John Stanton -Trumpet

“I was born in New Bradwell Milton Keynes in 1940. When I was six years old the family moved to Wolverton, Milton Keynes and it was then that I started asking my mother to buy me a musical instrument, but the answer was always the same, “John I cannot afford to buy you one”.

In the end my mother asked a local man who was a conductor of the Wolverton Brass Band if he would give me cornet lessons and he agreed. He was really nice man who smoked a pipe and there was always a lovely smell of tobacco in his house. His room was packed with all kinds of brass instruments and drums. I went for lessons for about 9-10 months and loved every minute of it.

In 1946 the family moved to Mursley, a small Village between Bletchley and Buckinghamshire. My father was born in the village so you could say that the family roots were there, but for me I couldn’t continue with the cornet lessons. Instead I started piano lessons with a tutor in the village. This lasted for two years but I didn’t really enjoy it and wouldn’t practice.

I then joined the Mursley Choral Society as a soprano, travelling around the villages in the area playing concerts. At the end of the evening there were always the refreshments, egg sandwiches, rock cake and tea out of those enormous metal teapots which was undrinkable.

Since joining the James Goff Big Bank over twenty five years ago, I have enjoyed every minute of it. The guys are all very good musicians and it is a privilege to play with them. I would have loved to have been more involved within the music scene (writing music and arrangements for bands), but most of my early years with the support of my wife Elizabeth have been channelled into my business activity as a master butcher.

The James Goff Big Band has raised a massive amount of money for the bowel cancer trust, children’s hospice and a lot of really worthy causes and for this reason has made it really worthwhile.”

John Stanton