2025 marked the 40th anniversary of The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain , who, from their humble beginnings in small rooms above old pubs, took the world by storm with their off-beat humour and four-stringed virtuosity.
Formed in 1985 as the antidote to the ego-driven bluster of the music industry, ‘The Ukes’ soon became the unlikely superheroes of the international touring circuit, spreading their irrepressible magic from Australasia to the North Pole, Windsor Castle to Carnegie Hall.
Millions of plucks later, they are still thrilling audiences with their all-singing, all-strumming, full throttle, foot-stomping concerts. There are no drums, pianos, backing tracks, guitars, or banjos, no pitch shifters or electronic trickery – just the astonishing revelation afforded by the rich orchestration of differently tuned ukuleles and dynamic vocals. This is an orchestra like no other. These are the sultans of ping!
Buckle up for a helter-skelter ride through every kind of musical genre with plenty of laughs along the way. There is something for everyone in this unique programme of Classical, Pop, Punk, Funk, Disco, Bluegrass and Metal. Nobody does it quite like The Ukes.
“The best musical entertainment in the country”
The Independent
