We have knowledge that another organisation called the ‘Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain’ ( www.ukuleleorchestra.com ) is posting up false accusations about us. It has been said that we are advertising our orchestra by using their pictures and material. This is totally wrong and we refute this unequivocally. We believe that these false accusations are the result of their fear of competition from us but we beg to point out that worldwide there are hundreds of ukulele orchestras already in existence, pro, semi-pro and amateur, ie in England, USA, Australia, New Zealand etc all who have a right to their own place in the world.
The United Kingdom Ukulele Orchestra is a totally independent ensemble consisting of highly professional ukulele players from all over the United Kingdom under the musical direction of the internationally experienced composer, arranger and conductor, Peter Moss. His name alone guarantees the independance of this ensemble; we have no connection whatsoever with this other orchestra.
There is, at this moment a unique “mobbing campaign” being orchestrated by the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain against our Orchestra. It is aimed at the Concert circuit all over Europe and takes the form of malicious and criminal E-mails from many anonymous accounts sent to Promoters, Concert halls and even the Press.
The UOGB has tried since the beginning of our Orchestra to manufacture a nonexistent and disagreeable rivalry to prevent us from working and moving onwards.
Their Fanclub base and vast army of friends have been mobilised to constantly continue this aggressive and unpleasant bombardment.
George Hinchcliffe, the director of UOGB together with one of his management, appeared at one of our concerts in Stuttgart on the 19th March 2011 and illegally, without permission, filmed our concert with a VideoCam. Everyone nowadays should be very aware of the penalties of copyright violation and of having possession of unauthorised material.
In conclusion we would like to state here and now that all allegations both in mails and on the open internet are malicious, wrong and without any basis. It is an attempt by the UOGB to monopolise the market for themselves alone.
We respect and accept all other ukulele orchestras but do not understand why other orchestras and/or fans of these orchestras should want to attack and discredit people in any way publicly on the internet. This same homepage (the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain) has also made very disrespectful comments about one of Germany’s most successful producers, namely Stefan Raab, describing his performance as “slapstick” or “a joke”. ( in german: “Klamauk” )
Anyone may have private opinions both good and bad about other artists but it is very unfair and unprofessional to try to raise ones own profile at the expense of others in the same branch of this business. In our long experience as international producers and promoters we totally distance ourselves from these methods believing that one of the main characteristics of modern European culture is the tolerant acceptance of every individuals artistic rights.
