Johnny Foodstamp does Formby Nashville style at the George Formby Society Convention, Blackpool June 2013

Well - the GFS has surely never seen "Formby" done quite like this! Johnny Foodstamp and his lovely young wife made the trip over from Nashville, Tennessee on Saturday especially to attend the George Formby Society Convention. They flew in at 8.30 am and brought the Nashville sunshine with them. They saw Blackpool under blue skies with a blue sea, with people enjoying the beach, just as Blackpool should be.

In spite of the overnight flight and the jet-lag, Johnny was up for making the most of every minute with the Formby fans and star players, and he did.... the fun went on for those with strong enough constitutions well into the early hours! Johnny was made as welcome as the lovely weather he'd brought with him. The above performance of the George Formby numbers "She's Got Two of Everything" and "Under The Blasted Oak" was on the Saturday afternoon concert. Suited and booted for the occasion, you would never have known that he'd been travelling all night without a wink of sleep! Thanks to Pauline Aitken for the video! On Sunday, Johnny gave us "The Dumber They Come, the Better I Like 'Em", a deliciously un-PC Eddie Kantor number from the 1920's. John Bianchi did a lovely Youtube of this song last year... (see blogpost here 7th June 2012) and I'm sure Johnny Foodstamp's version from Sunday will be video'd and up for viewing soon.

And as for the June convention in general ... I can only say that it was one of the very best. I could never have hoped to see so many of my named ukulele heroes on one stage all in one day... just listen to who was there!

Johnny Foodstamp all the way from Nashville as I've said; Matthew J Richards, Mike Warren, Alan Yates, George Elmes was over from Ireland and gave us Limehouse Blues and lovely renditions of some of his short original pieces for soprano uke, Andy Eastwood managed to make the convention on both days even though he's very busy on the professional stage, and even.... wait for it... Ken Middleton. Yes, that's right, Ken Middleton, who came along to see what all the fuss is really about. He gave us a beautiful performance on stage of "I'll Fly Away" and "Try a Little Tenderness", jammed outside in the sunshine with George Elmes, and left with an inkling of what the GFS is all about, even if we didn't exactly manage to make a Formby fan of him! So glad you made it, Ken, and it was lovely to meet you in person at last!

Unfortunately, Ken had to leave before the 9.00 pm Sunday concert, and missed some highlights which I know he would have enjoyed... particularly Andy Eastwood playing Chopin on his soprano wooden uke. Absolutely breathtaking. Add Alan Yates on solo electric guitar with "Apache"; "I'll See You in My Dreams" beautifully performed and sung by Caroline Robson ... once more at the GFS I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. Add in all the lovely performances by the wonderfully skilled split-strokers young and old, and the all-inclusive and well-named "thrash"... you know, there are just a few who just "don't get it"... but I get it... and I just love it.

More later. Thanks for dropping by... I have to go and massage my face. I've got face-ache because I still haven't stopped smiling....

John Bianchi, with "I'll Follow You" ...

Here's my very favourite uke player and singer, John Bianchi of New York... I could watch his videos all day long! Lovely playing, and what a voice.... that voice is reminiscent of Al Bowlly... you'd have to be in your 80's or 90's to actually remember Al Bowlly; he was a very popular singer during the 30's and 40's - killed by a land mine during the war. But he was my Mum's favourite singer, and when I heard his voice singing those lovely old songs, he became one of mine. And John Bianchi has that rare Al Bowlly sound, without a doubt!

This is what he says about this, his latest video...

"Here's my take on 1932's song "I'll Follow You", by Fred Alhert and Roy Turk. The song was recorded by Bing Crosby that year and was also a hit for the Paul Whiteman Orchestra. The lyrics, outside the context of the lovely melody, read like a stalker's manifesto. Still, I have always liked the tune.

Recorded in the car this morning on an alternate side of the street parking day and played on my 1960s Martin 0. It was a hairy parking day - moments before I shot this, a guy stole a space two cars in front of me and caused utter havoc; it pays not to get upset on mornings like these..."


And that's surely a cool delivery of that lovely song. Drooltastic.....

To see the other videos of John's that I have posted on this blog, just find his name on the tag-cloud at the foot of the page! Thanks for dropping by!

Peter Moss, GFS Convention 1993 instrumental medley on wooden uke - amazing.

I make no apologies for posting Peter Moss again. Peter Pollard of the George Formby Society has just posted this video on YouTube of Peter playing an instrumental medley of well-loved classics on wooden uke at a 1993 GFS convention - and he writes,

"This was a brilliant performance from Peter, probably the best example of playing the wooden uke that I personally have seen on the GFS stage."



How wonderful was that! Twenty years ago this year - thank goodness Peter Pollard has long been recording these wonderful performances for posterity....and I wonder how long we shall have to wait before Peter Moss graces the stage at a GFS convention again. The next one is this weekend, 8th-9th June at the Imperial Hotel, North Shore, Blackpool... Matthew J Richards will be there, Mike Warren will be there, Andy Eastwood will be there! The friends I mentioned yesterday will be there, and many more stalwarts and newbies... and happily, I will be there to watch and listen to it all, but unfortunately for us, Peter Moss will not be there... if my memory serves me right, he'll be playing to packed houses in Nova Scotia. Apologies to all if my memory has let me down on that!

The medley Peter is playing - I can't nail the name of the first tune, which is definitely Spanish... but the second is Liebestraume by Liszt, and the third is popularly known as the Can-Can, from the light operetta Orpheus in the Underworld, by Offenbach.

Welcome back to the world of the wooden uke, Peter.... you've been away for far too long!

George Elmes, with a blistering "Limehouse Blues"

George Elmes is a great player. I've featured him on here before. This time, his version of Limehouse Blues, with triples and split-strokes..... Limehouse Blues was written in 1922 and made famous by Gertrude Lawrence - read more here

He's a also a big Formby fan - and he's making it over from Ireland to the George Formby Society Convention in Blackpool next weekend, 8th-9th June! I know he'll be made very welcome - as will Johnny Foodstamp of Nashville, another devotee from further afield, indeed from rather further away. In March we welcomed Ukulelezaza, Remco Houtman-Janssen, who made the trip over from Belgium and set the place alight with his fabulous instrumentals. Every fan of Formby or at least his style of playing has to make that pilgrimage sometime! And we will be there again, LSH and I... our fifth convention in a row.

But back to George. George Elmes, that is! Read more about his music and his ukes and meet his idols here, on his own blog....

A bluegrass duet on ukulele from the city walls of Lucca, Italy.... SNOWDROP from Ken Middleton

I love bluegrass played on ukulele... so I had to share this. Ken often plays bluegrass clawhammer style, but this time decided to play finger-style. Any style is fine by me... Ken has such a laid-back, relaxed and relaxing style of playing - I always feel soothed and smoothed down after listening to him play! Nice to hear Lorenzo, (Ukulollo) too.. love that tee-shirt - I want one... Ukulele Underground?

Ken writes... "Lorenzo (Ukulollo) and I sitting high on the old walls of Lucca, Italy.
We are playing an old bluegrass banjo tune called "Snowdrop". It was apparently first recorded by Kirk and Sam McGee in the 1930's."

Ready! Peter Moss's new Pete Howlett uke!

What Peter Moss has been waiting for... just completed.... watch this space for first video performance!

For fine ukuleles hand-built in the UK, find Pete Howlett ukuleles here...

Will travel - will take uke!

About to go away on a break to discover exciting tropical parts, I steeled myself to ask LSH (Long-Suffering-Husband) "Er... Love, do you mind if I take my little blue uke away with us?" and to my astonishment, he didn't mind at all... so with great care and precision, Little Blue Uke was packed into my case.


With a dozen hastily chosen song sheets, I was prepared, all ready to find a quiet corner in the hotel gardens or on the beach for a little strum - and to introduce the ukulele to the uninitiated of Cuba.

The streets of old Havana are full of live music, played by small groups of musicians... the bars and restaurants resound to the Latin dance rhythms of rumba, samba, cha cha and salsa... I've always enjoyed those rhythms - now I've been completely seduced by them.


The band above were wonderful, their music full of joy - would we like to buy a CD? of course - and we did. Songs new to us, and some very familiar - La Bamba, Guantanamera, Besame Mucho, Quizas, Quizas, Quizas; The rumbas, oh, the rumbas...

One highlight of our stay in Havana was a visit to the famous Buenavista Social Club, playing at the Cafe Taberna... we, shame on us, had never heard of this. Those musicians play music all their own - traditional Cuban music (son) fused with Latin jazz - we've never heard anything quite like it, and probably never will again... (Read their bio on Rolling Stone here...



There were about ten musicians playing, and singers - clearly very famous singers, highly revered by those in the know... oh how I wish we had taken a video camera on this holiday. Why didn't we? Why oh why?

