Reviewd by DMC member Paige Turner:
Is there any musical instrument more ordinary that the ukulele? I think not.
In his new book The Uke of Wallington, Mark Wallington records his adventures — and misadventures — on his six-week tour of Britain with his ukulele. He performed at open mic nights all along the way — from south to north — from Brighton to Cape Wrath. This was likely to be the first rock-‘n-roll tour on public transport.
A goal was to test the theory that people can’t hear a ukulele without smiling. Happily, as he reports on the final page of the book, “People had been kind all along. The ukulele really did make them smile.”
Smiling? Perhaps the exceptions fo the rule
BBC Radio 4 has been airing readings from the book all week this past week. To listen to them, click here.
Is a world tour next? Perhaps. As Mark says at the end, “This wasn’t really the end of the road. The Faroe Islands were straight ahead out there, then Iceland. I bet there was an open mic in Reykjavik.”
The book is available from the DMC’s aStore, click here.
