Brass die, along with zinc and copper samples.

Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc; the proportions of zinc and copper can be varied to create a range of brasses with varying properties.^[1]

In comparison, bronze is principally an alloy of copper and tin.^[2] Bronze does not necessarily contain tin, and a variety of alloys of copper, including alloys with arsenic, phosphorus, aluminium, manganese, and silicon, are commonly termed "bronze". The term is applied to a variety of brasses and the distinction is largely historical.^[3]

Brass is a substitutional alloy. It is used for decoration for its bright gold-like appearance; for applications where low friction is required such as locks, gears, bearings, doorknobs, ammunition, and valves; for plumbing and electrical applications; and extensively in musical instruments such as horns and bells for its acoustic properties. It is also used in zippers. Because it is softer than most other metals in general use, brass is often used in situations where it is important that sparks not be struck, as in fittings and tools around explosive gases.^[4]

Properties[link]

Microstructure of rolled and annealed brass (400X magnification)

The malleability and acoustic properties of brass have made it the metal of choice for brass musical instruments such as the trombone, tuba, trumpet, cornet, euphonium, tenor horn, and French horn. Even though the saxophone is classified as a woodwind instrument and the harmonica is a free reed aerophone, both are also often made from brass. In organ pipes of the reed family, brass strips (called tongues) are used as the reeds, which beat against the shallot (or beat "through" the shallot in the case of a "free" reed).

Brass has higher malleability than bronze or zinc. The relatively low melting point of brass (900 to 940 °C (1652 to 1724 °F), depending on composition) and its flow characteristics make it a relatively easy material to cast. By varying the proportions of copper and zinc, the properties of the brass can be changed, allowing hard and soft brasses. The density of brass is approximately .303 lb/cubic inch, 8400 to 8730 kilograms per cubic metre^[5] (equivalent to 8.4 to 8.73 grams per cubic centimetre).

Today almost 90% of all brass alloys are recycled.^[6] Because brass is not ferromagnetic, it can be separated from ferrous scrap by passing the scrap near a powerful magnet. Brass scrap is collected and transported to the foundry where it is melted and recast into billets. Billets are heated and extruded into the desired form and size.

Aluminium makes brass stronger and more corrosion resistant. Aluminium also causes a highly beneficial hard layer of aluminium oxide (Al₂O₃) to be formed on the surface that is thin, transparent and self-healing. Tin has a similar effect and finds its use especially in sea water applications (naval brasses). Combinations of iron, aluminium, silicon and manganese make brass wear and tear resistant.^[7]

Lead content[link]

To enhance the machinability of brass, lead is often added in concentrations of around 2%. Since lead has a lower melting point than the other constituents of the brass, it tends to migrate towards the grain boundaries in the form of globules as it cools from casting. The pattern the globules form on the surface of the brass increases the available lead surface area which in turn affects the degree of leaching. In addition, cutting operations can smear the lead globules over the surface. These effects can lead to significant lead leaching from brasses of comparatively low lead content.^[8]

Silicon is an alternative to lead; however, when silicon is used in a brass alloy, the scrap must never be mixed with leaded brass scrap because of contamination and safety problems.^[9]

In October 1999 the California State Attorney General sued 13 key manufacturers and distributors over lead content. In laboratory tests, state researchers found the average brass key, new or old, exceeded the California Proposition 65 limits by an average factor of 19, assuming handling twice a day.^[10] In April 2001 manufacturers agreed to reduce lead content to 1.5%, or face a requirement to warn consumers about lead content. Keys plated with other metals are not affected by the settlement, and may continue to use brass alloys with higher percentage of lead content.^[11][12]

Also in California, lead-free materials must be used for "each component that comes into contact with the wetted surface of pipes and pipe fittings, plumbing fittings and fixtures." On January 1, 2010, the maximum amount of lead in "lead-free brass" in California was reduced from 4% to 0.25% lead. The common practice of using pipes for electrical grounding is discouraged, as it accelerates lead corrosion.^[13][14]

Corrosion-resistant brass for harsh environments[link]

Brass sampling cock with stainless steel handle.

The so-called dezincification resistant (DZR or DR) brasses are used where there is a large corrosion risk and where normal brasses do not meet the standards. Applications with high water temperatures, chlorides present or deviating water qualities (soft water) play a role. DZR-brass is excellent in water boiler systems. This brass alloy must be produced with great care, with special attention placed on a balanced composition and proper production temperatures and parameters to avoid long-term failures.

Germicidal and antimicrobial applications[link]

See also: Antimicrobial properties of copper, Copper alloys in aquaculture

The copper in brass makes brass germicidal. Depending upon the type and concentration of pathogens and the medium they are in, brass kills these microorganisms within a few minutes to eight hours of contact.^[15][16][17]

The bactericidal properties of brass have been observed for centuries and were confirmed in the laboratory in 1983.^[18] Subsequent experiments by research groups around the world reconfirmed the antimicrobial efficacy of brass, as well as copper and other copper alloys (see Antimicrobial copper-alloy touch surfaces).^[15][16][17] Extensive structural membrane damage to bacteria was noted after being exposed to copper.

In 2007, U.S. Department of Defense’s Telemedicine and Advanced Technologies Research Center (TATRC) began to study the antimicrobial properties of copper alloys, including four brasses (C87610, C69300, C26000, C46400) in a multi-site clinical hospital trial conducted at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (New York City), the Medical University of South Carolina, and the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center (South Carolina).^[19][20] Commonly touched items, such as bed rails, over-the-bed tray tables, chair arms, nurse's call buttons, IV poles, etc. were retrofitted with antimicrobial copper alloys in certain patient rooms (i.e., the “coppered” rooms) in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Early results disclosed in 2011 indicate that the coppered rooms demonstrated a 97% reduction in surface pathogens versus the non-coppered rooms. This reduction is the same level achieved by “terminal” cleaning regimens conducted after patients vacate their rooms. Furthermore, of critical importance to health care professionals, the preliminary results indicated that patients in the coppered ICU rooms had a 40.4% lower risk of contracting a hospital acquired infection versus patients in non-coppered ICU rooms.^[19][21][22] The U.S. Department of Defense investigation contract, which is ongoing, will also evaluate the effectiveness of copper alloy touch surfaces to prevent the transfer of microbes to patients and the transfer of microbes from patients to touch surfaces, as well as the potential efficacy of copper-alloy based components to improve indoor air quality.

