The Shanty Show

Tom Lewis is a brilliant singer and songwriter, and has written so many well-known and loved songs including “The Last Shanty”, “Marching Inland” and “Sailor’s Prayer”. Like Cyril Tawney before him, Tom is also a former submariner with the Royal Navy having spent years circling the arctic in diesel-electric submarines during the Cold War. We caught up with Tom in between performances on his recent tour of Southern Ontario to talk through his life story, his influences, his time on subs, and of course, his famous songs. With a special singing appearance by the Bytown Sea Shanty Collective.
 
 ⚓︎ Find out more about Pressgang Mutiny here:
 - pressgangmutiny.com
 - facebook.com/pressgangmutiny
 - TikTok, Twitter, and Instagram: @pressgangmutiny

We were invited onto Music from Studio 2 on CIUT89.5FM to sing some songs and chat about shanties. We cover a lot of what we've learned through our discussions on this show, share some music from our upcoming album Departure, and talk about some of our projects to further promote, preserve, and progress shanties.

Jack Coutts is a member of the legendary shanty group Stormalong John. We sat down with Jack and his daughter Hannah aboard the Pilgrim at the world's largest sea music festival in Paimpol, Brittany for a chat and a sing in between sets. We discuss the origins of the band, what it was like touring in Poland in the 80s behind the iron curtain, and performing with Stan Hugill. And of course we get some singing in too!

⚓︎ Shanties featured:
- Live song: Pique la baleine, trad. arranged by Pressgang Mutiny
- Live song: Bulgine, trad. arranged by Stormalong John
- Live song: Rock Island Line, performed by Lonnie Donegan
- Live song: Blood Red Roses, trad. arranged by Jack Coutts, Hannah Coutts and Pressgang Mutiny
- Live song: South Australia, trad., arranged by Stan Hugill and Stormalong John

⚓︎ Find out more about Pressgang Mutiny here:
- pressgangmutiny.com
- facebook.com/pressgangmutiny
- TikTok, Twitter, and Instagram: @pressgangmutiny

Some quick updates about the show and a new Pressgang Mutiny album.

As part of our European tour, we stopped in at Whitby Folk Week to do a few concerts and sit down with our favourite shanty singer, Jim Mageean, or “Shanty Jim”. In a wide-ranging chat with plenty of singing and a wonderful live audience, we discuss the burgeoning shanty scene in Poland, Jim's 1983 victory with Johnny Collins at the Eastern Bloc's answer to Eurovision, the growing consensus around the true origins of shanties, and much more! It's a conversation we won't soon forget.

⚓︎ Shanties featured:
- Live song: (No) You Won't Get Me Down in Your Mine, by Colin Wilke, arranged by Jim Mageean
- Live song: Jim and Johnny's 1983 winning medley (Poor Old Man, Ranzo-Ray, Rosabella), arranged by Jim Mageean
- Live song: John Dead, trad., arranged by The Unthanks (clip)
- Live song: John Dead, trad., arranged by Pressgang Mutiny
- Live song: Seven Long Years, trad., arranged by Pressgang Mutiny

⚓︎ Contact Jim at [email protected]

⚓︎ Find out more about Pressgang Mutiny here:
- pressgangmutiny.com
- facebook.com/pressgangmutiny
- TikTok, Twitter, and Instagram: @pressgangmutiny

Some quick updates about the show and a new Pressgang Mutiny album.

We're back with another special live episode, recorded in front of an audience at St. John's Church as part of the Connecticut Sea Music Festival.  Our guests this time are David Jones and Joseph Morneault. 

David is a stalwart of the shanty scene in the North East US, moving there from London in 1965 and becoming deeply involved with the NYC folk music scene. He sings solo and with many acts including The Starboard List, The Bermuda Quadrangle, Poor Old Horse, and The New York Packet.

Jos. is the founder and president of the Connecticut Sea Music Festival. He's also a social historian and performs with groups such as The Jovial Crew. His focus is on bringing to life early American songs relating to the everyday person: work songs, songs of the sailor, drinking songs, songs of love and consequences, ballads, and introspective songs.

