The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain is a group of all-singing, all-strumming Ukulele players, using instruments bought with loose change, which believes that all genres of music are available for reinterpretation, as long as they are played on the Ukulele.

 

A concert by the Ukulele Orchestra is a funny, virtuosic, twanging, awesome, foot-stomping obituary of rock-n-roll and melodious light entertainment featuring only the “bonsai guitar” and a menagerie of voices in a collision of post-punk performance and toe-tapping oldies. There are no drums, pianos, backing tracks or banjos, no pitch shifters or electronic trickery.

 

 

Only an astonishing revelation of the rich palette of orchestration afforded by ukuleles and singing (and a bit of whistling). Audiences have a good time with the Ukulele Orchestra. Going from Tchaikovsky to Nirvana via Otis Redding and Spaghetti Western soundtracks, the Orchestra takes us on “a world tour with only hand luggage” and gives the listener “One Plucking Thing After Another”.

 

Using instruments small and large, in high and low registers, whether playing intricate melodies, simple tunes, or complex chords, and sitting in chamber group format dressed in formal evening wear, the Orchestra uses the limitations of the instrument to create a musical freedom as it reveals unsuspected musical insights. Both the beauty and vacuity of popular and highbrow music are highlighted, the pompous and the trivial, the moving and the amusing.

 

Sometimes a foolish song can touch an audience more than high art; sometimes music which takes itself too seriously is revealed to be hilarious. You may never think about music in the same way once you’ve been exposed to the Ukes’ depraved musicology.

 

 

1. Dreams, The Cranberries
2. The Blue Lotus, Xu Wei
3. Moonlight River in Spring
4. Shameful, Black Panther
5. Orange Blossom Special, Bluegrass Classic
6. Limehouse Blues, Jazz Classic
7. Theme From Tchaikovsky No.2 Piano Concerto
8. Theme From Dick Barton
9. The Good The Bad And The Ugly, Film Theme
10. Heroes, David Bowie
11. Leaning on a Lampost, George Formby
12. Every Breath You Take, The Police
13. Live on Mars, David Bowie
14. Hot Tamales
15. Club Tropicana, Wham
16. The Model, Kraftwerk
17. Rock around the Clock, Bill Haley
18. Nine to Five, Dolly Parton
19. Baby Tonight, Bob Dylan
20. Thunderball, John Barry
21. The Lovecats, The Cure
22. Bad Guy, Billie Eilish
23. Valerie, Amy Winehouse