Jim Mageean

Last updated
Jim Mageean
JimWiki-01.png
Jim Mageean pictured in 2014
Background information
Birth nameJames Mageean
Also known as'Shanty Jim' 'The Shanty King'
Born (1948-01-27) 27 January 1948 (age 73)
Gosforth, Newcastle Upon Tyne, England
Genres Folk music
InstrumentsVocals
Years active1963–present
Associated acts Stan Hugill, Johnny Collins, Graeme Knights, Pat Sheridan, The Keelers, The Unthanks, The Young'uns, JIB

Jim Mageean (27 January 1948) is an English folk singer based in Cullercoats, Tyne and Wear, England, specialising in Sea Shanties, traditional maritime music and "Geordie" songs from his native North East of England.

Contents

Biography

Mageean was born in Gosforth. The eldest of four children having two brothers, Patrick and Peter, and a sister, Sheila. His father Charlie Mageean was part of a riveting gang in the Tyne shipyards at that time but soon after became a coal miner: "I asked my dad once if he was present at my birth and he said that Newcastle United were playing at home to Stoke City that day so, of course, he was at the match!"

Mageean spent his early years in a mining village, Coxlodge, where he attended a small village school.

He started singing as a very young child, learning songs from his grandmother, Elsie, but did not know they were folk songs until much later. His parents, Peggy and Charlie Mageean, were both good singers and often had late night singing parties in the house, particularly at New Year. Mageean soon found out that if you could sing then you could stay up late at the party so he learned several Geordie songs.

In 1963 he went to his first folk club as a teenager at The Bridge, Newcastle upon Tyne. Then in 1964 he went to his first folk festival in Scarborough, North Yorkshire. There he met Stan Hugill who was singing with The Spinners at the time. He started writing to Stan and invited him to Newcastle where he did a short tour. They became good friends and remained so until Hugill's death in 1992. [1]

He was educated at Newcastle Polytechnic (now Northumbria University) where he obtained a degree in Physics and became a Chartered Engineer. He later studied for a P.G.C.E to allow him to teach. He spent ten years of his life in London singing as a resident in several of the folk clubs including ‘Herga’, ‘Dingles’ and ‘The Cellar’ in Cecil Sharp House and working in Engineering and Education but later returned to his native North East as a Senior Lecturer in Engineering at Newcastle College.

In 1983 he and Johnny Collins, performing as a duo, won the Intervision Song Contest in Rostock, in East Germany. Later, in 1987, they were invited by the East German government to perform at a sea shanty festival in Berlin commemorating the city's founding. Mageean and Collins performed together until 2009 when Johnny Collins died on tour in Gdańsk, Poland. [2] For 35 years Mageean and Collins sang at festivals and concerts throughout Europe, and North America and performed in France, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Scandinavia, Poland, United States and Canada.

In 1986 the Cutty Sark Tall Ships Race came to Newcastle for the first time and he was asked to form a shanty group to perform there. He formed The Keelers who are still performing 3 decades and 5 albums later. He has also been involved in duos with both Graeme Knights from London and Pat Sheridan from Dublin. He also sings in a trio with Barrie and Ingrid Temple called ‘JIB’ (Jim, Ingrid & Barrie).

In 2010 Mageean appeared on BBC Four's Shanties and Sea Songs with Gareth Malone to discuss North East sea songs and Grace Darling. [3]

In 2013 BBC Radio 2 Mageean was interviewed about shanties by Richard Hawley as part of his 'The Drunken Sailor' program. [4] The show was well received and was featured in BBC Radio 4's 'Pick of the week.' [5]

He tutored for a while on the Folk Music Degree course at Newcastle University and passed some of his songs on to the students there as well as to other young groups, in particular The Unthanks and The Young'uns, the latter of which personally thanked him when they won 'Best Group' in the 2015 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. [6] He now resides in Cullercoats, Newcastle Upon Tyne He has three children, Tam, Joby and Rose.

Master and Commander

Mageean's arrangement of the song "Don't Forget Your Old Shipmates" was used in the 2003 historical epic Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World . [7] The movie's director Peter Weir was looking for an authentic British Navy song from 1805 when he discovered Mageean's version of the song from his 1978 album Of Ships... and Men. [8]

Discography

Related Research Articles

Sea shanty Rhythmical work song sung on sailing vessels

A sea shanty, chantey, or chanty is a genre of traditional folk song that was once commonly sung as a work song to accompany rhythmical labor aboard large merchant sailing vessels. They were found mostly on British and other European ships, and some had roots in lore and legend. The term shanty most accurately refers to a specific style of work song belonging to this historical repertoire. However, in recent, popular usage, the scope of its definition is sometimes expanded to admit a wider range of repertoire and characteristics, or to refer to a "maritime work song" in general.

"Blaydon Races" is a Geordie folk song written in the 19th century by Geordie Ridley, in a style deriving from music hall. It is frequently sung by supporters of Newcastle United Football Club, Newcastle Falcons rugby club, and Durham County Cricket Club.

Tom Lewis is a British singer and writer of nautical songs.

"Drunken Sailor", also known as "What Shall We Do with a/the Drunken Sailor?", is a traditional sea shanty, listed as No. 322 in the Roud Folk Song Index. It was sung onboard sailing ships at least as early as the 1830s, and it shares its tune with the traditional Irish folk song "Óró sé do bheatha abhaile".