⚓︎ Shanties featured:
- Live song: Paddy Doyle's Boots, trad. arranged by Pressgang Mutiny
- Live song: Yankee Whalermen, trad. arranged by David Jones
- Live song: Around Cape Horn, trad. arranged by Joseph Morneault
- Live song: Bold Riley, trad. arranged by David Jones
- Live song: A Man of War Song, lyrics trad, tune by Joseph Morneault
- Live song: Haul Away Joe, trad. arranged by Pressgang Mutiny
- Live song: Eagle Alley, trad. arranged by Pressgang Mutiny

⚓︎ Special thanks to the Connecticut Sea Music Festival!

⚓︎ Find out more about the Connecticut Sea Music Festival here:
- https://ctseamusicfest.org/

⚓︎ Find out more about Pressgang Mutiny here:
- pressgangmutiny.com

Some quick updates about the show and a new Pressgang Mutiny album.

Brise-Glace (Icebreaker) is a Montreal-based quartet who sing maritime folk from Quebec, the Canadian Maritimes, Brittany and North America. Comprised of Quebecers Jean-Francois and Antoine and Bretons Gwenn and Alexandre, they have a fascinating take on shanties as an international music and one that intersects many other musical genres.
They're also the hosts of (...ahem) the world's second most popular shanty podcast, “Bordel de Mer”, which you should definitely check out. We had the chance to sit down with them for a few songs and beers and learn a lot about French "chants marins" at the Fundy Sea Shanty Festival in August 2022.

⚓︎ Shanties featured:
- Live song: Paddy Doyle's Boots, trad. arranged by Pressgang Mutiny and Brise-Glace
- Live song: Mon petit garçon, written by Michele Tonnerre, arranged by Brise-Glace
- Live song: Les bords to St. Laurent, trad. arranged by Brise-Glace
- Live song: Le port de Quebec, trad. arranged by Brise-Glace
- Live song: Simone, arranged by Brise-Glace

⚓︎ Special thanks to the Fundy Sea Shanty Festival!

⚓︎ Find out more about Brise-Glace here:
- brise-glace.ca

⚓︎ Find out more about Pressgang Mutiny here:
- pressgangmutiny.com

Some quick updates about the show and a new Pressgang Mutiny album.

In our first ever LIVE episode, we took the stage in front of the wonderful Fundy Sea Shanty Festival audience to sing some songs and chat all things shanty with UK singer-songwriter-shantyman Chris Ricketts. We hear all about how he first fell in love with shanties, his time performing on cruise ships, as well as his approach to arranging and song-writing that came to life most recently on his album Songs in the Key of Sea. Chris' self-deprecating sense of humour and beautiful singing voice helped make our first foray into live shows a roaring success, and we got tons of singing done too - enjoy!

⚓︎ Shanties featured:
- Live song: Paddy Doyle's Boots, trad. arranged by Pressgang Mutiny
- Live song: Haul Away Joe, trad. arranged by Chris Ricketts and Pressgang Mutiny
- Live song: Shallow Brown, trad. arranged by Chris Ricketts and Pressgang Mutiny
- Live song: Stormalong John Medley, trad. arranged by Pressgang Mutiny
- Live song: Hey Stan, written by David Buckley, arranged by Chris Ricketts
- Live song: South Australia, trad. arranged by Chris Ricketts and Pressgang Mutiny
- Live song: Pique la baleine, trad. arranged by Pressgang Mutiny
- Live song: Sam's Gone Away, trad. arranged by Chris Ricketts and Pressgang Mutiny

⚓︎ Special thanks to the Fundy Sea Shanty Festival production team and volunteers!

⚓︎ Find out more about Chris Ricketts here:
- www.rickettsmusic.co.uk

⚓︎ Find out more about Pressgang Mutiny here:
- pressgangmutiny.com

Some quick updates about the show and a new Pressgang Mutiny album.

SEASON 1 FINALE: Canadian shanty singers Pressgang Mutiny talk to Martin Hugill the son of "the last shantyman" Stan Hugill who authored the seminal shanty tome Shanties from the Seven Seas. Martin is also a talented musician and singer in his own right, performing in a shanty duo with his brother Phil and with the concert and ceilidh band Canol. In this episode, we explore Stan's life story (including multiple shipwrecks and careers!), challenge some commonly held myths about the man, and hear all about what it was like having Stan Hugill as a dad. We of course also get some singing in, including a song that Martin tells us was Stan's favourite shanty.

