Ship of Fools: All Hail the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain!

Thread: All Hail the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain! Board: Oblivion / Ship of Fools.

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Posted by Oscar the Grouch (# 1916) on :

I saw the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain in Guildford last night. Absolutely brilliant evening! I've seen them before but this was even better than the first time. Clever arrangements and a huge amount of laughs.

The highlights of the evening for me were:

Anarchy in the UK
I've heard them do this before, but it's still such a joy singing along.

Shaft
AMAZING! [Yipee]

Anyone else out there a fan of the Ukulele Orchestra?

Posted by birdie (# 2173) on :

*raises hand*

I've only seen them once, at Greenbelt, but listen to them a lot on cd.

I think my favourite has to be 'Wuthering Heights', but to be honest it's all great.

Posted by Jack the Lass (# 3415) on :

I've only seen them once, also at Greenbelt (presumably the same one as birdie - mid-2000s I think). I remember loving it all, but laughing out loud when I suddenly realised that they were playing Grace Jones' "Slave to the Rhythm". It was perfect sunny weather in the middle of a field listening.

Posted by Baptist Trainfan (# 15128) on :

They do a fantastic version of the "Dam Busters' March" - you can probably find it on Youtube.

(Mind you, it's pretty good on Carter's Steam Fair mechanical organ, too - complete with amusing "fudges" to get it past the notes which the organ hasn't got!)

[ 21. September 2013, 10:37: Message edited by: Baptist Trainfan ]

Posted by Tree Bee (# 4033) on :

Yes, I'm a fan too.
I love it when they all play a different song but they make wonderful music together somehow.

Posted by lilBuddha (# 14333) on :

They're brilliant! Fantastic and funny.

Posted by Albertus (# 13356) on :

Oh yes! Sesiwn Fawr Dolgellau c 2008. Lots of wonderful stuff on YouTube. 'Teenage Dirtbag', 'Anarchy in the UK', 'Life on Mars', 'Wuthering Heights'.... Blissful.

Posted by Japes (# 5358) on :

"Fly me off the Handel" always makes me smile, and cheers me up when I need cheering up!

As does almost all of their music.

Posted by tessaB (# 8533) on :

If you're near Guildford Oscar, you may enjoy this
They meet regularly, I think if you just turn up with a uke you can join in. Middle son sometimes goes along as one of the founders was his teacher at college doing an HNC in popular music.

Posted by anoesis (# 14189) on :

I saw them in NZ last year - very good, venue totally packed out despite there being a much more 'major' event on in town the same evening...

Posted by Curiosity killed ... (# 11770) on :

Copying is the sincerest form of flattery - I've seen these guys a few times and they are very good. But that site is awful

Posted by kankucho (# 14318) on :

For the benefit of the uninitiated - not to mention everyone else - there's a full length show on YouTube now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjvf_uz9I5o

The treatment of You Don't Bring Me Flowers is a work of collective genius. [Smile]

Posted by sophs (# 2296) on :

I love them! Did they do 5 people on one uke when you saw them? That had my husband in hysterics, as did anarchy.

Also the stage presents.

I can't wait to see them again.

Posted by Oscar the Grouch (# 1916) on :

quote:
Originally posted by sophs:
I love them! Did they do 5 people on one uke when you saw them? That had my husband in hysterics, as did anarchy.

Yep!

But I was even more impressed by the encore, when it finished with 6 of them singing different songs at the same time. I lost track of which songs they were - there was "I will survive" and "Hotel California" among them.

Posted by Miffy (# 1438) on :

Oscar - that was "Fly me off the Handel," marvellous! I've seen them a couple of times, the venue was packed out each time.

Posted by A.Pilgrim (# 15044) on :

Yes! Count me in as a fan. I've been to two of their concerts, and an evening of their music counts as one of the best 'feel-good' evenings I know. Their musicianship is absolutely top rate, their humour is a sheer joy, and the combination of the two is unique. I particularly like their determination to prove that every possible genre of music can be adapted for the ukulele. Just wonderful. [Big Grin]

(Reminds self to look for their next UK concert tour dates...)

Angus

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