The UOGB’s version of the US gangster movie theme ‘Shaft’ has become a modern classic and this was weirdly linked to the British folk song collector Cecil Sharp – great fun. Through the quiet bits of the next song however – a sea shanty – sensitively sung by Kitty Lux, the chatter of the intercoms was again highly distracting.Ĭan you whistle one of Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos in perfect pitch? Well the bass player of the UOGB, Jonty Bankes, certainly can! He has a great singing voice too. They showed they can play jazz too, with a spirited ‘Limehouse Blues’. The babble on the intercoms was well drowned out by ‘Rock Around The Clock’ – even Bill Haley would have been impressed. The ‘Orchestra’ received yet another great ovation for their rendition of ‘The Good, The Bad and The Ugly’. In the second-half even the many, unnecessary and restless, Security Staff seemed to be really appreciating the performance, despite the highly annoying, constant chatter from their personal intercoms. It is said that the ‘Orchestra’ has put the ‘Great’ back into Great Britain and by now we were in total agreement with that statement. Without accompaniment, in close harmony, they performed an extraordinary version of ‘Pinball Wizard’ – an excellent rendition.
These musicians take the ukulele to new heights of performance and they can also sing. They then further showed their versatility with a complex adaptation of a Swedish folk-song ‘Hot-Lips’. The incongruity was telling and funny the beautifully crafted backing to this song again added to the experience. With their usual complete contrast, they followed this with Wheatus’ ‘Teenage Dirtbag’, melodiously sung by Hester Goodman, with audience participation. Their classical training was clearly demonstrated here. This should not be suitable for the ukulele, but again they made it their own and it worked brilliantly. A complete change of pace and mood followed with ‘Danse Macabre’ a serious classical piece by Saint Saëns played absolutely straight. The Band was warming up musically but they made several jokes about the morgue-like temperature in the auditorium. They cover the most unlikely songs and the Sex Pistols’ ‘Anarchy in the UK’worked well, done in the style of The Spinners! Great audience participation here too. It seemed the perfect place to see this ground-breaking, alarmingly talented ‘Orchestra’ who use just acoustic ukuleles to provide stunning entertainment. Three levels of seating, booths and a Royal Box together with the magnificent proscenium arch and ornate steel-work provide an intimate, yet quite roomy setting. There was barely time to admire the wonderful restoration of this venue that has retained many of the period features of the original 1895 Grand Pavilion Theatre, and the glory days of its Music Hall past. From this fast, furious and exciting start they moved smoothly into their wonderful version of ‘Silver Machine’ – the driving, percussive beat displaying their typical energetic approach and great timing. These are more than ‘strummers’ and they seem to embrace any style they play.
The eight-piece ensemble, in their signature dinner suits, appeared to a great ovation and as a ‘warm-up’ went straight into ‘Tiger-Rag’. Wrong! When we eventually got in, with minutes to spare before the start of the performance, there seemed to be no heating at all. Not great fun standing in a long queue outside The Academy for half-an-hour, waiting for the doors to open in near-zero temperature, but at least we could look forward to the warmth inside. They have been filling venues throughout Britain and across the world and, true to form, their gig at the O2 Academy in Bournemouth was a sell-out.