Friends of Worcester Ukulele Club

This page is devoted to friends who have visited us, providing workshops and or performances.

Mon 2y Jun 2022 - Manitoba Hal

I hope you all enjoyed Manitoba Hal's concert: an astounding talent! I also trust that you've all mastered the Travis pick by now, as all next week's songs are based on it! (just kidding), Trevor.

Mon 2 May 2022 - Pete Moss

Peter Moss (a great 3rd visit friend of the club), put everyone through their paces (see video below), and then put on another epic performance. A great evening was had by all.

He was brilliant, amazing and WOW! - Bev

Mon 21 Feb 2022 - Phil Doleman

Well, didn`t we have an entertaining and informative evening from Phil Doleman on Monday! Not only is he an ace uke player and performer but he is also an excellent presenter and, dare I say it, Teacher! I think we all learned something from his session and even if was only one small tip it was worth it! For me, the most important point he made was the need to vary our playing and in particular be aware of the `Backbeat` (beats 2 and 4!!) that drives the majority of the music played these days!

So, many thanks to Peter B for organising and bringing Phil to meet us after a four-year interval and to Trevor, Colin and one of the Johns (John Hi?) for their tenacity and sheer force of will to make the Zoom facility available to those members who were isolating because of covid, or unable to attend for a variety of other good reasons. Thank you again to all concerned. Rob

Mon 9 Nov 2020 - Daniel Ward and Heidi Swedburg

Our good friends Heidi and Daniel chipped into the WUC Children In Need Zoom meeting with a couple of lovely renditions. Thanks guys - it was great to see you!

Mon 14 Sep 2019 - Roland Prakken

Thanks to Roland who visited the club last night, who did a great workshop with some interesting takes on blues/jazz chords and progressions, followed up by some great playing and singing an eclectic bunch of songs some of them self penned, a really good evening. Cheers Steve

Mon 12 Aug 2019 - Manitoba Hal

An unforgettable evening with a phenomenal talent - the one and only Manitoba Hal. There's not a lot more I can think to say... so I'll leave it to Eirlys!:

Well, what a great night we had last night!  The Workshop was excellent and Manitoba Hal made it easy to follow and had all of us playing 12 bar blues in an hour!!  And then the concert, which was awesome!  How can someone be so good! It wasn’t just the amazing playing, it was the fabulous voice and the performance as well.  So a big thank you to Manitoba Hal and also thank you to Trevor and the Committee for organising the event.  A special thank you to Sue and Trevor for looking after our guest.

Good luck on your travels Hal from everyone at WUC.

Mon 15 Jul 2019 - Gary from Perth

Tonight we welcomed Gary all the way from Perth for an enjoyable evening around songs that Trevor 'doesn't like'! Gary is travelling around the UK and is visiting several UK clubs along the way. From all at WUC, twas nice to meet you Gary... and have a great trip :-)

Mon 13 May 2019 - Daniel Ward and Heidi Swedburg - return visit!

Daniel and Heidi visited WUC for the second time (last time 3 years ago - see further below!) - a great evening... consisting of a thoughtful workshop followed by fantastic performance... A great couple (recommend you see / hear them if you can)... so once again - have a great tour in the UK guys. Thanks for coming, from all at WUC :-)


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Mon 15 Apr 2019 - Gloucs meets Worcs - Friends UkeNited!

Thanks for our friend of old, Terry, for bringing a gaggle of Glouc ukers 'Friends UkeNited' along for an enjoyable evening of FUN :-)

Mon 9 Jul 2018 - Australian Visitors

Super clubnight on Monday led by Russ & Peter H, plus a special guest from New South Wales Australia. Lee leads several ukulele groups in Australia & asked to join the Wuccies to play for one night only. Many thanks to Paul W for loaning his spare uke.

Mon 4 Jun 2018 - Mike Hurst

Hi All, Many thanks to Colin for organising, and to Allan for ably hosting, the excellent Mike Hurst evening yesterday. It was fascinating to learn the history of pop music and to hear the reminiscences of the now 76 year-old guy who actually met, managed and produced the original recordings of many of the artists whose songs we cover in WUC. Thanks also to Mike himself for his kind feedback that we sang and played his songs well, and most importantly smiled throughout. That's the power of ukulele!
​Pete G

Music and talk from Green Sleeves to Bob Dylan, with facts including Samuel Pepys' musical links with King Charles, and who really did kill the radio star... a fabulous evening full of fun, facts and fantastic musical interludes :-) Thanks Mike, from all at WUC

Mon 16 Apr 2018 - Peter Moss

A chance to say 'hi' again to our friend Peter Moss, for another excellent evening of learning, fun and superb entertainment :-)

Peter ran a fabulous 'intros and endings' workshop, which, aside from leaving us all with our fingers tied in knots; also showed us very clearly, what is possible with a bit of imagination! - we recommend this workshop!

Finally, as ever, Peter then put on a stunning set, demonstrating some intros and endings we had just learned... but just 'a bit' better :-)

Thanks Peter - until next time!

