Meet the Crew
In no particular order – Rank or Privilege, Above Decks, Below Decks or AWOL!
More crew to be added shortly!
Mike Green
Mike is the infamous voice, the one you often hear first…. and we all are often very surprised with what he comes out with next! He is a flamboyant performer, showman and raconteur. A founder member of The Wellington Wailers.
Mike has a colourful history, dancing with Sompting Village Morris for many years, served his time as squire. He also is a frequent Folk Festival go-er and an enthusiastic supporter of beer especially from micro-breweries. He has been sailing all his life as well as service in the Royal Navy. Sailing yachts and other fine boats, he spent many years as a Sail Maker.
Steve Lowry
Having studied in Brighton Grammar School as a lad, Steve spent a brief spell in the Royal Marines. After this he travelled within South Africa before returning home. He then joined the Metropolitan Police, and he was still only 19! He later moved to East Sussex where he joined the Fire Brigade where he spent 27 years good service! Still attracted to the ‘blue flashing lights’, he switched to the Ambulance service for a further 7 years.
Steve has always enjoyed singing and socialising and was asked about 7 years ago to join ‘some strange chaps’ to compare notes on beers, and to sing occasional sea shanties at Sussex Yacht Club! Steve found he really enjoyed it! As this gained momentum the group transferred to the Duke of Wellington, and the group became known as “The Wellington Wailers”. “I am generally quite a quiet person” He says, but wait till you hear him on stage!
Terry McDonnell
Born in Liverpool, from an early age, Terry developed the love of the sea, he would spend his young years standing on The Pierhead watching the passenger Liners & Ferries crossing the Mersey. As a teenager he spent a year as a boy rating on the Isle of Man Ferries, before attending another year at Art College. After Art College he drifted for a few years before spending 25 years working in IT. Terry is now enjoying the quieter life as a handyman, skills he learnt while renovating his own house. A love of singing saw him join a local community choir called Hullabaloo, performing at various venues, including the Brighton Dome. After seeing an Ad for new members to join the Wellington Wailers shanty singers on Facebook, Terry arrived at the Welly to show off his singing skills, he joined the crew around 2021!
Judy Green
Nigel Snow
Whilst sailing in an era before the Wailers, Nigel remembers taking some shore leave in Guernsey. After a long day he met up with fellow sailor Mike Green, one beer led to another and a mutual love of sea shanties was discovered. It was not long after this that the Wailers first got together.
A keen sailor Nigel loves nothing more than sailing his boat and putting on some shanty tunes at a decent volume. He's discovered that this is best done with other sailing Wailers like Jerry, Ian or Dave but his wife Jo is kind enough to allow him a few tunes as well!
Nigel has twice sailed to the Festival du Chant de Marin in Paimpol where he has seen some of his favourite shanty groups perform including The Young 'Uns. One day he would love it if the Wailers could get there to enjoy the festival and even sing a song or two themselves.
Another original Wellington Wailer, who has been with the crew through thick and thin. Nigel has a rich bass voice, rounding off the Wailers harmony beautifully.
Ian Bush
Ian, is one of the original Wellington Wailers. A long-standing member of 'The Sussex Yacht Club', it was Ian's idea the club would benefit from having a sea shanty crew. Whether the club benefited, other than increased bar takings, is a moot point. However, that idea late in 2012 germinated into the ‘best and strongest sea shanty crew in Sussex’ Well that’s what he says.
Ian has been around the folk world for many a year now. He has sung and played in folk clubs throughout Sussex and beyond. He has also started up and hosted folk clubs and music sessions in many a fine pub. Like several other Wailers, Ian has also been a keen Morris Dancer, and was also Squire of Chanctonbury Ring Morris Men.
John Charlish
Born by the sea in Great Yarmouth and retired to the sea in Shoreham, John joined the Wailers in early 2015 after catching them performing in the Duke of Wellington and finding he remembered many of the songs from his childhood on the Norfolk coast. He was a teacher, a lecturer and finally ran a training company before retiring,
Inspired by Dixieland jazz, the blues of Robert Johnson and the a capella singing of the Young Tradition, Tim Hart and Maddy Prior. He ran a Jazz Club in college, folk club in the school he first taught in, he also atarted a local Jug Band “Rising Damp” and performed with the local Gilbert and Sullivan society.
John researches and writes the origins and history of songs and has created a variety of “historical” talks based around the history of sea shanties ior the Marlipins Museum and St Mary de Haura in Shoreham. He combines a love for finding harmonies with trying new ales and performing with the Wailers fulfils both of these.
Richard Brown (deputy assistant cabin boy, third class) Surrey born but Sussex bred. Richard has always loved the sea and real ale, although better cocktails are available. He is one of the newer crew members, having rediscovered his childhood love of shanties, while listening to the Wailers in East St, Shoreham, a few years ago. He was signed aboard the good ship Welly on his birthday in 2021, along with Jake & Terry. Richard may have done his dingy & yachting competent crew course, but is best supervised closely. Fortunately for him he enjoys sea swimming all year round, and can happily swim home after consigning your pride & joy to the bottom of the deep blue sea, look out for Richard singing the high harmonies with John.