⚓︎ Shanties featured:
- Opening credits: Paddy Doyle's Boots, trad. arranged by Pressgang Mutiny
- Live song: Blow the Man Down, trad. arranged by Martin Hugill and Pressgang Mutiny
- Live song: South Australia, trad. arranged by Stan Hugill and Stormalong John
- Recorded song: Whip Jamboree, trad. arranged by The Liverpool Spinners
- Live song: Way Down in Dixie, trad. arranged by Martin Hugill
- Closing credits: Leave Her Johnny, trad. arranged by Stan Hugill

⚓︎ With footage from The 1987 Liverpool Maritime Festival.

⚓︎ Find out more about Pressgang Mutiny here:
- pressgangmutiny.com
- facebook.com/pressgangmutiny
- TikTok, Twitter, and Instagram: @pressgangmutiny

Some quick updates about the show and a new Pressgang Mutiny album.

Michał is a member of the Polish shanty group Perły i Łotry and a sitting Member of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland. Shanties play a special role in the Polish music scene, which is surprising given the country is largely land-locked! Michał talks to us all about how shanties came to be so popular in his country and what makes shanty singing in Poland different from anywhere else in the world. We also get his on-the-ground perspective on the war in neighbouring Ukraine.

⚓︎ Shanties featured:
- Opening credits: Paddy Doyle's Boots, trad. arranged by Pressgang Mutiny
- Live song: Donkey Riding, trad. arranged by Michał Mrozik and Pressgang Mutiny
- Live song: Burza (Bully in the Alley), trad. arranged by Perły i Łotry
- Live song: Northwest Passage (Polish), English version written by Stan Rogers, arranged by Perły i Łotry feat. Chris Ricketts
- Recorded song: My Mother Told Me, trad. arranged by Perły i Łotry
- Recorded song: My Mother Told Me, trad. arranged by Perły i Łotry and L. B. One
- Closing credits: Cape Breton Lullaby, trad. arranged by Perły i Łotry

⚓︎ Find out more about Perły i Łotry @perlyilotry
 
⚓︎ Find out more about Pressgang Mutiny here:
- pressgangmutiny.com
- facebook.com/pressgangmutiny
- TikTok, Twitter, and Instagram: @pressgangmutiny

Some quick updates about the show and a new Pressgang Mutiny album.

Jon “JD” Darley is a member of the chart-topping shanty group The Longest Johns, based out of Bristol, UK. Their rendition of “Wellerman” went viral on TikTok in the early days of 2021 and launched them into stardom. But even prior to that, The Longest Johns were innovating new ways to reach new audiences with their music online. In this episode, we talk to Jon about the whirlwind of the last two years, how they have blended their love of traditional music with their love of video gaming, and how they hope to be a “gateway drug” into the world of shanties and singing. (To be clear, the episode title is a Longest Johns inside joke...listen to find out more!)
 
⚓︎ Shanties featured:
- Opening credits: Paddy Doyle's Boots, trad. arranged by Pressgang Mutiny
- Live song: Leave Her Johnny, trad. arranged by Jonathan Darley
- Live song: Randy Dandy-O, trad. arranged by The Longest Johns
- Live song: Wellerman, trad. arranged by The Longest Johns
- Recorded song: Leave Her Johny Community Project, trad. arranged by The Longest Johns
- Recorded song: South Australia, trad. arranged by Fishermen’s Friends
- Live song: Here’s a Health to the Company, trad. arranged by Jonathan Darley
- Closing credits: Wellerman Community Project, trad. arranged by The Longest Johns

⚓︎ Find out more about Jonathan Darley and The Longest Johns at thelongestjohns.com

⚓︎ Find out more about Pressgang Mutiny here:
- pressgangmutiny.com
- facebook.com/pressgangmutiny
- TikTok, Twitter, and Instagram: @pressgangmutiny

Some quick updates about the show and a new Pressgang Mutiny album.