13.02.12: The Roseland Peninsula’s own Shantymen, Du Hag Owr, have just returned from a successful performance of their brand of traditional and original sea shanties in John Lewis on Oxford Street, London and on the historic replica of Sir Francis Drake’s ship, As the brand’s official band, they were invited to celebrate the arrival of Seasalt’s new spring collection and launch their new CD “Carrick Roads”.

Du Hag Owr, whose name means Black and Gold in Cornish, are based in Portscatho and were formed in August 2009 for a one-off performance of sea shanties. Having learnt ten songs in two weeks to sing at a craft fair, the four members, Allan, Andy Lobb, Chris Morse and Graham Trudgeon, found they enjoyed singing these shanties so much that they decided to learn even more songs for their own enjoyment.

Allan Collins, resident of Portscatho and the local HM Coastguard Station Officer, told Roseland Online, “I was asked if I knew anyone who could provide some live musical entertainment for a local craft fair. It was something a few friends and I had already been talking about for some time as we all sang with Philleigh Shout, the Roseland Male Voice Choir. We were very interested in the history of shanties, so this seemed like an ideal opportunity to perform a few songs of the sea”.

It wasn’t long before Du Hag Owr attracted two new members, Steve Skull, a local musician, and Vernon Keen, another member of Philleigh Shout, in late 2009/early 2010 respectively.

Du Hag Owr have achieved quite a lot in almost two and a half years since that first performance.  Among other things, they have raised money through The Precious Lives Appeal, and have sung all over Cornwall, including The Minack Theatre.

The boys launched their latest CD, “Carrick Roads”, onboard Golden Hinde, which is moored on the Thames in Southwark. As on their previous album, “The Hera”, the new CD contains a mix of traditional songs and original material written by them.  Both CDs are available to purchase from their official website www.duhagowr.co.uk, where you can listen to some clips of their music, watch their videos and also enter their monthly competition for a chance to win one of their CDs.