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“SORRY for that,” says Airdrie postman Nathan Evans, explaining why he initially had to hang up his call with The Glasgow Times. “I’m on my route and someone stopped me and asked for a picture there: it’s like what is happening!”
If the last week of the 26-year-old’s life is anything to go by, it’s unlikely to be the last time he’s met by a fan after he shot to stardom thanks to his unique rendition of musical treats.
The Royal Mail worker has emerged as the source of a worldwide trend on the video sharing app TikTok, clocking up millions of views for his sea shanties.
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It’s been a whirlwind seven days for the former Caldervale High School pupil, who’s hit the headlines, appeared on BBC Radio, and was even a guest on the Lorraine Kelly show yesterday.
“I’ve been speaking to another guy on Tiktok and asking him: ‘come on, you’re a famous person, what do I do here?’ Nathan laughs. “It’s mental. It all started when I uploaded a video last July and someone then asked me to sing a sea shanty.
“I went and checked it out and thought it that sounded nice. That one got like a million views and I thought: ‘okay, people obviously liked that’.”
Since December, Nathan has racked up millions of views for his sailor songs and he is responsible for what is being called “Sea Shanty TikTok”.
The centuries-old tunes were traditionally sung by seafarers around the world and some of the ditties covered by the North Lanarkshire crooner include The Wellerman – which traces it routes back to 19th century New Zealand – and Leave her Johnny.
Scottish postman @NathanEvanss has become a Tik Tok sensation for singing sea shanties.
Watch his special performance for @reallorraine ➡️https://t.co/vn8NeFi106 pic.twitter.com/PbT0dihJK5
— Lorraine (@lorraine) January 15, 2021
“It was literally because of what I was doing on my page that I started,” he says. “I just went with it.
“I’ve played guitar since I was nine and been singing since I was a wee guy. It’s pretty much been my whole life. I knew there was a demand for sea shanties and knew it would get views but never in a million years did I expect it to go this far.
“It’s reached America, Australia and New Zealand. Everywhere.”
You can view Nathan’s videos on TikTok here.
Since going to press, Nathan has left his day job as a postman.