In the U.S., the Environmental Protection Agency regulates the registration of antimicrobial products. After extensive antimicrobial testing according to the Agency’s stringent test protocols, 355 copper alloys, including many brasses, were found to kill more than 99.9% of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), E. coli O157:H7, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Enterobacter aerogenes, and vancomycin-resistant Enterococci (VRE) within two hours of contact.^[15][23] Normal tarnishing was found to not impair antimicrobial effectiveness.

Antimicrobial tests have also revealed significant reductions of MRSA as well as two strains of epidemic MRSA (EMRSA-1 and EMRSA-16) on brass (C24000 with 80% Cu) at room temperature (22 °C) within three hours. Complete kills of the pathogens were observed within 4 ¹⁄₂ hours. These tests were performed under wet exposure conditions. The kill timeframes, while impressive, are nevertheless longer than for pure copper, where kill timeframes ranged between 45 to 90 minutes.^[17]

A novel assay that mimics dry bacterial exposure to touch surfaces was developed because this test method is thought to more closely replicate real world touch surface exposure conditions. In these conditions, copper alloy surfaces were found to kill several million Colony Forming Units of Escherichia coli within minutes.^[24] This observation, and the fact that kill timeframes shorten as the percentage of copper in an alloy increases, is proof that copper is the ingredient in brass and other copper alloys that kills the microbes.^[25]

The mechanisms of antimicrobial action by copper and its alloys, including brass, is a subject of intense and ongoing investigation.^[16][24][26] It is believed that the mechanisms are multifaceted and include the following: 1) Potassium or glutamate leakage through the outer membrane of bacteria; 2) Osmotic balance disturbances; 3) Binding to proteins that do not require or utilize copper; 4) Oxidative stress by hydrogen peroxide generation.

Research is being conducted at this time to determine whether brass, copper, and other copper alloys can help to reduce cross contamination in public facilities and reduce the incidence of nosocomial infections (hospital acquired infections) in healthcare facilities.

Also, owing to its antimicrobial/algaecidal properties that prevent biofouling, in conjunction with its strong structural and corrosion-resistant benefits for marine environments, brass alloy netting cages are currently being deployed in commercial-scale aquaculture operations in Asia, South America, and the USA.

Season cracking[link]

Cracking in brass caused by ammonia attack

Brass is susceptible to stress corrosion cracking, especially from ammonia or substances containing or releasing ammonia. The problem is sometimes known as season cracking after it was first discovered in brass cartridge cases used for rifle ammunition during the 1920s in the Indian Army. The problem was caused by high residual stresses from cold forming of the cases during manufacture, together with chemical attack from traces of ammonia in the atmosphere. The cartridges were stored in stables and the ammonia concentration rose during the hot summer months, so initiating brittle cracks. The problem was resolved by annealing the cases, and storing the cartridges elsewhere.

Brass types[link]

• Admiralty brass contains 30% zinc, and 1% tin which inhibits dezincification in many environments.
• Aich's alloy typically contains 60.66% copper, 36.58% zinc, 1.02% tin, and 1.74% iron. Designed for use in marine service owing to its corrosion resistance, hardness and toughness. A characteristic application is to the protection of ships' bottoms, but more modern methods of cathodic protection have rendered its use less common. Its appearance resembles that of gold.^[27]
• Alpha brasses with less than 35% zinc, are malleable, can be worked cold, and are used in pressing, forging, or similar applications. They contain only one phase, with face-centered cubic crystal structure.
• Prince's metal or Prince Rupert's metal is a type of alpha brass containing 75% copper and 25% zinc. Due to its beautiful yellow color, it is used as an imitation of gold.^[28] The alloy was named after Prince Rupert of the Rhine.
• Alpha-beta brass (Muntz metal), also called duplex brass, is 35–45% zinc and is suited for hot working. It contains both α and β' phase; the β'-phase is body-centered cubic and is harder and stronger than α. Alpha-beta brasses are usually worked hot.
• Aluminium brass contains aluminium, which improves its corrosion resistance. It is used for seawater service^[29] and also in Euro coins (Nordic gold).
• Arsenical brass contains an addition of arsenic and frequently aluminium and is used for boiler fireboxes.
• Beta brasses, with 45–50% zinc content, can only be worked hot, and are harder, stronger, and suitable for casting.
• Cartridge brass is a 30% zinc brass with good cold working properties. Used for ammunition cases.
• Common brass, or rivet brass, is a 37% zinc brass, cheap and standard for cold working.
• DZR brass is dezincification resistant brass with a small percentage of arsenic.
• Gilding metal is the softest type of brass commonly available. An alloy of 95% copper and 5% zinc, gilding metal is typically used for ammunition "jackets", e.g. full metal jacket bullets.
• High brass contains 65% copper and 35% zinc, has a high tensile strength and is used for springs, screws, and rivets.
• Leaded brass is an alpha-beta brass with an addition of lead. It has excellent machinability.
• Lead-free brass as defined by California Assembly Bill AB 1953 contains "not more than 0.25 percent lead content".^[13]
• Low brass is a copper-zinc alloy containing 20% zinc with a light golden color and excellent ductility; it is used for flexible metal hoses and metal bellows.
• Manganese brass is a brass most notably used in making golden dollar coins in the United States. It contains roughly 70% copper, 29% zinc, and 1.3% manganese.^[30]
• Muntz metal is about 60% copper, 40% zinc and a trace of iron, used as a lining on boats.
• Naval brass, similar to admiralty brass, is 40% zinc and 1% tin.
• Nickel brass is composed of 70% copper, 24.5% zinc and 5.5% nickel used to make pound coins in the pound sterling currency.
• Nordic gold, used in 10, 20 and 50 cts euro coins, contains 89% copper, 5% aluminium, 5% zinc, and 1% tin.
• Red brass is both an American term for the copper-zinc-tin alloy known as gunmetal, and an alloy which is considered both a brass and a bronze. It typically contains 85% copper, 5% tin, 5% lead, and 5% zinc.^[31][32] Red brass is also an alternative name for copper alloy C23000, which is composed of 14–16% zinc, 0.05% iron and lead, and the remainder copper.^[33] It may also refer to ounce metal, another copper-zinc-tin alloy.
• Rich low brass (Tombac) is 15% zinc. It is often used in jewelry applications.
• Tonval brass (also called CW617N or CZ122 or OT58) is a copper-lead-zinc alloy. It is not recommended for seawater use, being susceptible to dezincification.^[34]
• White brass contains more than 50% zinc and is too brittle for general use. The term may also refer to certain types of nickel silver alloys as well as Cu-Zn-Sn alloys with high proportions (typically 40%+) of tin and/or zinc, as well as predominantly zinc casting alloys with copper additive.
• Yellow brass is an American term for 33% zinc brass.

