Fisherman's Friends

Fisherman's Friends are a male singing group from Port Isaac, Cornwall, who sing sea shanties.^[1] They have been performing locally since 1995, and signed a record deal with Universal Music in March 2010. Whilst essentially an a cappella group, their studio recordings and live performances now often include traditional simple instrumentation.

Biography

The members are: John & Jeremy Brown (brothers), John Lethbridge, Billy Hawkins, Jason Nicholas, Toby Lobb, John McDonnell and Jon Cleave.

In June 2014 Peter Rowe was the oldest member, at the age of 80.

In the original line-up, all of the members of the group "grew up within half a mile of Port Isaac harbour" except for John McDonnell who is a Yorkshireman. Three were fishermen, and the others are linked to the sea through service as coastguards or lifeboatmen.

Jon Cleave is the MC of the group and also the author/illustrator of the children's book series Gully^[2] as well as the full length, humorous novel Nasty Pasty.^[3]

They sing the chorus on Show of Hands' popular song Cousin Jack on Show of Hands' "best of" CD "Roots", as well as on the title track.

Repertoire

Their repertoire is extremely varied and includes both shanties and other nautical songs, some of which are fairly lewd.^[4] With the addition of Jason & Toby (accordion and guitar) the group have added more musical accompaniment to their set. Billy and Toby are both supported by Vintage Guitars and regularly use their instruments on stage.

Gigs

They performed at the 2010 Cornbury music festival in Oxfordshire,^[5] the Glastonbury Festival and the Cambridge Folk Festival.^[6] They also often perform in Port Isaac, regularly singing on the beach in the Summer Holidays.

Recordings

The group had released three CDs themselves before signing with Universal. In 2002, under the name Port Isaac’s ‘Fishermen’s Friends’, they recorded an album, primarily to raise funds for the RNLI, which was released on the Clovelly Label, Catalogue Number CLCD12702. The Album, entitled Fishermen’s Friends are Home from the Sea, has 20 tracks and was recorded in St Peter’s Church Port Isaac on the 26 and 27 April 2002. All the tracks are sung in the traditional a cappella style. The album was engineered by Bob Whitney and produced by John Perkins. Their first album with Universal, Port Isaac's Fisherman's Friends, was recorded in St Kew Parish Church, Cornwall,^[7] and released in April 2010.^[6]

A second album with Universal, One and All was released on 26 August 2013 ^[8]

In 2010 they re-recorded their single, "No Hopers, Jokers or Rogues", with new lyrics, in support of England's World Cup campaign in South Africa.^[9]

The single "Mary Anne", taken from the album was released on 25 June 2013 ^[10]

In July 2015, the album Proper Job was released on the Sony Music label, in association with the St Austell Brewery, who brew a beer of the same name. This album also saw the first appearance of new member Toby Lobb.^[11]

Television

Gareth Malone's documentary on sea shanties, shown in May 2010 on BBC 4, included a contribution from the group.^[12] The Fisherman's Friends have also starred in an advert for fish company, Young's.

Awards

At the 2011 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards Fisherman's Friends received The Good Tradition Award for keeping folk music alive and bringing it to new audiences.^[13]

Guildford incident

On 9 February 2013 a heavy steel door fell while the G Live venue in Guildford was being prepared for a Fisherman's Friends show, killing their tour manager Paul McMullen. Singer Trevor Grills suffered serious head injuries,^[14] and died in hospital two days later.^[15][16]

Discography

Albums

Singles

• 2006: Show of Hands - "Roots" (Fisherman's Friends sing the chorus)
• 2013: "Mary Anne"

References

External links

• Official website