Brockley Ukulele Group back at Amersham Arms

Continuing their tradition of fine uke-themed flyers, Brockley Ukelele Group are back in action at the Amersham Arms  SE14 on Sunday 14th September 2014. 

Music Monday: Brockley Ukulele Group at Amersham Arms

Brockley Ukulele Group continue their tradition of fine flyers with this uke-toting clangers image:

They are playing at the Amersham Arms on Sunday June 9th with  their ever expanding repertoire of songs available for you to request in the Sunday night Ukebox. They've got more records than the KGB don't you know?

Brockley Ukulele Group 100th Gig

Brockley Ukulele Group are playing their 100th gig tonight, at the Amersham Arms in New Cross. The SE London strummers started out early in 2008 with a drop-in session at Broca cafe, and played their first gig at the Telegraph Hill Centre in June 2008. I played with them for the first couple of years and had a lot of fun playing out at the Montague Arms, Hobgoblin, Jam Circus, Rivoli Ballroom, Shunt, and other venues. Ukeists have come and gone from the shifting collective that is BUG but one constant since late 2008 has been a monthly session at the Amersham Arms.

Brockley Incident Yesterday

Not sure exactly what happened in Brockley yesterday afternoon, the story circulating on twitter was 'Crazy guy wielding a pitchfork in Brockley has police cars & helicopters after him, lots of blood in the street'. Don't think it was quite a bloodbath,  but what is clear is that  at around 3 pm there was initially some kind of incident with a man threatening people by the row of shops opposite the Brockley Barge on Brockley Road. He then seems to have been chased towards Brockley Station and run across the train lines, leading to trains being stopped. First Capital Connect reported 'Delays of up to 45 minutes between Norwood Junction and New Cross Gate because of a trespass incident at Brockley'.

The police gave chase with the police helicopter twitter account (yes there is one) reporting '1535: Currently over Brockley @mpslewisham searching for male chased by local Officers'. Don't know if he was arrested, whether anybody was injured, or what the alleged weapon was - did anybody actually see the fork? 

Anyway this was all going off right next to Brockley Christmas Market in Coulgate Streeet, where people were sipping mulled wine, buying presents and listening to Brockley Ukulele Group. 'Mike Modular' has posted a sound recording on audioboo that captures the strange soundclash of ukes, sirens and helicopters. This is a slice of sound that sums up early 21st century Brockley (and indeed other areas like East Dulwich and the Bellenden end of Peckham) -  a  pleasant if slightly twee world of cup cakes, crafts and small stringed instruments periodically interrupted by desperation and violence.

listen to ‘Brockley Christmas Market’ on Audioboo

Update Monday: so was this all a big fuss about not very much? According to eye witnesses in comments there was a some kind of altercation by the Brockley Barge, followed by a guy waving a swiss army knife around. Later someone, possibly the same guy, was seen with a garden fork being threatening. Doesn't seem there was blood on the streets , as reported on Twitter, or indeed anybody injured, and as a fork was abandoned at the scene it doesn't really sound like there was a guy wandering the streets of Brockley for 24 hours brandishing a pitch fork. A big police operation failed to find him that day and the next day someone - perhaps the same guy again - was arrested in Brockley, with Lewisham police reporting that 'a burglary suspect that @MPSinthesky assisted us with... was arrested & has been bailed pending further enqs'.  No doubt distressing for some people directly involved and could have ended badly, but to be honest sounds like a fairly routine case of messed up drink/drugs/mental health issues.

Ukemania in New Cross and Brockley

Way back in early 2008 Corrie, a then barista at Broca cafe in Coulgate Street (SE4), invited a few regulars to join her for a ukulele jam session in the cafe. Who could have predicted then that before long the uke craze would sweep like wildfire across the area?

From that session came Brockley Ukulele Group, spin-offs like Post-Puke and more. Among the early strummers was a teacher and a couple of parents from John Stainer Primary School. Before long the school had acquired its own set of ukes and children were being initiated into the mysteries of the one finger C chord.

Edmund Waller Primary School in New Cross has followed suit in arming its kids with those affordable and accessible stringed instruments.

In another ukeist coup the newly appointed vicar of St Catherines Church (junction of Pepys and Kitto Roads SE14), Rev. Sheridan James, is also of the four stringed persuasion.

It was at her instigation that last night there was a mass outpouring of ukemania at the Hill Station Cafe (next to the church) for the Ukulele Carol Jam. Over 100 kids and their parents squeezed into the cafe for the afternoon children's session, followed by about 20 adults in the evening strumming and singing along to Silent Night, Good King Wenceslas etc.

