The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain has announced their 40th anniversary tour. The new trek of dates will include a stop in Cincinnati, OH at Taft Theatre on April 13.
It’s 1985 - Wham are topping charts and everyone has enormous hair. The first ever mobile phone (the size of a brick) is on sale and scientists locate the site of the sunken Titanic. Microsoft Windows is launched, and Bob Geldof persuades just about everyone to appear in the biggest line up we’ve ever seen to raise millions for Live Aid. Back to the Future is on our screens, the first episode of Eastenders is beamed into British homes, and what’s THAT coming over the hill? Why, it’s the sixteen-handed, all-singing, all-plucking Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain, and they’re coming this way…
Four decades (and 400,000,000 plucks) later they’re still thrilling audiences with their off-beat humour and four-stringed virtuosity from Tasmania to the Arctic Circle, Windsor Castle to Carnegie Hall.
Formed as the antidote to mindless pop, egocentric rock, and the indulgent, bluster of the music business, what is the secret of their longevity? Perhaps it’s the menagerie of voices in a collision of post-punk performance and toe-tapping classics? Or the fact that there are no drums, pianos, backing tracks, guitars, or banjos, no pitch shifters or electronic trickery - just an astonishing revelation of the rich palette of orchestration afforded by ukuleles plus fulsome vocals.
Come and celebrate the 40th anniversary of this much-loved institution, on a white-knuckle shopping-trolley dash through every kind of musical genre. From ABBA to ZZ Top, Tchaikovsky to Nirvana, Bluegrass to Broadway with maybe a Spaghetti Western thrown in.
The Ukulele Orchestra proudly present their 40th Year Anniversary World Tour “with only hand luggage”; a witty, quirky, irreverent, awesome, foot-stomping obituary of rock-n-roll and melodious light entertainment, all played on the 'bonsai guitar”.
Catch them whilst you can.
"The best musical entertainment in the country"
The Independent
"An oversized dose of unexpected hipness"
The New York Times
"A comedic musical powerhouse”
The Dartmouth
ABOUT THE UKULELE ORCHESTRA OF GREAT BRITAIN
The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain, that’s the one founded by George Hinchliffe and Kitty Lux, has already enjoyed touring in the United States many times. For those who have not yet encountered it, the essential point is that it is an original musical ensemble featuring only ukuleles of various sizes and registers, accompanied by just the natural voices of the performers.
Harsher critics have stated the opinion that the Ukulele Orchestra formed their repertoire based on any music considered inappropriate for the instrument, with a “shopping trolley dash through genres” and musical history. In Europe and America, the Orchestra are best known for playing versions of famous rock songs and film themes, sometimes changing these so that the expectations of the audience are subverted. Sometimes a rock song will be changed into a jazz idiom, or sometimes several songs which are known from different genres are combined in one “soup of contrasts.”
Today, after many years, the Orchestra finds that wherever they go, people are now playing ukuleles, often in groups. Many of these enthusiasts tell the Orchestra that they were inspired to play the instrument after seeing and hearing this, the original Ukulele Orchestra. And now there are many ukulele orchestras, some acknowledging the pioneering work of the UOGB, others claiming ignorance of this rich history, but none of them existing before this, the original Ukulele Orchestra.
