More than a quarter of a century ago, a group of like minded chaps hit on the idea of singing sea shanties for fun. Despite it being a late night at the yacht club, most of us remembered the idea the day after and thus The Motley Crew was born.

Since then, we’ve sung at festivals, fetes, smack and barge matches, regattas, dinners, weddings, parties, shop openings and numerous other events. 

Highlights include performing at the London Marathon, the Cutty Sark, the Colchester Oyster Feast, Brightlingsea's Blessing of the Waters and shanty festivals at Harwich, Brancaster and Leigh on Sea. 

We've worked with the NHS twice. In 2021 we recorded a shanty promoting Covid vaccinations, performing the result live on BBC and ITV breakfast programmes. Our second collaboration, in 2025, urged people to get a flu jab. 

We've supported lots of charities over the years, but our main charity is the RNLI (as most of us sail, we figure it's a good investment). We've raised nearly £50,000 for the RNLI and others. 

Now with 13 crew members, we're busier than ever, entertaining audiences with our unique harmonies, wide repertoire and more than a little humour. We like to leave our audiences smiling!

If you'd like us to sing for you, click the button below to get in touch.

Not all our gigs are open to the public, but if you're thinking of booking us, the list below will help you to avoid a clash of dates.