So I have searched YouTube, and found this, Ibrahim Ferrer and Omara Portuondo of the Buenavista Social Club, recording Quizas, Quizas, Quizas. Composed by Cuban songwriter Osvaldo Farrés, this rendition is breathtakingly beautiful... I don't think I have ever seen or heard such a deeply moving rendition of a song. Please watch, listen and enjoy...



I can't follow that, not in this post. So, more next time... and I'll tell of how I discovered a new fretted instrument, and introduced two wonderful Cuban musicians to the ukulele! And if you like those Latin strains too, the good news is - I've found some music for the uke!

Ukulele quote of the day, #4

Hi! And thanks for dropping in! Sorry I've not been around; I've been away on holiday to tropical parts, and I can't wait to tell you all about it - and I could not resist taking a uke with me, I must add - but more of that later. It's a beautiful day here in England, somewhat rare over the last twelve months or more, and I don't want to miss it sitting here inside hammering away on my PC.... so for now, here's a quote worth sharing. It's not exclusively "ukulele" - but the cap fits, so to speak. I just read it on a great website I recently discovered. Mote of that later, too....

Here it is... when it comes to being a better player, to achieving mastery over your instrument...

“There are no shortcuts to anywhere worth going.” ~Beverly Sills

Yes... sorry about that, but we are all in the same boat, plugging away at the practice!

Peter Moss and his return to his first love - ukulele

In my last post I told you about the new ukulele that Pete Howlett is building in Wales for Peter Moss…. now let me tell you about Peter Moss himself.



The fact is that Peter Moss, a Lancashire lad, has been pretty well-known in the fretted instruments community around Toronto and Halifax, Nova Scotia since 1989, when he was tracked down by Mel Collie and asked to cross the Atlantic to attend the first Toronto meeting of FIGA, the Fretted Instruments Guild. Since then, he has built up quite a following over there, having been back to Toronto three times and to Halifax Nova Scotia six times, and has a sell-out gig coming up in June, but he has not been so well-known here on his home patch for a little while. It’s his banjo-ukulele playing that has them all sitting up and taking notice in Canada…

Well… in February this year, Peter’s wife bought him a wooden ukulele for his birthday. That was an inspired gift… it was not his first wooden uke, but truth to tell, he had not played one for many years… oh yes, he had had one before….. and fellow uke addicts will not be surprised to hear that upon picking up and playing his new ukulele, an old flame was instantly rekindled in his heart – a passion for the wooden ukulele. He started a YouTube channel and made some videos – wooden uke and banjolele. When I saw them I was pretty impressed by his dazzling playing. Now, the name and ukulele playing of Peter Moss were completely new to me, but it quickly became clear that his name was already very well known to the ukulele and banjolele cognoscenti over here….. and I was very curious!



Well, I have been able to have a chat with Peter and I can tell now you more – as promised.

Peter has not been away from making music in the UK, but he has been concentrating on guitar and saxophone for some time. Life’s twists and turns had steered him away from his first love, the ukulele – but thanks to his wife and that birthday uke, Peter is back.

He has been telling me his story….

It began with another birthday ukulele. His father, who played Spanish guitar, bought him a wooden uke for his eighth birthday, and taught him to play it. Peter took to it like a duck to water. By the time he was ten and a half, he was a competent strummer and had already won a local talent competition hosted by the Manchester Evening News. He also had a little show set with his sister Wendy. In those days the Formby songs were considered too risqué for children to sing, so their Dad taught them the old Tin Pan Alley songs like Baby Face, Five Foot Two, Who’s Sorry Now… becoming a young member of the George Formby Society, Peter learned the split-stroke and other Formby strums and was rapidly increasing his skills and repertoire.
His father had taught him all he knew, and wisely introduced Peter to other skilled players.

One very influential person was Ray Bernard, a founder member of the newly formed George Formby Society. Ray played melody … Lady of Spain, Rubinstein’s Melody in F…. and Peter was fascinated. From that moment he was committed to this style of playing. Then George Graham, the banjo repair man for Shep’s Banjo Boys lent Peter a recording by Roy Smeck. And by ear, from that record, Peter learned to play Roy Smeck. Virtuoso stuff indeed. From playing around the chords and picking out melody finger-style, Peter taught himself chord melody playing and improvisation. He was not yet thirteen.

In 1973, when Peter Moss was still only 12, there came a significant milestone in his musical journey. Peter had been working on a banjo-ukulele version on the William Tell Overture, no less… with galloping triples, finger-picking and a great crescendo… he played it in the annual competition of the Northern Branch of the BMG – British Banjo, Mandolin and Guitar Federation, in Wythenshawe - it went down a storm – and he won. Later that year, he played it in the Southern Branch competition, and won that, too. Peter was the first person to work out the William Tell Overture of banjo-uke, and he was still only 12 and a half. It’s still played as a show piece by gifted players.

1973 ended with a TV appearance for the young Peter Moss, playing with his sister Wendy in the Christmas Special of Junior Showtime, playing old-time banjo-uke favourites like Somebody Stole My Girl.

It’s great to see Peter Moss back on the ukulele-banjolele scene here at home, where he is picking up new fans all over the place.

If you want to catch up with him, coming up – places world-wide to catch up with the great playing of Peter Moss!

The Light of the Morning - original instrumental by Eugeneukulele

The Light of the Morning - original instrumental by Eugeneukulele,
(Jon Duncan) featured on this blog many times before....



Jon used to have a great YouTube channel under his name eugeneukulele... then suddenly on day, adjusting his settings, he lost the whole thing. If you have tried to look at his videos via this blog lately, that's why you find them gone. His great website was also lost. BUT - the good news is, he has a new one! Check it out here - there's lots of interesting stuff on there - Jon's choice of videos, info on the ukes he likes - go and look!

He has a new YouTube channel now, under the name butterflybandito, and he has been uploading his old videos to it. There are 97 on there to date! Do check it out.... Jon is great songster, musician and ukulele player, and one of the very nicest people to get to know, in the way one does across this planet with the internet.... I do plan to check through here to replace all the dead video links with live ones to Jon's new channel, just give me time!

This new instrumental is so aptly named, don't you think? The Light of the Morning... where Jon is, that's autumn light... and it's there, isn't it, in the music... beautiful.

For "improvers" like me, there's so much to be learned just from watching fantastic players like Jon. I love the way he combines fingerpicking with different strumming techniques, and chord-melody style.... I've watched this twice already. And in The Light of the Morning , to hear it is a particular joy!

Thanks for sharing it with us, Jon. I hope the rest of the day is as good as the beginning...

PS - "You're the Cream in my Coffee", posted 9th May 2012 - replaced now with live video! One down - quite a few to go!

Ukulele Quote of the Day..... number 3, I think....

I read this today, and had to share it....

"I had a nice ukulele experience today. I visited a friend who lives halfway up a mountain overlooking a valley of orange and lemon trees stretching across to the mountains opposite and I took 'Bob' my Martin 2 with me to see what he'd sound like ringing out across the great expanse and it was really, really lovely. The sound just seemed to float out and the tone was gorgeous. I almost know what Julie Andrews felt like at the start of The Sound of Music now. Next time I'll have to take a banjo-uke, or maybe the whole collection to give them all a try."

(Chris Webster)

Sounds like heaven to me.....

By Pete Howlett - Peter Moss's new custom-built ukulele in English Cherry

So - that's why Peter Moss was visiting the renowned ukulele luthier Pete Howlett at his workshop in Wales - Pete is building him a new performance signature ukulele ... and, courtesy Of Peter Moss, here it is in the first stages of build.




The body is English cherry and the neck is alder. My dream exactly - a perfectly-crafted Pete Howlett ukulele made of beautiful English woods.... the fingerboard is ebony and the inlay is green marble-type. What a beauty that is going to be. And in the hands of a virtuoso player like Peter Moss, it will sing like the angels..... we just have to be patient and wait a while until it's finished to hear it.

Do check out Peter Moss's YouTube channel, and Pete Howlett's website - see my previous post for links!

And coming up - more info on this great ukulele and banjolele player....

Peter Moss pays Pete Howlett a visit....

My last post was in praise of Pete Howlett ukuleles.... and I recently shared a video by the renowned British player Peter Moss. Well, Peter Moss decided to pay a visit to Pete Howlett's workshop in Wales... and here is the resulting combination - Peter Moss plays a sizzling solo on one of Pete Howlett's tenors.



If you enjoyed that, listen to this..... medley played by Peter Moss on his YouTube channel.

Wonderful, or what?

On Shakespeare's birthday, "A thing of beauty is a joy forever...." my dream uke would be -

My dream ukulele would be a thing of beauty, a joy forever, gorgeous to the eye and gorgeous to the ear ...

