The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain, Leeds Town Hall

Is there anarchy on Mars? The popular strummers mix and match musical styles

by Graham RicksonThursday, 12 May 2011

They pluck, pick, slap, whistle, shout, hum and harmonise, effortlessly - they're not leaning on lamp posts: The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain

The trick is to transform something relatively easy into something dazzling and bewilderingly complex. Seeing the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain is like watching eight masters of close-up magic. You’re not quite sure where to look, unable to believe quite what you’re hearing. These are boom times for the four-string ukulele. You can pick up a functional instrument for a tenner and learn three chords in five minutes, meaning that a huge repertoire of Western pop songs is yours for the taking. Simply strumming isn’t particularly difficult. But what the Ukulele Orchestra do is pluck, pick, slap, whistle, shout, hum and harmonise, and they do so effortlessly.

Musical humour can so easily fall painfully flat – there’s no danger of that here

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