THEY’VE entertained audiences around the world, from the Royal Albert Hall to Glastonbury and from Carnegie Hall to the Sydney Opera House…and now the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain are coming to Ayrshire.
Hailed as a worldwide phenomenon for their musically faithful but often tongue-in-cheek covers of popular songs and pieces from a wide variety of genres, all performed in the smartest of dinner jackets and evening dresses and with a killer combination of deadpan delivery and physical comedy, the orchestra – ‘the Ukes’, as they’re known to their legions of fans across the globe – pitch up at the Gaiety Theatre in Ayr on Friday, June 7.
The ensemble has been thrilling capacity crowds since being formed by George Hinchcliffe and the late Kitty Lux in 1985, recording more than 30 albums and touring around the world.
With a regular line-up which, since 2021, has included talented Dumfries singer-songwriter Laura Currie, as well as Richie Williams, Hester Goodman, Peter Brooke-Turner and Leisa Rea, the orchestra has a repertoire stretching from Beethoven’s Ode To Joy to the Sex Pistols’ Anarchy In The UK and from George Formby to Talking Heads’ classic Psycho Killer, with much, much more in between…and, perhaps unsurprisingly, have been repeatedly cited as the inspiration for the revival of the ukulele across the globe.
The Ukes’ gig at the Gaiety is one of only three Scottish dates on their summer tour of the UK and Germany (the others being at the Easterbrook Hall in Dumfries on June 6, and the Queen's Hall in Edinburgh on June 8).
And, if you’ll permit a moment’s self-indulgence from one who’s seen them live on several occasions at venues across Scotland and has never failed to be amused, amazed and enthralled in equal measure, it's a night that really is not to be missed - and which, if you’re lucky enough to be in the audience, we guarantee you won’t forget in a hurry.
Tickets are available from the Gaiety box office at thegaiety.co.uk or via 01292 288235.
Find out more about 'the Ukes' at ukuleleorchestra.com.
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