The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain Review
The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain
The Lowry, Manchester
23 April 2014
Reviewed by Debbie Tasker
I wasn’t sure what to expect as I arrived at The Lowry in Manchester last night for the concert. After all how much can you actually do with a Ukulele? The answer is to provide an out of this world evening of entertainment to a full house of very happy people!
The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain consists of eight musicians, 6 male and 2 female, all playing an assortment of the ukulele. They sit throughout and are dressed in evening wear. From the moment they start to play they grab your attention and the show flew by.
The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain was founded in 1985 and a few are original members. You can see they have a fantastic relationship and bounce off each other throughout the evening.
I had seen them a few weeks ago on Saturday Night Takeaway backing Robbie Williams and Ant and Dec but that was the first time I had heard of them. Amongst others they played the set from the show which I was pleased about. But my favourite numbers were Talking Heads “Psycho Killer”, Kate Bush “Wuthering Heights” which was given a Jazz makeover, Chic “Le freak” and a very comical Bacharach “Yes Sir I can Boogie”. We are brought up to date with Adele “Rolling in the Deep” and last year’s big hit by Daft Punk “Get Lucky”.
They are all talented and versatile musicians each perform alone at times but mostly together. Their harmonies are very tight and although no expert in my opinion their ukulele playing is superb. There are added dashes of humour which works very well and the audience was in uproar on many occasions. The rendition of Kraftwerks “The Model” has to be seen to be believed. Hilarious! There’s a nod to George Formby too – who is the only ukulele player I had ever heard of with snippets of his “Leaning on a Lamppost”.
A lovely touch was a former prisoner of war now aged 96 who had made a ukulele out of barbed wire and bits of wood and played to keep everybody’s spirits up during those bad times was in the audience. He stood up and got the biggest round of applause you could imagine. The ukulele is exhibited in the Imperial War Museum.
We enjoyed every minute and they sure can put on a show. One not to be missed whatever age or musical tastes you have.
A much deserved standing ovation ended a fantastic evening of entertainment.
For details of tour dates visit www.ukuleleorchestra.com.
The Lowry, Pier 8, Salford Quays, Manchester, M50 3AZ | Box Office 0843 208 6000