It would be made in Britain from the finest woods available...

It would be designed and built with love and care, and an eye to perfection by a master craftsman...

It would be a Pete Howlett ukulele.



Pete has also won the love and respect of his luthier peers worldwide with his series of YouTube videos "Ukulele Building School" and "Ukulele Building Course". See his YouTube channel....

"A thing of beauty is a joy forever...." Happy birthday, Will... you were so right.

Doug Frink - original song, "You Might've Guessed, I'm in Love"

I don't know why, but it always gives me huge pleasure to hear an original song or instrumental played on a ukulele by the composer. I think perhaps part of it is the feeling that the ukulele itself is part of the inspiration, the instrument is such a joy to play.... and I think the very nature of it just brings out the whole musician in us.

And here's another.... this song, written and sung here by Doug Frink, has a definite jazzy vibe about it to me. The chords are certainly jazz chords, and the song includes quite a few of those diminished chords that give such a 30's sound. I love it. Dedicated to his wife - that's the way to do it!

I asked Doug to tell me about himself and the song. He writes:

"Although I've been an amateur musician most of my life, I started getting serious about the ukulele about 5 years ago after taking it along on a backpacking trip to Yosemite. My brother-in-law brought a small guitar, and we had some great fireside jams, and I decided to really learn to play. Along the way I discovered Ukulele Underground, and started writing songs and posting videos to YouTube, it's really been great fun.

This particular song developed one day when I was just noodling around. That descending progression seemed to just sort of fall into place, and I had most of the tune worked out in about half an hour. It reminded me of something from the 30s or 40s, so I added some old cultural references into the lyrics, and what could be more retro than a song about being in love? I forget how the tap dancing and baseball bat sound effects came to me, but they do seem to add to the fun."

I wish I could do that... one of these days, maybe I'll try....

Ukulele Festival of Great Britain 2013 - Tickets nearly sold out!!‏

Yes, folks, the news is there in the title today - tickets for the Ukulele Festival of Great Britain 2013 (June 21st-23rd) are nearly sold out..... this morning there were only 50 tickets left, so if you want to go, be quick!

Read all about it and Buy tickets here.....

I've got mine, and my workshop tickets for workshops by Ken Middleton and James Hill! What a great Ukafrolic that will be, can't wait.....

And there is also news now of A Grand Northern Ukulele Festival, to be held in Pontefract, Yorkshire on 12th and 13th October this year. More about that here..... This is a very new venture, with some fine performers lined up, including Manitoba Hal, Hal Brolund - it's all there on the website. Workshops are being organised, too, including some very unusual ones, by the look of it!.... it's great that the north is getting its own uke festival at last!

George Elmes - feel the joy ! "Sunrise" original piece for soprano uke

This young musician surely has far to go ... here is a truly delightful (if short) original composition for ukulele, called "Sunrise" - so well named... what came first, I wonder - the music or its name? It simply encapsulates the joy and splendour of sunrise on a Spring day, the cascade of notes throwing the sun's rays about the sky in a dance of gay abandon - every time you think you've nailed the pulse, it's lost again in a helter-skelter of shimmering notes in playful, changing rhythms. You just want to keep listening to it again, over and over. Simply gorgeous.... I've lost count of how many times I've listened to this already! "Sunrise"..... thanks for sharing it with us on Youtube, George!

And, dear readers - if you enjoy my blog, why not subscribe - just put your email address in the box over there on the right. I don't see it - all private!

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star - Jazz Chord Melody lesson

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, jazz chord melody lesson with tab by Aaron Crowell, courtesy of Andrew Kitakis of Hawaii Music Supply at theUkuleleReview.com

Important - uke tuned with a low G string.

I've always shunned Twinkle Twinkle, but this is a great jazzy arrangement, I love it. It's my sort of level, not for the absolute beginner but not beyond the reach of an "improver". There was a tab freely available for this lovely arrangement but no longer, I have just discovered.... (edit 4/Sept/13)



This is a great piece for focused practice - it's not a long piece but there are lots of specific points that you can focus on to improve your playing. I'll be writing more on the subject of practice very soon..... I'm quite fired up by some ideas...meanwhile, thanks for dropping in to share my uke time with me!

Please meet Peter Moss, with a blistering "Some of These Days" on banjo-uke

I have only had the pleasure of hearing Peter Moss's playing over the last few days... I need to learn more of this man! Wooden uke, banjo-uke..... there will be more, just wait a bit..... I'll be back with more information, just give me a little time.... and meanwhile, enjoy that video again, and give Peter a sub to his channel....

Little White Uke Around the World - how it all began

A little while ago I posted a lovely video by "filipinouker" with the Little White Uke that's traveling around the world. It's been to several countries already, and is currently in Scandinavia.... but just to keep this post short, this is how it all began.... meet "pabrizzer" of Australia, who started the whole thing off.... if you follow this blog, you've met him here before. Great musician.....



Just one of the wonderful things that started life on the webpages of the Ukulele Underground Forum! AN if you're on facebook, there's a Little White Uke facebook page on there.

Ukulelezaza, the GFS and "Painting the Clouds With Sunshine"

Six weeks or so ago, I bought Ukulelezaza's vintage Gibson UB2 banjolele. I did tell you about it.... my Dallas D I love - it has a lovely art deco look about it somehow, and a very nice tone.... but after playing a UB2, I wanted one. Then Ukulelezaza (Remco Houtman-Jannsen) was selling his.... and two days later it was mine.

Then a month ago was the March convention of the George Formby Society. Our hotel room was already booked - I've been a member for just a year, after falling for the syncopated rhythms of Formby-style playing, and LSH and I are now regular attenders, for a our Formby "fix".

After a long absence from the Blackpool GFS conventions, Remco was also in need of a Formby fix, as I was telling you yesterday..... so I was pleased and privileged to meet him there. Lovely fella..... as everyone found out! Here at the Vicenza Uke fest of 2009 he explains all about his long-time association with Formby-style and the society. Interesting.....



There is another interview with Remco in issue 19 of Ukulele Player magazine, also a review of his lovely CD "Painting the Clouds with Sunshine"...... find it here.... I've got that CD in my car - on a continuous loop!

"Painting the Clouds with Sunshine" is a collection of jazz tunes arranged by the artist, Ukulelezaza, Remco Houtman-Janssen.

Here's a list of the instrumentals on it... he played several at convention and picked up a few hundred new fans at the same time!

1. I Surrender, Dear
2. Redcat Slack Key
3. Na Moku Eha
4. Painting the Clouds with Sunshine
5. Home
6. Heliotrope Bouquet
7. Pa'au'au Waltz
8. St. Louis Blues
9. Drifting and Dreaming
10. Flatbush Waltz
11. Downhill
12. Brother, Can You Spare A Dime?
13. Why Don't You Go Down to New
Orleans?
14. Koa Lament

Fixed my embedding issue - and to celebrate, here's ukulelezaza - Was it a Dream?

Yes, I'm a happy bunny again, my blog looks so much better with the videos embedded! And this new video by Remco Houtman-Hanssen (aka ukulelezaza) makes for such a dreamy start to the day that I'm thrilled to share it with you right here. I blogged Remco's tuition video for "Mr Sandman" some time ago, that number has really taken off among the players who like to play chord melodies. Here is "Was it a Dream?"

Remco is playing his 60's Martin Style 1 soprano. And the style is typical of Remco's soprano uke instrumentals, so lyrical... there are more on his album "Painting the Clouds with Sunshine" - I have it in my car and it's my favourite play for driving just now... so calming.

I was privileged to meet and make friends with Remco at the last convention of the George Formby Society in Blackpool last month. I had just bought his lovely vintage Gibson UB2 banjo-uke from him so it was natural that we say "Hi" as we were both there. Yes, Remco is one of those people who, like me, love the wooden uke and the banjo-uke, and have a love of Formby-style playing. But Remco doesn't like to sing, his realm is the instrumental, and whilst he is perfectly at home in the famous "thrash", standing out with everyone else in front of the stage playing the Formby tunes and banjo-uke solos, Formby songs as such are not in his performance repertoire. Instead, he incorporates the Formby-style strums effortlessly into his banjo-uke instrumentals.

It was Remco's first visit to a Formby convention for many years... he lives in Belgium. But as he told us, he'd "got the Formby itch" again. Now, over the course of the weekend, we might expect a max of three numbers from any one player, at most..... two one day, one the next or vice versa. But Remco went down such a storm, we had... wait for it... I'm sure it was eleven! The comperes could see, we couldn't get enough .... what a player!

Before everyone left on the Sunday night, Remco kindly wrote down the titles of all the pieces he had played for us. The only paper we had between us was a few raffle tickets, and he wrote all the titles down on the backs.... and they were all here in front of me the other day....! But for the moment, I've mislaid them - typical, sorry... I will search for that information, but for the moment I can tell you that my favourite piece was another lyrical soprano uke instrumental, "Under Paris Skies"... I thought I'd died and gone to heaven!

