Johnny Collins (10 May 1938 – 6 July 2009) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

folk singer Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be c ...

based in London, England, specializing in traditional

maritime music This is a list of performers who focus on maritime music or who have at some point made notable contributions to that genre. Traditional-style performers * Jerry Bryant, singer-songwriter from Maine, also performs historical shanties in a tradit ...

and

sea shanties A sea shanty, chantey, or chanty () is a genre of traditional Folk music, folk song that was once commonly sung as a work song to accompany rhythmical labor aboard large Merchant vessel, merchant Sailing ship, sailing vessels. The term ''shanty ...

Biography

Collins was born in

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

, England and adopted by a railway worker and a music teacher living in

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

. He joined the British Army in 1956, where he learned to play the guitar in jazz and folk clubs while posted in London. He was posted to Singapore in 1959 where he began performing in bars and cabarets in his off hours, and was posted to Hong Kong in 1965 where he began performing large concerts with other folk performers in the British and U.S. military. He also performed on television and radio (including the "Voice of America in East Asia") and played venues like the Hong Kong Hilton. In 1967 he was posted again to Singapore where he began his own folk club at the ''Anophel Inn''. Tom Lewis and Pam Ayres performed there, among others. He was demobilized ("demobbed") in 1968, and he began to perform full-time. In 1983 he and

Jim Mageean Jim Mageean (27 January 1948) is an England, English folk singer based in Cullercoats, Tyne and Wear, England, specialising in Sea Shanties, traditional maritime music and "Geordie" songs from his native North East of England. Biography Magee ...

, performing as a duo, won the

Intervision Song Contest The Intervision Song Contest (ISC) was an international song contest for artists from countries of the former Soviet Union and members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. It was previously the " Eastern Bloc equivalent to the Eurovision ...

Rostock Rostock (), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (german: link=no, Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock), is the largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the state, c ...

, in

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

. Later, in 1987, they were invited by the East German government to perform at a

sea shanty A sea shanty, chantey, or chanty () is a genre of traditional Folk music, folk song that was once commonly sung as a work song to accompany rhythmical labor aboard large Merchant vessel, merchant Sailing ship, sailing vessels. The term ''shanty ...

festival in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

commemorating the city's founding. Collins and his business partner Joyce Squires, assisted by Bernard Peek ran The Singing Chef. This service provided a wide range of home-cooked food at smaller folk-festivals throughout the UK. On occasions Collins sang on-stage wearing his chef's toque supported by backing singers (The Cheffettes) drawn from his kitchen brigade. Although slowed down by health problems, Collins continued to tour and perform worldwide up to the time of his death. including in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, Germany,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

and France as well as making frequent appearances in his native country at

Cutty Sark ''Cutty Sark'' is a British clipper ship. Built on the River Leven, Dumbarton, Scotland in 1869 for the Jock Willis Shipping Line, she was one of the last tea clippers to be built and one of the fastest, coming at the end of a long period of ...

Tall Ships Races, and maritime festivals at Hull, Lancaster, Bristol, Dundee, Maldon, Portsmouth, Gosport, Greenwich and Chatham.

Death

He died on 6 July 2009 while on tour in Gdańsk, Poland, aged 71.

Partial discography

*''Traveller's Rest'' (1973) *''Johnny's Private Army'' (1975) *''Make the Rafters Roar'' (1979) with Jim Mageean *''Free and Easy'' (1982) *''Live at Herga!'' (1982) with Jim Mageean *''Strontrace'' (1983) with Jim Mageean *''Pedlar of Songs'' (1993) *''Coming of Age'' (1996) *''Shanties and Sea Songs'' (1996) *''Now & Then'' (2000) *''Good Times'' (2008) with Graeme Knights and Jim Mageean

References

External links

feature article by Mike Raven in ''Living Tradition'' magazine - Issue 27, June/July 1998
* of Johnny Collins performing song by

Shelley Posen Shelley (I. Sheldon) Posen is a Canadian folklorist, singer and songwriter, a member of the folk trio Finest Kind, and a former writer of the 'Songfinder' column for ''Sing Out!'' In the 1970s, while still a graduate student, he was the Directo ...

, ''

No More Fish, No Fishermen No More Fish, No Fishermen is a song whose lyrics were composed by Canadian folklorist and singer Shelley Posen, about the demise of the Newfoundland fishery. Although it was written in 1996, it is often assumed to be a traditional song. The tune ...

'' * 1938 births 2009 deaths English folk singers Maritime music Singers from London 20th-century English singers {{UK-singer-stub