Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain40th Anniversary Tour
An irreverent, unconventional, genre-bending, captivating tongue-in-cheek obituary for rock ’n’ roll and melodic entertainment, performed only on “bonsai guitars”: from ABBA to ZZ Top, from Tchaikovsky to Nirvana, from bluegrass to Lady Gaga, with maybe a spaghetti western thrown in for good measure.
An irreverent, unconventional, genre-bending, captivating tongue-in-cheek obituary for rock ’n’ roll and melodic entertainment, performed only on “bonsai guitars”: from ABBA to ZZ Top, from Tchaikovsky to Nirvana, from bluegrass to Lady Gaga, with maybe a spaghetti western thrown in for good measure.
The year is 1985. Wham is leading the charts and everyone sports a mullet haircut. The first mobile phone – the size of a brick – is launched and the discovery of the Titanic’s wreck is making headlines. Back to the Future is hitting the screens … And an ensemble founded “as a bit of fun” defies all expectations by playing sell-out concerts and appearing on national radio. Forty years later, the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain embarks on its 40th anniversary tour, which will also see it perform at the Isarphilharmonie.
Having performed at venues ranging from Ronnie Scott’s jazz club to the Royal Festival Hall, from Chongqing Taindi Theatre in China to the Sydney Opera House, the world’s first ukulele orchestra remains as popular as ever. You may be able to buy a ukulele with loose change and carry it as hand luggage, but in the hands of the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain it’s a serious instrument that elicits a joyous feel-good reaction.
“The triumph of the‚ ‘miniature guitar’ is celebrated almost frenetically – you can even see the occasional ukulele in the audience.”
