Wakeylele at Xscape Oct 2024 Video by James Cawthorne ... See MoreSee Less
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wakeylele at xscape Oct 2024
by Phil Barr
News Blog bit.ly/3zVVeyJ
The band arrived at X-Scape looking in fine fettle on a glorious October morning although what the poet Keats would have made of this massive concrete jungle is another matter – maybe he could have thought of a suitable rap to capture the frenetic scene which greeted us with huge numbers of shoppers arriving in cars to indulge in retail and leisure therapy. Still, better to be seen and heard in a throbbing shopping mall than not at all, especially with the aid of our recent hi – tech equipment and expert team of sound engineers with Joe, David and Rob lending expert ears to the sound checks with Sue providing the vocal samples. As for what Roy calls eye candy, there was plenty of that on show too with the welcome return to live performances of Pop, looking resplendent in a pink scarf and sitting (comfortably it is to be hoped) on the front row, along with cool waistcoats and / or hats from the likes of Mike S, John, Stuart, Dave Blackburn and Dave F, both Daves also having kindly volunteered to be roadies/pack horses for the day. Val, meanwhile sported her fetching music motifs tie while Thelma settled for a white flower in her hair just in case Honolulu Baby was added as an encore.
With such a feast for the eyes, Joe’s grandson James had no trouble inviting the band to pose for a group photo before David took command of his now primed for battle musical troops and we were away. Another Saturday Night was one of the successes of the first set, helped greatly by David taking charge of the key change with his lusty strumming allied to He Man style body language to counter any white noise of which there was plenty. Daydream Believer also went well as did Hey Good Looking which needless to say could be addressed to every member of the band on their good days. The only temporary blip came unusually with the opening chords of I’m into Something Good but this was the exception with the much more demanding Doo Be Doo Doo Medley rightly receiving enthusiastic applause from one discerning group of spectators.
The interval arrived which gave Stan the chance to belatedly set up for the second half as he showed his commitment to the group having first filled in as a taxi service to his wife who is currently unable to drive as she recovers from a recent cataract op, Stan being wise enough to know his place in the domestic pecking order.
Before the second half resumed Maria was seen to double check with Joe that the sound system was still switched on as multitudes of mainly relaxed looking families approached, some on their way to various indoor sporting pursuits. These including the huge climbing walls just behind us and as Pop’s multi – decibel cry announced the second half had arrived I reckon that at least three climbers were suddenly left dangling helpessly in mid -air. Fortunately, though these individuals were able to regain their footing as they enjoyed hearing two songs about love and one featuring the dream maker in the sky, with David again guiding us expertly through the undulating tones of No Hopers, Jokers and Rogues a recent addition to our repertoire. And so, we continued in good voice with amongst more familiar songs, the Kinks appropriately titled Sunny Afternoon so that by the next number we were indeed feeling On Top of the World before concluding with a double flourish: The Union of … and the thumping rhythms of We’re Gonna Play.
Another gig in the bag, happy faces, satisfied customers, and according to an independent (ah-em) review just in, we were amazing!
A great effort today from David in another challenging environment, from the sound and video team already mentioned and thanks also to Mike Hindley once again, the YAA stall this time being adjacent to us with an enthusiastic young woman being in sole charge.
Next up for those who are available is a return to the same venue on Friday, 1st November.
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Heavens Above Wakeylele at Wakefield Cathedral. video James Cawthorne ... See MoreSee Less
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Video by courtesy of James Cawthorne
Heavens Above - Wakeylele at Wakefield Cathedral.
5th October, 2024.
Listed on the Church Suite Events leaflet as:
Afternoon Tea with Flat Cap Three,
( I will refer to them as our support act for the purposes of this report so that I can re - title it Afternoon Tea with Wakey - Lay - Lee), this turned out to be rather an unearthly experience in more ways than one. Firstly to have the unexpected opportunity of playing inside such an awesome building seemed unreal but also to have to perform in such a cavernous space with less than twenty members of the band was a herculean task especially without the new sound equipment, left behind for security reasons as we were all expecting to be playing outside on such a fine October day. In the event it may not have been straightforward in any case as there was a busker performing close by who didn't appear to have a decibel limiter on his amplifier. David was not the only one who turned up expecting to see a gazebo in place outside the cathedral and Thelma allegedly did the best part of a half - marathon circling the perimeter looking for clues as to our whereabouts before deciding there was nothing for it but to step inside and pray for assistance.