Jerry Kent
Jerry was there at the beginning of The Wellington Wailers, where he heard a few of our chaps singing at the bar at the Shoreham Yacht Club. Jerry thought this sounded interesting and at least looked fun, and so joined in with these chaps (after two or three pints at the bar, I suspect?) and added to the sound., He became famous for his 'minuscule song repertoire' which he has worked hard to maintain.
Jerry is once again the 'Youngest Wailer' in the crew, at the ripe old age of 52! (We obviously need new young blood!!). Jerry was saying " I have a memory so short that............. what was I saying?" Jerry is a true sailing man and loves sailing with the family, but they refuse to let him have any “beardy music, sea shanty’s or folk! "on board the family boat! So, he uses his voyages and adventures with The Wellington Wailers as a way to express his hidden desires... and songs. Jerry's daytime job is the Head of Design Technology at a secondary school! No doubt, a career attracted by long and frequent holidays and lots of opportunities to set sail!
Simon Jones CAPTAIN
Simon originally hails from the band pit, playing trumpet, trombone, tuba & piano in a variety of productions, in London and his hometown of Liverpool – but tiring of the debauched musicians lifestyle, he switched to directing and performing in Gilbert and Sullivan productions around the country but now finds himself fully berthed in Shoreham by Sea where he moved to in 2020.
When not onboard with the Wailers he works for Transport for London where he has fulfilled many management rolls across the railway
In his spare time, the siren song of the theatre still calls and he finds himself on stage or in the band pit (depending on who has the best beer!) or if its particularly sunny you’ll find him on his allotment where he can sing as loud as he likes!"
Jake Fletcher
I was born in Brighton by the sea, a thalasophille at heart, no natural musical talent but like to sing anyway, hence the love of sea shanties. Was talked into joining a community choir in 2017, got hooked instantly. Falmouth shanty fest 2019 cemented my love for shanties and I've been boring loved ones with them ever since. On the same weekend I went out sailing on Barnabus the Cornish lugger with my Devonian lover (who became my wife) and I knocked a rafting iron over board... I need more sailing experience!
Brian Anderson
Brian, is currently a key member of The Wellington Wailers and has been so for several years now. Brian joined the Wailers and attended our practices and bookings whenever he could. He was somewhat distracted by his proper full-time job, working on the railways, being in the hierarchy of the Signalling fraternity of Railtrack for many years. Although now retired from his distinguished service, he has now been given the green light to attend to his Wailers duties with even more gusto. Although you may also see Brian back on the tracks from time to time, working with the Bluebell Railway, signalling surprisingly. Brian is still also an active member of Sompting Village Morris of which he was Squire for 2 years. He's danced and sung in France, Holland, Germany, Switzerland and Belgium. Aside from this, Brian's greatest claim to fame however was playing the rear end of a pantomime camel in a local panto!
Brian also sings with other groups in Sussex and is a fine soloist, especially when he thinks he will get a free pint or two!
Dave Evens (Chief Stoker)
..is an honorary member, being our “Bucket Man” at the Falmouth Sea Shanty Festival. “Bucket Dave “ as he is also known, is our charity donation collector at Falmouth and has distinguished himself by always coming second or third each year out of sixty other shanty groups!
Since becoming an honorary member, he has been granted the rank of Chief Stoker…. he likes to get the land lubbers to shovel their cash into his bucket!
He lives on Hayling Island, is a keen shanty singer and occasionally sings with the Wailers, when they visit his home territory. Dave is a marine artist, enjoys anything nautical, especially rum, and skippers his own yacht.
Dave Drew
Dave has been with the Wellington Wailers since ‘the early days’. Apart from having a fine voice, Dave is an accomplished musician. He has a high profile around Sussex and beyond. He has been playing for many years, with Sompting Village Morris. He has also been performing alongside many other singers and musicians. He has currently got his own band, the very popular “Celtic Country Band” which fills up a lot of his time when he is not ‘Wailing’.
Dave can often be seen warming up our audience with tunes played on the melodeon.
Brian Ablett
Brian has sung in Sussex folk clubs for more years than he cares to remember. He also plays Melodeon and is yet another crew member with a Morris dancing background. Brian played for Cuckoo’s Nest Morris, and Brighton Morris Men, where he was once also a dancer, and rose to the honourable position of “Squire”. Brian has also played for 10 years with a Ceilidh Band. He has also sung and played in Glastonbury! - On top of the Tor !!!
Since joining The Wellington Wailers, he has become an invaluable member of the team. He has designed and produced the most impressive website: thewellingtonwailers.com which he updates continuously for forthcoming events and much more. On top of that he has a vast song repertoire. It would be fair to say that he would sing or play for anyone offering free cider!!!
Tim Stevenson
Tim Stevenson is a great ‘catch’ for the Wellington Wailers. Not only does he sing with a lovely soft Northern Ireland accent, (that is possibly because he is Irish)! He is also a member of the Shoreham Lifeboat Crew! Tim has a colourful and interesting background. He is a sailor in his own right, often cruising the ocean wide and has, and still does, travel widely in pursuit of his interests but also on official business. He is a qualified doctor (again very useful as many of the Wailers are of a certain age!) and he does a lot of work for communities and charities. A useful man to have on board! He has worked for many years as a local general practitioner, Medical advisor to Virgin Atlantic Airways , Easyjet, Brighton and Hove Albion Football Team, and was also there to help out Anita Roddick in the early years of Body shop. He is also a very pleasant and nice chap to know. Great singer!