More details in my next post about these.... CD "Painting the Clouds With Sunshine" and Remco's excellent book of tabs + DVD "Happy Days Are Here Again" (16 Popular Songs from the Golden Jazz Era, arranged by ukulelezaza)- contact Remco through youtube for purchase details..... and the lists of songs are coming up!

Coming up if I get my act together....

There's a list in my head of all the blog posts waiting to be written... it's getting so long that I think I'll share it with you now so that you know what's coming.

There's the appearance of ukuelelezaza (Remco Houtman-Janssen) at the George Formby Convention last month. He brought the house down. So much to tell you about that....

I want to tell you about the British luthier Pete Howlett, who is among the top ukulele luthiers in the world, crafting some of the most beautiful and most coveted ukuleles you'll see... I want one, of course.... just take a look here.... maybe one day...

Then there's the new album by Manitoba Hal, Hal Brolund. Devil on the Wall. Wonderful, as was his last. That man can play, can sing, and certainly can write songs.

And.... the new book "Ukulele Exercises for Dummies" that's coming out next week. It's by Brett McQueen, who teamed up with Al Wood of Ukulele Hunt for the project. I was so impressed by what I saw on Amazon and the free chapter (chapter eight) that I ordered mine straight away. You can read all about it here. It comes out next week on 15th April but for now you can order it at an offer price. Order two and you can be in a free draw for a nice uke. I'll be reviewing this book when it comes...

And I nearly forgot this one - the Little White Uke that's going round the world... where it is, and how that all started!

Meanwhile I must order my life... things to do, people to see, ukuleles to play... and I'll be blogging again very soon - I promise!

How do you go about memorizing songs?

This questions is often asked, and as I've been trying to learn a few songs properly, this is the method I've come up with that works for me.

If you have difficulty learning songs, try this.....

Play and sing the song through a few times with the lyrics/chord sheet, in the usual way.

Then literally split the lyrics from the chords, to learn them separately -

Put the lyrics on one side of a sheet, without the chords cluttering up the page, and then write out the chords in sequence on the other side.

If there's a chorus, make it stand out by typing it in bold. Anything you need to remember about the lyrics, make it stand out - but as I said, leave the chords off.

Then try to sing it from memory, learning a verse at a time, with the sheet in front of you.

The other thing is to fix the chord sequences in your head, and writing them on the back of the sheet helps with that, because it helps to show up patterns - the lyrics are not getting in the way. So with the uke, play the song from the chords, without the words, perhaps humming your melody as you go.

Learn a line of music at a time; play it and repeat it, get used to the sequence of chords, and look for patterns. You'll know when you feel you can go on to the next line. Just build the song up line by line.

I learn the words and the music separately, like this, and as I go, now and then put them together from memory until I can do the whole thing. Then I just keep doing it, with no paper there, until I'm confident. It all takes time and lots of repetition to be properly learned. Eventually you'll know your song, and eventually with lots of playing from memory, you just can't forget it, which is perfect!

Lots of repetition is really important, but the method of getting there that I've just explained is what I find works for me. It may work for you, if you try it! I hope this helps!

Happy strumming - and happy singing! It's great exercise too!

Another must-watch..... Some of These Days - Julien Staudt

I haven't seen Julien Staudt's videos before, but after this I'm a subscriber to his channel..this great old song, written in 1911, gets a hum-dinger of a treatment here.... a slow, bluesy intro lulls us into a false sense of security, only to lead...... find out!



What a scorcher! And chock-full of jazzy chords. First recorded by Sophie Tucker, it became her theme song.

If you like these old jazzy numbers, take a look at this list of pre-1920 jazz standards - you'll recognise many, and it's amazing just how old these enduring favourites are!

I have discovered - Patsy Monteleone

One by one it is my joy to discover wonderful ukulele artists, and some of them can back up their talents with great vocals. One such is Patsy Monteleone, one time of New York, whom I discovered on a newly recorded Youtube. It's one of those videos, one of those performers, one of those songs, that just hits that spot.... Patsy has just done this video to show off his beautiful new Argapa resonator uke, built for him by the very talented luthier, Sven Nyström of Sweden.

Please watch and enjoy another great Tin Pan Alley number, Love Me As I Am..... from 1941,music by Louis Alter and lyrics by another New Yorker Frank Loesser, (think for example "Guys and Dolls", "Baby It's Cold Outside") It's a song which should be learnt by any male uke songster, in my opinion! If LSH were to get further than a C chord, I'd surely make him learn it! And he would. Because it would suit him perfectly...... "I snore in my sleep..." yeah.....

You can read all about Patsy Monteleone in the on-line Uke magazine Ukulele Player Ukulele Player Issue 6, Artist Profile Patsy Monteleone

It's a funny thing about singing....

It's a funny thing about singing, and I've found this before.... it's so hard to sing a song aloud that means something to you... LSH and I have a few songs that for one reason or another are a bit special, and I came across the chords for such a one last night. So after running it through, I went downstairs just now and sat beside him on the sofa, armed with uke and chord sheet...."Look what I found...!" but do you think I could sing that song aloud while I played? No way.... not to him.... the voice went, the tears just streamed..... "I Just Called to Say I Love You" ... perhaps if I work on it I can de-sensitize myself to it, and get that I can sing and play it with him. Perhaps.

If something moves you, a song or a poem, a passage in a book, it touches the emotions in a way that comes right to the surface when the voice is involved. It begs questions about performing certain songs in public. There are poems that I just can't read aloud, it's just the same. Words and music touch the soul.

Just thought I'd share that with you.

The triplet strum - Ken Middleton begins a series of tutorial videos

Ken Middleton has been one of my favourite players since I picked up the uke in earnest about eighteen months ago. This is a very hurried post as it's Easter Sunday - things to do, places to go, people to see... but as Ken has just begun a series of tutorial videos on the triplet strum, I have to share, immediately, because this is exciting. And Ken will be doing a workshop on this very subject at the Ukulele Festival of Great Britain in Cheltenham in June.... and whoopee, I am on that!

In the meantime, observe a master...

Happy Easter, folks - and thanks for dropping in!

Telstar on uke and glockenspiel - you just gotta watch this!

Maybe you've been around as long as I have, and remember "Telstar" being a monster hit back in the UK and America in 1962. This version, a cover by "We Tigers" captures the same joyous atmosphere as the original - it's just a gas! Dig that funky glockenspiel.....

Just had to share... please enjoy.....

It's Matthew J Richards - Rubinstein's Melody in F

Matthew Richards is one of the nicest chaps you could wish to meet, and one of the most musically gifted. A star and mainstay of the George Formby Society, always there as MD with the band to support the artists as well as to play himself.... he plays wooden uke as well as the banjo-uke and I have posted his youtube videos including tuition vids here before.

His latest offering is an absolute corker - it's his own arrangement of Rubinstein's Melody in F. I popped over to Al Wood's Uke Toob to recommend it, and it was already there.... please watch, be astounded, and then rate it - I reckon you'll give this one five! Then if you're not already a subscriber - my guess is, you soon will be!

Here it is, watch in Uke Toob and click the 5th star to give it five!

He's playing his Mum's vintage Gibson soprano (above!) - I know she doesn't mind, though!

James Hill - Assam/Like a Bird

I posted ukuleletim, Tim Keogh playing James Hill's Assam/like a Bird earlier today, and now I've found James Hill playing himself, accompanied by Anne Davison on cello and his own foot taps - you have to watch this video, believe me! Of course, it's simply gorgeous! A blend of clawhammer and campanella style - Tim Keough says that James wrote the second part of this medley in tribute to John King. I've posted here before about John King and campanella style uke. Check out the tag-cloud at the foot of the page.... and as for me, I'm delighted to be booked into one of James's workshops at Ukulele Festival of Great Britain in June. I can't wait for that...

And if you want Tim's tab, go to ukulelesecrets blog...

Meanwhile, enjoy James Hill - Assam/Like a Bird

Ukuleletim is back! More clawhammer delights

Tim Keough, ukuleletim is another of my ukulele favourites and I've posted his stuff here before. He plays beautiful campanella -style uke and clawhammer. I'd been thinking that I hadn't seen any new videos for a while, when up popped a couple - this one just today - it's Assam/Like a Bird, a James Hill cover - revisited. Take a look, that real badass clawhammer ukulele tripping along is enough to cheer away any blues and winter grumps this morning! Tim writes that he has tabbed "Like a Bird" and has had James Hill's permission to share it - It's there now on Tim's ukulelesecrets website.

