Based
- Northampton.
- Section
- Championship.
- Musical Director
- Christopher Bond.
- National Champions
- Six times. World Champions, 1971.
- Recent honours
- Royal Trophy at Bugle, 2026 — regained after seventy-one years. Midlands Area Champions, 2026. National Finalists, 2026.
- Players
- A full championship band of around thirty, listed with photographs on the Band page.
Musical Director
CHRISTOPHER BOND
Described as “an extraordinary young man, from whom music pours with delightful generosity” by the BAFTA-winning actress Miriam Margolyes, Christopher is a composer, conductor, musical director and educator, and a graduate of the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama.
His music has been performed across five continents, with commissions from Cory, Brighouse & Rastrick, Grimethorpe and Flowers, and broadcasts on BBC Radio 2, 3, 4 and Classic FM. His works have been set as test pieces at the UK Regionals and at the national championships of France, Switzerland, Ireland and Australia.
In 2012 his Royal Diamond Jubilee Fanfare was performed in the presence of HM Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh.
The crest
THE CREST AND THE COLOURS
Please use it whole, at its own proportions, with clear space around it of at least the width of the crown. Do not recolour it, stretch it, or place it over a photograph where it cannot be read. On a dark or scarlet background it is the same file; it carries its own colours.
The name is set as The GUS Band — GUS in capitals, Band with a capital B. A vector version of the crest for print is available on request.
Pictures
PHOTOGRAPHS
Photographs of the band and of individual players are supplied on request — write to enquiries@gus.band and say what it is for. They may be used to write about the band or to promote a concert we are playing, with a credit to The GUS Band. The card below is the one the site uses when a link is shared, and may be used the same way.
Ask us
CONTACT
For interviews, pictures and anything about the band: enquiries@gus.band. For bookings, the Book Us page goes to the Concert Manager. The stage plan and technical requirements depend on the room, so they are agreed with each venue rather than published.
Playing soon
The diary is on What’s On, where every date can be added to your own calendar so it stays current.