There are a few minutes left until eight in the afternoon and the band The Mead Men is ready to jump on stage at ‘The World’s End’, a pub located a few meters from Finsbury Park, in north London. Dozens of people dressed in christmas sweaters and with Santa hats they have been warming up for a while at the bar, with pints of beer and mulled winewhile they wait for the show to start. Alex Masters appears under the spotlight dressed in a red vest printed with dozens of Santa Claus faces, takes the microphone and begins to sing the verses of the first song of the night to the delight of the audience, who gather around in front of the stage to enjoy a carol night with aromas of the high seas.
The event has been named ‘Shanty Claus’: a Christmas version of the ‘sea shanties’, during the Golden Age of navigation, between the 17th and 19th centuries. A genre that has been passed down from generation to generation in several countries, including the United Kingdom, and that this band performs from its training in 2015when a group of music and drama students got together to do their first concerts.
Tonight its members – four voices, a guitar, a flute, a violin, a cajon and a double bass – have dressed in their most striking clothes to perform for two hours an endless number of songs from this folk music and of christmas classics before a dedicated audience.
Traditional music
A few minutes after starting, Masters and his companions sing what will be one of the songs of the night, ‘Fairytale of New York’: “It was Christmas Eve, baby / In the drunk cell / An old man told me / I won’t see any more / And then he sang a song / ‘The Rare Old Mountain Dew’ / I turned my face / And I dreamed of you.” Other Christmas carols will later be added to this Christmas classic such as ‘Deck the Halls’ and ‘sea shanties’ like ‘Pleasant and Delightful’. The audience raises their glasses and sings the songs in unison, deafening the atmosphere, a clear sign that traditional music here continues to attract the youngest.
“We knew people would come but we didn’t think it would be so full. I think people really wanted to celebrate, because many times it takes us a while to warm them up, but this time it wasn’t necessary,” says Masters shortly after the concert. The band’s leader assures that the idea of combining ‘sea shanties’ with Christmas songs arose after the pandemic, in an attempt to attract a new audience. Something that did not cost them much effort, since both genres come from popular culture. “The difference between a Christmas carol and folk music [como los ‘sea shanties’] It is minimal. Both styles are easy to sing, they are catchy and they catch peoplethat’s why they combine so well,” he says.
Success on the networks
The ‘sea shanties’ had a great impact on social networks during the pandemic, when the Scottish musician Nathan Evans released a version of the classic ‘Wellerman’, a song that has its origins in New Zealand whaling ships in the 19th century and that became a hit thanks to its catchy melody and marked rhythm.
“This music was born as a way to help sailors work in sync, so that everything works well. That’s why many songs have a very simple rhythm and a very simple melody,” explains Masters. Bands like ‘The Longest Johns’ or the Catalans The Prancing Pony They have also helped raise awareness of the genre in recent years.
In The World’s End pub the atmosphere is increasingly charged with human warmth and the smell of beer. As the concert progresses, the feeling of being on a pirate ship also grows. At one point in the show, Masters takes a huge Guinness beer mug and pours it into a glass before asking for volunteers from the audience to drink it in a matter of seconds. A boy comes on stage and the countdown begins. “Eight, seven, six, five, four…”, before reaching three the glass is already empty and people applaud excitedly to celebrate the feat.
Beyond the classic link between sailors and alcohol consumption, the members of The Mead Men They have also been in charge of maintaining another custom that sailors had, a little more noble, consisting of making a small donation to orphanages or charity centers for good luck on their journeys.
The band has encouraged the public to make a donation when purchasing tickets, which will go to an organization that combats homelessness. “Christmas is a time to share,” assures Masters, who points out that this year they have raised a total of 674 pounds (818 euros). “It’s something nice that we do at concerts and, at the same time, a nod to our history,” he says.
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