John Charlish

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.