IF you've never heard Psycho Killer by Talking Heads played by seven people on ukulele, you haven't lived.

That's how the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain got their Coronation Hall sell-out gig under way on Thursday; and it pretty much summed up the very British bonkersness of this group.

Five men and two women comprise the orchestra, sitting somewhat laconically in a row, playing a range of ukuleles, from soprano, to concert, to bass.

It was news to me that there are different types of this somewhat comic instrument - thus far I had thought when you'd seen one ukulele you'd seen them all.

Needless to say, it wasn't long before the most famous ukulele player of all, George Formby, got a look in, with the orchestra playing a bizarre but actually very good Communist era version of Leaning on a Lamppost.

The orchestra performed an eclectic range of tunes, from Bowie's Life on Mars, to the Proclaimers' foot-stamping 500 Miles, to a very entertaining rendition of the theme from The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

All seven had their moment in the limelight with various solos.

They're not bad singers, on the whole. None of them was great - the very tall soprano-playing ukulele player who reminded me of a cross between Lurch and chancellor of the exchequer Philip Hammond, was lugubriously flat with an Italian love song, but I half think he sang it like that deliberately.

Having said that, these are ukulele players first and foremost, so it would be surprising to find an Adele or Andy Williams lurking in their midst.

The evening didn't quite live up to my expectations: I had expected the proceedings to involve a much higher comedy level that it did, although the 600-odd crowd would probably beg to differ - not least the uber ukulele orchestra fan who was sitting next to me, who was very nearly beside herself in enjoyment.

A clever medley was the high spot of the second half, with each player singing a different song but all at the same time. Sounds weird, was weird, but weirdly, it worked.

The orchestra got plenty of second-half plugs in about their CDs; and although I wasn't one of them, there was a healthy queue in the foyer afterwards to buy them.

All in all this was a gently amusing evening's entertainment in the hands of seven genial ukulele players.

The novelty factor was just enough to keep things bobbing along, and the idea of an orchestra comprised entirely of these rather odd little instruments works well.

I just hope it doesn't inspire other musicians to set up something similar. The Recorder Orchestra of Great Britain would not bear thinking about.

Review by LOUISE ALLONBY