It’s not every day that the most famous sea shanty band in the world comes to Sydney. In fact – it’s never happened before.
Straight from their home in Cornwall, the ‘buoy band’ Fisherman’s Friends are embarking on their first-ever tour Down Under.
Their origins are almost too cute to be believed: a group of real-life fisherman and their mates, all with backgrounds in group singing, gathering on the shore of a tiny Cornish village to have a bit of a sing each week. A chance spotting by a music industry denizen, and soon they had a record detail and were topping the charts in the U.K. Really, it’s the stuff movies are (actually) made of! So far, they’ve had their story told in not one, but two films; a documentary; and a book. They even recently performed at Princess Catherine’s Christmas concert at Westminster Abbey.
Still don’t know what sea shanties are? For those of you who didn’t get swept away in the #ShantyTok craze of 2021: shanties are songs traditionally sung by sailors in the 1700-1800s on sea-faring vessels. Meant to help keep time as the men hoisted sails and took up anchors, the songs’ hymn-like rhythms are enjoyed worldwide, even 200 years on from their heyday.
Fisherman’s Friends have so many fans in Australia that their first Sydney show, at the gloriously luxe State Theatre, sold out. The Plus Ones were lucky enough to attend their matinee performance – the perfect Sunday afternoon.
Backed by nautical-looking flags (along with the St. Piran’s Flag of Cornwall inset with a Southern Cross), the nine members held the audience rapt with their very first song. The tried-and-true ‘A Drop of Nelson’s Blood’, aka ‘Roll The Old Chariot Along’, which featured in the first Fisherman’s Friends film, got everyone in the mood for what was ahead: a musical journey starting in Cornwall and ending in Australia.
Mixing in traditional shanties with songs written by the band members, the group took us on a world-wide tour across the years and the seas. Dotted in were beautiful Cornish songs – such as ‘Cornwall My Home’ – Cornwall of course being one of the Celtic nations, and an independent entity before the advent of the Anglo-Saxons. Indeed, the extinct Cornish language is even seeing a revival as part of a burgeoning national identity; and the group certainly made clear in several jokes that England (and neighbouring county Devon) is very much different.
While their albums can be streamed on all platforms, the group’s warmth and depth can’t be reproduced electronically. You can tell the banter between the lads is down to knowing each other for years, decades even.
Their vocalisations and harmonies are the effortless medleys of people who have been singing together for years (the band has been around for 18!), and know each other’s vocal ranges. It was wonderful sitting back and revelling in the soaring notes of the tenors backed with deepness from the basses and baritones – all accompanied by guitar and accordions also played by band members.
The lads got the crowd going with turning the house lights on and leading us in arm movements in time with the lyrics. As my +1 (a relative shanty novice) remarked, it was ‘participatory without being burdensome’.
Fisherman’s Friends are a charming bunch – they’ve been sharing behind-the-scenes videos on their Instagram of them seeing kangaroos for the first time. They effortlessly wove in personal anecdotes along with tidbits about the songs (even singing one popularised on railroads, not ships). And they knew exactly what the crowd wanted: they finished their set with their hit song ‘No Hopers, Jokers or Rogues’. And after rousing applause from the audience, finished off their encore with – how could they not? – ‘South Australia’.
A standing ovation from the crowd was the perfect introduction to Sydney. Seeing the love the crowd had for this unique form of folk music – and a band from a small fishing village half a world away – was the perfect way to spend time with the most famous sea shanty band in the world.
We’re all now mates with Fisherman’s Friends.
– Theresa
Co-founder of The Plus Ones, Theresa is also the founder of the Melbourne Sea Shanty Society Facebook page. Curious about shanties? You can attend one of the many shanty groups across Australia’s thriving sea shanty scene; and if you’re in Sydney, check out @randydandyshanties for all the free weekly events they run across the city.
Fisherman’s Friends are touring Australia throughout January. Buy tickets now for a city near you.