So, from what by all accounts was a highly successful evening at Sandal recently, this was a real test of resilience for the band. And did they overcome the hurdles, given the difficulties, yes I would say we did what we could in the cicumstances. It really was a tale of two halves - the first set felt a bit flat with one or two exceptions as we came to terms with the acoustics - also the audience was thinly spread out over such a capacious area which was the nave. David, naturally concerned about the transmission of sound, urged us on to even greater efforts. (I should just mention at this point that I was on the verge of pulling out a megaphone I happened to have in my bag in case of emergencies but a raised eyebrow from our leader was enough to nip that idea in the bud.)
The interval allowed us time to re - group, to socialise and to gather the odd freebie and leaflets from the Our Year (Wakefield) organisers and Geoff was seen wandering around with what looked to me like a long back - scratcher but which turned out to be an even more useful accessory - one for testing smoke alarms or similar without having to first balance on a deck chair or similar Then, having sung Happy Birthday to our esteemed treasurer and committee member, Margaret - I think today is her real, as against official birthday, it was onto
the second half and with this came a change of mood - as a collective raucous cry of 'Wakeylele' preceded the very familiar 'I've got a lovely bunch... with Pop being unavailable, ( hope to see you back in action soon Pop). The audience by now had swelled to a very healthy extent and several numbers were met with resounding applause, not least On the Road Again and The Union of Different Kinds. Having saved the day by and large, as soon as we had rounded off our performance we were kindly informed that a buffet luch was ready. I should add here that appropriate decorum was shown in such hallowed surroundings with no evidence of unseemly grappling for position in the queue which already resembled the feeding of the five thousand. For those of us who waited patiently, though, the refreshments were very nice and thanks must go to the, I guess volunteers, who made this possible and a word too for Roy's Margaret who helped me out when I made a complete hash of making sense of the milk / water flasks when attempting to make a cup of tea. It only remained then to chew over the day's events as we partook of the tasty sandwiches, sausage rolls and mini quiches and sweet fancies whilst listening to the Flat Cap Three, who I must say weren't at all bad!
Thanks go to David for not buckling under the challenging circumstances, and to Joe's grandson, James, who as you can see is already providing stiff competition for our video team.
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Lunch at The Spring Sandal 16th Sep
Club members enjoyed lunch at the Spring Barnsley Road Sandal followed by music provided by soloists and general playing of some favourites by all present, Joe described the event as a “Great Afternoon, good food,good banter, thoroughly enjoyable” with Carol adding that it was “An all round lovely afternoon”
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West Yorkshire Sports and Social Club gig 29th Sep. All members of Wakeylele performed well and received many accolades from an appreciative audience at the W.Y.S.S.C. gig. Soloists were tremendous and set the seal on, what was already, a well-received performance. A donation to Y.A.A. of £100 was well earned!
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bit.ly/3YPZTfv Link to Newsblog
Report by Phil Barr
High Summer at the Ridings July 25th Report Phil Barr video Jane Barr
So, the final gig of the summer season was upon us with David calculating that we have completed more than twenty gigs since September. Now, back on familiar territory at the beginning of the school holidays, there was a relaxed vibe following a similarly laid-back Tuesday evening session after last week’s pre – concert tension, the only slight concern being that Pop’s non – appearance last night might be of concern but we needn’t have worried as the familiar Paddington style that emerged from the top of an escalator.
Having begun by thanking the band for their magnificent efforts throughout the past 12 months David got things under way directly under the Ridings glitter ball and it was soon obvious that the band was in dazzling end – of – term form as we made our way smoothly through the first set of songs with Green Door and I Wanna Dance With You making successful returns and the lively Chattanooga Choo Choo, I think it was, attracting several people who stopped to take videos. Others could be seen swaying to various tunes as they appeared from the floor below before continuing their shopping missions. With the epic High Noon being omitted as the time approached twelve noon the interval arrived in no time and a few of us scurried off to buy coffees which nearly backfired as the cafe we ordered from then ran out of coffee. Mags sprang into action at this point to collect cold water, so that when the drinks did arrive, we had a fighting chance of getting back in time for the resumption. Alas, we arrived sixty seconds late and only avoided being sent to the naughty step by agreeing to add 3 points to our ukulele licences. David then attempted to soften the blow by telling us that our performances never ever disappointed him but the ironic smile suggested that someone we know well might be telling a bit of a porkie. Talking of which there was a chap dressed in a garish coloured top and plus fours sitting on the balcony all morning who looked as if he had eaten his fair share of bacon butties who, whilst he may have given up on the chance of making it to the Paris Olympics golf squad,
nevertheless appeared to be having an enjoyable day taking in the sights and sounds of Wakefield’s once iconic shopping centre. So on with the music and although the Coconuts belter of a song didn’t stir any interest on this occasion – as David said you win some, you lose some – things improved with On the Road Again with the irascible Pop being heard to say in a more than a loud whisper that everyone likes a bit of Willy. Fortunately, there was no security guard around at the time. Our music even attracted three young teenagers who stopped to listen to two or three songs which they genuinely applauded before reappearing on the balcony to take in the likes of Love Really Hurts and The Union of Different Kinds as well as Wagon Wheel
– all performed with a bit of a swagger before the finale and a rumbustious Old Time Medley with the uke strings almost glowing with frenzied friction as the final knees up was bashed out.
