What's in a Name?

The Brighton Big Band

was formed on the 12 February 1986 by Dave Masters and Graham Scott under the name of The Dave Masters Big Band. The new name was taken on in 2014 with the advent of new band members and a new repertoire - so a new name was called for! We acknowledge the hard work which the founding members put into establishing the band and putting it on the local map, but since Dave moved to Australia over 25 years ago and now has another band under his name there - it was definitely time for a change!

John Lake now administers the band with the assistance of many others - John Woodward - who directs the band and Andy Batkin who maintains and improves the equipment. We still have one original member from when the band was first formed in 1986  - Graham Mussard in the trombone section! Since May 2023 we are grateful for the support of Southwick Community Centre for providing us with accommodation for rehearsals.

The band played their first season of under the new name, band colours and several new pieces of music in 2014. The band continues with still more new repertoire and are often joined by our two regular singers Dave Williams and Ruth Fahie.

Dave (Sinatra) Williams

In 2024 the band have gone from strength to strength playing more gigs than any other year since             before Covid and are already lined     up with several gigs and open            rehearsals for 2025. Check out our     gigs page for full details.