TikTok trend sees Gravesend and Medway sea shanty crew inspire younger generations
With lockdown causing many of us to find new interests, it was only a matter of time before sea shanties came crashing back into modern life.
Thanks to a new TikTok Trend, a crew with members from across Medway and Gravesham is hoping to get younger generations more involved in the art.
Swinging The Lead performing at Gravesend Borough Market in February last year. Video: Richard Banner
Swinging The Lead is a group of singers based in North West Kent.
The group sings a mixture of classics and has been the resident sea shanty crew on board the tea clipper Cutty Sark at Greenwich for the past 10 years.
Sea shanties are a type of work song which were once commonly sung to accompany rhythmical labour on board large merchant sailing vessels.
Joe Whittaker, a 69-year-old retired corporate risk manager, has been singing with Swinging The Lead for the past 10 years.
Originally from Plymouth but now living in New Ash Green, Joe said: "Our crew formed almost 11 years ago and since then we've performed at festivals all over the UK and Europe."
Alongside Joe, Swinging The Lead consists of six other members and cabin boy Christine Webb, 72.
Peter Brooker, 68, from Meopham, is the Captain and Colin Turner, 72, is a retired technical lecturer from Rainham.
Married to Christine is Dave, 72. The couple, from Barnehurst, Bexley, both sing while Christine also plays the harmonica and her husband plays the guitar.
Andy Ryan, a 45-year-old motor accident assessor from Albany Park, Bexley, also sings and David Prothero, 77, a retired civil engineer from Blue Bell Hill, near Chatham, sings and plays the fiddle.
Recently there has been an explosion of interest in sea shanties arising from Scottish postman Nathan Evans's success on TikTok.
Nathan's rendition of classic Wellerman went viral on the platform and kick-started the ShantyTok trend at the end of last year. He has now signed a record deal.
The song has been viewed more than seven million times on TikTok, and some of music’s biggest stars, including Gary Barlow, Ronan Keating and Andrew Lloyd Webber, have since virtually duetted with him.
Swinging the Lead hope it will introduce more people to the songs.
Joe said: "We want to entertain and educate people, we take the job very seriously.
"We're all amateur musicians and all associate with the sea in one way or another. We enjoy performing all over Kent.
"We often sing at the Three Daws in Gravesend and take part in their beer festival during August. We also sung at Chatham dockyard's 40th anniversary event."
The Swinging The Lead crew has also visited schools across the county and enjoy asking children in the Cutty Sark audience to take part in their performances.
Swinging The Lead have three albums titled Swinging The Lead, Danger and Only Here For The Pier.
To find out more visit their website here.