Ray Cowell

The Ukes of Northumberland

Ray Cowell, sixty-two, started his working life in the coal mines and retired after twenty-five years of running his own paint-industry business. He made his first electric guitar in the early ’70s, and in retirement he discovered the ukulele. He asked for uke-building help via the Internet. Luthier Tom Johnson lives close by, and answered. Now they are firm friends.

▪ bio current as of 2011