Photo by Lizzie Coombes from the 'Inside Out' exhibition

Heading inside the gates of Risley prison last Friday, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I had no prior warning what kind of concert this was going to be. No idea of the type of music or the skills of the performers. Just some vague notion that Music in Prisons had a great track record, and that evaluation of their project shows the huge impact that they have on people’s lives.

The Deputy director for education at the Prison gave an introduction, describing how it had been difficult at first to encourage some of the men to participate. But how they had grown over the week, in confidence and in stature. She had been impressed with the effect the project had on them.

The band then nervously introduced themselves as Bang to rights and launched into the first of their five songs.

They were fantastic. A real mix of skills – some very proficient musicians and others who were enthusiastic to learn. Different singers stepped up to perform the various songs. And it was all energetically pushed along by the professional music leaders from Music in Prisons.

The group had written all the songs that week: lyrics and music were all their own work. The project is an intensive one week course ending with the performance. For some, this was their first opportunity to perform music in front of an audience. For others, it was a chance to practice and use their skills. I won’t name or pick out individuals – everyone contributed.

The whole audience, of people from within the prison as well as visitors, was thrilled by the concert, with a standing ovation at the end and smiling faces throughout. All the initial nerves had completely worn off by the time of the encore – a repeat of their 5th track which could surely be mixed into a hit.

The only down-side was the realisation that only a dozen out of 1100 men could be involved with the project and that there are no permanent facilities to create music. Music is so important for anyone’s wellbeing, as is an outlet for creative activity. Perhaps following the project, they will be encouraged to provide more facilities and opportunities.

Further information about Music in Prisons can be found on their website http://www.musicinprisons.org.uk/ – where you can support them by buying their cd’s and songbooks. And if you can get to their concerts, don’t miss out. A highly recommended event.