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John Croft, Glan Tanat, Llanyblodwel, Oswestry, Shropshire, SY10 8NQ, England
Tel: (+44) 01691 - 828850.
E-Mail: theukuleleman@hotmail.com
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People have often asked me who I think are, or have been, the best players of the ukulele & banjolele in the UK. This is always a terribly subjective question to answer as it depends upon all sorts of criteria. Nevertheless, I have decided to put a few clips of some great players onto my website. Others are going to follow, but here are the first batch for you to enjoy. Click on the player’s name below to take you to the video clip.
*** If you have a slow connection speed that causes your chosen video clip to suffer from’buffering’ and takes a while to upload, click on ‘pause’ and leave it for a minute or two before clicking the ‘play’ button again. Keep doing this until it has fully uploaded to the end of the clip, then you can play it from the start without any problems.
1. (The late) Jack Jones. Jack Jones was a member of the George Formby Society for many years. He was a great friend of mine and his playing was universally admired and respected by all who knew him. He developed what many consider to be a style of banjolele playing (in the ‘Formby’ style) that was unsurpassed. This clip is a great example of Jack playing at his best.
2. Peter Moss & John Shreeve. Peter Moss is a truly great musician who can play nine or ten instruments to an amazingly high standard, but the banjolele remains his favourite. Here he is playing a duet with Liverpudlian John Shreeve, who is giving Peter a real run for his money! With friends who can play like this, I sometimes think I should just give up and not bother any more!
3. (The late) Billy ‘Uke’ Scott. Billy ‘Uke’ Scott was a slightly younger contemporary of George Formby, and many people consider Billy’s all-round musical abilities to have been superior to that of the Formby himself. Not only could Billy play brilliantly in many different keys, he also wrote many of the songs that he performed. Few video clips of the great man exist today, but here is one of them for you to enjoy.
4. (The late) George Formby. From humble roots George Formby senior became one of the highest earning entertainers in Edwardian England, and his eldest Son wanted to follow in his Father’s footsteps. Things went from bad to worse until he married Beryl Ingham (who became his brilliant manager) and he started to incorporate the ukulele and/or banjolele into his act. At the height of his career in the late 1930’s he was earning more than Errol Flynn, Clark Gable and Douglas Fairbanks junior put together! The young Formby had non of the credentials that one would normally expect of a filmstar, but his fabulous banjolele playing style coupled with the amusing & timeless lyrics of the songs that he sang, together with the image that he portrayed (of the chap with nothing who always makes good in the end and wins the love of the pretty girl in the process), proved to be a winning formula, a fact to which his twenty-two hit films and over two hundred and thirty records stand testament.
5. Andy Eastwood. Oxford graduate (and good friend) Andy made academic history by performing on the Ukulele and Banjolele for part of his ‘finals’. He is a versatile musician and he is an up and coming star on the banjolele. This clip shows him at his best.
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