Steven Sproat, a uke player who’s well-known in the UK, says that, um, maybe the uke’s become too popular for its own good. Nobody likes to be part of a fad, right? Let’s quote him from this June 3 BBC story:

“On about one in every seven TV adverts there will be a ukulele part. It’s on documentary programmes. It’s been taken up in education – it’s a rival now to the recorder [as a first instrument to be taught in schools] – it’s being used by celebrities. There are ukulele clubs springing up in every town.”

Hey, things could be way worse. We remember the ’90s, when almost no one played the uke at all, and if you said you played the ukulele, folks would look aside and roll their eyes.