Nathan Evans | |
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| Born | Nathan Alexander Evans 19 December 1994 Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, Scotland |
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| Years active | 2020–present |
| Labels | Polydor, Universal, EMI |
Nathan Alexander Evans (born 19 December 1994) is a Scottish singer. He first gained fame in 2020 by posting videos of himself singing sea shanties on social media service TikTok. In 2021, he released a version of the folk song "Wellerman", which peaked at the top of the UK Singles Chart and also charted in several other countries. His debut album, Wellerman – The Album , was released in 2022 and achieved moderate success in continental Europe. It peaked at number twelve on the albums charts in Germany, [1] as well as reaching number thirty in Switzerland. [1]
In 2024, he released his second album, 1994 , to commercial success, debuting atop the albums charts in his native Scotland, as well as peaking within the top ten of the Album Sales, Albums Downloads and Physical Albums Charts in the United Kingdom, whilst reaching number twenty–six on the official UK Albums Charts. It spawned the commercially successful single "Heather on the Hill", which was subsequently certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). [2] He is set to release his third studio album, Angels' Share, in January 2026.
Before launching his music career, Evans was a postal worker with the Royal Mail, in Airdrie, near Glasgow. [3] [4] He attended Caldervale High School and has a university degree in web design. [5] [6] In the 2023 BBC Scotland documentary What Next for the Wellerman?, Evans revealed that he was struggling with his mental health and had panic attacks while he was working up to 13 hours a day as a steel erector. [7] [8] Evans married his wife Holly in 2019 and together they have one child, born in April 2023. [9] [10]
Evans had been posting performances of pop and folk songs to TikTok before beginning to post sea shanties. [11] He posted his first traditional sea shanty, "Leave Her Johnny", to TikTok in July 2020. [12] In the following months, viewers of his videos continued to request more sea shanties. Evans subsequently posted videos of himself singing "The Scotsman" and the New Zealand folk song "Wellerman" in December 2020. [3] [13]
"Wellerman", which was already well known on the app due to the popularity of his version of the song, quickly gained views on TikTok, inspiring many others to duet and to remix the song, including renditions by composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, comedians Jimmy Fallon and Stephen Colbert, [14] guitarist Brian May, and entrepreneur Elon Musk. [11] [13] [15] [16] As of January 2021, "Wellerman" had eight million views on TikTok and as of 29 May, Evans had 1.3 million followers. [17] [18] The sea shanties trend on the app has been called "ShantyTok". [19] In the Rolling Stone article discussing his success, Evans cited The Albany Shantymen version of the song as inspiration. [20]
In January 2021, Evans signed a three-single recording contract with Polydor Records, releasing his official version of "Wellerman" on 22 January 2021. [5] A dance remix of the song created with producers 220 Kid and duo Billen Ted was released simultaneously. [21] His growing music career led him to quit his job as a postal worker. [19] In February 2021, he signed to United Talent Agency. [22] In May 2021, Evans played his first live show. The performance took place in London aboard an electric GoBoat in the River Thames as a promotion for GoBoat's new location at Canary Wharf. [23]
Writing about the nature of Evans's success during the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, Amanda Petrusich wrote in The New Yorker : "It seems possible that after nearly a year of solitude and collective self-banishment, and of crushing restrictions on travel and adventure, the shantey might be providing a brief glimpse into a different, more exciting way of life, a world of sea air and pirates and grog." [13]
Evans's second single, "Told You So", was released on 25 June 2021. Like with "Wellerman", two versions were released: a folk-pop version and a dance-pop remix by Digital Farm Animals. [24] Evans released his third single, "Ring Ding (A Scotsman's Story)", on 8 October 2021. [25] In April 2022, Evans helped publicise the Doctor Who story "Legend of the Sea Devils" with an adaptation of "Wellerman". [26]
Evans planned to release a five-song EP of sea shanties in 2021. [27] However, in November 2022, Evans released his first full-length album, titled Wellerman – The Album, which is largely a collection of sea shanties, including his viral 2021 cover of "Wellerman" and its dance remix. The album also includes Evans's original composition "Haul Away". [28] In 2022 he was featured on the single "Santiano" by the German band of the same name.
In 2024, Evans publicly shifted toward writing and releasing original songs. On 8 November 2024, he released his second album, 1994 . [29] The album integrates folk instrumentation with contemporary pop production, reflecting Evans’s intention to establish himself as a modern Scottish singer-songwriter. [30] Upon release, 1994 debuted at number 1 on the Scottish Albums Chart and reached number 26 on the UK Albums Chart. [31]
Following the release of 1994, Evans began promoting the album with live performances. In early 2025 he announced a Scottish tour scheduled for March, including dates in Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Dundee, Strathpeffer, and Glasgow. [32] Evans performed with a backing band featuring members associated with the alt-pop duo Saint PHNX and other musicians, allowing him to adapt the folk-pop arrangements of 1994 for the stage. [33]
The 1994 era marked a clear artistic shift for Evans. Critics and listeners noted that the album signaled his intention to evolve from his viral origins into a dedicated singer-songwriter, embracing themes of hope, resilience, love, and Scottish folk-pop identity. [34] By 2025, Evans was performing across the UK and Europe. Reviews of his March 2025 concerts, including a Berlin performance, highlighted his full-band arrangements and the strong reception to material from 1994. [35]
Evans often uses multiple tracks of his own voice. He accompanies himself with guitar and percussion. He sings in a baritone. [13]
In January 2022, Evans appeared as himself in the fourth episode of the seventh series of the BBC Scotland mockumentary series Scot Squad . In November 2022, he appeared as a racer at the World Wok Racing Championship, televised in Germany as a special episode of TV Total . In 2024, he appeared at the European Autoball Championship for the same TV show. In both instances, he represented his native Scotland. Evans makes a cameo as a non-player character in the 2023 Bethesda video game Starfield . [36]
In May 2021, it was announced that Evans will be publishing a collection of Sea Shanties titled The Book of Sea Shanties: Wellerman and Other Songs from the Seven Seas. The book was published on 14 October 2021 by Welbeck. It contains over 35 classic shanties and the stories around them, as well as new original shanties by Evans. [37]