Tom Lewis

Thomas John Lewis (born 16 April 1943) is a British singer and writer of nautical songs and sea shanties, some of whose works have become "folk standards." He's been recorded by over 40 other artists including Nathan Evans He ended up serving in the navy for 24 years.

In 1960, he transferred to a naval base in Scotland and began attending the Howff Folk Club in Dunfermline. Currently much of his touring happens in the UK and Europe, where he performs with the Polish band QFTRY. He met the band in the late 1990s on the European festival circuit. However, he also plays the button accordion and ukulele.

His first solo album, issued in 1987, was Surfacing and included two early favorites among his recordings, "The Last Shanty" and "Marching Inland." Those two songs later appeared on the compilation CD A Taste of the Maritimes (1992), with the former tune published under the alternate title "A Sailor Ain't a Sailor." The song is a "lighthearted look at the changes in Navy life over the years".

In 1988 Lewis recorded and toured with William Pint and Felicia Dale. Lewis has also recorded two albums with QFTRY, Po!es Apart and Po!es Apart Too: The Song Goes On.

In 2008, he published his tunes and lyrics as Worth the Singin': the Tom Lewis Songbook.

Since 2015 he has been Festival Patron of the Gloucester Shanty Festival.

Critical reception

Lewis has been called "one of North America's finest exponents of contemporary nautical songs," and "one of Canada's most unusual folk artists." with his voice reminding former sailors of the "diesel engines (they have) also left behindinstant power and off with a full head of steam." Other reviewers have called Lewis's songs "infectious creations" that "are a throwback to an earlier tradition."

Discography Surfacing (1987) Sea-Dog, See Dog! (1990) Making Waves (1992), with William Pint and Felicia Dale Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Sailor Singer! (1995) Mixed Cargo (1999) Poles Apart (Polish Title: On, My Ocean) (2001) with a five-man shanty group from Poland (QFTRY). In English and Polish. 360° All Points of the Compass (2003) The Song Goes On (2011) Poles Part Too with QFTRY Demand Performance (2020) Double-CD: Seven (extended, 'live) stage performances, plus eleven new studio recordings.