The all-singing, all-strumming Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain have been bringing their toe-tapping music, banter and exuberant entertainment to audiences for 31 years.

Founded in 1985 by George Hinchliffe, who lives in Kent, he now writes and arranges for the orchestra.

Their 2016 tour, the Gigasecond Tour, comes to three venues in Kent, where audiences can see and hear for themselves why the appeal of the Ukes of GB has led to sold-out shows all over the world from the Royal Albert Hall to Sydney Opera House.

Going from Tchaikovsky to Nirvana via Otis Redding and Spaghetti Western soundtracks, the orchestra promises to take you on a world tour with only hand luggage.

Using instruments both small and large, in high and low registers, they may sit in chamber group format and dress in formal evening wear, but the evening is far from formal and promises plenty of laughs as George revealed...

When we started we had two rules...

Not to lose money and to try and have fun. Thirty one years later we still seem to be sticking to them!

I can’t think of many examples of other instruments which would work as well in a group as ukuleles...

A bassoon group? Perhaps not. I think it is the case that people do need to play ukuleles as a group. It’s more fun that way anyway.

One of the things we try to do is have fun with the music and our audiences...

If people can latch onto our sense of fun then it will be fun. They can have fun with it too.

People have often had a negative experience at school with music...

It’s great if we can inspire people to want to play an instrument. The ukulele is easy to start learning. Most people aren’t going to play Carnegie Hall and Sydney Opera House, but why not? It wasn’t about that for us, although we have played those places. It was about having fun – that’s what music should be about. You have to be playful with it, otherwise it isn’t going to be communicating joy.

People look at some other groups and think it looks like hard work...

Then they come and see us and have a bit of fun with it. They think that looks like fun and think “I can do that!” Our performances seem to prompt people into wanting to learn to play.

We like to play things right across the board...

Some pieces people will know. We have some original pieces, some films and light classical. One of the audience favourites is the music from the Good, the Bad and the Ugly and we also do Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit. We’re also doing pieces by Kraftwerk and Joni Mitchell.

We’ll soon be releasing an album of 20th century punk rock classics...

We actually recorded them in the 1990s but have only just got around to releasing them. We’re also working on two others. One is also music from the period of the First World War.

SHOW DETAILS

The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain will be at the Central Theatre in Chatham on Friday, June 10 at 7.30pm. To book call 01634 338338 or visit ukuleleorchestra.com

They will also be at the Assembly Hall Theatre, Tunbridge Wells on Saturday, June 11 at 7.30pm. For tickets at £24, visit assemblyhalltheatre.co.uk or call 01892 530613.

They will also play a sell-out gig at the Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury on Sunday, June 12.