Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Nathan’sa smashhit incharts
Airdrie social media sensation Nathan Evans is on the crest of a wave after scoring double chart successes with his viral sea shanty.
The singer’s hugely popular Tiktok rendition of traditional tune Wellerman, which has had more than nine million views online, sailed into the number three spot on the Official Singles Chart in the first week following its release.
His single, remixed by producers 220 Kid and Billen Ted, is not only this week’s top new entry in the countdown announced on BBC Radio 1, but also makes Nathan the highest-charting Scottish debut artist since Emilie Sande reached number two with her first song, Heaven, a decade ago.
Nathan is also riding high
at number one in the separate Official Big Top 40 with his original version of the song; while the remix is at number three in the countdown broadcast by radio stations Capital and Heart.
The commercial radio chart, which“reflects UK consumption in real time”, saw the 26-year-old take the top spot ahead of previous number one artist Olivia Rodrigo – and both listings place him above other top-10 artists including Ed Sheeran, Justin Bieber and Anne-marie.
Speaking of a moment he’s sure to treasure, a delighted Nathan told the Official Charts website: “It’s absolutely wild; when I’m talking about what’s happening it feels like I’m talking about someone else’s life.”
Hearing the Big Top 40 placings live on air with host Will Manning, he added:“thank you to everybody who has bought it, streamed it, listened to it.”
The Airdrie musician first began playing guitar at the age of eight and writes his own songs, which are available on Spotify, Apple Music and itunes.
He posted his first sea shanty online in July, but it was last month’s performance of Wellerman, a 19thcentury New Zealand whaling song, which really caught the online community’s imagination and led to the current craze, known as “Shantytok”.
Thousands of fans joined in by adding their own musical accompaniments, while his performance also attracted the attention of celebrities including Andrew Lloyd Webber, Gary Barlow and Ronan Keating.
Now Nathan has now signed a record deal with Polydor after his massive musical success during the past month; in a “hectic”whirlwind which only saw him give up his job as a postman in Gartlea two weeks ago.
He said:“now I can say that I’m a musician – it’s genuinely a dream come true.
“It’s unreal and at the moment, I’m waking up each day and saying, ‘what crazy thing is going to happen today?’
“Music is an absolute passion for me, [and] this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity – I thought at the minute I’ll seize it and see what happens.”
“I’ve got a few songs I’ve written and I know how I want them to sound, but if people wanted another shanty I’d be happy with that – if it’s going to have the same effect as Wellerman and put a smile on people’s faces, and everyone’s going to join in a sing-along, I’m in.”
He added:“shanties were sung to bring everybody together
[and] keep morale high, so I think it’s just brought it into this day and age – everybody’s at home [and] not feeling too happy, then this song comes on and everybody’s joining in, making it feel like you’re all united.”