Mon 30 Oct 2017 - Steven Sproat

Were you there? - have you got any pickies? - let us know

Mon 11 Sept 2017 - Phil Doleman

A big thanks to Phil for visiting WUC for the 3rd time! (he must like us! - we certainly like him :-) ). Phil lead us through the triple and split strokes, with a bit of syncopation in his normal calm, collective and amusing way (including the full english triple stroke teaching method!)... and soon had us playing along like pros! (well - at least for 10 seconds anyway).

After the workshop, Phil put on a fantastic picking performance, leaving us full of admiration / aspiration and a sense of personal musical inadequacy!

Thanks for making the trip Phil - hope to see you again soon!

Mon 26 Jun 2017 - Uke Box Jury

A big thanks to Chris, Rich and Barry (at least, that's what it says on their chairs!), of Swindon Based, Uke Box Jury; for a fantastic evening's entertainment; and to John C too, for showing us how to do it properly with a cigar box :-)

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Mon 22 May 2017 - Tanzanian Treat

On Monday night Trevor brought along two visitors who were staying with him.  Ntonya and Mgonja from Tanzania. To start the evening they sang a rousing rendition of the Tanzanian National anthem accompanied by Trevor on the ukulele. They really enjoyed the evening at WUC and when Trevor offered to take them home at half time they were most insistent on staying to the end as they found it such fun. Their verdict, having assessed the average age of the membership, was that we Europeans grow old slowly and reluctantly! Trevor told them that 'You don't stop playing because you grow old, you grow old because you stop playing'. Eirlys

Mon 3 Apr 2017 - The Hula Bluebirds

What a great Hawaiian evening we had with the Hula Bluebirds!... lots of tropical vibes in a really enjoyable atmosphere. David ran a workshop with tricks, Jake with voice, and Martin with tablature. All were rewarding and challenging too! WUC would certainly recommend you get in touch with the gang and have them come visit your place soon! Thanks for a great evening guys, Lorry

...thanks also to Carrie and Eirlys for meet and greet tea and pudding!, Richard and John for the electric hookup, and to Fownes Hotel, for letting us use both the Rendezvous Bar and the John Fownes Suite for workshops :-)

Mon 23 Jan 2017 - Peter Moss

A massive thanks to Peter Moss for putting up with traffic jams on the M5, and visiting us tonight. We had a challenging and very productive Rock Medley workshop, followed by a stunning solo performance.

WUC highly recommend other Uke Clubs invite Peter along - he's top notch! - see what our members think below.

"The best workshop I have attended". What a fantastic and varied performance. From classical to pop, Formby and jazz Peter showed he could play it all. All he needs now is a looper! Richard

It was an excellent evening, if only my parents had bought me a ukelele instead of dolls when I was four! Sue M

One of, if not, the finest demonstration of ukulele playing I have seen . Played with passion amazing skill and ability. A truly great night (Does he want to join wuc on Monday's I think he should be able to keep up with us :-) ). Russ

Brilliant night tonight.  That is the best workshop I've been to.  He made it easy to follow and fun and the hour flew by.  Also, unlike with many workshops, when I never look at the notes again as they are over my head!, I will practice these at home! And his playing was outstanding and so fast that his hand was a blur! Eirlys

Blew my socks off!!! He belongs to a race of super-humans with F1 Ferraris' for arms!!!? Thanks to Tom also... Rob P

Mon 18 Jul 2016 - Ben Rouse

What I really appreciated about Ben Rouse is that he instructed us on some 'tools of the trade' in the workshop at different levels of challenge and then he admirably put them all into practice in his performance to demonstrate how we can add colour, variety and interest to our ukulele playing. He certainly inspires me to practice more, Carrie

What a great evening.  I thought he (Ben) was fantastic and had a very nice manner, Richard

A big thanks from all at Worcester Ukulele Club (to Ben) for providing us with a great strumming workshop and a fantastic set, where our club members really enjoyed the evening. We had several club members expressing thanks and saying they really enjoyed the content and structure of the strumming workshop - something totally different… and as for the performance… brilliant. Hope the tour to Austria goes well too. Cheers, Lorry

Great night last night.  Ben Rouse was brilliant, Eirlys

Mon 4 Jul 2016 - Carrie's Kanikapila

"Mahalo" to Carrie and her family for a wonderful presentation of Hawaiian culture, with traditional songs and hula dancing.

Mon 20 Jun 2016 - Daniel Ward and Heidi Swedberg

Thanks so much to Daniel Ward and Heidi Swedberg for their wonderful workshop teaching us how to pluck arpeggios and strum flamenco style... and sound pretty damned good at the same time :-)... A fantastic evening, lead by 2 lovely people. Enjoy the rest of your tour guys.

Mon 23 May 2016 - Aaron Keim - The Quiet American

Were you there? - have you got any pickies? - let us know

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Click here to read an interview with Aaron

Mon 9 May 2016 - The Fidgets

Thanks to our new friends Max and Ryan of the Fidgets, for entertaining us on Mon 9th May, where they put on a great set with their massive six stringed ukuleles and were well received, with club members ensuring it was a very interactive session :-).

Mon 14 Sept 2015 -  Dead Man's Uke

Huge thanks to Tim and Jake of Dead Man's Uke for a great evening of great music and ukulele related Tiny Tim tales - good luck on the rest of your tour chaps. And thanks too, to Michael Adcock popping in. You're all welcome to drop in again in future :-)