History[link]

Although forms of brass have been in use since prehistory,^[35] its true nature as a copper-zinc alloy was not understood until the post medieval period because the zinc vapor which reacted with copper to make brass was not recognised as a metal.^[36] The King James Bible makes many references to "brass".^[37] The Shakespearean English form of the word 'brass' can mean any bronze alloy, or copper, rather than the strict modern definition of brass.^{[citation needed]} The earliest brasses may have been natural alloys made by smelting zinc-rich copper ores.^[38] By the Roman period brass was being deliberately produced from metallic copper and zinc minerals using the cementation process and variations on this method continued until the mid 19th century.^[39] It was eventually replaced by speltering, the direct alloying of copper and zinc metal which was introduced to Europe in the 16th century.^[38]

Early copper zinc alloys[link]

In West Asia and the Eastern Mediterranean early copper zinc alloys are now known in small numbers from a number of third Millennium BC sites in the Aegean, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kalmikia, Turkmenistan and Georgia and from 2nd Millennium BC sites in West India, Uzbekistan, Iran, Syria, Iraq and Israel.^[40] However, isolated examples of copper-zinc alloys are known in China from as early as the 5th Millennium BC.^[41]

The compositions of these early "brass" objects are very variable and most have zinc contents of between 5% and 15% wt which is lower than in brass produced by cementation.^[42] These may be "natural alloys" manufactured by smelting zinc rich copper ores in reducing conditions. Many have similar tin contents to contemporary bronze artefacts and it is possible that some copper-zinc alloys were accidental and perhaps not even distinguished from copper.^[42] However the large number of copper-zinc alloys now known suggests that at least some were deliberately manufactured and many have zinc contents of more than 12% wt which would have resulted in a distinctive golden color.^[42][43]

By the 8th–7th century BC Assyrian cuneiform tablets mention the exploitation of the "copper of the mountains" and this may refer to "natural" brass.^[44] Oreichalkos, the Ancient Greek translation of this term, was later adapted to the Latin aurichalcum meaning "golden copper" which became the standard term for brass.^[45] In the 4th century BC Plato knew oreichalkos as rare and nearly as valuable as gold^[46] and Pliny describes how aurichalcum had come from Cypriot ore deposits which had been exhausted by the 1st century AD.^[47]

Brass making in the Roman World[link]

During the later part of first millennium BC the use of brass spread across a wide geographical area from Britain^[48] and Spain^[49] in the west to Iran, and India in the east.^[50] This seems to have been encouraged by exports and influence from the Middle-East and eastern Mediterranean where deliberate production of brass from metallic copper and zinc ores had been introduced.^[51] The 4th century BC writer Theopompus, quoted by Strabo, describes how heating earth from Andeira in Turkey produced "droplets of false silver", probably metallic zinc, which could be used to turn copper into oreichalkos.^[52] In the 1st century BC the Greek Dioscorides seems to have recognised a link between zinc minerals and brass describing how Cadmia (zinc oxide) was found on the walls of furnaces used to heat either zinc ore or copper and explaining that it can then be used to make brass.^[53]

By the first century BC brass was available in sufficient supply to use as coinage in Phrygia and Bithynia,^[54] and after the Augustan currency reform of 23 BC it was also used to make Roman dupondii and sestertii.^[55] The uniform use of brass for coinage and military equipment across the Roman world may indicate a degree of state involvement in the industry,^[56][57] and brass even seems to have been deliberately boycotted by Jewish communities in Palestine because of its association with Roman authority.^[58]

Brass was produced by the cementation process where copper and zinc ore are heated together until zinc vapor is produced which reacts with the copper. There is good archaeological evidence for this process and crucibles used to produce brass by cementation have been found on Roman period sites including Xanten^[59] and Nidda^[60] in Germany, Lyon in France^[61] and at a number of sites in Britain.^[62] They vary in size from tiny acorn sized to large amphorae like vessels but all have elevated levels of zinc on the interior and are lidded.^[61] They show no signs of slag or metal prills suggesting that zinc minerals were heated to produce zinc vapor which reacted with metallic copper in a solid state reaction. The fabric of these crucibles is porous, probably designed to prevent a build up of pressure, and many have small holes in the lids which may be designed to release pressure^[61] or to add additional zinc minerals near the end of the process. Dioscorides mentioned that zinc minerals were used for both the working and finishing of brass, perhaps suggesting secondary additions.^[63]

Brass made during the early Roman period seems to have varied between 20% to 28% wt zinc.^[64] The high content of zinc in coinage and brass objects declined after the first century AD and it has been suggested that this reflects zinc loss during recycling and thus an interruption in the production of new brass.^[65] However it is now thought this was probably a deliberate change in composition^[66] and overall the use of brass increases over this period making up around 40% of all copper alloys used in the Roman world by the 4th century AD.^[67]

Brass making in the medieval period[link]

Baptism of Christ on the 12th-century baptismal font at St Bartholomew's Church, Liège.

