8 weeks till we see and meet – The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain! YES, we have plans to take out some of the musicians after the concert on Friday evening to a local Austin Pub to buy them drinks and get to know them better. SO I got to thinking, shouldn’t we KNOW a little more about each one? Recognize them, know them by name and a little bit about each one? Heck YEAH! So I have created (for myself) flash cards with photos of each performer on one side, and their name on the back with a little bio on each one. There really aren’t too many of them, only 8 musicians.

I found this great article by Barry Maz of GOT A UKULELE that he wrote about the group in February of 2011. I wanted to share it with all of YOU! For more great articles and information about Ukuleles please visit Barry’s website here – http://www.gotaukulele.com/

Ukulele Heroes – Ukulele Orchestra Of Great Britain

by Barry Maz

The group formed in 1985 as a bit of fun, but immediately found a rapidly growing fan base. There have been several line ups but currently play as an octet of David Suich, Peter Brook Turner, Hester Goodman, George Hinchcliffe, Richie Williams, Kittie Lux, Will Grove Wright and Jonty Bankes.

The group are instantly recognisable in their sharp outfits (ball-gowns for the ladies, tuxedos for the gents) and each play an acoustic ukulele of various sizes (strictly speaking, the largest is an acoustic bass guitar played by Jonty). The group dont choose to play ukuleles that cost the earth, and some of the instruments are very simple, thus promoting the accessibility of the ukulele. Whilst they do compose and play their own tunes, they are perhaps best known for playing cover versions of songs that the listener would normally think unlikely to work on a ukulele, including Nirvanas “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, Kate Bush’s “Wuthering Heights” and “Miss Dy-Na-Mi-Tee”. Having started playing smaller gigs, with their first ever gig at the Roebuck Pub in London, their bookings got bigger and bigger. They have since been seen on stage at the Glastonbury Festival, at the Royal Albert Hall as part of the BBC Proms 2009 season (of which a DVD is available on the UOGB site) and on numerous TV shows including the Jools Holland Hootenanny. They also appeared on stage with the Kaiser Chiefs providing ukulele backing to a version of their hit “Ruby”. With a number of albums recorded and an ever increasing buzz in ukulele circles, their popularity continues to grow rapidly.

MORE ABOUT THE MUSICIANS

Dave Suich, Peter Brooke Turner, Hester Goodman, George Hinchliffe, Richie Williams, Kitty Lux, Will Grove White, Jonty Bankes

David Suich – musician who also performs as Joe Bazouki in his own band – The Missing Puddings.

Peter Brooke Turner – Also a comedian and Eurovision finalist, Peter also plays uke as his alter ego – Tony Penultimate.

Hester Goodman – started in theatre and also appears in her own comedy and theatre shows including the Mary Poppins Experience and Elvenbitch

George Hinchcliffe – founded the UOGB with Kitty Lux and is also the groups musical director. Before the UOGB George was in several other bands of his own and worked as a session musician.

Kitty Lux – co founder of the UOGB and before the group was involved with a number of punk bands.

Richie Williams – the baritone uke player in the group – his career was founded in music, and played guitar as a session player for several major acts alongside George Hinchcliffe.