Dave Parris stood down as Corps Director and was replaced by Simon Barrett. Lee Gordon was drafted in to replace Jason Cox in teaching the percussion. Lee also enlisted the help of Paul Baker, formally involved in the corps’ predecessors The Kingsmen, to help write the percussion charts.
At the end of ’95 many staff / instructors and members left to pursue other interests and concentrate on educational commitments. Despite attracting members from nearby bands, Staplehurst and Gillingham, the corps shrunk to half the size of ’95 and was left with only 4 staff members.
With a large number of the corps having to travel to attend rehearsal, this proved to be one of the most challenging years for the Senior Corps. As a result of the depleted income from subscriptions the corps could only compete in one circuit. It was decided that that the corps would only compete on the DCUK circuit.
The show was based on Porgy and Bess, with the music derived from various sources, including the original arrangements by Girshwin, various Jazz versions, and the Star of Indiana performance from 1988.
The corps ended up with 7th place at DCUK finals. Although the Senior Corps were struggling the Cadets continued to grow and started competing in the Cadet Class of DCUK, coming away with 4th place