Meanwhile back at BUG...

Brockley Ukulele Group is having an open practice day this Sunday, 18th December at the Amersham Arms (just over the road from New Cross station). If you are over 18 (sorry, pub has strict admissions policy) and fancy joining in with some songs all you need to do is bring yourself and a ukulele. They'll be there from 5pm until 7pm in the upstairs room (stairs lead up from the corridor between the front and back rooms).

BUG also report: 'Due to an ongoing baby boom in the band, we are looking for at least one new female band member - ability to produce tuneful sounds from mouth more important than ability to produce tuneful sounds from uke (though willingness to work on the latter is desirable...)'. For more information email brockleyukegroup@googlemail.com

Christmas Comes to Brockley

It's cold, it's dark. it's December. There is a full moon above, and mulled wine to keep you warm. Yes it's officially that time of year, and in case you needed any reminding there was the Brockley Christmas Market in Coulgate Street (last Saturday).

Music was in the crisp winter air courtesy of, among others, my old strumming companeros Brockley Ukulele Group. Their seasonal fare included 'It's cold outside' (it was) and a fine version of Half Man Half Biscuit's 'Its Cliched to be Cynical at Christmas' - 'Make a noise with your toys, and ignore all the killjoys' (quite right too).



Ukes, riots and the Amersham Arms

Earlier in the week I noticed on East Dulwich Forum that somebody was having a 'hug a hoodie' moment and suggesting playing music on the streets to soothe the troubled souls of potential South London rioters. They offered to bridge a ukulele - bless. Some people might think that was asking for it, but not me - hey I have a collection of small stringed instruments.

Not sure that the Brockley Ukulele Group would claim to have such powers, but they have good flyers and will be having their free monthly Ukebox session at the Amersham Arms in New Cross on Sunday 14 August

Ukebox returns

Brockley Ukulele Group are back at the Amersham Arms tomorrow (Sunday 12th) after a summer break for their monthly Sunday night ukebox. 8 pm start, admission is free.

Nice flyer, featuring uke-strumming aliens in New Cross.

Hacienda on the Hill

Brockley Max festival finished last weekend with Hacienda on the Hill. Hilly Fields was nice and busy, just like a real festival... I know that sounds patronising, what I mean is that it didn't feel like just a handful of passers-by watching their mate's band. Bumped into a few people (including Bob from Brockley and Scott Wood), sat in the sunshine, heard some good music, what more could you want?

I particularly enjoyed Maracatudo Mafua, samba from Brazil's Northeast State of Brazil - Pernambuco via Brockley.

Seemingly I missed the later restaging of the Wicker Man in the stone circle by Decodance - anybody who was there care to describe it?

Some nice Brockley Max photos by Rupert Hitchcox

There also's a whole page of photos in this weekend's South London Press

Rihanna at the Rivoli

As discussed here before the Rivoli Ballroom in Crofton Park has seen many famous faces on its stage and dancefloor - White Stripes, Florence and the Machine, Tina Turner, S Club 7, Kylie Minogue, even Brockley Ukelele Group! Now, thanks to Justin Lee Collins' Good Times show on Channel 5 being filmed there, a few more can be added to the roll call. Last week's had Meat Loaf playing darts, the show going out on June 7th has Mary J Blige singing. And pictured here, sitting in the side bar, is none other than Rihanna.

May Uke Box

Brockley Ukulele Group are putting on their next monthly Uke Box session at the Amersham Arms in New Cross this Sunday 8th May. Admission free, 8 pm start. Great flyer!

Brockley Ukulele Group Valentine's Ukebox

Brockley Ukulele Group will be doing their ukebox thing at the Amersham Arms on Valentine's Day, so come along and shout out for your favourite romantic/anti-romantic song.

Brockley in the Telegraph

The Brockley Christmas fair and a certain local ukelele group get a mention in the Telegraph's gardening section this week (14 January), with Matthew Appleby writing:

'I ran a pop-up garden shop in up-and-coming London suburb Brockley recently. We sold the dream ticket of secondhand books, local photo cards of Brockley in the snow, cupcakes, and slug and weedkillers. Only the chemicals failed to shift. This retail offering may sound like a health and safety nightmare, and indeed one child complained about tinfoil in their fairy cake, but the event had a lovely community feel, with a ukulele band, Santa and mulled wine on offer. We used a cute baby as bait (my idea) and gave the proceeds to charity (not my idea).