Little is known about the production of brass during the centuries immediately after the collapse of the Roman Empire. Disruption in the trade of tin for bronze from Western Europe may have contributed to the increasing popularity of brass in the east and by the 6th–7th centuries AD over 90% of copper alloy artefacts from Egypt were made of brass.^[68] However other alloys such as low tin bronze were also used and they vary depending on local cultural attitudes, the purpose of the metal and access to zinc, especially between the Islamic and Byzantine world.^[69] Conversely the use of true brass seems to have declined in Western Europe during this period in favour of gunmetals and other mixed alloys^[70] but by the end of the first Millennium AD brass artefacts are found in Scandinavian graves in Scotland,^[71] brass was being used in the manufacture of coins in Northumbria^[72] and there is archaeological and historical evidence for the production of brass in Germany^[73] and The Low Countries^[74] areas rich in calamine ore which would remain important centres of brass making throughout the medieval period,^[75] especially Dinant – brass objects are still collectively known as dinanterie in French. The baptismal font at St Bartholomew's Church, Liège in modern Belgium (before 1117) is an outstanding masterpiece of Romanesque brass casting.

The cementation process continued to be used but literary sources from both Europe and the Islamic world seem to describe variants of a higher temperature liquid process which took places in open-topped crucibles.^[76] Islamic cementation seems to have used zinc oxide known as tutiya or tutty rather than zinc ores for brass making resulting in a metal with lower iron impurities.^[77] A number of Islamic writers and the 13th century Italian Marco Polo describe how this was obtained by sublimation from zinc ores and condensed onto clay or iron bars, archaeological examples of which have been identified at Kush in Iran.^[78] It could then be used for brass making or medicinal purposes. In 10th century Yemen al-Hamdani described how spreading al-iglimiya, probably zinc oxide, onto the surface of molten copper produced tutiya vapor which then reacted with the metal.^[79] The 13th century Iranian writer al-Kashani describes a more complex process whereby tutiya was mixed with raisins and gently roasted before being added to the surface of the molten metal. A temporary lid was added at this point presumably to minimise the escape of zinc vapor.^[80]

In Europe a similar liquid process in open-topped crucibles took place which was probably less efficient than the Roman process and the use of the term tutty by Albertus Magnus in the 13th century suggests influence from Islamic technology.^[81] The 12th century German monk Theophilus described how preheated crucibles were one sixth filled with powdered calamine and charcoal then topped up with copper and charcoal before being melted, stirred then filled again. The final product was cast, then again melted with calamine. It has been suggested that this second melting may have taken place at a lower temperature to allow more zinc to be absorbed.^[82] Albertus Magnus noted that the "power" of both calamine and tutty could evaporate and described how the addition of powdered glass could create a film to bind it to the metal.^[83] German brass making crucibles are known from Dortmund dating to the 10th century AD and from Soest and Schwerte in Westphalia dating to around the 13th century confirm Theophilus' account, as they are open-topped, although ceramic discs from Soest may have served as loose lids which may have been used to reduce zinc evaporation, and have slag on the interior resulting from a liquid process.^[84]

Brass making in Renaissance and post medieval Europe[link]

The Renaissance saw important changes to both the theory and practice of brassmaking in Europe. By the 15th century there is evidence for the renewed use of lidded cementation crucibles at Zwickau in Germany.^[85] These large crucibles were capable of producing c.20 kg of brass.^[86] There are traces of slag and pieces of metal on the interior. Their irregular composition suggesting that this was a lower temperature not entirely liquid process.^[87] The crucible lids had small holes which were blocked with clay plugs near the end of the process presumably to maximise zinc absorption in the final stages.^[88] Triangular crucibles were then used to melt the brass for casting.^[89]

16th century technical writers such as Biringuccio, Ercker and Agricola described a variety of cementation brass making techniques and came closer to understanding the true nature of the process noting that copper became heavier as it changed to brass and that it became more golden as additional calamine was added.^[90] Zinc metal was also becoming more commonplace By 1513 metallic zinc ingots from India and China were arriving in London and pellets of zinc condensed in furnace flues at the Rammelsberg in Germany were exploited for cementation brass making from around 1550.^[91]

Eventually it was discovered that metallic zinc could be alloyed with copper to make brass; a process known as speltering^[92] and by 1657 the German chemist Johann Glauber had recognised that calamine was "nothing else but unmeltable zinc" and that zinc was a "half ripe metal."^[93] However some earlier high zinc, low iron brasses such as the 1530 Wightman brass memorial plaque from England may have been made by alloying copper with zinc and include traces of cadmium similar those found in some zinc ingots from China.^[92]

However the cementation process was not abandoned and as late as the early 19th century there are descriptions of solid state cementation in a domed furnace at around 900–950 °C and lasting up to 10 hours.^[94] The European brass industry continued to flourish into the post medieval period buoyed by innovations such as the 16th century introduction of water powered hammers for the production of battery wares.^[95] By 1559 the Germany city of Aachen alone was capable of producing 300,000 cwt of brass per year.^[95] After several false starts during the 16th and 17th centuries the brass industry was also established in England taking advantage of abundant supplies of cheap copper smelted in the new coal fired reverberatory furnace.^[96] In 1723 Bristol brass maker Nehemiah Champion patented the use of granulated copper, produced by pouring molten metal into cold water.^[97] This increased the surface area of the copper helping it react and zinc contents of up to 33% wt were reported using this new technique.^[98]