Meanwhile, enjoy.... Assam/Like a Bird, a James Hill cover - revisited

Kimo Hussey - lesson on triplets

Morning everybody! I still can't embed videos but here is a grand one I have to share. It's the great Kimo Hussey, giving a lesson on triplets. Formby strummers use a "triple", which is a triplet as taught here by Kimo, followed by by a finger-down strum - it comes out as a "diddley-dum" - rather like a train going over the tracks in the old days. Kimo's triple is just the "diddley"... it's a great lesson, and as a youtube video it's free, which is very nice. Where would some of us be without all these great and generous folks who are willing to teach on the internet for free... hats off to them all!

So, as I can't embed it, (Grrrr) here's a link to Kimo Hussey, giving a lesson on triplets.

I thoroughly recommend this video - after teaching the triplet he uses it to play some jazzy chord progressions and some melodies well-known and not so well-known - including "Love me Tender" (Aura Lee) and a Hawaiian piece.

Enjoy! And thanks for dropping in, this snowy day..... yes, it's snowing here again....

Not such a happy blogger today - something is broken!

I'm annoyed with my computer today. Or Blogger. Or Youtube. Or all three.... because I want to embed youtube videos as I often do - and can't. Something, somewhere, is broken. And Blogger no longer do support. I have tried the help forums, and it seems there is at least one other "Blogger" blogger with the same problem. I could do links to the videos, and quite possibly that is what I will have to do. But the page will not look the same... so bear with me, folks... hopefully, normal service will be resumed ASAP....

My new banjolele.....makes three! Gibson UB2

Yes, in addition to my lovely bird's eye maple Slingerland and my Dallas D - a rather art-deco and masculine looking uke, I am now the very proud owner of a Gibson UB2! I love it - love it, love it! I love the others too, and won't be in a rush to sell either of them, but I must say, the UB2 will be my main player when it comes to the banjo-ukes. Why? The Gibson seems to be particularly well-balanced. It's just a joy to hold and play, even standing. The neck is very smooth, the tuners are perfectly adjusted... and its last owner was none other than ukulelezaza - Remco Houtman-Janssen! So I am very proud to be able to call it mine. A couple of quick pics....

Now, to be able to play it like Remco, that would be something.

And it's my bet that Remco found a lot of new fans last weekend, when he "got the Formby itch" once more and attended the George Formby Society March Convention in Blackpool. It was my privilege to meet him there - what a nice man... and what a stupendous musician! But more of that next time!

Mr. Wu's a Window Cleaner Now - Johnny Foodstamp - George Formby

Once more, Johnny Foodstamp gives an old George Formby number the Nashville touch! I think this is his best yet - one take before coffee must have something going for it, Johnny! This version also features his uke in D tuning with a new calf-skin vellum - big improvement on that nasty plastic head! All the better for that old-time Formby sound!

And Johnny will be making the pilgrimage to the George Formby Society Convention in Blackpool in June! And we can't wait to see that!

Scott Edelman flies in to the GFS March Convention

One of the great pals I made last weekend at the George Formby Convention was Scott Edelman of West Virginia. What a lovely fella - and he, like me (oh yes, boys and girls) made his debut on the stage there! However, he is quicker off the mark than I am about recording his adventure on his blog. So here's a link to a great blog, and a "Yank"'s first visit to Blackpool and the GFS. He loved it. Of course he did.

Read all about it here!.

My own report will follow... soon... just off to Go Ukulele Crazy uke club!

My Melancholy Baby, John Bianchi

Good morning - or evening, whatever and wherever you are... I think my brain's going because I was so sure I had posted published this superb rendition of My Melancholy Baby by the incomparable John Bianchi! In draft form, there it was... draft.

So here it is, My Melancholy Baby, and how gorgeous it is - so smooth, so effortless - wonderful song, wonderful voice... written in 1912, music by Ernie Burnett, the lyrics by George A. Norton. Should be a pro, John; should be a pro....

According to Wikipedia, Ernie Burnett, who composed the music, was wounded fighting in the First World War, and he lost his memory together with his identity dog-tags. While recuperating in hospital, a pianist entertained the patients with popular tunes including "Melancholy Baby". Burnett rose from his sickbed and exclaimed: "That's my song!" He had regained his memory.

Read more about it here.

And coming up - what a fabulous weekend we have just had at the March convention of the GFS (George Formby Society) in Blackpool! See you soon! :D

I Want a Girl Just Like the Girl that Married Dear Old Dad

Well, here's my take on the 1911 song

I Want a Girl Just Like the Girl that Married Dear Old Dad



(C) I want a girl, (F) just like the girl that (C) married (G7) dear old (C) Dad (C7)


(F) She was a pearl (C) and she was the (A7) only girl that (D7) Daddy ever (G7) had,


A (C) good old-fashioned girl with (E7) heart so true


(Am) One who loves nobody (G7) else but you


(C) I want a girl, (F) just like the girl that (C) married (G7) dear old (C) Dad


You can throw in more C7s passing from C to F if you want....



It sounds great on banjo-uke - I reckon a Formby-style solo would work well on this! Something to work on there.... well, GFS, here we come! I could be strumming along with the gang in Blackpool Tower on Saturday... watch this space! ;)

A year yesterday - I started this blog!

Yes, a year yesterday I started this blog... I had the wooden laminate concert uke that Long-Suffering Husband had bought me when I demanded one back in 2005, and a newly acquired 1920's Slingerland banjo-uke that I was trying to get ready to play - the two ukes in my picture on every page here. Now, a year and nearly 20,000 page views later, I have four wooden ukes and four banjoleles. Can't believe it really. Well, one of the banjo-ukes is to sell when it's had a little TLC - but the rest are keepers, I reckon. I was going to do a sofa-shot with them all on, to celebrate the blog's birthday, but my baby-blue Mahalo soprano is still out on loan so I'll hang on. The last year has been quite a journey, uke-wise. Lots to tell there... I'm getting better - slowly. But I do play, nearly every day; a bit of this, a bit of that...

And here's a bit of that, coming up ... a song came into my head earlier on, and I thought perhaps I could work out the chords... that happens sometimes. This seems to work. It's the 1911 song

I Want a Girl Just Like the Girl that Married Dear Old Dad


Coming up, next time .... ;)

So what Ukafrolics are going on, then?

Well, life rattles on along a bumpy track, always with plenty to do and no excuses for getting bored - so much so that I really haven't had much chance to settle down to blogging for over a fortnight, and really I'm itching to tell you about so many things - so - coming up.......

As the next convention of the George Formby Society takes place at the Imperial Hotel, Blackpool this weekend, (16th and 17th March 2013), the UK Formby fans are chomping at the bit to get up there, meet with friends old and new, see each others' new ukes and get playing together.

At every Formby convention there are people who have made the pilgrimage to Blackpool from far corners of the world, and this convention will be no different - Scott, who hails, I believe from New York, is eyeing up the wintry but bracing Blackpool weather as he prepares to meet friends made on the internet and to hear the best of Formby-style playing. I know he will receive a very warm welcome. I think this convention will be a great first-time meeting for quite a few of us... me? Yes, I'll be there... looking forward to meeting for the first time Mike Warren, and ukulelezaza (Remco Hutman-Janssen) from Belgium and many more... and I, too, have a lovely new (well, new to me) vintage Gibson banjolele to show off and play...

I'll tell you all about that next time - a bit later.

Meanwhile, thanks for dropping in! I hope the day is kind....:)

A Little White Uke... travelling around the world, arrives in Somerset, England

One of my very favourite websites and ukulele communities is the Ukulele Underground Forum. Based in Hawaii and a branch of the Ukulele Underground, it has a membership of thousands who discuss all things ukulele and share uke videos. Since joining about a year ago, I have been so impressed by the members' knowledge, eloquence, and readiness to help new players. One of the main rules is "Don't be a jerk".... and people rarely are.... the team of volunteer moderators are a superbly able bunch who keep the peace if someone is getting hot under the collar.

I'm also hugely impressed by the sheer talent of players on there. Coupled with the community spirit, a little project has begun, the brain-child of a forum member in Australia ("pabrizzer"). He has gathered together a number of forum members to send a little white ukulele on a journey around the world. The Little White Uke has left Australia, traveled to Spain, the Netherlands and Germany, and is now in Britain. "Filipinouker" in Somerset recorded this lovely video .... it features the national anthems of the UK, the Phillipines, and some beautiful playing, as well as great scenic shots.



I asked "filipinouker" how long she had been playing, and how she began her own journey with the ukulele. This is what she shared with me.

"I've been playing since May 2012...before then, I never thought much about ukuleles - I considered them to be toys!

