Testing, testing – one two, one two – welcome back to Ukulelia, the Southern Ukulele Store's hotspot for news, views, how tos and helpful resources, all pertaining to everyone's favourite diminutive instrument: the ukulele. Each month we gather the best ukulele stuff from all over the web and put it all together in a bumper roundup of ukulele awesomeness.

This April: Discover the intriguing international story of Coffee Rumba, find out more about the life and music of legendary ukulele entertainer George Formby, plus get strumming 12 easy eight chord songs for beginners in next to no time.

Coffee Rumba: In Argentina & Japan

One of the myriad excellent things about the ukulele's accessibility is that it allows pretty much anybody to play pretty much anything, if they set their mind to it. Easy to pick up and play, this means that the ukulele can travel to some very interesting places, picking up lots of interesting stories as it goes.

This blog from the ukulele player and fluent Japanese speaker (what a skill set!?) behind Ukulele Japan is a great example of this phenomenon; charting the progress of one Argentinian hit as it became a number one in Japan in the 1960s and went on to become one of the most popular Japanese ukulele covers on YouTube.

George Formby Documentary

When you think of famous ukulele players from the past century, cheeky entertainer George Formby has to be one of the first that springs to mind with his “little ukulele on his knee”. A huge household name in his day, this Lancashire born entertainer delighted many with his euphemistic ditties and musical silliness – even Beatle George Harrison was a fan.

For those of you keen to bone up on your ukulele history, this radio documentary shared by the always inspiring uke genius Mike Warren will give you some cracking insight into Formby, his music and his art. Good stuff.

12 Eight Chord Uke Songs for Beginners

Looking for something easy to play that will sound great really quickly? Your wish is our (and Jellynote's) command! This excellent collection of 12 eight chord songs (you'll only need to know A, Am, C, D, Dm, Em, F & G) will have you adding tunes from Taylor Swift to Jeff Buckley and Nirvana to your repertoire in next to no time. Time to get strumming!

Which was the first song you learned on the ukulele? Do you have a favourite 8 chord or less tune to share? Drop us a line and join the discussion on Twitter @SUS_UKES.