Johnny Collins was an English folk singer based in London, England, specializing in traditional maritime music and sea shanties.

Stan Hugill British folk music performer, artist and sea music historian

Stanley James Hugill was a British folk music performer, artist and sea music historian, known as the "Last Working Shantyman" and described as the "20th century guardian of the tradition".

"Santianna", also known as "Santiana", "Santy Anna", "Santayana", "Santiano", "Santy Anno" and other variations, is a sea shanty referring to the Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna. The song is listed as number 207 in the Roud Folk Song Index.

Maggie May (folk song) Traditional folk song from Liverpool, England

"Maggie May" is a traditional Liverpool folk song about a prostitute who robbed a "homeward bounder": a sailor coming home from a round trip.

"South Australia" is a sea shanty, also known under such titles as "Rolling King" and "Bound for South Australia". As an original worksong it was sung in a variety of trades, including being used by the wool and later the wheat traders who worked the clipper ships between Australian ports and London. In adapted form, it is now a very popular song among folk music performers that is recorded by many artists and is present in many of today's song books.

The Younguns Folk musical group from Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, England

The Young'uns are an English folk group from Stockton, County Durham, England, who won the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards "Best Group" award in 2015 and 2016 and “Best Album” for Strangers in 2018. They specialise in singing unaccompanied, and they perform traditional shanties, contemporary songs such as Billy Bragg's "Between the Wars" and Sydney Carter's "John Ball", and original works including "You Won’t Find Me on Benefits Street" and "The Battle of Stockton". 2017 album Strangers includes nine new songs celebrating inspiring people 'A homage to the outsider; a eulogy for the wayfarer; a hymn for the migrant.' "These Hands" tells the life story of 1950's immigrant Sybil Phoenix while the story of the Battle of Cable Street is told through the words of Stockton teenager Johnny Longstaff. In February 2020 the band debuted the stage production 'The Ballad of Johnny Longstaff' at Newcastle's Northern Stage theatre to rave reviews.

Edward "Ned" Corvan was a Tyneside concert hall songwriter and performer, and a contemporary of George "Geordie" Ridley. His songs were printed in a modified English orthography designed to represent the traditional dialect of Tyneside in the middle of the 19th century, and are examples of Dialect Literature.

George "Geordie" Ridley

George "Geordie" Ridley was a Tyneside concert hall songwriter and performer in the middle of the 19th century. His most famous song is "Blaydon Races". He was a contemporary of Edward Corvan. He has been described by a council source as a candidate for Tyneside's most famous songwriter.

"Cushie Butterfield" is a famous Geordie folk song written in the 19th century by Geordie Ridley, in the style of the music hall popular in the day. It is regarded by many as the second unofficial anthem of Tyneside after Blaydon Races.

Rowland "Rowley" Harrison (1841–1897) was a Tyneside poet and singer/songwriter, from Gateshead in County Durham. Possibly his best known work is "Geordy Black", an example of Geordie dialect.

Charles Ernest Catcheside-Warrington (1859–1937) was an English Music hall artist and songwriter from the late 19th century who became a recording artist, record producer and a collector and arranger of "Geordie" songs.

"The Cullercoats Fish Lass" is a folk song, written by Edward Corvan, originally printed as a broadside in 1862 and collated in Allan's Illustrated Edition of Tyneside Songs and Readings in 1891.

The Longest Johns is a British folk musical group from Bristol, England, consisting of Andy Yates, Dave Robinson, Jonathan "JD" Darley, and Robbie Sattin. They are known for performing folk music and sea shanties in the English tradition, and they also compose and record their own music. They became famous for their rendition of the 1800s folk song "Wellerman", which went viral on TikTok in early 2021.

Nathan Evans is a Scottish singer from Airdrie, Scotland, known for singing sea shanties. Evans first gained fame in 2020, when he posted videos of himself singing sea shanties on social media service TikTok. In 2021, he released a dance remix of the 19th-century maritime song "Wellerman" which peaked at the top of the UK Singles Chart and also charted in several other countries.

"A Drop of Nelson's Blood" is a sea shanty, also known as "Roll the old chariot along" The origins are unclear but the title comes from the first line: A drop of Nelson's blood wouldn't do us any harm. Often described as a “walkaway” or “runaway chorus” or “stamp and go” sea chanty. The song features on the soundtrack of the 2019 film Fisherman's Friends. The chorus comes from the 19th century Salvation Army hymn, 'Roll the old chariot'. This song developed into a shanty.

References

  1. "Stan Hugill - South Australia". YouTube. 2008-10-29. Retrieved 2020-05-19.
  2. Schofield, Derek (July 12, 2009). "Johnny Collins | Obituary". Theguardian.com. Retrieved 2020-05-19.
  3. "BBC Four - Shanties and Sea Songs with Gareth Malone, Shanties and sea songs with Gareth Malone (pt 2/2)". BBC. Retrieved 2020-05-19.
  4. "BBC Radio 2 - The Drunken Sailor". BBC. Retrieved 2020-05-19.
  5. "BBC Radio 4 - Pick of the Week, 27/01/2013". BBC. Retrieved 2020-05-19.
  6. "BBC Radio 2 - BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, 2015, Radio 2 Folk Awards 2015 - Folk Awards 2015 - The Winners!". BBC. Retrieved 2020-05-19.
  7. "Draft". Hardtackers.com. Retrieved 2020-05-19.
  8. "Jim Mageean - Of Ships...And Men". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2020-05-19.