My husband and I were in the Lake District on holiday, and it was wet wet wet for the whole week. One afternoon, I got fed up walking in the rain and sought warmth and shelter in a music shop. I pretended to be interested in the rows of ukuleles hanging on the wall (I really was NOT interested). To my shock horror, some of them cost hundreds and hundreds of pounds! That got me curious. Why would a silly little toy cost that much?!!! So I picked one up - one that cost £300, and with the help of a chord chart that was lying around and the encouragement of the shop assistant, I managed to strum a C chord, a G chord and an F chord. I was amazed by how beautiful it sounded!

Three hours later, after I had tried all the ukes :D - I walked away with what I could afford then: an £80 Kala-CEM (concert size, exotic mahogany top). I have, since then, sold it and bought an Ohana CK42R (solid sinker redwood top) and a Mainland all solid mahogany soprano. It is like a drug, uke playing!

Also, since then, I thank God for miserable rainy days because, often, they can lead to something good... in this case, it opened up for me the happy, sunny world of ukulele music!"

On facebook, there's a page called Little White Uke Around the World, where you can see more pics of the LWU on its travels.

I was slow on the uptake with this great little project... by the time I had caught up with what was afoot, it was too late to be a part of it. A little sad, there... there's only room for about 24 names on the uke - everyone participating is signing it... so numbers were limited by that.

From the UK, the LWU is traveling on to France, Finland, then to America. And from there, back home to "pabrizzer" in Oz.

Bon voyage, Little White Uke! Travel safely! :D

Mike Warren, Music Box Waltz and facebook group

I want you to meet Mike Warren. When I went to the George Formby meeting in Blackpool in September, I was chatting to a chap, talking split-strokes (of course) when he said - "You need to get on facebook and join Mike Warren's group... he's really helpful..." and eventually, I did. I'll be meeting him in the flesh in a week or two... but one thing I have heard, over and over, is just what sort of a genuine bloke he is. I'm really looking forward to meeting him - and he really does do great little tuition videos! - but read his story for yourself, here in his own words.... the bit that really resonates with me is where he tells about "the moment in my life I knew I had to learn to play a ukulele"... because I had a moment like that, watching Joe Brown.

"Here is where my Ukulele story starts. I went to firth park school at the age of 12. I was a little Sh*t back then, having being expelled from a boarding school on the isle of Wight. One day at school I went to an art class by a Mr Litherland. We got on quite well so I behaved in his class, (most of the time.) In the storeroom of the art class where they store paper, paints, pencils etc. was a ukulele. It had no strings or tuning pegs but I thought it looked quite sweet. I asked what it was, and he told me it was a Ukulele, and that he was going to learn to play it. I was cheeky and asked if I could have it. He said that if I behaved in his class for so many weeks, (can't remember how many now) I could have it. Anyway, to cut a long story short, I got it, and it got put into a cupboard for years until I left school.

One night I was watching the TV and the Michael Parkinson show came on, and as a guest he had Peter Sellers. I liked him from the goon shows and films etc., so I decided to watch it. During that show out came a ukulele, and Peter played an old song on it. I instantly thought about my uke in the cupboard. Later on in the show he played again only this time he sang When I'm Cleaning Windows and did a solo.

That was the moment in my life I knew I had to learn to play a ukulele. I bought some tuning pegs and strings and a book and started learning. A year or so later I went into the shop where I always bought my strings from and started paying so much per week towards a ukulele banjo. I went into the shop and asked if I could have a go on it. The chap in the shop (funny enough was called George) said yes. I fumbled around a few chords and he said give it me, and then went into this song and did a GF style solo. My mouth fell open. I asked who sang the song and he said a chap called George Formby. I'd never heard of him. He then said I've got some records at home, If you come back tomorrow you can borrow them. So as the story goes, I borrowed them. I then recorded them onto an old reel to reel recorder that belonged to my grandad.

Months later I came across a book called The George Formby Complete, it's now got a lot thinner and it's called The George Formby Songbook. I bought it and my life-long George Formby passion started there, and the rest is history. I slowed down the tapes of George and figured out the strumming patterns by ear and used to play along note for note, or as near as damn it.


I had been playing for around three years and never met another uke player when I saw a documentary about George Formby and the George Formby Society were on it. I wrote to the BBC asking for details about the said Documentary and they wrote back with the name, address and telephone number of the then secretary of the society. I rang him up and got all the details and I joined. It cost me £2.60 for the years membership.

I went in March 1981 to my first GF meeting in Blackpool. I've never looked back since.

Over the years I've met some wonderful people and uke players. Some are dead and gone now (god bless em') Jack Jones, Dennis Taylor etc. Wonderful people that I have been privileged to have met.

It's now 2013 and come March I'll be off to Blackpool yet again to remember our George and meet some more fantastic people. I couldn't imagine life without the George Formby Society meetings. I now have a ukulele group on Facebook called Learn Ukulele Free which I started about 7 months ago and already there are nearly 700 members from all over the world. I love giving something back from my years of playing and the pleasure from it by helping other budding Ukulele players via this group.

Well folks that's my Ukulele story. I hope you liked it.

Happy Plonking!

Mike Warren."

Lovely story.... thanks Mike, for sharing it! And particularly, for me, for the "shake" video! :D

Ukulelehunt video of the year contest

Back in June (2012,) I posted a video of one of my very favourite performers, John Bianchi, performing a wonderfully un-PC song from the 20's called "The Dumber They Come, the Better I Like 'Em" - and it has now been nominated for the Ukulelehunt Video of the Year Award. Check it out, it's all here. But he needs your votes, folks! There are six videos in the shortlist, and they're all pretty good, in various ways. You can check them all out on the voting page of Ukehunt. As in the usual run of things, bands and trios have a advantage because they have more people to canvass support - but John B is a sole performer here, and he really needs your vote!

So - please get over there to Ukehunt and do the deed!

All Of Me - The Hot Tone Rhythm Boys featuring Jim 'Django' Gritt

At last - a band featuring the ukulele AND the great songs of the 20's and 30's - and the 40's. In the USA they have Janet Klein and the Parlor boys - and what do we have here? I'd been thinking that there was nothing like this in the UK, until I just stumbled across this one.

Before I write more I need some up-t-date info for you. So for now, just enjoy this great old jazz standard, All Of Me, written in 1931.....



Mmmmm - lovely!

Remco Houtman-Janssen, aka ukulelezaza

Shine ft Two on banjo-uke



Remco Houtman-Janssen from Belgium aka Ukulelezaza is one of the world's great ukulele players... if you've not had the pleasure of seeing or hearing him play, here is one of his Youtubes, featuring his Ludwig banjo-uke on this occasion, but on his channel there are many fantastic videos with his wooden ukes, where that one came from. See the tuition video for Mr Sandman below, for example... it's great!

Remco is running a weekend ukulele workshop at Gleanings Rural Centre, nr Minsterly, Shropshire UK on Sat 23rd / Sun 24th March 2013, and as I write there are still some places available to take part....

He will be performing a gig on the Saturday night at the Hope Village Hall at 8.00pm, a great opportunity to see him in an intimate venue - and there is real ale available! LSH will be wanting to go....

Should be a great weekend !!!

Interested? Contact Yvonne or John at Gleanings for tickets on 01743 891412 or email
yj.hart@virgin.net

The week before that, however, Remco will be at the March Convention of the George Formby Society, 16th/17th March at the Imperial Hotel, North Promenade, Blackpool. Some wooden uke players are fiercely anti the banjo-uke, and some banjolele players have little time for its wooden counterpart, once the banjolele bug has bitten - it's the fast and complex syncopation that does it - but Remco loves both, as do I, and is now one of my newest ukulele heroes...

Watch this space for more on ukulelezaza!

Mr. Sandman UKULELE TUTORIAL - ukulelezaza

Here is a great tutorial on a wonderfully achievable version of Mr Sandman, played chord melody style by Remco Houtman-Janssen, aka ukulelezaza. Remco has made the tab available - see the video on Youtube for details. I'm working on this, (just one of my butterfly flits.... I really should get focused...) and I really love it.

More on Remco to follow..... don't go too far away, now!

Counting off the days, but winter hasn't finished with us yet....

Spring can't come quickly enough for me and I am literally counting the days off now until March 1st. I know it isn't officially Spring then, but as far as I'm concerned, it is... the last heavy snowfalls left us with ten inches of lying snow in the garden; pretty, yes, but we're not really geared up to snow here in England - the weather can change so quickly because of our position on the edge of the European continental shelf that winter tyres and such are never a serious consideration. So we slither and slide about and bump and grumble, and some of us more or less hibernate. Like me. Last month LSH (Long-Suffering-Husband) was laughing "Some women extol the virtues of a new dress - with my wife it's the virtues of a new snow shovel!" In the winter, it's true. Well the new snow shovel is getting its first outing this morning because the snow came again last night and we have two inches (that's 5cm) on the drive to clear.

