The Albany Shantymen

Last updated
The Albany Shantymen
The Albany Shantymen.jpg
The Albany Shantymen singing on stage in 2020
Background information
OriginAlbany, Western Australia
GenresSea shanties, Folk music
Years active2016-present
Website https://albanyshantymen.com

The Albany Shantymen are an Australian vocal group from Albany, Western Australia.

Contents

They currently consist of 15 members and perform primarily sea shanties and folk music in the English tradition, as well as composing and recording their own music. They came to the attention of media for their rendition of the 1800s folk song “Wellerman”, as the song was popularized on the video sharing social network service TikTok in early 2021 by singer Nathan Evans. [1] [2]

Career

Gary “Grizz” Greenwald arrived from the UK to the port town of Albany and, having previously sang with the Sheringham Shantymen, was surprised to find there was no similar group locally.

As a direct result of this in 2016 Greenwald founded The Albany Shantymen, “I came here looking for a group and realised there wasn’t one so I basically preyed on people when they were drunk enough to say ‘yes’ “. [3]

The group sing regularly at local venues in Albany and events such as welcoming cruise ships visitors into port and regional tours. They support the Albany Community Hospice with proceeds of sales of their CD’s and other fundraising methods.   [4] [5]

In 2019 the group were instrumental in the formation of the first Shanty Festival held in Australia which was titled the International Folk ’n’ Shanty Festival. The event was held over 3 days to great success. [6] The festival was headlined by renowned UK group Kimber’s Men. They were joined by 13 other groups from Australia and internationally. [7]

The group have been regular performers at the Fairbridge Festival held in Pinjarra. [8]

Influenced by the Act Belong Commit philosophy they support others to form their own groups by way of workshops. [9] [10] [11]

In November 2020 a performance by the group was captured for a feature film recorded partly in Albany. [12] The regional premier of the film Edward and Isabella was held in Albany in April 2022.

Recordings

The group has self-released three albums Old rope and wet canvas (2017), Are you with me lads? (2020) and Men of the Cheynes (2020) [13]

These were recorded during sessions at the historic Albany Convict Gaol.

TikTok viral trend

On 27 December 2020, Scottish musician and TikTok user Nathan Evans uploaded a video of himself singing the sea shanty 'Soon May the Wellerman Come', which quickly went viral. Others sang their own version, or added their own contribution to the video from Evans. The trend sparked a huge interest in sea shanties, with hundreds of thousands of people discovering The Albany Shantymen's recording of "Wellerman", originally released on their 2020 album Are You With Me Lads? [14] [15] The song has been streamed on Spotify over 553,682 times (as of 23 March 2021). [13]

In the Rolling Stone article discussing his success Evans cited the Albany Shantymen version of the song as inspiration. [1] [2]

Discography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sea shanty</span> 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. 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.

Tom Lewis is a British singer and writer of nautical songs and sea shanties, some of whose works have become "folk standards." He's been recorded by over 40 other artists including Nathan Evans and has been called one of the finest exponents of contemporary nautical songs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dreams (Fleetwood Mac song)</span> 1977 single by Fleetwood Mac

"Dreams" is a song by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, written by singer Stevie Nicks for the band's eleventh studio album, Rumours (1977). In the United States, "Dreams" was released as the second single from Rumours in March 1977, while in the United Kingdom, the song was released as the third single in June 1977. A stage performance of "Dreams" was used as the promotional music video.

The Weller brothers, Englishmen of Sydney, Australia, and Otago, New Zealand, were the founders of a whaling station on Otago Harbour and New Zealand's most substantial merchant traders in the 1830s.

"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 Fairbridge Festival is a music festival held annually since 1993 at Fairbridge village near Pinjarra in Western Australia until 2023. The festival is held over a weekend in April and is FolkWorld Inc.'s flagship annual event.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santiano (band)</span> German folk group

Santiano is a German band from the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, whose songs combine rock, Irish folk, sea shanty, and schlager music. The name Santiano is taken from the Hugues Aufray song of the same name. They topped the German album charts multiple times in the 2010s, also ranking high in Austrian and Swiss charts.

William Main Doerflinger, was a book editor, stage magician, author, and noted American folk song collector, with a particular interest in maritime songs.

