In 1986, an important link with the Band’s past was restored when members voted to bring back the historic “Albion” name.
The Band had been known as Southampton Band from 1975, before Southampton City Council granted it the privilege of using the title City of Southampton Band in 1979.
Eleven years after the Albion name had disappeared, members decided that this important part of the Band’s heritage should once again form part of its identity. The organisation therefore became the City of Southampton (Albion) Band.
The restoration created a direct link with the Band’s earliest history. The name Albion had first appeared in 1922, when the All Saints Scouts Band became The Southampton Albion and Scouts Band, and continued with the formation of the Southampton Albion Silver Band in 1928.
More than sixty years later, the Albion name had returned.
Described in the Band’s history as “A Band Re-born,” the 1986 change established the identity that continues to connect today’s Band with the generations of Albion musicians who came before it.