Wakeylele at the White Rose Centre 6th Feb 26
White Rose Centre 6th February 2026
Report by Phil Barr Videos David Flatters, Phil Barr
Yet another miserable February morning with unremitting rain and iron-grey skies as the band arrived at this bustling location, which is the polar opposite of the Ridings, there being plenty of big brands and expanding premises on show. Wakeylele, though, are always bright and breezy, whatever the weather, as Chris prepared his very smart looking troops for another ninety minutes of entertainment beneath the cavernous glass dome of this impressive shopping mall.
Before kicking off with what was another hearty performance of On The Road Again, our leader delivered a very worthy introduction regarding the work of the YAA which included some interesting stats and facts about its life -saving organisation as well as paying tribute to its staff.
The first set of songs turned out to be a mixed bag in terms of performance, some rocking along like Another Saturday Night and Sunny Afternoon (we wish) along with one or two blips, chiefly as a result of problems with microphones, which in this capacious space with lots of white noise, is very unforgiving. Joe, who was intermittently prowling in determined fashion, checking on sound quality, had his hands full in achieving the right balance. Fortunately, there were enough highlights to attract plenty of people and there were regular smiles, thumbs -up, and generous contributions made by a wide variety of Friday shoppers to keep the mood upbeat, so that before we knew it, a confident rendition of Elvis’s Return to Sender, brought the first half to a satisfactory close.
On a completely different theme, apart from it being winter here too, you may or may not have read regarding The Winter Olympics about an unusual potential investigation following reports of male ski jumpers injecting their appendages in order to improve sporting performance. I just wanted to confirm that there is absolutely no evidence that members, (ah-em) of the Wakeylele Band have been replicating this procedure in order to enhance their ukulele playing, although if anyone approached me with such underhand ideas, I might conceivably run a mile faster than Roger Bannister.
Back to the job in hand and with some leisurely coffee drinkers ready to resume, the second half got off to a stuttering start with Leaning on a Lamp Post proving a challenge, again due to sound problems but a rousing performance of Urban Spaceman quickly turned things around as the crowd swelled in appreciation of the quality on show and there soon followed barn – storming versions of San Francisco and Love Potion Number Nine with more admiring faces and some notes as well as coins being dropped into the YAA buckets. When any further aural problems were encountered, there was the wisdom of counting us in to assist Chris with Come Up and See Me. There followed stirring performances of Wagon Wheel and Sit Down, the former being reprised to conclude the show, following an enthusiastic request from Melvyn, although this did send some band members into somewhat of a panic as they scrambled to retrieve their equipment.
So, another gig in the bag, another useful amount raised for the Air Ambulance, and another example of a band committed to providing entertainment whatever the weather outside. Many thanks to Chris, to Val and Mags for their invaluable and skillful contributions, and to Joe for setting up and monitoring the tech in difficult circumstances. Another slap on the back too for our hard-working committee who prepared so conscientiously to create a healthy atmosphere at the AGM, thereby allowing various views to be aired, resulting in what felt like a positive outcome, so that, though the way forward might not always be a smooth due to naturally different approaches, everyone has the band’s best interests at heart i.e. to enjoy what we do as a group whilst striving to improve.
Next up is a return to the Ridings, which should still be standing on Saturday, 28th February – 10:30 for 11a m.
