The Shanty Show Pressgang Mutiny

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 Pressgan...

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.⚓︎ Shantie...

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 Pack...

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...

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 ...

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 he...