Monday 7 September 2009

One man, one plinth, one ukulele and one shameless plug

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I've shamelessly plugged the artistic endeavours of my friends before, but usually in the form of a review. This is a preview, so a plug so shameless really has to go in the title.

It's like this: my friend Andrew Pugsley, actor, blogger, player of the ukulele and singer of funny songs (whilst playing said ukulele), applied for a spot on the fourth plinth. The what, some readers outside the UK might reasonably ask, in which case see here.

As luck, or rather unluck, would have it, he was offered the prime-time slot of 2am to 3am on Wednesday morning. Still, an opportunity to stand on top of a plinth in central London and amuse whomever may be passing by at the time doesn't come along every day, even at two in the morning.

So, what will you get if you stay up all night tomorrow and trek to what I'm reliably informed is likely to be a dry Trafalgar Square. Well, what you'll get is the glory of Plinth-a-lele!

Now, if you're not on Facebook you won't be able to see that (and who knows, even if you are and you're not friends with Andy, you may not be able to either). So, care of Where's Runnicles, here's a taster of what you can expect in the words of Mr P himself:

OK, first things first. This is a (very) late-night event, and anyone who comes along will have to contend with midweek night buses and extreme tiredness at work the following day.

But don't dwell on that. There'll only be one chance to see PLINTH-A-LELE, and you don't want to miss it!

A never-before-attempted fusion of plinth and ukulele, PLINTH-A-LELE is my contribution to Antony Gormley's One and Other Project. Throughout the summer, 2400 people will be taking an hour each upon Trafalgar Square's fourth plinth. And I'll be using my hour to entertain the pigeons and anyone else who comes along with some comic songs what I wrote myself - and, if times allows, a few rock classics reinterpreted for solo voice and ukulele!

PLINTH-A-LELE will be a moonlit celebration of life, love and small four-stringed chordophones. It promises to be an unusual, fun night out, providing anecdote material for years to come. The PLINTH-A-LELE ground staff are still finalizing details, but they are aiming to provide both FREE CAKE and a selection of umbrellas in case of rain. A state-of-the-art battery-powered PA system will also be in operation, allowing you to, um, actually hear me.

Ignore the Day-Nazis. Stay up late with Mr P.


Need more convincing. Okay, take his song about MP's expenses:



Need more, how about his homage to our dear departed friend the VCR:



I wouldn't miss it for the world. Okay, that patently isn't true since I'm not going, but that's only because I live hundreds of miles away and it's right in the middle of the week. If I lived in or near London, there's no question where I'd be tomorrow night/Wednesday morning. In solidarity, Where's Runnicles will stay up late at home and experience the phenomenon via webcam. You can too. I'll also be livetweeting it (I think we need a plinth-a-lele hashtag!). The only downside is that I'll have to provide my own cake.....

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