Dagenham Crusaders Alumni to perform at DCE

The Dagenham Crusaders Drum & Bugle Corps Alumni have officially announced that they will travel to Kerkrade on the 26th September to perform in exhibition at the Drum Corps European Championships. The Dagenham Crusaders Drum & Bugle Corps Alumni have officially announced that they will travel to Kerkrade on the 26th September to perform in exhibition at the Drum Corps European Championships.
 
The corps' original intention was to just do the one performance at the Drum Corps United Kingdom's championship but as the year has gone by and seeing how much effort all the members and staff are putting in, it was decided it would be a shame to do all this for just the one performance and seeing as the shows are just one week apart the corps contacted DCE to see if they would want the Dagenham Crusaders to perform at their championship, to which they responded "It would be fantastic to have such a legendary corps from the 1980s on the DCE field."

This will be the 3rd time the Crusaders have travelled to Kerkrade as they previously performed at the World Music Contest back in 1978 and 1981. "The members are really looking forward to attending the championships and being in the presence once again of some of our old Dutch friends and rivals such as Beatrix and Jubal, Executive Director Joe Osborn said. "The corps has been put back together for DCUK's 30th anniversary and as a tribute to our late Corps Director the great Mr. John Johnson (JJ), who has had such an influence on all the members lives and who was one of the founders of DCUK."

The Crusaders will be performing numbers from throughout the corps history which includes their 'Opening Fanfare' from 1982, 'Favourite Things' (1984/85), 'Nightingale' (1988) and a Beatles medley of 'Magical Mystery Tour', 'Eleanor Rigby' and 'Norwegian Wood' (1980/81/82/83).

The DCE Championships will be an historic night for the corps and for those attending who will be witnessing what will probably be the Dagenham Crusaders Drum & Bugle Corps last ever performance", Osborn said. "We would like to thank DCE for this fantastic opportunity and for the hard work put in to find the corps overnight accommodation."

Welcome Dagenham Crusaders!