Rob Cleary is no stranger to the spotlight. He enjoys amateur theatre and has played the guitar for much of his life. Rob's been in bush band No Such Thing, performed alongside friend Stuart Leslie as kids’ entertainers The Puddin Eaters, led a high school bush band, taken part in local pantomimes and bush dances, and served on the Kangaroo Valley Folk Festival committee.
But, after retiring from his career as a maths teacher, Rob decided to put down his guitar in favour of a smaller six-stringed instrument and found a new audience in his grandkids – who, he believes, may very well have led him to his next musical venture.
“Just after I retired, there was a little ukulele group in Nowra (NukeM) and I thought, ‘I'll just have a go at that’, and then I just gradually stopped playing my guitar and I just ended up playing the ukulele more and more,” Rob said.
“I just like the sound of it, and I like that it's much more affordable. I tell people I take my ukulele everywhere just in case of emergency, because you never know when you're going to need a ukulele.
“Because I look after my little grandchildren all the time, I quite often will have it just in the playground and sing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star or Old McDonald – that sort of thing.
“[Helensburgh’s librarian and I] must've had some conversation and she knew that I played, or she might've seen me playing in the park at Helensburgh… and she’s asked me to [perform].”
On Wednesday, October 11, Rob is bringing his ukulele and repertoire of songs to Helensburgh Library for a free evening of folk music and singalongs.
With the event aimed at an adult audience, Rob says he’s unlikely to deliver a rendition of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star on this occasion. Instead he’ll perform hits from Elvis Presley’s 'Can’t Help Falling in Love with You' to country music classics like 'Mr Bojangles’, a song covered by the likes of Bob Dylan, Neil Diamond and Sammy Davis Jr.
“It's interesting to perform somewhere different, because, in a lot of ways, I've done a lot of performing in a lot of different areas in and different styles – in things like bush dances and in musicals and performing for kids – and this will be a little bit different, just an adult audience in the library… trying to predict and trying to guess what they would like to hear,” Rob said.
“We'll be doing some singalongs – that's the impression that I got from Laure from the library, that people would want something that's got a story to it.
“I haven't picked out exactly what songs I would do, but I've got some funny songs and I've got some very old songs. I've got one song that I'll be doing called The Spaniard That Blighted My Life, and I think it's probably well over a hundred years old, this song.
“It's so old that the language used in the song is a bit obscure, and I always tell the audience, if I see too many worried faces, I’ll stop in the middle of the song to explain what's going on. It's actually so obscure that the last verse of the song I have rewritten because [it’s] just too hard to understand… [so] there is a little bit of original material.”
Rob is likely to be joined by his partner Jude Radin, who he says has a flair for harmonies. Attendees will be treated to the chimes of the glockenspiel, with nibbles to follow after the hour-long performance.
“There'll be a great mixture of the style of song that I'll be doing,” Rob said.
“It'll be fairly gentle, just with ukulele accompaniment, and for some of the songs that I'll be doing with my girlfriend, she sometimes plays a little bit of a glockenspiel. It has the most beautiful sound.”
Helensburgh Library’s Ukulele Night is free to attend, though it is recommended that you reserve your spot as places are limited. Follow the link to guarantee your place.