UOGB

[Nickie]

Friday night by BFF Trish and I got to go see the Ukulele Orchestra perform! What a show they put on. They thrilled us with musical prowess, creativity, and humor for two 45 minute sets. They did show tunes, rock tunes, pop songs, Classical, even one Bluegrass number! They made an attempt at the Blues, which was lovely, but alas, they don't get the Blues. I guess that's an American thing.
The only thing that disappointed me was before I could find them for autographs on my uke, they disappeared into a black hole.
If any of you have not seen them, and they come nearby, go see them! We drove for 4 hours to get there. It was worth it.

 

[ksiegel]

I've seen them twice, and they were wonderful.

Unfortunately, they aren't coming up near the Albany, NY area during this tour, so I will miss them.

I did get a white plastic Concert uke signed by them - Hester wasn't with them that night, but Kitty was.
(Same uke has been signed by members for the Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra, Jim Beloff, Stu Fuchs, and others.)

-Kurt​

 

[plunker]

The were down here in Palm Beach County when covid was all the rage. Thought it better to skip having every co morbidity listed and a few new ones. What a missed opportunity. Hope they come back.

 

[Nickie]

I've never heard the Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra. Are they good? What genres do they play?

 

[frets alot]

We saw them in their first U.S. performance ever. They were awesome!

They are back in East Lansing, Michigan tonight!

 

[ksiegel]

I've never heard the Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra. Are they good? What genres do they play?

The short answer is, "Yes".

Bret McKenzie, one of the WIOU founders was in Flight of the Conchords, and at the 84th Academy Awards in 2012 his song, "Man or Muppet", won the Academy Award for Best Original Song.

Here's the WIUO YouTube link:

 

[One Man And His Uke]

I love the UOGB, seen them about 4 times, twice when Kitty was still with them and a couple of times after Kitty sadly died. The last time I saw them George wasn’t with them (I’m not sure why) but the majority of the usual suspects, Dave, Jonty, Hester et al were all there and in great form. There was a spine tingling moment when they launched into the intro to Joni Mitchell’s “A Case Of You”…..brave to take on such an iconic song, Leisa did the vocal which didn’t quite work for me…..but that said, they were generally, brilliant. Highly recommended if you get the chance to see them. A while back there was a group calling themselves The UK Ukulele Orchestra (TUKUO) who to my mind were a very poor and pale rip off of the originals. You can find some of their stuff on YouTube and decide for yourself…..but for me, no, absolutely NOT!

 

[Nickie]

I read somewhere that George Hinchcliffe sued UK Ukulele Orchestra (TUKUO) over a name copyright dispute, but lost the suit in court.
George wasn't here on Friday either.

 

[ksiegel]

I read somewhere that George Hinchcliffe sued UK Ukulele Orchestra (TUKUO) over a name copyright dispute, but lost the suit in court.
George wasn't here on Friday either.

No, George won.

The headline read:

High court finds Erwin Clausen of Germany guilty of passing off his UK Ukulele Orchestra as the successful Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain

Here's a Link from The Guardian

 

[Nickie]

No, George won.

The headline read:


Here's a Link from The Guardian

Well, he sort of won. At least he was happy.
Another article
I had heard in a radio news report that he had lost.
I met Peter Moss, he seemed like a likeable fellow, he did a very nice workshop for us, and later we had a party/concert with him. I didn't know he was affiliated....

 

[John Colter]

There are two Peter Mosses (at least two) in the ukulele world. The one I have met is a really nice bloke, but is not the one involved with the fake UOoGB.

 

[ksiegel]

Well, he sort of won. At least he was happy.
Another article
I had heard in a radio news report that he had lost.
I met Peter Moss, he seemed like a likeable fellow, he did a very nice workshop for us, and later we had a party/concert with him. I didn't know he was affiliated....

The article you posted was from 2014; the one I posted was from 2015, and the result of the court case referenced in your article.

Around that time, The Eighth Step , one of the oldest Folk Music "coffeehouses" (for lack of a better term) was approached about booking the German Group. The Executive Director of the Step called me, and asked about them - I told her about the two different organizations, and explained the lawsuit (and gave her links to investigate).

Her response was that the promoter who approached her had told her that The United Kingdom Ukulele Orchestra was the real thing, and the UOGB was a group of johnny-come-lately usurpers, not fit to hold the instrument. When she asked about the lawsuit, he said he'd get right back to her.

She's still waiting for the call.

But she contacted some other folk music venues, gave them the information she had read in the Guardian article, and none of the venues wanted anything to do with TUKUO from that point forward.

-Kurt​

 

[man0a]

When they came to California last month, they billed themselves as "George Hinchliffe’s Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain". George wasn't on stage (don't know if he was even in town), but putting his name on the performance is one way to avoid confusion. They were a lot of fun to watch, but less musically serious that I was expecting.

 

[Nickie]

When they came to California last month, they billed themselves as "George Hinchliffe’s Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain". George wasn't on stage (don't know if he was even in town), but putting his name on the performance is one way to avoid confusion. They were a lot of fun to watch, but less musically serious that I was expecting.

What kind of musical seriousness were you hoping for? Just curious.
George didn't play our concert either. Maybe he's on sabbatical.