Steve Travis is an English retired singer-songwriter, musician, recording artist and author. He was born and raised in Colchester, Essex. His biggest selling albums are in the easy listening country style. More recently Travis has been known for sea shanties including "Billy O'Shea" that debuted in April 2021 on BBC Radio Essex with fellow musician and "Wellerman" creator Nathan Evans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malinda Kathleen Reese</span> American internet personality, singer-songwriter and stage actress (born 1994)

Malinda Kathleen Reese is an American internet personality, singer-songwriter and stage actress. She is best known for her Irish music covers on Tiktok, as well as Twisted Translations on YouTube, in which she previously created songs and performances from song lyrics and other texts that have been translated through multiple languages and back into English using Google Translate; in that guise, she has over one million subscribers. Currently, she releases original music and vlogs on her main channel, MALINDA. Her debut is a 2018 EP, Love Letter. In addition, she has performed in numerous theatre plays in the Washington, D.C., area, including playing Girl in the musical Once, for which she won a Helen Hayes Award in 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Longest Johns</span> British folk music group

The Longest Johns are a British folk musical group from Bristol, England, consisting of Andy Yates, 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 gained popularity from their rendition of the folk song "Wellerman", which went viral on TikTok in early 2021.

"Soon May the Wellerman Come", also known as "Wellerman" or "The Wellerman", is a folk song in ballad style first published in New Zealand in the 1970s. The song refers to the "wellermen", pointing to supply ships owned by the Weller brothers, who were amongst the earliest European settlers of Otago.

Nathan Evans is a Scottish singer from Airdrie, Scotland, best known for singing sea shanties. Evans first gained fame in 2020 by posting videos of himself singing sea shanties on social media service TikTok. In 2021, he released a cover of the folk 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 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 shanty, 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.

Billen Ted is a British record production and songwriting duo based in London, consisting of Tom Hollings and Sam Brennan.

"Castaways" is a song that aired in the animated children's TV show The Backyardigans. It went viral on TikTok in 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Told You So (Nathan Evans song)</span> 2021 song by Nathan Evans and Digital Farm Animals

"Told You So" is a song by Scottish singer Nathan Evans. Following on from "Wellerman", two versions of the song, including a remix by English songwriter and producer Digital Farm Animals, were released for digital download and streaming by Polydor and UMG on 25 June 2021, alongside accompanying music videos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">El Pony Pisador</span>

El Pony Pisador is a musical group from Barcelona that mixes various styles of folk and traditional music from around the world, including Celtic music, sea songs, bluegrass, tarantella and yodel. The band's name refers to the J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings inn The Prancing Pony, called «El Pony Pisador» in the Spanish translation.

SoundOn is a music marketing and distribution platform founded in 2021 by TikTok. It mainly provides song distribution and artist services. The tool lets users upload music directly to TikTok to earn royalties, while allowing them to retain their copyright on the music. The service also distributes artists' music to other platforms. The platform provides support including audience insights and development advice.

References

  1. 1 2 Browne, David (2021-01-26). "Sea Shanty Sensation Nathan Evans: 'I'm an Actual Musician'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2021-03-29.
  2. 1 2 Williamson, Campbell (2021-03-18). "How the Albany Shantymen inspired global craze". Albany Advertiser. Retrieved 2021-03-29.
  3. Balaam, Kellie (2020-11-05). "Founder shares mateship story of Albany Shantymen". The West Australian. Retrieved 2021-03-29.
  4. Croy, Liam (2019-12-10). "Shanties welcome visitors after ocean voyage". Albany Advertiser. Retrieved 2021-03-29.
  5. Croy, Liam (2019-05-10). "People before places: tourism guru". The West Australian. Retrieved 2021-03-29.
  6. Smith, Shannon (2019-04-26). "Hearty turnout drawn to first shanty festival". Albany Advertiser. Retrieved 2021-03-29.
  7. "Albany shanty-fest a roaring success". Regional Arts WA. 2020-01-03. Retrieved 2021-03-29.
  8. "Program | Fairbridge Festival". www.fairbridgefestival.com.au. Retrieved 2021-03-29.
  9. Charlesworth, David (2018-04-11). "Enchanted by sea songs". South Western Times. Retrieved 2021-03-29.
  10. "Landlocked shanty singers seek new members". Great Southern Herald. 2020-01-31. Retrieved 2021-03-29.
  11. Smith, Shannon (2018-11-22). "Shantylillies take on saucy sailor ditties". Albany Advertiser. Retrieved 2021-03-29.
  12. "CinefestOZ Albany Early Program Announcement 2022". FilmInk. Retrieved 2022-05-02.
  13. 1 2 "The Albany Shantymen". Spotify. Retrieved 2021-03-29.
  14. Guillaume, Jenna (2021-01-14). "What are sea shanties and why are they going viral online?". www.abc.net.au. Retrieved 2021-03-29.
  15. O'Toole, Kate (2021-03-13). "Songs of the sea in the river city". ABC Radio. Retrieved 2021-03-29.