Wallace & Gromit: A Close Shave

A piece of Wallace & Gromit history was made at Alexandra Palace: more than thirty years after its premiere on British television, A Close Shave was performed with a live brass band for the very first time on Sunday 1 November 2026 — to a sold-out audience, with the KNDS Fairey Band performing Julian Nott’s original score live in synchronisation with Nick Park’s much-loved film. The band was honoured to welcome Julian Nott himself, composer of those iconic scores, who joined the audience for the premiere.

While other Wallace & Gromit adventures have already made the transition from screen to concert hall, A Close Shave required specialist preparation of the film’s original audio before it could be paired with a live score. That work was carried out by James Parkinson, a tenor horn player and audio engineer with the KNDS Fairey Band, who worked with Aardman to prepare the soundtrack in a form that allows the score to be performed live. The arrangement for band was written by Rebecca Lundberg, the band’s solo trombone player.

First released in 1995, A Close Shave sees Wallace and Gromit’s new window-cleaning business introduce Wallace to wool-shop owner Wendolene Ramsbottom, while the arrival of a lost sheep — soon christened Shaun — leads the pair into a mystery involving sheep rustling, the Knit-O-Matic and the menacing Preston. The film went on to win both the Academy Award and the BAFTA for Best Animated Short Film, and introduced the world to Shaun the Sheep.

At the premiere, A Close Shave formed the second half of the afternoon double bill, following A Grand Day Out — both films shown complete on the big screen with their scores performed live. The band returned later the same day for a separate performance of The Wrong Trousers Live, continuing Fairey’s association with bringing some of Britain’s best-loved animation together with one of the country’s leading brass bands.