The Longest Johns

The Longest Johns is a British folk musical group from Bristol, England, consisting of Andy Yates, Dave Robinson, Jonathan "JD" Darley, and Robbie Sattin. They are known for performing folk music and sea shanties in the English tradition, and they also compose and record their own music. They became famous for their rendition of the 1800s folk song "Wellerman", which went viral on TikTok in early 2021.
In March 2020, they released a song titled "Flatten the Curve", urging people to stay indoors during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In January 2021, they signed a deal with Decca Records and United Talent Agency.
Career.
The Longest Johns formed in June 2012 after first singing together at a friend's barbecue. The original line up consisted of Josh Bowker, Andy Yates, Jonathan Darley and Dave Robinson. About a week later, they posted their first video on YouTube, singing "Haul Away Joe."
The band recorded their first EP, "Bones in the Ocean" in 2013, which was wholly original music. It was released on May 27, 2013. The band released their second EP, "Christmas at Sea", later that same year, on December 2, 2013.
In 2015, Bowker was forced away from the band for the birth of his daughter, causing him to miss the 2015 Falmouth International Sea Shanty Festival. Robbie Sattin joined the band as a replacement, and the band later announced that he would be officially joining the band.
The band released their first full-length album, "Written in Salt", on June 18, 2016. Following this release, and amid the band's heightening popularity, Bowker left the band to focus on running his business.
In November 2017, the band announced via Facebook that Anna Cornish would become the first female member of the band, having been singing with them for several months prior.
In April 2016, the band began recording their second studio album. The title of the album was later announced to be "Between Wind and Water", and was released on June 19, 2018.
In October 2019, the band announced that Cornish would be leaving the band to focus on her other band, The Norfolk Broads.
On June 10, 2020, the band released their third studio album, "Cures What Ails Ya."
Recordings.
The band has self-released three albums and several EPs: EP "Bones in the Ocean" (2013), "Written in Salt" (2016), "Between Wind and Water" (2018), and "Cures What Ails Ya" (2020).
"Between Wind and Water" was released on June 19, 2018 by the band through Bandcamp. The album includes 15 tracks with traditional songs and original compositions.
"Cures What Ails Ya" was released in 2020 by the band and includes a mix of traditional tunes and their band's own compositions. In a review Mike Davies stated the band takes a "irreverent and playful approach to the tradition." Tunes such as "Got No Beard" and "Hoist up the Thing" are humorous in nature. Their original tune "Fire and Flame" tells the story of Halifax Explosion, a 1917 maritime disaster which took place in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
TikTok viral trend.
The Longest Johns found sudden fame after a sea shanty video went viral on TikTok. On 27 December 2020, fellow Scottish musician and TikTok user Nathan Evans (username NathanEvanss) uploaded a video of himself singing the sea shanty 'Soon May the Wellerman Come', which quickly went viral. Other users sang their own versions, or added their own contributions to the video from Evans, and the original video racked up over 7.8 million views (as of 21 January 2021). The trend sparked a huge interest in sea shanties, with millions of people discovering The Longest Johns' recording of Wellerman, originally released on their 2018 album "Between Wind and Water". The song has been streamed on Spotify over 25.4 million times (as of 8 March 2021).