As the band gathered their belongings, no doubt looking forward to a well-earned break, I’m sure everyone’s thoughts were with Richard (highlighted so well by Joe), as he continues his recovery. Each time I go online to reference a song I think of the effort he has put in to make the whole website so accessible, not to mention his wise words and entertaining stories after Tuesday’s sessions and his appearances at gigs. David deserves great credit for pushing us to become more accomplished – just listening to those around me is proof enough that we can now tackle music that was beyond some of us not so long ago and it was interesting to hear that the friendly bar lady at the club last night commented how
As the Ukulele season draws to a close, Joe Fisher has produced a video which is a collation of highlight from 2024 and 2023 .see it on Newblog
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Summer Concert at Walton Sports and Social Club 19 July
Report by Phil Barr
There were reports after Tuesday’s intense final band rehearsal of soloists having nightmares about being chased by microphones trying to kiss them and from seated band members about giant horseshoes squeezing the life out of them, (and that’s apart from rumours about affected individuals being offered black market valium pills as they staggered out of the club). But… as we know the search for perfection isn’t without its sacrifices and so our resilient band arrived in a determined and upbeat mood in light casual summer outfits to match the sweltering July evening. Inside, Joe and Rob were busy fine – tuning the tech and Geoff was receiving and organising the raffle prizes, while David and others were making sure band chairs were arranged in the aforementioned tight horseshoe shape. In the meantime, friends and family started to arrive and by the time we were ready for the off there were just enough people to abandon a contingency plan to send press gangs onto Shay Lane to make up the numbers, (our version of a crowdstrike!)
Thus, all was in place and David began proceedings, introducing the band in song and adding a ukulele riddle for good measure from his corny joke collection.
Three confidence boosting full band songs then followed complete with interesting snippets of background information also provided by our leader, thereby preparing the way for Pippa and Dave Blackburn to display their talents in the far from easy Zombies song She’s Not There. Another test, this time for the whole band was Daydream Believer where one instrumental ‘hook’ had caused problems on Tuesday. I suspect different strategies may have been used to overcome this hurdle: a) leaving it all to David, b) cheating by keeping to a plain C chord, c) alternating between C and C sus 4, or C and C and C+9 or, d) attempting all three chords and hoping any mistakes would be drowned out. Anyway, with this ordeal over and clammy clothes now even clammier, it was time to sit back and enjoy Mike S’s consummate and entertaining song about a tattooed lady followed soon after by Beryl’s silky voice with David providing the instrumental for It’s Getting Better and not long after that Rob was pulling out all the stops as Walton’s very own Donovan with harmonica to the fore. A quick mention here too for the idea of importing colourful, removable mike covers for tonight, thereby not only keeping nasty lurgies at bay but probably helping those suffering nightmares on Tuesday night to dream about lollipops instead. There was a very minor glitch when the band was nearly wrong footed when David launched into the opening chords of, I’m into Something Good before Hey Good Looking’ but as he said his song sheets had stuck together and of course we all believed him, (ahem).
The interval arrived but there was to be no rest for the wicked at the interval for our main man who performed more heroics by reading out innumerable winning raffle ticket numbers leaving him little time to recover before the second half resumed in the same vein with the same tried and trusted formula. Chris emerged in an alter ego state as a Norfolk rustic of doubtful heritage, spinning a tale about his humble upbringing before leading an amusing sing – a – long version of Oh Dear What Can the Matter Be. As a complete but lovely contrast Carol performed her piece de resistance
before Mike Carr again changed the tempo with his electrified uke wizardry in Sultans of Swing followed shortly after by Dave Burgess, (himself no mean player),
and the depleted Thursday group performing an Everley Brothers ballad. Another full band song which went with a Bom Bom Bom (in the enforced absence of Val) was the Kinks Sunny Afternoon before Roy came to the mike once more with his proficient Teenager in Love.
In fact, there was no end to the individual talent as Melvyn and Tony demonstrated with their smooth rendition of Promises, an Eric Clapton number. The end of the marathon evening of entertainment was now in sight which was just as well with the thermometer still hovering around 30°C and puddles of perspiration liable to set off a tsunami of uke equipment and flailing bodies should anyone slip but who better than Pop to convey a chilled atmosphere with Bob Marley’s Three Little Birds before the whole band’s powerful finale, One Hundred Miles penned by David and Tony with made to measure lyrics.
