Hi DUGs,
The cheerful tones of the ukulele are known to relieve stress and bring joy, particularly when playing as part of a group. Well, if proof were needed, last week's meeting provided just that!
A great choice of songs, played with joy and exuberance.
An open mic performance that was simply stunning.
Our play through of the revised It's Raining Again, just blew me away.
I was on cloud nine when I got home on Wednesday night!
Workshop and BraveUke Song Choices
A big thank you to Pauline for putting out the WhatsApp polls, and thanks to all those who took part.
If you are not in our WhatsApp group, Pauline will have sent an email with a link to join. It will be a great benefit to us to be able to communicate with the whole group quickly and efficiently when needed.
Sarah wants four songs to work with us over the year (two from her song book, two from ours). But she asked me to give her four or five from each, so that she could choose the ones mist suitable for the workshops. I have sent our suggestions to her, I'll let you know the final selections, and dates of the workshops once Sarah gets back to me.
Our BraveUke performance will be around 25 minutes, so we will need five or six songs. We have some very good suggestions, and we will take a look at these over the next week or two.
Skiffle Anniversary
January, 2026 saw the 70th anniversary of Rock Island Line hitting the UK charts. Often dubbed, 'The song that made Britain Rock', the impact of Lonnie Donegan's recording cannot be understated.
Skiffle heavily influenced the British Invasion, giving early careers to The Beatles (The Quarrymen), The Rolling Stones, The Who, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The Hollies, The Kinks, and artists like David Bowie, Van Morrison, and Jimmy Page, by making music accessible with homemade instruments, inspiring a generation to form bands and develop into rock, pop, and folk legends. Key figures like Lonnie Donegan popularized it, acting as a bridge from trad jazz to rock, with many stars citing him as a primary inspiration.
"Donegan’s rough and ready style was at odds with the polished crooners who dominated the charts in the 1950s. He played the guitar in a way that sounded like anyone could do it. ‘Rock Island Line’ sounded like nothing else on the radio and it inspired a generation of British youths to pick up guitars and begin a journey that would take them to the top of the American charts.Rock Island Line was the biggest hit of the Skiffle craze. This spoke directly to a generation of British teenagers who had grown up during post war rationing. Within 18 months of its release, sales of acoustic guitars in the UK had rocketed from 5000 to over 250,000 a year."Billy Bragg
John Lennon's Quarrymen Skiffle Band, June 1957
Open Mic
Rock Island Line is a fairly simple song. Not at all difficult to play. But the breakneck speed that Donegan sung it is quite a challenge. A challenge I'm going to have a go at this week!
Playlist
I've included a few of the BraveUke Suggestions for this week's playlist:
*Notes and links for I'm a Believer are in the Workshops and Tutorials section of the DUG website (we looked at the intro riff last week. I'd like to spend a bit more time on it this week)
**Our two-part vocals on It's Raining Again last week has inspired me to introduce the background lyrics on verse two of Teach Your Children (it may, or may not work?).
Someone You Loved
This is the Life
Friday, I'm in Love
It's Raining Again*
I'm a Believer
Teach Your Children**
I'm Yours
Walking on the Waves
Fishermans Blues
Whistle for the Choir
Make Me Smile
Galway Girl
DUG Song Sheets
Now that we are no longer using printed song sheets at our meetings, all new songs will be put on the website, rather than attached to these emails. If you want to practice any of our songs, you can view/download all our songs here: Our Songs