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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.
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