Overview
There is a long-standing tradition in Rye Harbour of shanty singing, harking back to the days when the river was bustling with fishing and other vessels plying their trade. In the 60’s and 70’s local fisherman Johnny Doughty was often to be found on a Saturday night at the William the Conqueror pub in the village, singing both well-known and his own shanties (as long as the beer flowed) to an enthusiastic audience.
At the start of 2018 Martin Bruce decided to revive this tradition and founded a group called Round Rye Bay Singers. The idea was to meet every two weeks in the Village Hall to learn shanties and singing technique. The group became well-liked and performed at many functions in the Harbour and in Rye. In 2019 the CEO of the RNLI, Mark Dowie, came to Rye Harbour to dedicate the Mary Stanford Pebble Memorial by the Boathouse, remembering the seventeen crewmen who died whilst trying to save lives at sea in 1928. Martin’s group sang a shanty he had composed recalling the events of that dreadful night which is also performed at the annual service of remembrance in the village church.
A note on the name of the group – “Round Rye Bay for More” is the title of a recording made by Johnny Doughty.