Mark Herman’s 1996 film Brassed Off shows the struggle of a miners’ band to avert the closure of their pit in Grimley, Yorkshire, in 1992. Although Grimley is a fictional village, both the pit and the band existed (the real village is Grimethorpe), and the story is partly true. The real band, which also played the soundtrack to the film, is called the Grimethorpe Colliery Band and has been playing on to this day as a professional brass band.

The film features Pete Postlethwaite (Jurassic Park), one of Britain’s best-loved actors, as band leader Danny, and Ewan McGregor (Trainspotting, Star Wars) playing the trumpet.