Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Nathan is riding on the crest of a wave
Local singer’s sea shanty hit is an international phenomenon
It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.. I’ll seize it and see what happens Nathan Evans
Airdrie musician Nathan Evans is sailing to international success after topping the German chart, announcing a European tour and seeing a version of his hit feature on US show Saturday Night Live.
The singer’s massive success with traditional sea shanty Wellerman this week reached new shores as it placed at number one in Germany and number two in Holland.
He is also realising a long-held dream of staging a tour, with five December dates planned for the UK and Ireland – including two nights at King Tut’s in Glasgow – and more arranged on the continent for January 2022 including performances in Paris, Zurich and Berlin.
Posting on Twitter, Nathan called his latest success in the German charts “honestly mind-blowing” and added: “This is absolutely incredible. Thank you to all my German supporters who helped push this to number one. I’m overwhelmed [and] hopefully see you all once the pandemic is over!”
He told fans of this week’s announcement of his tour: “Honestly so excited! Hope to see every single one of you guys there and hopefully you are all as excited as me.”
Nathan’s Tiktok rendition of the 19th-century New Zealand whaling song went viral with more than nine million views at the start of the year and has led to a whirlwind few weeks for the 26-year-old, who left his job as a postman in Gartlea to sign a record contract with Polydor.
The latest instalment in the online sea shanty craze even saw a remake of Wellerman, with changed lyrics, feature in a comedy sketch on Saturday Night Live, with its cast including Bridgerton star Rege-jean Paul.
Nathan became the highestcharting Scottish debut artist since Emilie Sande a decade ago in the Official Singles Chart thanks to the remix of his single by producers 220 Kid and Billen Ted, while he has also topped the separate Official Big Top 40 on commercial radio, reflecting “UK consumption in real time”.
He began playing guitar at the age of eight and writes his own songs, which are available on Spotify, Apple Music and itunes, and said: “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.”