If you’ve been following the blog, you’ll know I’m a huge fan of Peggy Sue (formerly Peggy Sue and the Pirates). Their song Lover Gone is currently my favourite ukulele song of the year and it’ll take some beating. So I was very excited when Katy Klaw agreed to answer a few questions.
You’ve only started using ukuleles in your music recently. How did you get into them and what appeals to you about them?
My dad bought me a ukulele as a present and we started playing it in the same way we play guitar which is not really knowing how but with great enthusiasm.
When’s your album coming out and what can we expect from it?
Either at the end of this year or the beginning of next year. Its got quite a lot of ukulele on it actually. We’ve somehow managed to make the ukulele sound quite sad which I think is no mean feat. You can expect 12 new songs – we’re playing a couple of them live but most of them are brand new – lots of interesting drum beats, vocal harmonies, some acoustic guitars, some electric guitars, a bit of mandoln, a little brass and strings here and there. Its not finished yet but we’re pretty excited about the way its coming along. I think its going to be a goodun.
Are you still using Charlot Webster’s ukulele? Have you got your eye on a replacement? Do you have a name ready for it?
We are indeed still using Charlot’s ukulele which she was kind enough to loan to us for our tour and we took it to New York with us for recording so thats whats going to be on the album which is nice. We haven’t had a chance to buy ourselves one yet – it’s quite a commitment – and no we never name instruments until we’ve met them.
Which three songs does everyone need to hear?
Got me a woman – Levon Helme
While you were sleeping – Elvis Perkins
Single Ladies – Beyonce
What happened to the Pirates?
They said the ukulele was not really instruments so we threw them out
Visit Peggy Sue’s website and buy their Lover Gone EP on Yep Roc Records
“Not really instruments”? With that sort of attitude, they’ll give pirates everywhere a bad name.