Ukulele Orchestra Of Great Britain

[evilredlight]

I know this has nothing to do with beer
except that I assume that out of all the members at least one of them like beer

But they are playing a free show
9 May, Sunday, Royal Festival Hall Foyer, South Bank, London, 12.30 to 2 pm. Free.

I would be grateful to anyone who might be in the area to drop in and give a listen and report back here or PM me.

Please I am desparate for any info about this band

www.ukuleleorchestra.com

[chazwicke]

I received your PM and it sounds interesting. I'll try to make it. My wife gave me a uke for Christmas but I have no idea how to play it.

[Herb Ninja]

Holy **** are you kidding? A Ukulele Orchestra in Britan? I don't even think we have one of those in Hawaii. Thats crazy. I didn't even know there were people there that knew what the instrument was, let alone how to play it. Peace, HN-

[wild]

That was the first instrument I learned to play with 40+ years ago.

Wild

[evilredlight]

I guess you have never heard of George formby, eh herb ninja!

I hope someone can make it!

There are two Canadian Ukulele Orchestras that regularly travel to Hawaii, The Langley Ukulele Ensemble, from Langley B.C.(almost a part of the pacific rim) and the J. Chalmers Doane Adult Ukulele Ensemble from the east coast (Nova Scotia) of Canada.

It is strange to think that all these places have their own uke scenes, but England is only a hop, skip, and a jump away from Portugal (arguably, the originators of the Ukulele, or bragina, or machete).

[Richard English]

Quote "...A Ukulele Orchestra in Britan..."

If you can't find in in Britain...!

The Ukelele was very popular here in the 1930s and George Formby was an extremely popular comedian of that time. His reedy Lancashire voice didn't endear him to all but he was a good uke player.

There are many GF sites and you can hear some of his most famous songs here http://www.sagamorerecords.com/gf/georgeformbylisteningroom.html

[chazwicke]

Well I did make the London show and it was excellent. They are crack musicians and put on a superb show. They play everything from classical to jazz to rock n roll. I was amazed at some of the medleys they came up with. Definitley have a sense of humor. Anyway, Thanks for the tip Evilredlight. Drop me a PM with your address. I picked up a copy of their CD for you.

[steveh]

Originally posted by Richard English
The Ukelele was very popular here in the 1930s and George Formby was an extremely popular comedian of that time. His reedy Lancashire voice didn't endear him to all but he was a good uke player.

Isn't he famous for his Maginot Line song? I believe I've seen him on Thames' famous World at War history series.

S.

[chazwicke]

You don't have to wear a racoon coat and drive a Stutz Bearcat to fully appreciate the wonders of the uke. I thought it was a big Arthur Godfrey thing too.

[chazwicke]

Also, George Harrison collected and loved ukuleles. Check out that last little bit at the end of Free As A Bird. I saw Paul McCartney play a tribute to George....Something on the uke!. Was great!

[evilredlight]

I'm glad it worked out, now I hope some day a chance trip of mine will happen me near the UOGB.

so far i have struck out :(

[evilredlight]

The cd came yesterday by ups

wow it is great
thank you very much

they really are very good
but i can understand how much better it must be live!

[Richard English]

Quote "...Isn't he famous for his Maginot Line song? I believe I've seen him on Thames' famous World at War history series..."

According to Google, this song is by one Geoff Berner whoever he might be. You can hear it here http://www.geoffberner.com/maginot.mp3 - although I wouldn't bother. He's certainly not George Formby

There was a very popular wartime song here called "We're Gonna Hang Out The Washing On The Siegfried Line" but that was sung by Flanagan and Allen. You should be able listen to it here http://ingeb.org/songs/weregoin.html - but the site was down when I tried.

I don't think George ever sung anything with a title like that.

[steveh]

Originally posted by Richard English
I don't think George ever sung anything with a title like that.

T'was him. I watched the World at War series' episode "Distant War," over the weekend - covering Europe between September 1939 and May 1940. In the early part of the episode, when it looked like Germany may not really invade France, and England and France relaxed some (many were calling it the "phony war"), a scene is shown with ol' George entertaining the troops somewhere. Surrounded by about 30 soldiers, Formby is sitting with his uke and singing, "Imagine me on the Maginot Line, sitting on a mine, on the Maginot Line..."

That clip always cracked me up, probably because Formby's voice was perfect for such parody, from the first time I saw it around 1974.

S.

[chazwicke]

Originally posted by evilredlight
The cd came yesterday by ups

wow it is great
thank you very much

they really are very good
but i can understand how much better it must be live!

They were much better live. Infact I thought the show was excellent! They were performing hilarios medleys which incorporated the likes of Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapese, Orange Blossom Special, Smoke on the Water and others. They played a variety of Classical, Jazz and Popular. When I arrived they were covering Lou Reed's Take a Walk on The Wild Side! It was Fantastic. While I enjoyed the CD I think in this case Live is better. They kind of reminded me of the Squirrel Nut Zippers gone wild. Thanks again for alerting me to that show and I hope that you get to see them live sometime. Just another excuse to go to the UK and enjoy cask ales! :D

[Richard English]

Ah yes. "Imagine me on the Maginot Line". That he did sing - although it was not one of his better known works and, as you say, it was used in the World at War series, along with many other well-known songs of the period. Indeed, I wonder whether it was perhaps written for the series as it doesn't appear in any George Formby collection I have found. There's a supposed full list of his recordings here http://ubl.artistdirect.com/music/artist/songs/0,,431743,00.html?artist=George+Formby

[steveh]

Originally posted by Richard English
Indeed, I wonder whether it was perhaps written for the series as it doesn't appear in any George Formby collection I have found. [/url]

I don't believe it was wwritten for the series, the film footage of George singing for the soldiers was definitely vintage - he was quite young and thin. Perhaps it was only written for the purpose of that moment of entertainment in 1939 and never recorded (other than the filming itself)?

S.