Produced in Kent Logo
Shepherd Neame has released its own sea shanty

14th April 2021

Britain's oldest brewer hopes to go viral with its own unique take on the current sea shanty trend

After Scottish postman Nathan Evans’ rendition of sea shanty Wellerman went viral on TikTok last year, it sparked a surge of interest in the genre which is still going strong, with his Wellerman remix reaching No.1 in the UK charts last month.

Ahead of pubs reopening on Monday, Britain’s oldest brewer Shepherd Neame decided to mark the occasion by offering its own unique take on the sea shanty trend.

Shepherd Neame’s Digital Marketing Executive Stacey Young, who also works as a professional singer, teamed up with friend and fellow Kent musician Karl Reid to write and record Barman, released today (Friday, April 9).

Stacey and Karl individually recorded their vocals at home, and then met in Whitstable to film socially distanced footage at a number of Shepherd Neame pubs around the town for the video to accompany the song. They also invited Shepherd Neame team members and licensees to contribute their own footage singing along to the song, which was incorporated into the finished film. Participants featured include Chief Executive Jonathan Neame, giving a rousing ‘Huh!’ at the end of each verse.

Stacey said: “Everyone is really excited about pubs reopening next week, so we thought it would be fun to celebrate the occasion by creating our very own Shepherd Neame sea shanty! We altered the lyrics of Wellerman to reflect the challenges of the past year and our excitement at finally reopening our pubs. We are really pleased with the finished result – particularly the accompanying film, which is a fantastic celebration of our licensees and team members. We hope people enjoy watching it as much as we enjoyed making it!”

Shepherd Neame temporarily closed the doors of its 312 pubs and hotels on November 5 last year, along with its brewery shop, in line with Government advice.

Following the Government’s confirmation on Monday (April 5) that pubs can open outside spaces from April 12, before being able to offer indoor service from May 17, preparations are now ramping up to welcome back customers at those Shepherd Neame pubs with suitable outside spaces. A full list of the 201 sites reopening on Monday is available here: https://www.shepherdneame.co.uk/pubs-hotels-reopening-2021. The rest of the estate will reopen on May 17. Shepherd Neame’s brewery shop in Court Street, Faversham, will also reopen on Tuesday (April 13).

Watch Shepherd Neame’s Barman video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQS3q73WnuM

The audio file is available to download here: https://we.tl/t-mFr1hKTPXb

Spitfire single bottle glass

Shepherd Neame Ltd

The fifth-generation independent family business produces Kentish ales of such renown that they are afforded Protected Geographical Indication from the EU.

This website uses cookies to improve your experience.

If you continue using the website, we’ll assume you’re ok with this.