From Roy Newsome PhD thesis, p. 72:
"There is more certainty about a competition which took place on 19 July 1821 when, along with 'numerous other bands' Besses o' th' Barn (the name used by Hampson, but probably still Clegg's reed band) appeared in a procession in connection with the coronation of King George IV. 'To while away the time during the marshalling of the people', William Johnson (possibly a member of Bolton Old band - see page 22 above), organised a contest for the bands taking part. Playing 'God save the King', Besses was declared the winner. Though the description of this contest uses the typical flowery vocabulary of Hampson and is, in reality, folklore rather than history, there seems to be no reason to disbelieve that the contest actually did take place, especially as, according to the Manchester Guardian, some 18 bands took part in the coronation procession in the city centre (see pages 49-50 above)."
Clegg's Reed Band
