| Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain | |
|---|---|
Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain, 2005 |
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| Background information | |
| Genres | Various |
| Years active | 1985–present |
| Website | http://www.ukuleleorchestra.com/ |
| Members | |
| Dave Suich Peter Brooke-Turner Hester Goodman George Hinchliffe Richie Williams Kitty Lux Will Grove-White Jonty Bankes[1] |
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The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain (UOGB) is a musical ensemble featuring ukuleles in different registers and a bass ukulele (actually an acoustic bass guitar).
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Founded in 1985,[2] the orchestra has since performed in many worldwide venues, including the Royal Festival Hall, Glastonbury Festival and Carnegie Hall. The Orchestra has appeared on TV in the UK and elsewhere.
Members were commissioned to write and record music for two editions of The South Bank Show and the orchestra has featured on Tomorrow's World, Blue Peter, The Slammer, Richard & Judy and This Morning and other shows on UK TV.
Albums include Precious Little, The Secret of Life, Top Notch and a large back catalogue of recordings including a 2005 DVD, Anarchy in the Ukulele, recorded at the Barbican in London.
Their version of "Dy-na-mi-tee" (with vocals by Hester Goodman), reached #81 in the UK singles charts in 2005. Also featured on the CD single were covers of the instrumental "Wonderful Land", and of "Natural Woman", the latter with (male) lead vocals provided by musical director George Hinchliffe.
The orchestra has toured Canada, Japan, USA, New Zealand and several countries in Europe.
Recent years have seen television appearances on programmes such as Jools Holland's Hootenanny. High praise has been forthcoming from the press for live shows.[3][4] In 2008, the group performed in Dreamspiel composed by George Hinchliffe for the Grimeborn Festival at London's Arcola Theatre. The orchestra performed at the 50 year anniversary VE day celebrations in Hyde Park (with Cliff Richard and Vera Lynn), before an estimated audience of 170,000.
On Tuesday the 18th of August, 2009 the UOGB performed in a late night prom in the BBC Proms 2009 Season at the Royal Albert Hall. The performance was broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 and received much critical acclaim. As well as this, the concert hosted what is thought to be the world record for the largest number of ukulele players playing with each other at once, at least 992 players participated in a version of Beethoven's Ode to Joy. A DVD of the performance - Prom Night - is available via the UOGB website.
The UOGB have also appeared in the UK television show Skins.
The orchestra has had varying line-ups over the past two decades, but is currently performing as an octet, with seven ukulele players and one bassist. The members wear traditional orchestra dress for performances, with the men in black tie and the women in smart evening wear.
A typical UOGB gig comprises songs and instrumentals from all kinds of musical backgrounds: regulars include Kate Bush's "Wuthering Heights" reworked as a swinging jazz number, Tchaikovsky's "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy", "Anarchy in the UK" performed in the style of Simon and Garfunkel, and the theme tune from Shaft. The orchestra also compose and perform their own pieces, as well as arranging medleys - for example, David Bowie's "Life on Mars?" is melded with "My Way", "For Once in My Life", "Substitute", and more.
The group has shied away from featuring the music of George Formby, Britain's most famous ukulele musician; however, in recent years, they have included a version of his song "Leaning on a Lamppost", performed in a Russian Cossack style.[5][6]