THE comic name these bands men came up with proves they were just that.

For they went by the title of the Grate R Wood XLCR Komic Prize Band - Great Harwood Excelsior - did you get it?

And a motley band they were too, as this image from the early 1920s reveals. The line up from nearly a century ago shows guys dressed in a variety of fancy dress, including a nurse, vicar, Scottish clansman and an Indian brave - not to mention a devil on the big bass drum on the right.

The band took many prizes in carnivals in its heyday - indeed in this image the musicians on the front row are showing off a number of prize certificates.

The bowler hatted man on the left could well have been a local dignitary or mill owner who had provided the funds for these chaps to get together and perform - his dog is sitting very still for the photographer, as is the young lad at the very front, maybe the mascot, who has his own costume.

The band often performed at field days and tea parties and put in lots of melodic practice at the Merrie England pub, in St Hubert's Road.