Here’s a story from the “Piero’s Music did you know” bin. Did you know that late Beatle guitarist George Harrison loved to play the ukulele? And did you know that he loved playing the ukulele with his dear friend Eric Idle, from Monty Python’s Flying Circus?
It’s true! We heard this on a broadcast of Peter Asher’s Beatles radio show. (Yes, the Peter Asher of Peter & Gordon fame who was very close to Paul McCartney.) If we can be confident in any sort of reporting like this, it would be if the sourced was Peter Asher.
Eric Idle is quite a talented singer-songwriter, although we really never spent time thinking of him playing with George Harrison. When we started reflecting, we realized that one of our favorite songs from the films of Monty Python’s Flying Circus, “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” from The Life of Brian, was performed written and performed by Idle.
Admittedly, we hadn’t thought of Eric Idle in some time. The Pythons have gotten up there in age, and the madcap comedy troupe haven’t been active in a decade. It’s easy to let something that has been idle (no pun intended) for that long slip from prominent thought.
“Always Look on the Bright Side of Life,” a bitingly ironic song whose use we will let you explore, was written on a guitar, but we found dozens of videos on YouTube of people from all around the world – America, Britain, Russia – playing this song on the ukulele. And they are all really fun!
Of course, we were thinking about this because our store, Piero’s Music, sells a nice line of ukuleles. Our starter pack is made by Ibanez, a top maker of stringed instruments like ukes, guitars, basses, and it’s really affordable. Plus, Piero’s is your go-to spot for lessons, with a great lineup of teachers to get you off and playing this fun, portable instrument. Who wouldn’t want to be the life of the party playing a ukulele and leading a singalong at a summer barbecue? Or just sitting on your front porch playing for the school kids as they walk home from school. Maybe you’ll even get them into a little Monty Python.
Piero’s Music, the little big music store, is located in Bayonne, New Jersey. We’ve been in business since 19xx, and serve new players and experienced musicians alike throughout our local communities of Bayonne, Jersey City, Hoboken, Union City, and Staten Island. We also now boast a Reverb store, where you can check out our offerings online and where we can ship guitars, amps, drums or keyboards directly to you. For friendly personal service and excellent teachers, please visit Piero’s Music.