In 1738 Nehemiah's son William Champion patented a technique for the first industrial scale distillation of metallic zinc known as distillation per descencum or "the English process."^[99][100] This local zinc was used in speltering and allowed greater control over the zinc content of brass and the production of high zinc copper alloys which would have been difficult or impossible to produce using cementation, for use in expensive objects such as scientific instruments, clocks, brass buttons and costume jewellery.^[101] However Champion continued to use the cheaper calamine cementation method to produce lower zinc brass ^[101] and the archaeological remains of bee-hive shaped cementation furnaces have been identified at his works at Warmley.^[102] By the mid late 18th century developments in cheaper zinc distillation such as John-Jaques Dony's horizontal furnaces in Belgium and the reduction of tariffs on zinc^[103] as well as demand for corrosion resistant high zinc alloys increased the popularity of speltering and as a result cementation was largely abandoned by the mid 19th century.^[104]

See also[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Brass

• Tombac
• Brass bed
• Brass rubbing
• List of copper alloys

References[link]

Bibliography[link]

• Bayley, J. (1990) "The Production of Brass in Antiquity with Particular Reference to Roman Britain" in Craddock, P.T. (ed.) 2000 Years of Zinc and Brass London: British Museum
• Craddock, P.T. and Eckstein, K (2003) "Production of Brass in Antiquity by Direct Reduction" in Craddock, P.T. and Lang, J. (eds) Mining and Metal Production Through the Ages London: British Museum
• Day, J. (1990) "Brass and Zinc in Europe from the Middle Ages until the 19th Century" in Craddock, P.T. (ed.) 2000 Years of Zinc and Brass London: British Museum
• Day, J (1991) "Copper, Zinc and Brass Production" in Day, J and Tylecote, R.F (eds) The Industrial Revolution in Metals London: The Institute of Metals
• Martinon Torres, M. and Rehren, T. (2002). Historical Metallurgy 36 (2): 95–111. 
• Rehren, T. and Martinon Torres, M. (2008) "Naturam ars imitate: European brassmaking between craft and science" in Martinon-Torres, M and Rehren, T. (eds) Archaeology, History and Science Integrating Approaches to Ancient Material: Left Coast Press

External links[link]

Look up brass in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Brass.org

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2007)

Pretenders
The Pretenders perform in Dubai February 2007
Background information
Origin	Hereford, England, United Kingdom and Akron, Ohio, United States
Genres	Alternative rock, New Wave, punk rock
Years active	1978–present
Labels	Sire, Warner Bros.
Website	thepretenders.com
Members
Chrissie Hynde Martin Chambers Nick Wilkinson James Walbourne Eric Heywood
Past members
James Honeyman-Scott Pete Farndon Andrew Bodnar Paul Carrack Robbie McIntosh Malcolm Foster Blair Cunningham T.M. Stevens Bernie Worrell Johnny Marr Adam Seymour Andy Rourke Andy Hobson

The Pretenders are an English–American rock band formed in Hereford, England in March 1978. The original band comprised initiator and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), James Honeyman-Scott (lead guitar, backing vocals, keyboards), Pete Farndon (bass guitar, backing vocals), and Martin Chambers (drums, backing vocals, percussion). The band has experienced drug-related deaths of the members, and numerous subsequent personnel changes have taken place over the years, with Hynde as the sole continual member.

History[link]

Early years[link]

Hynde, originally from Akron, Ohio attended Kent State University at the time of the Kent State shootings in 1970. She moved to London in 1973, working at the weekly music paper NME^[1] and at Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood's clothes store. She was involved with early versions of The Clash and The Damned and played in short-lived bands such as Masters of the Backside and The Moors Murderers.^[2] The Pretenders formed in 1978 after Dave Hill at Anchor Records heard some demos of Hynde's music. He arranged a rehearsal studio in Denmark Street, where a 3-piece band consisting of Hynde, Mal Hart on bass (he had played with Hynde and Steve Strange in The Moors Murderers), and Phil Taylor^[3] of Motörhead on drums played a selection of Hynde's original songs. Dave Hill was impressed and arranged a day at Studio 51 to record another demo. Although it was rough, he felt he had seen and heard enough "star potential" to suggest that Hynde form a more permanent band to record for his new label, Real Records.^[1] Hynde then formed a band composed of Pete Farndon (who was later associated romantically with Hynde) on bass, James Honeyman-Scott on guitar, and Gerry Mcilduff on drums. This band, then without a name, recorded five tracks at Regents Park Studio in July 1978, including "Stop Your Sobbing." Shortly thereafter, Gerry Mcilduff was replaced on drums by Martin Chambers, and Hynde named the band "Pretenders" after The Platters song "The Great Pretender."^[4]

Original band (1978–1982)[link]

The band's first single, a cover of The Kinks song "Stop Your Sobbing" (produced by Nick Lowe and recorded at the July Regents Park sessions) was released in January 1979 and gained critical attention.^[1] It was followed in June with "Kid," and then in January 1980 the band got to #1 in the UK with "Brass in Pocket," which was also successful in the US, reaching #14 on the Billboard Hot 100.^[1]

The Pretenders (original line-up), Dominion Theatre, London, December 1981

The debut album Pretenders was released during January 1980, and was a success in both the United Kingdom and the United States, both critically and commercially.^[1] (Pretenders was subsequently named one of the best albums of all time by VH1 (#52) and Rolling Stone (#155). The band played at the Heatwave festival during August 1980 near Toronto.

During March 1981, the EP Extended Play was released, containing the UK and US success "Message of Love" and "Talk of the Town" and a live version of "Precious," recorded in Central Park.

