FOLLOWING successful tours last year, Kimber’s Men will be appearing at Helmsley Arts Centre on Saturday.

The group now comprises of Joe Stead (Ship’s Doctor), John Bromley (Ship’s Cook), Neil Kimber (Bosun), Gareth Scott (Powder Monkey) and new boy Michael Beeke (Drummer Boy). Michael plays the Northumbrian Pipes and has added a completely new dimension to the sound. Comedy, unusual for shanty singers, also makes up a good part of the show. Having already featured in the BBC TV production Sea Songs, they are already bound for numerous festivals again this summer.

They come to Helmsley fresh from performances in village halls throughout Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire where they received standing ovations.

They have also headlined at various festivals in Scotland, Ireland and Holland.

Original founder member Joe Stead said: “We are really looking forward to this show. We’ve not performed in Helmsley before. “We’ve sung many times at The Hull Sea Shanty Festival and also many times at Scarborough Sea Fest, so we hope to be seeing some old friends in the audience who live locally. “It will be wonderful if some of them turn up.”

The Kimber’s Men will be at the Helmsley Arts Centre on Saturday, at 7.30pm.

For tickets phone the box office on 01439 771700.