The summerhouse and the flowering cherry tree look pretty with their covering of snow, don't you think? Pic taken this morning. When the weather gets warmer I can't wait to get out there with my ukulele. As I wrote the other day on the Summerhouse Practice List page: "The summerhouse has been a no-go zone since the last update, as it's still winter, and temperatures hover around freezing. But in the garden plants are coming up, buds are swelling and with the sun on it, the summerhouse is beginning to look inviting - as soon as warmer days arrive, I'll be out there.... can't wait....and then this list will need revising..."


And talking about practice, I'm emulating the butterflies again and flitting about between uke skills and genres of music...

With two trips booked to Blackpool to the George Formby Society convention, I'm trying to learn more Formby songs by heart - or the music, at least, so that I can join in the "thrash" without being visually glued to someone else's fingerboard to copy the chords.

Not to mention my Formby strums - split-stroke, shake and triples, and putting them all together....

I also keep returning to ukulelezaza's interpretation of Mr Sandman.... chord melody. Watch out for that coming up here...

And the jazz standards with those wonderful minor 7th and diminished chords - can't leave them alone....

Also I yearn to be able to play a more sophisticated fingerstyle as song accompaniments.

I can't ignore any of these things for long....but the snow shovel is beckoning and I must away. Tonight, my other passion - tap-dance. Oh, yes. Learning the dance to "42nd Street"... it's fast, it's fun and I love it.

Keep living til you die......thanks for dropping in, ukers....

Jesse James on clawhammer uke - banjolele and wooden uke!

I adore listening to clawhammer style, be it banjo or ukulele, and I've posted a few videos on here of accomplished clawhammer players like Aaron Keim, Tim Keough and Ken Middleton. I know I'm unlikely ever to crack that skill, not least because it's so tricky that I just daren't go there at the moment, I've far too many other ukulele skills to hone. But I do love that clawhammer sound.

Here's a fine player from Aussie-land, who goes by the UU Forum pseudonym Bland Mango Patterson - and he has kindly allowed me to share a video he has just made, comparing the tune Jesse James played clawhammer style on banjo-uke, and on wooden uke. It's quite a delight.... which clawhammer do you prefer, banjo-uke or wooden? Have a listen and see if you can decide.... I can't. They both sound wonderful.



That's a fine player there - and he plays Formby style too, oh yes!

Thanks, Bland Mango. Must find out his real name..... :D

(Psst - it's Jason!)

Thanks for dropping in, folks.

Points for exciting? 10 out of 10, I'd say!

So what's so exciting? I hear you ask, all agog...... well I'll tell you. In the UK we have a great ukulele festival coming up in June - the Ukulele Festival of Great Britain, held in Cheltenham, June 21st-23rd..... and I am going! Woohoo!

Heading the line-up.... James Hill! And on banjo-uke, Andy Eastwood! See the website for more information.

My tickets are reserved, oh yes indeed....... but not only that, oh no.... the workshops came on sale the other day - and include two workshops by James Hill, two by Ken Middleton, (featured several times on this blog - see the tag cloud at the bottom of the page, to find posts featuring Ken....) one by Andy Eastwood (see Andy in Dublin here and one by Phil Doleman. And I have managed to get my places booked! James Hill's workshops are already sold out. They were obviously going to go very quickly...

You must have seen James Hill's interpretation of "Billie Jean".....

This festival is going to be an absolute blast. If you haven't secured your tickets, get on to it, do! And I'll see you there!...

Ukulele Quote of the Day - and a new Ukulele Hero for me - Curt Sheller

"Woman is at a uke festival with a lovely soprano ukulele under her arm. Another woman walks up and gazes admiringly at the first woman's uke, at which point the woman holding the uke looks over and says with a smile; "I got it for my husband." Second woman nods and says, "good trade.""

Hadn't better show LSH (Long-Suffering-Husband) that one. He's actually about to make me a bacon sandwich....

But the quote - I found on a great website I've just been perusing - it's
Curt Sheller 'All Things `Ukulele and Jazz Guitar and it's well worth a good look.

For example - Curt invites us to learn a new chord every day of the year... and there are plenty of top quality free lessons on offer. This makes Curt Sheller a dead cert as a Ukulele Hero..

Lewis Clifton talks about the Gibson banjo-uke.....

A couple of days ago, Strummin' Simon at the Ukulele Restoration Barn did a blog-post (see right) about the Gibson UB1 banjo-uke - with some great photos of one he has just restored for his own use - and so it's an ideal time to post an article by the talented young player Lewis Clifton, about the famed and sought-after Gibson banjo-ukulele in all its forms.

Part 1 of the ‘Kings of the Banjo Ukulele’ – The Gibson

The Gibson Banjo Ukulele has a very sharp and rich tone, which is iconic to the great brand of Banjo Uke. Gibson started the production of their banjoleles in the mid 1920’s and were manufactured in Kalamazoo, Michigan, U.S.A.
In those days the Gibson Banjo Ukes were cheap and affordable. The range of their Banjo Ukuleles begun with the ‘Bog Standard’ UB1 for $10 all the way to the Gold Plated De-Luxe UB5, for $55. Which was a lot of money in those days!
Every single Banjo Uke in the range has a unique features or sound to it.

To talk about the Gibson Banjo Ukes we must start from the beginning, with the UB1.

Most UB1s were made before 1930, so most will bear ‘The Gibson’ on the peg. (If it was post 1930 it will just have ‘Gibson’ on the peg). I’ve played 2 or 3 Gibson UB1s in my ‘Ukulele Career’ and every time I pick one up, the same words are on my tongue, “It’s SO tiny!”. The UB1 has a 6-inch pot, but surprisingly it has a powerful ‘punch’. All wooden parts are made from mahogany, flat back resonator, tone ring fitted inside the resonator, Nashville tailpiece, friction pegs with ivory thumb grip, 5 bottom tension rods and a full sized fret board with 3 position spots.

The next model up from the UB1 was the UB2.

The UB2 is very similar to the UB1, in fact It’s just a bigger version of it. The only real difference is that the UB2 has 14 bottom tension rods and an 8-inch pot.

Over the years there has been a lot of confusion over the naming of the UB2 and the small UB3. Most members of the George Formby Society call it ‘UB3 non-resonator’. The reason for this confusion is that Gibson named the uke as different names in their catalogues.

The UB3 ‘Non-res’ is by far one of the most desirable from the range. The famous ukulele king, George Formby owned one and can be seen playing it in his films, “Off The Dole”, “I See Ice”, “It’s In the Air” and “Trouble Brewing”. The UB3 has an 8-inch rim and a flat backed amplifying resonator finished in a dark antique mahogany with a sunburst effect on the back and the neck. The rosewood fingerboard is decoratively inlaid with ‘Mother of Pearl’ diamonds as is the peg head. This Gibson model is also fitted with a tone ring, which gives it its lovely, crisp, rich and sharp tone.

Now, to make things even MORE confusing, lets add The ‘Big’ Gibson UB3 to the mix!

There are 2 types of Big Gibson UB3’s, The Standard model and the De-Luxe model. The only difference between them is that the De-Luxe model is more decorative. The Big UB3 has 16 bottom tension rods, a walnut resonator with a nickel plated flange with diamond cut outs, friction pegs with ivory thumb grips, rosewood finger board, and 3 mounting screws. Lovely to hold with a nice thin neck so you can get a good grip on the uke. Once again due to the tone ring fitted it has the iconic Gibson sound. I’m lucky enough to own a De-Luxe Big UB3, and I must say, It’s a lovely uke! George owned 3 Big UB3’s, one he used in his film ‘I Didn’t Do It’ which was De-Luxe model and another he used in his last television program ‘The Friday Show’ which was the standard model, (which is now owned by Andy Eastwood).

The next 2 ukes are also very similar, just that one is gold plated.

The UB4 was made from beautiful burl walnut with a highly polished durable finish. Over laid flanged resonator, grip tight pegs, a rosewood fingerboard, bound with white ivoroid and inlaid with attractive white pearl ornamentations. All metal parts were nickel-plated.

The pre-mentioned UB5 was the ‘Top Uke’ in the Gibson range, which was very similar to the UB4 but the UB5 was Gold Plated, which added $10 to its value.

The Gibsons are certainly some of the best ukes out there, and my UB3 is definitely one of my favorite ukes!

Part 2 will be coming up, but this time it will be on ABBOTTS.

Till then, Keep Plonking!

Lewis Clifton


I'm glad Lewis enjoys writing, as well as playing his banjoleles so magnificently!
Thanks for this, Lewis - and I'm already looking forward to the next one!

Jazz on Uke - Great Chord Progression, three positions!