The second full-length album, Pretenders II, was released during August 1981. Pretenders II included the Extended Play singles, the MTV video success, "Day After Day," and popular album-radio tracks "The Adultress," "Birds of Paradise," "Bad Boys Get Spanked" and "The English Roses".^[1]

Farndon was fired 14 June 1982 by Hynde. Two days later, on 16 June 1982, James Honeyman-Scott died of heart failure as a result of cocaine intolerance. Farndon was in the midst of forming a new band with former Clash drummer Topper Headon (who coincidentally, was battling heroin addiction and left the band, unable to cope), when he was found dead on 14 April 1983 by his American wife, Conover. After taking heroin and passing out, Farndon drowned in his bathtub, leaving the Pretenders with two living members.^[1]

Re-grouping (1983–1987)[link]

Hynde continued with the band. During July 1982, just weeks after Honeyman-Scott's death, a caretaker team of Hynde, Chambers, Rockpile guitarist Billy Bremner and Big Country bassist Tony Butler was assembled to record the single "Back on the Chain Gang".^[1] The song was released in October, becoming their biggest success in the US, staying at #5 for three consecutive weeks. The single's B-side, "My City Was Gone" is now the theme music for The Rush Limbaugh Show.

Hynde then changed the lineup, keeping Chambers and adding professional musicians Robbie McIntosh on guitar and Malcolm Foster on bass. The band's first album with this lineup, Learning to Crawl, was released during January 1984.^[1]

"Middle of the Road" was this line-up's first single, released in the US in November 1983 and reached the Top 20 there. Hynde had a daughter with Ray Davies during January 1983. The US B-side, "2000 Miles", was released as a single in the UK. The album included a cover version of The Persuaders' "Thin Line Between Love and Hate", which featured Paul Carrack on keyboards. The 1985 Live Aid concert proved to be the last gig for this line-up.^[1]

Soon after recording sessions for the next album began and one track had been completed, Hynde declared that Chambers was no longer playing well and dismissed both him and Foster. The revised Pretenders team became Hynde, McIntosh, bassist T.M. Stevens, and ex-Haircut One Hundred drummer Blair Cunningham. Get Close was released in 1986; the disc included the Top 10 singles "Don't Get Me Wrong" (helped by a popular video homage to the television series The Avengers) and "Hymn to Her" a #8 success in the UK.^[1]

Two new songs, "If There Was a Man" and "Where Has Everybody Gone?" were released on the soundtrack of the Bond film The Living Daylights, and were used instrumentally by John Barry in several scenes.

The lineup for the Get Close tour was then expanded to include former P-Funk and Talking Heads keyboardist Bernie Worrell. Two players were dismissed, McIntosh eventually quit, and ex-Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr joined for a final brief period during 1987.^[1]

1990s[link]

There was a hiatus in musical activity for Hynde until 1990, when Hynde hired session players (including one-time Pretenders Bremner and Cunningham and bassist, John Mckenzie) and released Packed! Hynde was the only person pictured anywhere on the album, and was the only official member of the band.^[1] In Canada, the lead single "Never Do That" was a Top 40 success, peaking at #26 but it fared less well elsewhere.

By 1993, Hynde had teamed with ex-Katydids guitarist Adam Seymour to form a new version of the Pretenders. The team of Hynde and Seymour then hired a number of session musicians to record Last of the Independents that year, including ex-Smiths bassist Andy Rourke, ex-Primitives bassist Andy Hobson, and drummer/writer/producer James "Fred" Hood, formerly with The Impossible Dreamers and Moodswings. But by the end of the album sessions (and for the subsequent tour) the official band line-up was Hynde, Seymour, Hobson, and returning drummer Martin Chambers.^[1]

This line-up would endure for well over a decade with no changes. Several recordings as The Pretenders occurred during 1993, including a cover version of the Jimi Hendrix's "Bold As Love" for the tribute album Stone Free, and a cover of 10cc's "I'm Not In Love" for the film, Indecent Proposal.

When Last of the Independents was released in 1994, it had reasonable overall commercial success, being rated gold in the US. Lead single "Night In My Veins" was a minor success in the US, a mid-chart success in the UK, and a top 10 success in Canada. The second single was the album's centrepiece ballad "I'll Stand by You"; this track received substantial airplay, and was a top 10 success in the US and UK, and top 20 in Canada.^[1] Hynde wrote a good portion of the album with the team of Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly. Subsequently, the band toured in small venues around the US, sometimes including a string quartet. Some of these arrangements are preserved on the 1995 The Isle of View live album and DVD, made at London's Jacob Street Studios. Damon Albarn played piano on the recording, which also featured the Duke String Quartet.

During 1997, the Pretenders supplied two tracks for the soundtrack of the Ridley Scott film G. I. Jane: "Goodbye" and "The Homecoming".

Over the course of the decade, Hynde became increasingly concerned with political activism, vocally supporting the environmental movement and vegetarianism.^[1] Viva el Amor was released during 1999, as was their collaboration with Tom Jones on the album Reload.

2000s[link]

The Pretenders joined with Emmylou Harris on Return of the Grievous Angel: A Tribute to Gram Parsons, performing the song "She". A Greatest Hits compilation followed in 2000. During 2002 Loose Screw was released by Artemis Records with only modest commercial success. It was the first Pretenders record to be released by a company other than WEA. Rolling Stone noted its "refinement, stylish melodies and vocal fireworks," while Blender called it "slick, snarky pop with flashes of brilliance".^[5]

During March 2005, the Pretenders were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Only Hynde and Chambers attended the ceremony. During her acceptance speech, Hynde named and thanked all the replacement members of the group, then said:

"I know that the Pretenders have looked like a tribute band for the last 20 years. ... And we're paying tribute to James Honeyman-Scott and Pete Farndon, without whom we wouldn't be here. And on the other hand, without us, they might have been here, but that's the way it works in rock 'n' roll."^[6]

After their Hall of Fame induction, the Pretenders continued touring as a four-part team (Hynde, Seymour, Hobson and Chambers). During 2005, bassist Hobson left and was replaced by Nick Wilkinson, marking the band's first line-up change in thirteen years. That same year, Rhino Records released the four disc and DVD box set Pirate Radio 1979-2005 which spanned the group's entire career. Two disc remastered versions of the first two albums also came out that year with bonus tracks. During 2007, Rhino remastered both Learning To Crawl and Get Close once again with bonus tracks. Not long after, guitarist Seymour left and was replaced by James Walbourne.

