Scottish postman Nathan Evans reveals that he has signed with Polydor Records after his clip performing traditional folk tune ‘The Wellerman’ in his bedroom went viral.
- Jan 23, 2021
AceShowbiz – A Scottish postman has landed a major deal with Polydor Records after becoming a viral sensation by posting a sea shanty on TikTok.
Nathan Evans uploaded a video of himself performing traditional folk tune “The Wellerman” in his bedroom on the app and music executives at Polydor took note.
“I was a postman last Friday and now I have just signed to the biggest record label in the world,” the 26-year-old says. “I have just signed a deal with Polydor Records. I’ve done it. It’s done and I’m releasing a single.”
Evans’ debut single is an electric dance music remix of the sea shanty, featuring 220 KID and Billen Ted. It was released on Friday, January 22.
The postman sparked a sea shanty craze on TikTok as others post videos of their folk tunes.
“It is crazy and has gone much further than I ever thought it would go,” he previously told BBC Radio 4’s “Today” programme. “I did a sea shanty back in July 2020, just because someone had asked in a comment under one of my videos. So I uploaded that and it reached 1.1 million views. I thought there must have been a demand.”
“People were looking forward to more and they were commenting underneath every video after that saying, ‘Can you sing this one? Can you sing that one?’ It was just requests from people for me to sing to them.”
Talking about the sea shanty craze, he told “Good Morning America“, “I think it’s because of the times we’re in at the minute and the fact that everybody’s feeling a bit down… This lifts everyone’s spirits and they can join through TikTok… It brings that feel-good factor.”
Evans reveals the tune that turned him into a Polydor artist was originally sung by merchant seamen “to keep everyone in time with the work they were doing.”
Source: Music - aceshowbiz.com
