Over the last year they’ve reached over 100,000 followers on Facebook. They have two feature films to their name, grossing more than $15 million at the UK box office, both of which are now featured on terrestrial and digital television. Not to mention top ten album releases, a musical inspired by their story, a BBC Folk Award, a best-selling book, TV documentary and prestigious performances from The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations to Hyde Park Proms in the Park, the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury and 80,000 rugby fans at Twickenham…and even a performance on Strictly Come Dancing. In January they released their 5th album ‘All Aboard’ on Island Records a relationship that has lasted for 15 years, home of Bob Marley, Amy Winehouse, as well as folk legends Fairport Convention and Cat Stevens. This summer their song ‘Brave Volunteers’ a collaboration with Seth Lakeman, part of Radio 2’s ‘21st Century Folk’ was playlisted at Radio 2.
All the above and more has been achieved while holding down their day jobs. The Fisherman’s Friends are lobster fisherman Jeremy Brown, author and shopkeeper Jon Cleave, smallholder and engineer John ‘Lefty’ Lethbridge, builder John McDonnell (a Yorkshireman who visited Port Isaac more than 30 years ago and never left), Padstow fisherman Jason Nicholas, filmmaker Toby Lobb, electrician Simon Biddick and two very talented musicians Marcus Bonfanti and Simon Johnson.
Through rough seas and calm, the band have remained exactly what they always were when they first got together to learn a few sea shanties in somebodies living room – fishermen and their friends.