The Pretenders' album Break Up the Concrete was released through Shangri-La Music on 7 October 2008. It was the band's first Top 40 album in the US in twenty two years. Tracks include "Boots of Chinese Plastic", "Don't Cut Your Hair", "Love's a Mystery", "The Last Ride" and "Almost Perfect".^[7] With Hynde was the guitarist James Walbourne, pedal steel player Eric Heywood, bassist Nick Wilkinson and drummer Jim Keltner (on the album only). Chambers returned to the drums on tour with the band. Several one-off shows were performed during the closing months of 2008, including a couple of Christmas charity shows. The 'Break Up The Concrete Tour' began in mid-January and covered most of the United States, with shows until the end of March. It then continued in Europe, with gigs in Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, France, Spain, Belgium, and the UK during the months of June and July, before returning for a new tour in Canada and the US during August and September 2009. A show from the tour, filmed at Shepherd's Bush Empire in London on 15 July 2009, was released on CD with bonus DVD / Blu-ray on 9 February 2010, titled Pretenders: Live in London. Another tour was announced in May, a double headlining tour in New Zealand and Australia with Blondie for a few capital city and winery shows.

On 5 February 2011, Hynde and the Pretenders performed live on CMT's Crossroads with Faith Hill and her band, including songs from both catalogs.

In September, 2012, The Pretenders will re-group (Hynde, Chambers, Heywood, Walters) and are part of the entertainment lineup for the Singapore F1 Grand-Prix races^[8].

Discography[link]

• 1980: Pretenders
• 1981: Pretenders II
• 1984: Learning to Crawl
• 1986: Get Close
• 1990: Packed!
• 1994: Last of the Independents
• 1999: Viva el Amor
• 2002: Loose Screw
• 2008: Break Up the Concrete

Band members[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

This article's use of external links may not follow Wikipedia's policies or guidelines. Please improve this article by removing excessive or inappropriate external links, and converting useful links where appropriate into footnote references. (March 2012)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Pretenders (band)

• Official band website
• Pretenders Archives
• Pretenders 977 Radio
• Listen to the Pretenders' Complete New Album, 'Break Up the Concrete'
• The Pretenders studio sessions at NPR Music

Jools Holland
Holland at the British Academy Television Awards 2009
Background information
Birth name	Julian Miles Holland
Born	(1958-01-24) 24 January 1958 (age 54) Blackheath, London, England
Genres	Boogie-woogie, jazz, blues, R&B
Occupations	Musician, composer, television presenter, bandleader
Instruments	Piano, keyboard, guitar
Years active	1974–present
Associated acts	Squeeze Rhythm & Blues Orchestra
Website	Official site

Julian Miles "Jools" Holland OBE, DL (born 24 January 1958) is an English pianist, bandleader, singer, composer, and television presenter. He was a founder of the band Squeeze (1974-1980 & 1985-1990) and his work has involved him with many artists including Sting, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, David Gilmour, Magazine and Bono.

Holland is a published author and appears on television shows besides his own and contributes to radio shows. In 2004, he collaborated with Tom Jones on an album of traditional R&B music. He currently hosts Later... with Jools Holland, a music-based show aired on BBC2, on which his annual show Hootenanny, is based.^[1]

Life and career[link]

His great grandfather came from Ireland.^[2]

Holland played as a session musician before finding fame, and his first studio session was with Wayne County & the Electric Chairs in 1976 on their track "F*ck Off."^[3]

Holland was a founding member of the British pop band Squeeze, formed in March 1974, in which he played keyboards until 1981 and helped the band to achieve millions of record sales, before pursuing his solo career.^[3]

Holland began issuing solo records in 1978, his first EP being Boogie Woogie '78. He continued his solo career through the early 1980s, releasing an album and several singles between 1981 and 1984. He branched out into TV, co-presenting the Newcastle-based TV music show The Tube with Paula Yates. Holland achieved notoriety by inadvertently using the phrase "groovy fuckers" in a live, early evening TV trailer for the show, causing it to be suspended for six weeks.^[4] He referred to this in his sitcom "The Groovy Fellers" with Rowland Rivron.

Holland at the Tsunami Relief concert in Cardiff's Millennium Stadium, 22 January 2005

In 1983 Holland played an extended piano solo on The The's re-recording of "Uncertain Smile" for the album Soul Mining. In 1985, Squeeze (which had continued in Holland's absence through to 1982) unexpectedly regrouped including Jools Holland as their keyboard player. Holland remained in the band until 1990, at which point, he again departed Squeeze on amicable terms to resume his solo career as a musician and a TV host.

In 1987, Holland formed The Jools Holland Big Band which consisted of himself and Gilson Lavis from Squeeze. This gradually became his 18-piece Rhythm & Blues Orchestra.^[3]

Between 1988 and 1990 he performed and co-hosted along with David Sanborn during the two seasons of the music performance program Sunday Night on NBC late-night television.^[5] Since 1992 he has presented the music program Later... with Jools Holland, plus an annual New Year's Eve Hootenanny.

In 1996, Holland signed a recording contract with Warner Bros. Records,^[3] and his records are now marketed through Rhino Records.

