Shanty singing in twenty-first-century Britain

Tackley, C ORCID: 0000-0001-9729-1964 (2017) Shanty singing in twenty-first-century Britain. International Journal of Maritime History, 29 (2). pp. 407-421.

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Abstract

The revival of the shanty accompanied the decline of the UK’s shipping industry in the mid-twentieth century. It was dominated by the larger-than-life figure of Stan Hugill, a former shantyman who ensured the continuation of this musical tradition through his performances and books. But in fact, as shanty authority the late Roy Palmer has pointed out, the idea of reviving a dying art had been a concern by the end of the nineteenth century. Following this, folk-song collectors like Cecil Sharp made concerted efforts to document shanties but also to make adaptations (such as censoring the lyrics and providing piano accompaniments) to enable them to be performed on land – even on the concert platform – by those who had little or no direct experience of seafaring. Although this seems to be the complete opposite to Hugill’s approach of connecting the songs with their traditional maritime context, both aimed to ensure that shanties remained relevant. This article considers the continuation of these attitudes to the shanty in the twenty-first century. The recent resurgence in shanty singing in the UK has taken place alongside the regeneration of many UK port areas, the (re-)development of sailortowns as contemporary tourist destinations and associated attempts to connect the public with maritime heritage. I will focus in particular on the Falmouth (Cornwall) International Sea Shanty Festival, exploring the aims and motivations of different performing groups and analysing their contemporary approaches to music which is inextricably linked with seafaring history.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Falmouth, folk song, music festivals, shanty
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	30 Jun 2017 08:57
Last Modified:	19 Jan 2023 07:01
DOI:	10.1177/0843871417694014
Related URLs:	Publisher
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3008215