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1967
The unofficial birthdate
of the 27th Lancers is September 26, 1967. It was on that
autumn evening that former members of the recently disbanded I.C.
Reveries gathered at the Bonfiglio home to discuss the prospect of
forming another drum corps. The name 27th Lancers was taken from the
film "The Charge of the Light Brigade" (starring Errol Flynn) and like
the British Regiment in the film, the corps was to struggle against
immense odds. And so the first public appearance of the 27th Lancers
was October 12, 1967 in the Revere Columbus Day Parade. With
borrowed equipment and uniforms these original members were the
beginning of many successful corps to come.
1968
It was the
first season of the corps, and it was successful. They won
their first show, "Preview of the Junior Champions" in Bridgeport,
Connecticut; took top brass at their second show; and went on to make
finals at the VFW Nationals in Detroit, Michigan. The 27th Lancers were
only beginning to make their presence known.
1969
The East Coast was
beginning to recognize the powerful horn line, impressive drum line and
innovative colorguard of the corps. Missing the VFW Nationals by a mere
.05, the corps bounced back to take second place at the C.Y.O.
Nationals and became the Eastern Massachusetts Jr. Drum and Bugle Corps
Association Champions.
1970
The 1970 27th Lancers
began to broaden their horizons by going independent of their local
circuit and competing head to head with the nation's best drum corps.
They developed a unique style and flowing visual show that held much
more for the future. The corps became the Mission Drum Pageant
Champions.
1971
The drum corps not only
won the hearts of many fans, but also won the Shriners International in
Toronto, The World Open, The Danny Thomas, and National Dream
titles. This group of determined individuals showed the drum
corps world their capacity for rebounding from a diversity and doing
both emotional and well executed performances.
1972
The 27th Lancers dominated
the East Coast. They went on to win ten competitions in a row
and their second Shriners title. The end of the season became
the first of many East-West showdowns. The Lancers were
runner-up to the strong Anaheim Kingsmen, but fought tooth and nail to
the finish.
1973
The corps once again
dominated the Eastern drum corps scene. Although they did not
score as well as they might have wished, they continued to be one of
the most tasteful units, with an exciting horn line and percussion
section and a colorguard which complimented the drill very well.
1974
1974 was to mark the end
of the first era for the 27th Lancers. Many of the original
members of the corps were now too old to march, and the corps went
through a rebuilding stage. Many thought the Lancers would
not be able to survive this transition. We certainly proved
them wrong.
1975
What more can be said
about a corps that skyrocketed from 20th place to 4th place in DCI
finals. The corps also picked up the DCI Eastern and Western
Regionals along the way. The innovative drill, improved drum
and brass section along with a national champion colorguard all
contributed to this amazing come back.
1976
Daring, innovative,
exciting, and entertaining describe the 1976 27th Lancers.
Execution captions did suffer, but the corps refused to knuckle under
and change "their" show. Once again they won the hearts of
many fans coast to coast and remained as one of the top five corps in
the country.
1977
1977, the corps tenth
anniversary - a year most associated with the awesome
performance and victory at the C.Y.O. Nationals. Once again
27th was innovaative and competitve as well as having one of the
nation's best color guards. It was another strong season for
the corps taking 5th in Denver.
1978
The corps was comprised of
a determined group of individuals. They were always striving
and refused to let down. This attitude was reflected in
constantly improved placement from prelim to finals show as in the U.S.
Open, DCI Finals and a first place finish at the American International
Championships in Butler.
1979
Altoona, PA, the first
show on tour, the equipment truck is nowhere to be found. We
rehearsed on an open field not knowing what is straight or front and
sang throughout the show. Not even into concert we were
pushed back some ten feet by the sound of Spirit of Atlanta's horn
line, which was practicing at the same school. Time for
dinner, it's bologna for the first 30 people in line (mostly staff) and
peanut butter and jelly for the rest of us. Spirit also broke
for dinner (their steak was too rare). Show time,
and an all time low for the corps....55.05. It was from that
point on that both staff and members followed Lancer tradition and
never let down until that final note in Danny Boy at
Nationals. The hard work paid off with a final score of 87.5
and a 5th place finish in Birmingham. The corps also brought
home another National Championship Color Guard award and plans for a
stronger corps in 1980.
History
Page 2
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