Chalky and Frank, what did / do you think of 'Jesus Christ Superstar'?

[_Stefan_Kuntz]

Stefan do you know where I can purchase her album please?

I do not know that. But a year or so ago I wrote several emails to the UOGB office manager Jodi. She answered all questions. I think that she may well know or be able to find the answer to your question. [email protected]

Otherwise there is a UOGB Contact Us page https://www.ukuleleorchestra.com/index.php/ukes-contact-us/

[_Stefan_Kuntz]

Stefan. I think it was you who introduced me to the UOGB.

How do you feel about the latest line up?

Maybe improved musically but have they lost something along the way?

It just doesn't seem to have the same spark/magic without Kitty Lux.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=om1NCW8gYnM

Howoldboy
It was George and Kitty Lux who formed UOGB for fun in 1985. Up until then she had been a punk.
It's just my opinion but it seems to me that she typically played rythm whilst George always played the intricate melodies and Richie who sat to our immediate left of her, played some melodies and counter-melodies.

Although each member of the band had his / her own songs on which they were solo or lead vocalist it
seems that Kitty had fewest of these. I think that she performed songs that did not need either great
range or great power. She had least to say on stage, so we 'knew' her least, we 'know' the personalities
of all the others. But she, in a way that I cannot define, 'delivered' a song well.

Howoldboy, since Kitty's time with the band you must have discerned something missing from the band, something
that I do not discern.

At the time when Kitty's illness resulted in her leaving the band the 'first team' line up as an 8 piece was:-
Dave Suich, Peter Brooke Turner, Hester Goodman, George Hinsliffe, Richie Williams, Kitty Lux Will Grove-White and Jonty Bankes


All of them except Kitty Lux are still on board. Four of them were founder members in 1985. The other 4 joined in the early 90s.

George as owner / manager / 'musical ideas man' / arranger / best player and by far the oldest of them plays fewer gigs but Ben Rouse
takes his place and is as good as George. In fact Ben seems to be appearing more than George such that publicity photographs of the
band now show Ben as part of the 8 and not George.

As well as the 'first team' of 8 there are 4 'deputies. I emailed Peter Brooke Turner about the line-up. He stated that there may be a
reason why one or two of them would not go on a long foreign tour, i.e. Hester has a young child. Peter explained that it was all very
amicable about choosing the line-up bearing in mind everyone's circumstances, that most of the band do have other jobs in music and may
have made commitments elsewhere for when the UOGB was between tours and then the UOGB got more gigs such that the between tours time began to be diminished by relatively short notice of extra gigs.

There is a squad of 12, including 4 'deputies'. When a 'deputy' is brought in I do not notice any discernible fall in quality.

Lisa Rea, Ben Rouse and Laura Currie joined as deputies in 2003, 2014 and 2019. They all got enough gigs to be satisfactory, given the personal circumstances of the individual members of the band and now are in the 'first team'. Laura ceased being a deputy in 2021.

In the last 3 or 4 years the line-up has often shown one or two deputies, especially on the foreign tours. But these folk each bring their own
personas, i.e. Ewan Wardrop does a clog dance. A founder member, Dave Bowie, left the band but is now one of the deputies on base.