One of my personal targets a few months back, to make some real progress on the ukulele was to learn some chords up the neck of the uke - and I also wanted to get some jazz chords under my belt. They just sound so cool! Thanks to Marcy Marxer in Hawaii, here's not only a great sounding jazz chord progression, but she shows us three positions - the common positions low on the neck, and then two more positions going higher. It's a great tutorial video....

The chord progression is C6 - C#dim - Dm7 - G7. That sounds really good - but up the neck it's even better.

Thanks, Marcy! And - she's playing a Kala tenor.

"By Special Permission of the Copyright Owners I Love You" - John Bianchi...

In my little corner of the UK, there are several degrees of frost, and there's fog... morning tea in bed, and an extra five minutes under the duvet... or ten.

Then I watch John Bianchi in New York, playing his uke first thing in the morning, in his car, at the side of the road, doing what he has to do to comply with parking restrictions... and I feel at least a little sheepish.

As a lover of 20's and 30's Tin Pan Alley music, I always enjoy John's singing and playing, and he never, but never disappoints. Please share the gem he has come up with this time.... sitting in his car in wintry New York...

He introduces the song in this wise...

"Here's one of the tens of thousands of tunes from the first part of the last century that pretty much no one living has ever heard. From the Broadway flop, "The Gang's All Here" - which starred Ted Healy (of Ted Healy and His Three Stooges - later shortened by giving Ted his walking papers), this 1931 tune is played on a rock-like Cordoba uke that has a nice THICK top, so I don't mind playing it in the 34F temperature of Monday morning."



Wonderful... if 20's and 30's music is a tiny bandwagon to be on - well I, for one, am up there on it with John B. And oh, to be able to play like that...

"Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues" - Eugeneukulele

I'm delighted to post another great offering from one of my favourite ukers, "eugeneukulele" of Tasmania. Like all my favourite players, he just seems to have the music coursing through his veins all the time - and there's no doubt about about it; to be good, you have to play a LOT. One of the most famous players of all time, the great Roy Smeck, played for five hours a day, every day - no wonder he was good!

This blues is so happy, and I think that's a very nice change actually. Don't want to be blue all the time. The uke is a little soprano Bruko, solid walnut - and it has a great sound......

Eugene (Jon) writes about the song thus.......

"1920's. One of the early American Industrial Ballads.

Another in the long lineage of worker's complaint songs, this one has been performed by Leadbelly, Pete Seeger and others. Specific authorship is unknown - as with many of these songs - but clearly was written by some sharp-tongued worker as a wry musical ode to his time spent in Winnsboro's textile mills. The country-blues melody of the song is borrowed directly from a song called "Alcoholic Blues" which was popular at the time."

Yes - need to get back to my practice. Definitely.

Lewis Clifton plays TT Races - GFS June 2012

Yesterday I introduced you to Lewis Clifton, one of the up-and-coming young stars of the George Formby style and the George Formby Society. Here again he is playing the late great Dennis Taylor's Ludwig; this time it's his own personal favourite Formby song, TT Races. It's hard to believe that Lewis was only thirteen here.



I was lucky enough to have a good chat with Lewis at the last meeting or convention of the George Formby Society. When I asked him how long he'd been playing and how he learned to play, I was astonished to learn that he is self-taught, and learned from simply watching videos of Dennis Taylor, featured here the other day. He told me that he started with guitar, and quickly discovered the ukulele - his first was a little white Mahalo - the starter uke of many! And he has still only been playing banjolele for less than four years... to be so skilled at fourteen, and self-taught at that is impressive to say the least.

Needless to say a big fan Of George Formby, his favourite players are the late great Dennis Taylor and Dickie Speake. I think we'll be hearing a lot more of Lewis...

Watch this space for guest spots where Lewis will be talking about the greats of vintage banjolele world - the Ludwig, Abbott and Gibson. You need deep pockets for those... if only.....

By the way, as I said, Lewis is just one of the highly talented youngsters coming up in the banjo-uke world... watch this space also for more of them!

Pardon Me....Introducing Lewis Clifton!

On this blog over the months, I've played videos by most of my favourite banjolele players, but this is the first by young Lewis Clifton. If you watched the video of Dennis Taylor yesterday, look at the uke Lewis is playing here - yes, it is indeed Dennis's Ludwig. He was granted the privilege of playing it at the June Convention of the George Formby Society. And when you watch his rendition here of "Pardon Me" (1939, Gifford/Cliffe/Formby) you will see why. Lewis is one of the very accomplished young players who are the future of the society. He has a lovely relaxed style so reminiscent of Dennis Taylor. I love listening to Lewis play and sing! I think you will, too...



Enjoy that? I though you would..... thanks again to Peter Pollard (camera) and... Lewis is fourteen years old!

I enjoyed chatting with Lewis at the November meeting .... more of that next time!

Thanks for dropping by, friends!

A very real ukulele hero - Ex-NY Firefighter sings "The Bravest"

Here is the most moving performance of a song I have seen in years. When you read the context, you'll see why.

For the weekly "Season" contest on the UU Underground, the theme this week is "Back to Work". Kurt Siegel sang and played a song by Tom Paxton called "The Bravest". He has kindly allowed me share it with you, complete with his own introduction.


"This is my last one for this season, and is a bonus, therefore not eligible for judging.

Not my best work, but very, very hard to do. I've referred to it as "a little too close to home", and you'll see why.

As part of this season, Ginny asked that we try to do songs that have to do with our professions. And to explain what we do.

While I currently am employed as a barista, I am a retired Firefighter. In the course of my duties, I was also a member of the Upstate New York Urban/Technical Search and Rescue Team. I even designed the Team Logo!

The folks who trained us were members of the New York City FEMA team - truly the Elite. They worked with us as we learned the tools, the terminology, the basics. We got more proficient as the training went on, and had a response before we were technically ready to go, when a tornado rolled through the area. It was a sobering experience.

At one point during the training, one of the FDNY members made an off-hand remark that we thought was funny. "We'll be here any time you need us," he said. "But we're never going to have to call you guys. Unless, you know, the World Trade Centers collapse."

The Upstate NY team did respond to New York City on September 11, 2011. I was the EMS coordinator for my Fire Department, and was required to remain, making sure that we were covered in the event anything happened. After all, there were a number of High Priority sites right here: General Electric, two Nuclear Power Labs, and the State Capital less than 15 miles away.

My Chief released me on September 13, and I responded with the second group. We still didn't really know what we were walking into by then.

Tom Paxton wrote the song "The Bravest" on September 24, 2001. It had taken that long for many people, not just Tom, to be able to say, sing, or write what was slamming around inside of them. I first heard this song when Garrison Keillor sang it on "A Prairie Home Companion".

I cried.

As you'll see in the video, the song still makes me cry.

I did this as a one-take. I wouldn't be able to get through it again.

At the end of the video are some photographs. The first I got as part of a training class I was in some time after December 2001. The others are photos I took while I was on the site. There is no audio. Please don't watch all the way through if this might disturb you.

The final photo is a t-shirt back, with the names of our UTSAR instructors who we lost that day.

Thanks for putting up with me on this one.

-Kurt"

Dennis Taylor and "I Don't Like" - GFS March 1996

When I began to research banjo-ukes about a year ago, preparing to buy my first, it wasn't long before I came across Dennis Taylor's great website - so useful and informative! Invaluable tips for learners and loads of photos and interesting stuff about many different kinds of banjo-ukes... he was clearly an authority. I say "was" - because sadly, Dennis is no longer with us. I went to my first meeting of the George Formby Society last March, and quickly learnt of the very high esteem in which he was - and still is held. The sadness at his absence is still palpable. I wished I could have seen him perform.

Well, fortunately for us, Peter Pollard was at that time happiest behind a camera, and thanks to him, here is a great video of Dennis performing at the GFS in 1996. It's "I Don't Like", a 1937 Formby number.

And thanks to Peter's lovely videos, Dennis continues to inspire new players... young Lewis Clifton, for example. More on Lewis next time.....

As for Peter, you'll catch him at the GFS meetings, not only happily videoing the performances for posterity, but singing and playing beautifully himself, too.

Thanks for looking in - I'm back to practising my split-stroke and the shake....

"Georgia On My Mind" - John Bianchi on ukulele

When you're feeling low, there's nothing like music to soothe the mind... many would reach for alcohol, but for me it has to be music, and this rendition of "Georgia On My Mind" (Hoagy Carmichael and Stuart Gorrell, 1930) by John Bianchi on his vintage Martin ukulele is just perfect, like warm sunshine on the soul.

His playing here is just sublime, to my mind, and his voice is perfect for these great songs from the 20's and 30's. He is so talented, so accomplished, he really should be a big star. How many times have I said that now? My very favourite uke and banjo-uke performer, without a doubt.

Please enjoy....then pop over to his blog, The Ukaholic.

Oh - and Happy New Year! Thanks for dropping by.....