prevailing wisdom suggests that the opposite is true…that infact the uke is the instrument of the recession, for both economic and psychological reasons….

Thee pop culture/feel good song of the summer last year “5 years time”…uke song…..Now PJ Harvey , an artist on the diametrically opposite side of Pop culture from Noah & The Whale has been seen prominantly using one….thats full spectrum coverage….so it would be sloppy journalism/historical research to look back at this period and fail to mention the uke….all it will take is someone on something like The X factor….

“in terms of visibility to the general public & general cultural awareness, it certainly is not.”…..not sure about this either….the way communication works these days….4 years ago when I took a uke onstage at a gig it was a novelty…now it’s “Not another uke player!”

Anyway…the best is just round the corner…watch this space!

ronhale: I think it’s more likely that the problem is the exchange rate. Two years ago £1 bought about $2. Now it buys less than $1.50. Which is going to make it difficult for anyone who buys in $ and sells £. And we’ll see whether the Duke rumour is true: I’m far from convinced.

I don’t see how the economy is going to stop it. Every other recession has seen more people making their own entertainment. When there is a downturn in uke interest, I think I’m going to see it in my numbers fairly quickly – and I’m not.

I do wonder when this current run will begin to level off, & maybe the closing of uke shops is an early sign. The current economic downturn might just be the unforseen spark to slow the growth in our interest, or perhaps stop it altogether.

It’s one thing to look back at earlier crests in uke popularity & quite another to be caught up in one & thinking that the current state of things will always prevail &, of course, it won’t.

On Aquila strings, I ordered some from Purple Turtle in Stockport via ebay UK, very prompt delivery.