Holland has a touring band, The Rhythm And Blues Orchestra, which often includes singers Sam Brown and Ruby Turner. In January 2005 Holland and his band performed with Eric Clapton as the headline act of the Tsunami Relief Cardiff.

Personal[link]

Holland lives in the Westcombe Park area of Blackheath in South East London, where he had his studio, Helicon Mountain, built to his design, inspired by Portmeirion, the setting for the 1960s TV series The Prisoner.^[6] Holland owns costumes and props from the series and occasionally appears wearing the trademark brown-with-white-pipe blazer featured in the series. In 1987, Holland demonstrated his love of the series and starred in a spoof documentary, The Laughing Prisoner, with Stephen Fry, Terence Alexander and Hugh Laurie.^[6] Much of it was shot on location in Portmeirion, with archive footage of Patrick McGoohan, and featuring musical numbers from Siouxsie and the Banshees, Magnum and XTC. Holland performed a number towards the end of the program. His younger brother, Christopher, also plays organ in the Rhythm & Blues Orchestra, as well as being a singer-songwriter.

Holland was an interviewer for The Beatles Anthology TV project, and appeared in the 1997 film Spiceworld as a musical director.

He received an OBE in 2003 in the Queen's Birthday Honours list, for services to the British music industry as a television presenter and musician. In September 2006 Holland was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant for Kent.^[7] He is also known for his charity work: in June 2006 he performed in Southend for HIV/AIDS charity Mildmay,^[8] and in early 2007 he performed at Wells and Rochester Cathedrals to raise money for maintaining cathedral buildings.^[9] He is also patron of the Drake Music Project^[10] and has raised many thousands of pounds for the charity.

Holland was appointed an Honorary Fellow of Canterbury Christ Church University at a ceremony held at Canterbury Cathedral on 30 January 2009.^[11]

On 29 August 2005 Holland married Christabel McEwen, his girlfriend of 15 years (between 1983 and 1995 she had been married to Edward Lambton, 7th Earl of Durham, before they divorced). The wedding, at St James's Church, Cooling near Rochester, was attended by many celebrities, including Ringo Starr, Robbie Coltrane, Stephen Fry, Lenny Henry, Noel Gallagher, Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders.^[12]

Holland is also a patron for The Milton Rooms, an Arts centre in Malton, North Yorkshire, along with Bill Nighy, Imelda Staunton and Kathy Burke.^[13]

Writing[link]

His 2007 biography, Barefaced Lies and Boogie Woogie Boasts was BBC Radio 4 "Book of the Week" in the week beginning 8 October 2007 and was read by Holland. He is the author or joint author of four other books.

Discography[link]

Albums that have charted and gained Certifications[link]

Releases[link]

• 1978 "Boogie Woogie '78" (EP)
• 1981 Jools Holland and His Millionaires
• 1984 Jools Holland Meets Rock 'A' Boogie Billy (U.S. release only)
• 1990 World Of His Own
• 1991 The Full Complement
• 1992 "Together Again" (single with Sam Brown)
• 1992 The A-Z Geographer's Guide To The Piano
• 1994 Solo Piano
• 1994 Live Performance
• 1996 " Jazz & Rock & Roll
• 1997 Lift The Lid
• 1998 Best Of
• 1999 Sunset Over London
• 2000 Hop The Wag
• 2001 Small World Big Band
• 2002 SWBB Volume Two: More Friends
• 2003 Jack O The Green (SWBB Friends 3)
• 2004 Tom Jones & Jools Holland
• 2005 Beatroute
• 2005 Swinging the Blues, Dancing the Ska
• 2006 Moving Out To The Country
• 2007 Best of Friends
• 2008 The Collection
• 2008 The Informer (With Ruby Turner)
• 2008 "The Informer" (single with Ruby Turner)
• 2009 "I Went By" (single with Louise Marshall)
• 2010 Rockinghorse

Film and television[link]

• 1981 Urgh! A Music War
• 1982 Police: Around the World
• 1982 - 1987 The Tube (Host for 121 editions)
• 1983 Rebellious Jukebox: Compere
• 1984 The Young Ones: Punk (Episode entitled "Summer Holiday")
• 1985 Walking To New Orleans (Jools Holland in New Orleans)
• 1987 Eat the Rich: Sun Reporter
• 1987 Filthy Rich & Catflap: Strip Show Pianist (Episode #1.3)
• 1987 The Laughing Prisoner: No. 7
• 1987 French and Saunders (Episode 1.5)
• 1988 Sunday Night: Host (unknown episodes)
• 1989 Juke Box Jury: Host (unknown episodes)
• 1989 The Groovy Fellers Himself, 6 episodes
• 1991 Mr Roadrunner (Jools Holland in Memphis)
• 1994 There's No Business: Pianist
• 1994 - 1995 Don't Forget Your Toothbrush
• 1995 The Beatles Anthology
• 1997 Spice World: Musical Director
• 1997 Name That Tune: Host and Pianist
• 2003 Jool's History of the Piano : Presenter
• 2006 Top Gear: Star in a reasonably priced car.
• 2007 Fairport@Forty: Interview
• 2009 Chop Shop Rover Concept: The Jet 1 Car : Customer

Current television programmes[link]

• 1992–present Later... with Jools Holland
• 1993–present Hootenanny

Books[link]

• "Rolling Stones": A Life on the Road, (with Dora Loewenstein), Viking/Allen Lane (1998), (ISBN 0-670-88051-5)
• Beat Route: Journeys Through Six Counties, Weidenfeld & Nicholson (1998), (ISBN 0-575-06700-4)
• Ray Charles: Man and Music, (with Michael Lydon), Payback Press (1999), (ISBN 0-86241-929-8)
• Hand That Changed Its Mind , International Music Publications (2007), (ISBN 1-84328-645-9)
• Barefaced Lies and Boogie-woogie Boasts , Michael Joseph Ltd (2007), (ISBN 0-7181-4915-7)

References[link]