It was a story the British press loved when a bunch of old friends in the Cornish seaside village of Port Isaac got together to sing unaccompanied sea shanties for tourists at the harbour and were suddenly signed by Universal Records for a reported £1 million advance and became overnight celebrities. With the exception of Yorkshireman John McDonnell, each member of the group was born and grew up in Cornwall where they were all fishermen, coastguards or lifeboatmen, along with other jobs.

Led by ex-policeman and children's author Jon Cleave, they proved a popular attraction, yet rarely sang outside of their own locality, although they did record two self-made albums: 'Suck'em and Sea' (2000) and 'Another Mouthful from... The Fisherman's Friends' (2009) and sang backing vocals on the Show of Hands song 'Roots' (2006). Their lives changed in 2010 when a holidaying record company executive spotted the potential of their booming choruses and self-deprecating humour and signed them to the Universal label. Heavily marketed with TV advertising, their first major label album 'Port Isaac's Fisherman's Friends' caught the public's imagination as they broke into the UK top ten in the Albums Chart and headlined concerts and festivals all over the country while still holding on to their day jobs. A book and film deal followed and they'd already recorded a new album when tragedy struck early in 2013 when, preparing for a gig in Guildford, a heavy steel door collapsed killing one of their members, 54-year-old Trevor Grills, and tour manager Paul McMullen.

After a short break out of respect for those lost, they released their second Universal album 'One and All' and dedicated to Grills at the end of 2013. 'Proper Job' came in 2015 under a new deal with Sony Music and noted the first appearance of new member Toby Lobb. Returning to the studio at every possible free moment, the group started work on their sixth album which they released as 'Sole Mates' in 2018 under the label Cod and Chips.

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