Tag: sailors

Beyond the Quay, a CD of sea songs by Tom and Barbara Brown

Tom and Barbara Brown’s new album Beyond the Quay is
made up of sea songs

Tom and Barbara Brown are old friends, and I’m very pleased that they should should put out a CD of sea-songs. Songs connected with the sea  have been out of fashion around the folk scene’s clubs and festivals for far too long in this country.

Interestingly, even though I’ve recently heard the claim that sea shanties are the new Rock’n’Roll, there are none here. Instead, this CD is full of songs about ships, ports, sailors, and of course heroes and villains. Most are traditional and most belong to the West Country.

Tom and Barbara’s performances are marked by some very effective harmony singing, of which there are two excellent examples here: Young Susan and a version of The Death of Nelson to a tune learned by the couple from traditional source singer George Dunn of Staffordshire, with additional verses from the broadside ballad.

Another aspect of this disk that I particularly like is that it includes a very nice but less well known version of one of my favourites, The Bold Princess Royal. Tom’s version from Bristol is much harder to sing than the one I know from Sam Larner – so much so that he gets extra points from me for making an excellent job of it. I gather it came originally from a singer called Albert Lightfoot.

In the interests of historical veracity I should explain that Tom’s version has the same problem as Larner’s – he has the British ship being chased to windward, which seems unlikely as the Moorish pirates’ xebecs were far better to windward than the British boats during the era being described.

And I should also add that Tom and Barbara have been lucky enough to be supported on this CD by our old friend Keith Kendrick and young musicians and singers Emily and Hazel Askew.

Copies of Beyond the Quay are available direct from Doug Bailey at WildGoose Studios and from folk music CD stockists generally. While you’re over at Doug’s emporium, do take a look at some of the other recordings he has on offer including Keith Kendrick’s recent CD Songs from the Derbyshire Coast.

Further information about Tom and Barbara Brown and a programme of their performances and general doings is available from their website http://www.umbermusic.co.uk .

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The concertina at sea

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Dan Worralll article Concertinas at sea

This weekend I was lucky to meet Dan Worrall, an anglo concertina player from Texas who has written a series of fascinating articles about the instrument.

His latest paper examining the widely-held perception that the instrument has a strong connection with sailors is required reading for those of us with an interest in sea songs and music!

For some years there has been a widely held view that the ‘tina-playing sailor was a myth – they might bring a concertina bought on the quayside home as a present, but they would be impractical instruments on a boat because steel reeds would be subject to corrosion. With no real evidence to work from, I tended towards this view myself.

However, from the evidence Dan has found, it turns out that sailors in times past did play concertinas. In a way, that should be no surprise when one considers the limited options sailors have had for entertainment during their precious leisure hours at sea – ask a ex-merchant navy seaman over fifty years old who remembers voyages made before video players were widely available, and he’ll usually tell you how important music making was on board ship.

That being so, then why shouldn’t an instrument as popular as the anglo concertina in the late 19th and early 20th centuries be an important part of the music-making scene on board ship, if a way can be found of keeping the instrument dry? After all, many types of instruments are susceptible to damage from damp and salt, not least the fiddle.

For shanties and other sea songs, see Stan Hugill’s books at ABE Books

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Penryn stocks at Falmouth’s Old Curiosity Shop

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Penryn stocks outside Falmouth’s Old Curiosity Shop

Two interesting characters pose for in Penryn Stocks outside Falmouth’s Old Curiosity shop. I feel sure the one on the right is my old mate Bill Crawford. You out there Bill?

I wrote about a Falmouth quay punt for sale a few days ago, and thinking of Falmouth reminded me of a National Maritime Museum Cornwall’s small exhibitions earlier this year.

It was held to celebrate the centenary of the death of John Burton, 19th century owner of the legendary Old Curiosity Shop in Falmouth, and a great local character. Burton claimed he could sell ‘anything from a monkey to a pulpit’, and his shop contained an amazingly diverse collection of objects reflecting the sailors and passengers who passed through Falmouth at the time. Click on the photo above and take a close look at the larger image, and you’ll see what I mean.

One of Burton’s great dealing successes was acquiring the Penryn borough stocks bearing the date 1673, bought from the Mayor of Penryn who had been instructed to sell some council possessions.

No sooner was the purchase complete than there was a howl of indignation from Penryn Council. A heated discussion followed, and to allay ill-feeling Burton wrote to the press to making the following offer: ‘If three of those grumbling Penryn Town Councillors will consent to be placed in the stocks outsid my show next Monday to get their photos taken in the stocks, I will present the said stocks to the Borough of Penryn to prevent further grumbling.’

The offer was not accepted, and the stocks were sold to an antique dealer, and today, the stocks can be seen at Penryn Museum.