Coming up on today’s Moncrieff Show, Seán will be finding out the history of the ukulele.

The small instrument, a favourite of manic-pixie dreamgirls moonlighting as troubadours on the Internet, has a long and fascinating back story, and ethnomusicologist Marion Jacobson – who previously stretched out the story of the squeezebox with Seán – will fill us in.

Tune in live at 2.15pm: http://www.newstalk.com/player/

To get you in the mood for the calypso string-strumming, check out these covers by the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain, a band of that applies the diminutive instrument to all genres of music.

From post-punk crowd-pleasers to toe-tapping pop hits, the orchestra has performed at the BBC Proms and venues all over the world. To quote them, “there are no drums, pianos, backing tracks or banjos, no pitch shifers or electronic trickery. Only an astonishing revelation of the rich palette of orchestration afforded by ukuleles and singing (and a bit of whistling).”

Here are the top five covers to get you in the mood:

Teenage Dirtbag by Wheatus

Satisfaction by the Rolling Stones

Shaft by Isaac Hayes

Wuthering Heights by Kate Bush

Psycho Killer by Talking Heads