Fisherman's Friends
| Fisherman's Friends | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Port Isaac, Cornwall, England |
| Genres | Sea shanties |
| Years active | 1995–present |
| Labels | Universal Music |
| Website | portisaacsfishermansfriends.com// |
| Members | John Brown Julian Brown Jeremy Brown John Lethbridge Billy Hawkins Nigel Sherratt Peter Rowe John McDonnell Jon Cleave |
| Past members | Trevor Grills |
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 now often include traditional simple instrumentation.
Contents |
Biography [edit]
The members are: John Brown, Julian Brown, Jeremy Brown (these first three being brothers), Trevor Grills, John Lethbridge, Billy Hawkins, Nigel Sherratt, Peter Rowe, John McDonnell and Jon Cleave. At 78, Peter Rowe is the oldest member, as of June 2012.
All the members of the group "grew up within half a mile of Port Isaac harbour" except for John McDonnell who is a Yorkshireman. Three are 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 an author of children's books.
They sing the chorus on Show of Hands' popular song "Roots".
Repertoire [edit]
Their repertoire is extremely varied and includes both shanties and other nautical songs, some of which are fairly lewd.[2]
Gigs [edit]
They performed at the 2010 Cornbury music festival in Oxfordshire,[3] the Glastonbury Festival and the Cambridge Folk Festival.[4]
Recordings [edit]
The group had released two CDs themselves before signing with Universal; their first album with Universal, Port Isaac's Fisherman's Friends, was recorded in St Kew Parish Church, Cornwall,[5] and released in April 2010.[4]
Television [edit]
Gareth Malone's documentary on sea shanties, shown in May 2010 on BBC 4, included a contribution from the group.[6] The Fisherman's Friends have also starred in an advert for fish company, Young's.
Awards [edit]
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.[7]
Guildford incident [edit]
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[8] and died in hospital two days later.[9][10]
Discography [edit]
Albums [edit]
| Album Title | Album details | Chart positions | Certification |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK | |||
| Suck'em and Sea |
|
— | |
| Another Mouthful From ... The Fisherman's Friends |
|
— | |
| Port Isaac's Fisherman's Friends |
|
9[11] |
Singles [edit]
- 2006: Show of Hands - "Roots" (Fisherman's Friends sing the chorus)
References [edit]
- ^ Sinclair, Lulu (18 March 2010). "Fisherman's Friends Net Catchy Album Deal". Sky News. Retrieved 2011-02-07.
- ^ Williams, Murphy (2010-04-29). "When the boat came in". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2011-02-07.
- ^ Parkinson, Ben (2010-04-23). "Fisherman's Friends for Cornbury Festival". Virtual Festivals. Retrieved 2011-02-07.
- ^ a b Gifford, Ralph (2011-02-07). "Ship comes in at last for Cornish folk singers". The Independent. Retrieved 2001-02-07.
- ^ "Cornwall singers win deal to make album of sea shanties". BBC News. 18 March 2010. Retrieved 2011-02-07.
- ^ "Sea Shanties and Sea Songs with Gareth Malone". BBC. Retrieved 11 May 2010.
- ^ "Donovan 'fired-up' by Lifetime Achievement Award". The Telegraph. 2001-02-08. Retrieved 2011-02-11. "Shanty singers Fisherman's Friends were rewarded for keeping folk music alive and bringing it to new audiences with an honorary prize, the Good Tradition award [at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards]."
- ^ "Fisherman's Friends tour manager dies in G Live accident". BBC. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
- ^ Death of Grills announced on Fisherman's Friends Facebook
- ^ Fisherman's Friends' Trevor Grills dies after G Live accident
- ^ "TOP 40 OFFICIAL UK ALBUMS ARCHIVE : 8th May 2010". The Official UK Charts Company. Retrieved 2011-02-07.
- ^ "Certified Awards Search". BPI. Retrieved 2011-02-07. "PORT ISAAC'S FISHERMAN'S - PORT ISAAC'S FISHERMAN'S FRIENDS : Gold Certification (Album) Friday, January 07, 2011 : UNIVERSAL MUSIC (UNIVERSAL) : Released Monday, April 26, 2010" (Search required)
External links [edit]
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