However, no-one bought any garden products. Maybe it was the time of year. Maybe the trendy Brockley-ites want to do it for free. Maybe the seeds and grow-your-own thing is now so embedded that no-one thinks they need garden chemicals any more. Maybe they are all organic and self-sufficient. But I doubt it'.

Local allotment holders might also be interested in the item in this same column on a new company setting up private allotments to compete with the 'socialist system' of council-run allotments - apparently 'Allotments used to be for pensioners and the poor. Now they are for the middle classes'. Discuss.

Incidentally, has anyone else noticed the over-use of the term 'pop-up' everywhere for anything vaguely temporary? Someone sticks a few pictures on a cafe wall and now it's a pop-up gallery; or in the example above, a stall in a Christmas market is rebranded as a pop-up shop.

Yet more ukes

The South East London ukulele movement continues to spread its four stringed tentacles. First of all there was the Dulwich Ukulele Club, now a well established band on the festival circuit. Then Brockley Ukulele Group started up about 18 months ago, and are regularly to be found in the Amersham Arms and elsewhere.

Now there's the People of Lewisham Ukulele Collective (PLUC), which meet on alternatvie Tuesdays The Lewis Club, Lewisham Hospital. There next session is on November 17th at 8:30 pm (heard about this via Leepedia on twitter).

Incidentally, Brockley Ukulele Group will be playing at Jam Circus in Brockley on Friday November 27th.

Brockley Ukulele Group October & November

Brockley Ukelele Group's session at the Amersham Arms on Oct 11th had a good crowd, with the usual uke box 'shout the number, and we play' format. A couple of new members made their public singing/strumming debut.

There's an unbiased review at ЯocktobeR, whose author is documenting 31 consecutive nights of London music-making (the following two photos are from there):

The November session is on Sunday 8th November, 8:00 pm.

Sad to Say I Must Be on My Way

Lovely film from the multi-talented Katian Witchger, sometime Brockley Ukulele Group stalwart, bidding farewell to London on her return home across the Western Ocean. Check out the mouse's adventures at Nunhead and Elephant and Castle.

BUG at the Amersham

Fresh from supporting Boney M (or a version thereof) in Lewisham last month, Brockley Ukulele Group are back at the Amersham Arms this Sunday 11th October for their monthly ukebox session.

September's Amersham Arms session was a busy night with BUG introducing new material including Chumbawamba's Add Me and Justin Timberlake's Sexy Back.

This weekend it's an 8 pm start, admission free.

BUG September Session

Brockley Ukulele Group's next Sunday Session at the Amersham Arms in New Cross takes place on Sunday 13 September from 8 pm (admission free). That's Buster Keaton wielding the uke in the photo by the way.

BUG in the London Paper

Brockley Ukulele Group's monthly Sunday Night Uke Box at the Amersham Arms got a mention in the London Paper yesterday (13 August) as one of the top '10 ukulele clubs and club nights in London'. The listing accompanied an article Time for anarchy in the ukulele which declared: 'Once the preserve of 50s comics and people called George (Formby, Harrison), the ukulele has long been regarded as a jokey bit of musical flotsam washed up from Blue Hawaii. But no more. These days the “bonsai” guitar is enjoying a boom, with iPhone apps, YouTube tutorials, club nights, and celebs from ­Kaiser Chiefs to Patrick Wolf lining up to applaud it'.

The next Uke Box at the Amersham Arms is scheduled for Sunday September 6th.

Brockley Ukulele Group and Trev & Simon

Despite some minor technical difficulties which delayed getting going, the Brockely Ukulele Group gig at Jam Circus went well last night. My main concern with starting late is that it gives more drinking time and before you know it you're struggling to distinguish your B flat from you F# minor, but we still managed to pull off the very complex Daft Punk 'Harder Faster' cover.

The main excitement, as you can just about see in the above photo, was that sitting right in front of the band was none other than Trev and Simon, best known as the house comedians on Going Live! and Live and Kicking (late 80s/early 90s Saturday morning kids TV). Luckily I hadn't had so much to drink that I felt the need to demand that they sing one of their old Singing Corner folk parodies. But looking at some old footage on Youtube, I think I can say that they invented Flight of the the Conchords! Here they are with Jason Donovan and Nigel Kennedy:

BUG are playing at the Amersham Arms tomorrow (Sunday) night, admission free, the last appearance with the band for a while by Brockley ukeist and ex-John Stainer teacher Alex, who is leaving the country for a while.

BUG photo by Richard at Jam Circus.