Wallington ukulele band to perform sea shanties live for Trafalgar Day
The performance will be broadcast on Angel Radio
A live performance of sea shanties by a Wallington ukulele band will be broadcast over the Havant-based station Angel Radio ahead of Trafalgar Day.
The Ukes of Wallington will perform shanties such as Paddy Laid Back and South Australia, as well as ocean themed songs like the Sloop John B, to celebrate 221 years since the British victory at the Battle of Trafalgar.
“We were invited to give a performance on Angel Radio last year and it was pretty well received by listeners so I contacted them as it is coming up to Trafalgar Day if we would be able to perform,” said band member Mark Acheson.
“We had good fun last time, and it was well received, so we thought lets give it another go.
“We were invited to headline a sea shanty festival in Titchfield even though we had not performed any sea shanties before, but it got cancelled so we thought we would perform on Angel instead.
“We all get in the room and play live with microphones on the ceiling so we can all sing. There will be 16 of us in total and we will all sing together.”
The band formed in 2013 at a pub in Wallington and soon had over 35 members. They now practice every Tuesday at Portchester Sailing Club, and are always welcoming new players to join them.
“It’s good fun and we have got a lot of people with us who have taken up playing an instrument for the first time in their lives,” said Mr Acheson.
“The ukulele is fairly easy to learn, you can surprise yourself that you can do it.”
The Ukes of Wallington will be performing live on Angel Radio at 2pm on October 20.