Hampton Pool provided the perfect backdrop to the wonderfully entertaining Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain on July 18.

These seven plucking brilliant magicians won over the crowd from the outset with a wide-ranging repertoire, from Irish blues to Nancy Sinatra’s haunting Bang Bang, from the Kill Bill soundtrack, as well as their amusingly constant patter between songs – not to mention Dave Suich’s amazing ‘stage presence’.

The orchestra put their own stamp on everything, launching fearlessly into Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit – and I have to admit, it’s the first time I could actually hear what the lyrics were!

This confidence to tackle anything comes from their unquestionable musical ability, illustrated as Jonty Bankes sings Life On Mars while ‘accompanied’ by other members of the orchestra singing completely different songs.

Other favourites of mine included Wheatus’s Teenage Dirtbag, Isaac Hayes’s Shaft – which, due to George Hinchliffe’s adapted lyrics, works better in the north London venue Cecil Sharp House, where I am lucky enough to have seen them, and Leaning On A Lamppost from the musical Me And My Girl, although the highlight was undoubtedly Hinchliffe’s rockabilly rendition of Kate Bush’s Wuthering Heights.

The most important thing for the ukulele orchestra is that they all seem to have great fun – and that playfulness spills over onto the crowd.

Next on their schedule is the BBC’s Proms at Royal Albert Hall on August 18, when they are inviting ukulele players to join them in a mass rendition of Beethoven's Ode to Joy.

No doubt many will have been bitten by the bug after this performance.