The corps had obviously turned heads in 97, as they attracted new, but experienced members from corps that had folded. One such member, who would do a 180 mile round trip three times a week to be a part of BK, was Steve Muzio. He would later go on to contribute a great deal to the corps as a staff member. Also, through their links with Mayflower Winterguard (where many members performed through the winter) they acquired the services of Amanda Castel, along with additional guard members.
Black Knights presented their program Martin Guerre with fresh ideas, and as always a great deal of enthusiasm. Martin Guerre was an entirely original production, but one which they were sure would entertain and be appreciated. The original music was created by the writers of ‘Les Miserable’ and ‘Miss Saigon’.
Black Knights entered the first Open Class competition of 1998, and placed second, behind the visiting open-aged Dutch corps Beatrix. Second place that day meant a number one seeding for the corps in DCUK competition. They then went on to place first in all competitions in the first half, apart from Tottenham where they were beaten into second place behind another visiting corps from Holland, Jubal.
Black Knights reciprocated by visiting Holland in July of that year to tour, and were well received by the Marching Band community. Indeed, many members from Beatrix and Jubal travelled across Holland to see Black Knights perform.
Upon their return to competition in the second half they remained undefeated, until the A Class Prelims show, then held at the Velodrome in Leicester, where they were narrowly defeated by the Sunrisers. As a result they were seeded second going into prelims, and that was how it stayed through the night.
Coming second to Sunrisers that day was by no means a disappointment upon reflection, taking into consideration that many observers rated the Sunrisers’ 1998 show as one of the best to be performed in this country.
Black Knights walked away from finals 1998 with their heads held high, knowing that they had put the performance of their lives out on the field. They left with the highest ever Black Knights score and the High Colourguard Trophy to boot!
