Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain
Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain in 2018 | |
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The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain at the Concert For Kitty, at the Barbican Centre, London in 2018. A concert that celebrated the life of the orchestra's co-founder Kitty Lux. From Left to Right: Dave Suich, Peter Brooke-Turner, Hester Goodman, Ben Rouse, George Hinchliffe, Richie Williams, Leisa Rea, Will Grove White, Jonty Bankes. | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | UOGB, The Ukes, George Hinchliffe's Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain |
| Origin | London, England |
| Genres | Eclectic and wide range of popular music and art music genres, music comedy |
| Years active | 1985–present |
| Labels | Independent |
| Members | George Hinchliffe Dave Suich Richie Williams Hester Goodman Will Grove-White Jonty Bankes Peter Brooke Turner Leisa Rea David Bowie Ewan Wadrop Ben Rouse Laura Currie |
| Past members | Kitty Lux (1985–2017) |
| Website | www |
The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain (UOGB) is a British musical ensemble founded in 1985 by George Hinchliffe and Kitty Lux. The orchestra features ukuleles of various sizes and registers from soprano to bass. The UOGB is best known for performing musically faithful but often tongue-in-cheek covers of popular songs and musical pieces from a wide variety of music genres taken "from the rich pageant of western music". The songs are often performed with a reinterpretation, sometimes with a complete genre twist, or well known songs from multiple genres are seamlessly woven together. Songs are introduced with light hearted deadpan humour, and juxtaposition is a feature of their act, the members of the orchestra wear semi-formal (black tie) evening dress and sit behind music stands, in a parody of a classical ensemble.
The UOGB has purposely remained an independent music group, unsigned to any record label. Along with Lux and Hinchliffe, David Suich and Ritchie Williams are original members; Hester Goodman, Will Grove-White, Jonty Bankes, Peter Brooke Turner joined in the early 1990s, Leisa Rea joined in 2003, Ben Rouse in 2014 and Laura Currie in 2021. Lux died in 2017, two years after retiring from the orchestra due to chronic ill health. Over the years the UOGB has released over 30 albums, but have spent most of their time touring around the world.
The UOGB has consistently received critical praise from the media for its concerts. The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain has been called "not only a national institution, but also a world-wide phenomenon". The UOGB has also often been credited for being largely responsible for the current world-wide resurgence in popularity of the ukulele and ukulele groups.