Long, long ago (25 years to be precise), 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.

Over the last quarter of a century we’ve sung at 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. 

In 2021 we worked with the NHS to produce a shanty promoting Covid vaccinations, performing the result live on BBC and ITV breakfast programmes.

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 over £30,000 for the RNLI and others. 

Now with 12 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.

Otherwise known as the tenors, the screechers claim to reach impossibly high notes without artificial aids.

The tunes sing the bits everybody knows and think everyone else in the crew is just showing off.

The bass section labours down in the engine room, occasionally rattling windows and scaring dogs.