— Swinging The Lead —
— What we do —
— What we do —
‘Swinging the Lead’ have over ten years’ experience of singing Shanties and Maritime Folk songs and sing an entertaining mix of traditional and contemporary songs, including those written by members of the band.
We are regulars on the Shanty Festivals scene and perform at folk clubs and theatres around the UK, singing acapella and with a variety of musical instruments including mandolin, guitar, fiddle, percussion and harmonica.
— Meet the Band —
— Meet the Band —
From left to right:
Joe, Andy, Pete, Colin, Dave & Simon.
From left to right:
Joe, Andy, Pete, Colin, Dave & Simon.
Joe: Guitar & Vocals
Andy: Percussion & Vocals
Pete: Percussion, Mandolin & Vocals
Colin: Vocals
Dave: Guitar & Vocals
Simon: Fiddle, Banjo, Guitar & Vocals
— The Cutty Sark —
— The Cutty Sark —
Swinging The Lead are the resident shanty singers on the world famous Cutty Sark in Greenwich, London.
We make regular appearances bringing the ship ‘alive’ by singing working sea shanties.
— Contact Us —
— Contact Us —
Swinging The Lead are available for hire, most gigs considered, festivals and private events, subject to general terms and conditions and availability.
— Call Us —
Pete Brooker
Tel: 07767 365 640
—Testimonials —
Live Gigs:
Herne Bay "Bay Fest 2021".
On behalf of all of us, I would like to say a very big thank you to all of you in ‘Swinging the Lead’ for a wonderful evening of entertainment last night.
I am so pleased it all worked out this time for you to come to Herne Bay and perform for us. Your crew were very well received, and the interaction you had with the audience was lovely to see and people certainly enjoyed that. It draws them in and makes them very much part of the concert itself. Just what everyone needs right now. The choice of songs was great too, ranging from the very sensitive all the way through to the ‘drunken sailor’.
A great evening which we hope you enjoyed too. We will certainly ask you back again if our concert series is able to run again next year.
Herne Bay, ‘BayFest’
—Testimonials —
Live Gigs:
Herne Bay "Bay Fest 2021".
On behalf of all of us, I would like to say a very big thank you to all of you in ‘Swinging the Lead’ for a wonderful evening of entertainment last night.
I am so pleased it all worked out this time for you to come to Herne Bay and perform for us. Your crew were very well received, and the interaction you had with the audience was lovely to see and people certainly enjoyed that. It draws them in and makes them very much part of the concert itself. Just what everyone needs right now. The choice of songs was great too, ranging from the very sensitive all the way through to the ‘drunken sailor’.
A great evening which we hope you enjoyed too. We will certainly ask you back again if our concert series is able to run again next year.
Herne Bay, ‘BayFest’
— Only Here For The Pier —
— Only Here For The Pier —
This newly released third album has been extremely well received with some wonderful reviews.
Using a top quality recording studio and sound engineer, the boys wanted to produce something of real quality.
Well they most certainly have achieved that objective!
This album is a must have for all those interested in maritime folk music.
Postal service available @ £8.00 plus P & P.
Please use the "Contact Us" page.
— Danger —
— Danger —
Second album.
— Swinging The Lead —
— Swinging The Lead —
First album.
—Testimonials —
CD Sales:
"We are so incredibly impressed with the CD, we have listened to it over and over and it's brilliant, enough tracks for a double album. It's so incredibly clear, the lead singers have such strong voices, the violin is fantastic and the group spot on in perfect time and so professional. Normally you have favourite tracks and some are not so good but these are all consistently good. This CD is as good if not better than anything folk/shanty CD I have played! Congratulations to all the boys". Allan.
“Really love the new CD lads – fantastic production”. Lucy.
“You have done a brilliant job with the new CD. Great song choices, lots of interesting information, great sound quality”.
“Only Hear For The Pier” is superb and the best maritime folk CD I have heard in a long time”. Jim.
"Great CD with a good mix of trad, maritime, original and a few fun songs". John-B.
—Testimonials —
CD Sales:"We are so incredibly impressed with the CD, we have listened to it over and over and it's brilliant, enough tracks for a double album. It's so incredibly clear, the lead singers have such strong voices, the violin is fantastic and the group spot on in perfect time and so professional. Normally you have favourite tracks and some are not so good but these are all consistently good. This CD is as good if not better than anything folk/shanty CD I have played! Congratulations to all the boys". Allan.
“Really love the new CD lads – fantastic production”. Lucy.
“You have done a brilliant job with the new CD. Great song choices, lots of interesting information, great sound quality”.
“Only Hear For The Pier” is superb and the best maritime folk CD I have heard in a long time”. Jim.
"Great CD with a good mix of trad, maritime, original and a few fun songs". John-B.
— Swinging The Lead —
— Swinging The Lead —
The original meaning
Before the days of sonar, ships would determine the depth of the water by posting a sailor at the front of the ship with a lead weight attached to a long rope.
The rope would have a knot in every fathom (6 feet).
The sailor's job was to swing the weight forward into the water and, when the ship passed directly over the weight, determine the depth of the water.
As retrieving the lead weight was hard work, a lazy sailor would swing the lead as if he were about to release it.
He would keep swinging it until such time as he thought he was being watched and only then release it into the water.
Therefore, a sailor who was swinging the lead was being lazy.
