The Shanty Show – Détails, épisodes et analyse

SEASON 2 PREMIERE

We're finally back after a long haitus! In this kickoff to Season 2, we welcome folklorist and musician Bob Walser to the show to discuss his journey into the world of shanties and, particularly, his work uncovering new shanties in the recordings and documents of 1930s collector James Madison Carpenter. We also discuss the historical significance of dreg songs, the influence of Afro-Caribbean music on shanties, and the legacy of Carpenter and other collectors in documenting folk music. The conversation also touches on the accessibility of historical music collections and personal anecdotes that highlight the joy of sharing and singing traditional songs.

Our guest is Canadian folk music icon Fergus O'Byrne. Fergus is an incredible singer and was part of the legendary Newfoundland band Ryan's Fancy who were awarded the Dr. Helen Creighton Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004. 

In this episode, we explore the early days of English and Irish folk music communities in Toronto and the East Coast, discuss Ryan’s Fancy’s popularity and TV shows, and share thoughts on the power and importance of singing together.

⚓︎ Shanties and songs featured:

• Rant and Roar, trad. arr. by Ryan’s Fancy
• Maid of Amsterdam, trad. arr. by Ryan’s Fancy and Tommy Makem
• Avondale, trad. arr. by Al O’Donnell
• General Taylor, trad. arr. Great Big Sea
• Tiree Love Song, by Hugh S. Robertson, arr. by Ryan’s Fancy

⚓︎ Find out more about Pressgang Mutiny here:

• pressgangmutiny.com
• facebook.com/pressgangmutiny
• TikTok, X, and Instagram: @pressgangmutiny

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

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

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

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

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

Heather Wood first rose to fame as part of the legendary 60s traditional vocal harmony group The Young Tradition, alongside Peter Bellamy and Royston Wood. In this episode, Heather shares her story from deciding to leave the army to take up singing, through the formation of the YT, her adventures around the world including singing with Janis Joplin at the Newport Folk Festival, and Peter’s suicide and legacy. Heather is an inspiration, and a very fine singer, songwriter, and storyteller indeed.
 
 ⚓︎ Shanties featured:
 - Opening credits: Paddy Doyle's Boots, trad. arranged by Pressgang Mutiny
 - Live song: Original song, by Heather Wood
- Recorded song: Chicken on a Raft, by Cyril Tawney, arranged by The Young Tradition
- Recorded song: Byker Hill, trad. arranged by The Young Tradition
- Recorded song: Nelson’s Death and Victory, trad. arranged by Peter Bellamy
 - Live song: Fire Marengo, trad. arranged by Heather Wood
 - Live song: Bring ‘em Down, trad. arranged by Heather Wood
- Closing credits: Lyke Wake Dirge, trad. arranged by Heather Wood and Pressgang Mutiny (recorded live, late a night, in a parking lot in Mystic, CT)

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

Kimber's Men are shanty legends.  John, Neil, Gareth, and Steve joined us from Gareth's kitchen in West Yorkshire to sing a few songs and have more than a few laughs. We talk about how they got their start, some of their biggest highlights and fondest memories, and the joys of singing together. After 20 years, 4 albums, and hundreds of concerts there's not much they haven't seen or sung! 

⚓︎ Shanties featured:
- Opening credits: Paddy Doyle's Boots, trad. arranged by Pressgang Mutiny
- Live song: Roll Boys Roll, trad. arranged by Kimber's Men
- Live song: Liverpool Judies, trad. arranged by Kimber's Men
- Live song: Don't Take the Heroes, Neil and Roz Kimber, arranged by Kimber's Men
- Live song: Weldon, trad. arranged by Kimber's Men
- Closing credits: Ho Bowline, trad. arranged by Kimber's Men

⚓︎ Find out more about Kimber's Men at: www.kimbersmen.com

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

Ian Robb and James Stephens are singers and musicians based near Ottawa who have had a front row seat to the evolution of the Canadian folk music and sea music communities since the ‘70s and have played with groups such as The Friends of Fiddler’s Green and Finest Kind. They have just released a new album, Declining with Thanks that contains a mix of traditional and composed songs and, of course, some songs of the sea. In this wide-ranging episode, we explore the ever-present and timely themes of war, love, and loss that make certain songs resonate across generations. We also dive deeply into Ian’s experiences with the folk revival in the UK in the ‘60s, and how the traditional music scene in Toronto came to take on its own unique character.
 
⚓︎ Shanties featured:
- Opening credits: Paddy Doyle's Boots, trad. arranged by Pressgang Mutiny
- Live song: Heave Away Me Johnny, trad. arranged by Ian Robb and James Stephens
- Recorded song: Dead Funny, written by Brian Pearson, arranged by Ian Robb and James Stephens
- Recorded song: Daft Annie, written by Ian Robb, arranged by Ian Robb and James Stephens
- Live song: All Things are Quite Silent, trad. arranged by Ian Robb
- Recorded song: I Wish They’d Do It Now, trad. arranged by The Friends of Fiddler’s Green
- Recorded tune: Kilkenny Jig, trad. Arranged by Duncan Cameron
- Live song: Bold Riley, trad. arranged by Ian Robb and James Stephens
- Closing credits: God and the Orange Clown, written by Ian Robb, arranged by Ian Robb and James Stephens

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