The Barry Horns are an enigmatic bunch to say the least.
They’ve just played a rip-roaring set of Welsh football anthems to the Red Wall in a luxurious Doha hotel, in a haze of eye-wateringly priced beer and bouncing bucket hats.
Last night they were doing the same in Dubai. This is a trip which has been over a decade in the making, since their first rehearsal in March 2011.
Read more: Wales' official band have instruments confiscated at World Cup match against Iran
Named after the former international midfielder who captained Wales and Everton in the 1990’s, they are adored by Welsh football fans and have been during the decade of unprecedented success, which started with Gary Speed and has ended up here on the edge of the desert.
Unlike their counterparts across the border, the largely scorned England band who have made a name for themselves playing Escape to Victory on repeat in major tournaments, the Horns have delighted fans in the stands for years as the Red Wall’s conductors.
But they have also courted controversy for their unashamed political views. Proud cheerleaders for Welsh independence and scathing critics of the Conservative government, they have been criticised by the Daily Mail and some Conservative party members for their views, especially on the back of this trip to the World Cup, which has been funded by the Welsh Government to the tune of £17,000.
The money was given to the group as part of the £1.8 million World Cup partner support fund which is supporting 19 projects promoting Welsh culture, arts and heritage ahead of Wales' historic World Cup appearance in Qatar.
When I ask them about it they are initially unsure whether they want to even comment. But you can see the twinkle in the eye of founder member Fez (the band largely refer to themselves through nicknames) and soon he just can’t keep it in any longer.
“We kept being asked, are you going to the World Cup? We said no. We kept being asked. We said no. And then we were told that there was a grant available, and we succeeded in the grant, we put in a good application and we were awarded, not given, the money.
“But in terms of the controversy, we set up a brass band ten years ago to support a team that was in the doldrums because we loved Wales so much?
“What have they done for Welsh football?
“We’ve been in the land of no hope, following Wales when there was nothing happening, so when we hear the money being spent on us is for nothing that’s wrong and we hope we’re proving that out here.”
The passion is real in his voice, and the rest of the band reassure me they’ve told him he should go into politics.
But there’s a wider point in play here. The Barry Horns often mirror what some may call a political movement within Welsh football supporters. Where the Welsh language is celebrated not belittled, where we are constantly reminded of our strength in numbers, together stronger, that we are still here, ry'n ni yma o hyd.
The rise of indy curiosity in Wales and movements like Yes Cymru can be found at the heart of the Red Wall. And the Barry Horns have seen that first hand since they formed in 2011.
“This is our moment,” trumpet player Gas Man says. “This is when Wales stops living within the stereotype of farming sheep (with no disrespect to sheep farmers). This World Cup embodies the beginning of the new Wales. A Wales with the prospect of independence against the scourge of Westminster.”
“I think people are proud and excited to be Welsh. To be Welsh football supporters. To be part of what feels like a culture that has grown from something organic, into something new and exciting.
Fez adds: “We’re entering the mainstream now, it’s not a fringe movement anymore, it’s not just for artists and academics.”
Welsh football’s association with independence was not born from, but was accelerated by the 2012 Olympics and the anger many felt when a Team GB football side was introduced, at the risk of damaging Wales’s position as an independent football nation.
Fez sees the national team as the perfect example of their politics.
“There would not be a Welsh football team if the right wing political agenda of the UK was put in place. The very existence of the Welsh football team is political. The Welsh national team is intrinsically political.”
And it’s nothing new, as Man from Uncle (the elder statesman of the band) adds: “The English refused to play our anthem until the late 1970’s whenever we played them. There was one game when Terry Yoarth and the team, instead of listening to God Save The Queen, went off and had a kickabout. It’s unbelievable.”
The cultural movement around Welsh football has been largely heralded by an almost faultless Football Association of Wales (FAW) strategy, which kicked in under Chris Coleman’s tenure as Wales manager, when the Together Stronger slogan was penned.
Use of the Welsh language has been at the heart of everything they do, as has themes of unity, pride, passion and belief.
“The greatest sportsman for the 20th century was Muhammad Ali and nobody did more than him to unite sport and politics, Trumpet player Tomos Williams said. “He was vilified but he showed how important sport and politics can be.
“The FAW are doing incredible work, on an international scale, because they understand that you cannot separate sport from politics, because it’s to do with identity.”
And the Barry Horns are proud to have played some part.
Man from Uncle said: “I think we’ve contributed massively. The Barry Horns have been an evolution, we don’t need plaudits but we feel like our work is almost done. But it’s not done yet. We have to keep this ‘in it together’ this red wall thing going. It’s amazing.”
The Barry Horns have released a World Cup single sung by mysterious creation Paul Throwin, the band’s answer to Ziggy Stardust.
According to the Horns: “In 1985, an elite footballer’s career was cut tragically short when he stood on a pair of unattended hair straighteners on the team bus of FC Crumlin.
“That man is the man you are about to see. His name is Paul Throwin.
“After a stellar career as a traveling haircare salesperson, Throwin reinvented himself as an electronic artist.”
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