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Ukulele club in pub creates 'instant friendships'

Alice CullinaneWest Midlands
BBC A group of men and women are sitting on a green leather sofa holding ukuleles. They are laughing and sitting next to wooden circular tables, with pints of beer and lemonade. BBC
Ukulele club members are often laughing and joking when they get together

A ukulele club in a pub that was created more than a decade ago forges "instant friendships" through the joys of music, members say.

Named Moselele, the group meets twice a month at the Prince of Wales pub in Moseley, Birmingham, to sing and forget about the stresses of everyday life.

Daz Wright founded the group 16 years ago, after attempting to learn the ukulele by himself at home and realising he had "no idea what to do with it".

"Randomly one day, I went on Twitter and said, 'Who would like to meet me in the pub to play ukulele together?' and two weeks later there were 16 of us learning," Wright said.

Singing in the pub for two and a half hours while playing the ukulele with 20 others left him feeling "a bit knackered" but also "happier and lighter".

"I've made friends and connections with people going back 15 years, people I would never normally meet, we have such a wide range of ages here," he said.

A man with a grey beard and brown hair wearing a blue t-shirt is smiling. He is sitting on a black wooden chair in front of a brick wall with French doors.
Daz Wright stressed that being able to play the ukulele was not necessary to join the club

Wright encouraged anyone interested to get involved and socialise, stressing no prior instrument skills are needed to be part of the group.

"Whether you can play the ukulele or not is actually irrelevant, we just want people to come along and sing songs," Wright said.

Carol Hand joined the group a decade ago after not knowing anyone when she moved from London to Birmingham and has loved it ever since.

"I knew a few chords so I went along and it was the best thing I ever did because it was really welcoming and I made instant friendships," she said.

A woman with grey hair tied back is wearing a denim dress and is strumming her ukulele. She is wearing glasses and is reading music notes from an iPad. She is sitting next to a man with short black hair, also playing a ukulele.
Carol Hand (left) said that attending the group made her feel "part of something"

Hand appreciated how "therapeutic" it was to sing and play instruments with others, boosting her evening no matter how she felt beforehand.

"It's like almost being young again, it's like being at school and all singing together because as an adult that rarely happens," she said.

Hand said she was grateful for the group's lack of judgement and how every person "makes an effort" to attend the evening.

"It always goes in my calendar because it's literally the most consistent thing in my life, ukulele never changes," she said.

A man is wearing a blue and green gingham shirt and is holding a ukulele that is swung over his shoulder. He is smiling and standing in front of green and red tiles.
The group is "absolutely fantastic" according to ukulele lover Bill Green

Bill Green said that this was the best group he had played with due to the "unique experience of the enthusiasm and the way people play and sing".

He started playing the ukulele as a way to prevent dementia and said the Moseley group was "remarkable".

"I feel exhilarated when I leave, it's a great way to generate dopamine. I would feel very unhappy if I couldn't play with this group," he added.

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