By Angela Beswick
George Fornby would have been astounded.
More than 2000 ukulele-toting students descended on West Auckland’s Trusts Stadium this morning, for a chance to have a jam with their idols.
Described by David Bowie as “immortal”, the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain are in New Zealand on a 10-stop tour.
The group, with founding member George Hinchliffe, were welcomed onto the stadium field like rock stars, amid screaming and cheers.
“It’s the fellowship of the ukuleles,” Hinchliffe quipped, after prompting the crowd to raise their instruments.
In days gone by school students were better known for murdering the recorder, but these four-string enthusiasts - the Kiwileles - certainly raised the bar.
“With a ukulele you can give the audience one plucking thing after another,” said Hinchliffe.
Watch the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain perform on Campbell Live
The students played everything from ’10 Guitars’ to Crowded House’s ‘Take The Weather With You’ and ‘Pokarekare Ana’ – during which one student wowed onlookers by playing his ukulele with his teeth.
“It’s like being in the Beatles at Shea Stadium,” Hinchliffe said of the crowd response.
“Except in the audience, everybody plays a ukulele. So – it’s not so much a band and an audience as, everybody’s in the band.”
The group performed a jazz number for their adoring fans, followed by their own covers of ‘Rock Around The Clock’, The Clash’s ‘Should I stay or should I go?’ and Mothers of Invention’s ‘Freak Out’.
The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain started as a bit of fun in the mid-80s and has lead to thousands of sell-out concerts, as well as music used in films, plays and commercials.
The current eight-piece ensemble has been playing together for almost 20 years, covering everything from Nirvana to Tchaikovsky, Kate Bush and Spaghetti Western soundtracks.
The group are touring New Zealand from November 19 to December 3 , performing in Auckland, Hamilton, New Plymouth, Palmerston North, Hastings, Wellington, Nelson, Christchurch, Dunedin and Queenstown.
Watch extended video of the Great Britain Ukulele Orchestra performing with the NZ Kiwileles
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