Jump to content

Bridgemen 1974 and 1975


Recommended Posts

Everyone knows what happened to the Bridgemen in 1977, but I have never heard anyone talk about what happened to them in 1974 and 75.

I remember listening to recordings of the corps in 1972 and 73 with the triple tonguing soprano line and all. They were a very fine corps and made DCI finals both years.

In 1974 they dropped to 26th place at DCI! What happened here? Some of the charts from the previous years show were still used in 1974 (in different places of the show) so it was not a dramatic show design issue (I don't think).

Then in 1975, according to corpsreps they didn't even attend DCI championships, or at least no placement is given. This seems very strange to me since DCI was in Philly that year and Bayonne was not too far away (compared to say Whitewater, WI). It appears as though they fielded a corps in 1975 so what was the story here.

Then in 1976 they pop back into finals in 6th place! I know they re-invented themselves into the Bananas in 1976 and had Bobby Hoffman's magic to work from. If Bobby was the answer his genius is even more amazing than I originally appreciated (and that says a lot!).

I am very interested to hear any stories of information to clear this up.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Both the Bridgemen and 27th Lancers came to the Midwest in July of 1974. I saw them July 4 in LaCrosse.

Both corps were WAY down from the previous seasons.

Bridgemen were still very entertaining in '74 (especially the "Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better" segment). I know we have some Bridgmen alumni from the 1970s who post here, so they can probably give you the details for the two-year collapse.

Edited by Northern Thunder
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

OK after the 73 season we had a big turnover. Kids aged out and went on with there lives. We lost a lot of talent after 73. I think all the talent we lost no mater who taught us it would have been a down year, After 74 we lost some more people and changed staff 75 was the bottom. We were not good at all in 75 the day of DCI prelims we had a work day and didn't bother going to DCI. If we went looking at corps rep I figure at best we wold have came in the mid 30s or so. The work day was so we could brake 70 by Wildwood that would be the only bright spot in 75 76 was my age out year and I really wanted to get back into finals. Bobby and a whole new staff came in and the rest is history.

Edited by lp1955
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I hate to think of 1975 as a "collapse" but it was definitely the logical conclusion of what had been the cadet-styled Bridgemen of late 60s and early 70s.

Seeing the corps at the Dream in '75 was rough.

What a delight just a year later when the new look, new sound, new spirit corps hit the field.

For me, up at Ramsey NJ (first show I saw them in although I had caught some rehearsals in an Industrial Park in Bayonne) when the two kids came out and began to dance together in Land of Make Believe while Nelson Ramirez wailed away I fell in love with the new direction they were about to lead us toward.

Maybe without those two transition years of 74 - 75 we could never have gotten the corps to the Bananas? We'll never know.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Leo ... was there an influx of members from The Saints when they folded? ... lots of talent came out of that corps as I recall ...

Andy

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks everyone for the information. The addition of Jim Brady in 77 was a game changer. The corps was great in 76, but Jim's solo work was out of this world! Truly the best soloist to perform with a drum corps IMO.

I cannot imagine a finalist corps in today's activity going from making finals to finishing 26th and then back into finals again within a few short years! I sure am glad the Bridgemen made the move to the bananas. The world would have missed out on a true gem if that didn't happen!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We did land the Muchachos drum caption head in Dennis. But that was it same thing happened to the Muchachos after 75 a big turnover. Still a really good corps in 76 just had a real bad prelims show. In the day of the ticks that was a killer.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...