And so that was it, the summer extravaganza completed and a big pat on the back for David and for everyone in the band.
Next up, after Tuesday’s session and to round off this hectic season is the Ridings next Wednesday, 24th July – 10:30 for 11 a m. assuming there are no outages before then.
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Meet on Tuesdays at Walton Club Shay Lane Walton
All levels 19:00 to 20:30
Leader David Broadbent [email protected]
THE WAKEYLELE BAND "Seeking to make music together with a sense of professionalism and enjoyment." Wakeylele Band. based in Walton, Wakefield were previously known as the "Gaslighter Ukulele Band." We have existed, in one form or another, since 2018. We have around 50 members. We are a non-profit organization and donate all our proceeds to charity. We are proud to support the Yorkshire Air Ambulance service and Wakefield Hospice.
Gigs & Events History
Oct 19th Xscape to Castleford
Oct 5th 'Heaven's Above' Wakefield Cathedral
Sep 29th West Riding Sports Club Concert
Sep 16th lunch at the springs
July 25th High Summer at the Ridings
July 19th Summer Concert Walton Club
July 13th Badsworth Village Fete
july 6th Old picture house Barnsley wedding
june 27 White Rose Leeds
June 23 Newmillerdam Green
june 15 Horbury Street Fayre
May 16 Mid May Gig. YAA Ridings, Wakefield
Mar 28 Easter Eggstravaganza. White Rose Leeds
Mar 16 Spring into Life for YAA Ridings Wakefield
Feb 17 Yorkshire Air Ambulance Ridings Wakefield
Jan 24 Burns Lunch. Gaskell's Restaurant. Wakefield
Jan 24 Yorks Air Ambulance Ridings Wakefield
Dec 23 Celebratory Club Session
Dec 23 Wentbridge House Hotel
Dec 23 Yorks Air Ambulance Ridings Wakefield
Nov 23 Farmer Copley's, Pontefract
Nov 23 Darby and Joan, Crofton
Oct 23 Yorks Air Ambulance Xscape Wakefield
Oct 23 Yorks Air Ambulance Ridings Wakefield
Oct 23 Ted's Surprise Birthday Party
Oct 23 Silver Sunday. Ridings
Aug 23 Wakefield Hospice Butterfly Appeal
July 23 Wakeylele Anniversary. St Paul's
July 23 Newmillerdam Beer Fest
May 23 Yorks Air Ambul'ce. White Rose Leeds
May 23 Old Snydale Care Home
May 23 Walton Coronation Event
May 23 Newmillerdam Gr'n Coronation Event
Apr 23 Celebratory Lunch. The Spring. Sandal
Apr 23 Yorks Air Ambuance Ridings Wakefield
Apr 23 Horbury Uke Fest. Community Centre
Feb 23 Yorks Air Ambulance White Rose,Leeds
Feb 23 Whinn Dale Normanton
Feb 23 Yorks Air Ambulance Ridings Wakefield
Jan 23 Gaskell's Lunch
Dec 22 Yorks Air Ambulance Ridings Wakefield
Dec 22 Yorks Air Ambulance Ridings Wakefield
18 Nov22 Pippa's Birthday Walton Club
Oct 22 Yorks Air Ambulance Ridings Wakefield
Oct 22 Yorks Air Ambulance White Rose Leeds
Aug 22 Portobello Gala
Jul 22 Newmillerdam Beer Festival
Jul 22 Walton Open Gardens
Jun 22 Stanley Jubilee Gala
Jun 22 Crofton Working Men's Club
May 22 'Uke Can Sing' with Sandal Singers
May 22 Yorks Air Ambulance White Rose Leeds
May 22 Peter Harney Funeral
Apr 22 Easter Lunch - Springs Sandal
Mar 22 Walton Library/Hub Launch
Mar 21 Yorks Air Ambulance Ridings
Dec 21 Yorks Air Ambulance Cannon Hall
Dec 21 Christmas Lunch - Springs Sandal
Dec 21 Kings Croft Pontefract
Nov 21 Sherwood Court, Kettlethorpe
Nov 21 Yorkshire Air Ambulance Ridings
Nov 21 Uke Orchestra of GB. Bradford
Sep 21 Yorks Air Ambulance Ridings Centre
Sep 21 Stan's McMillan Nurse Garden Party
Sep 21 Labyrinth Opening Newmillerdam Green
2021 Wakefield Earth Fest St Paul's
2020 Sherwood Court Kettlethorpe
2020 Manor Care Home Walton
Dec 2019 Kings Arms Xmas Gig
Oct 2019 Horbury Uke Fest