While it has been confirmed that the band has officially retired, former members Alan Doyle and Séan McCann have continued performing in their own solo careers typically including music from Great Big Sea in their setlists.
The band played its first official concert on March 11, 1993, opening for The Irish Descendants at Memorial University of Newfoundland in St. John's, Newfoundland. The founding band members included Alan Doyle (vocals, guitar, bouzouki, mandolin), Séan McCann (vocals, bodhrán, guitar, tin whistle), Darrell Power (vocals, bass, guitar, bones), and Bob Hallett (vocals, fiddle, accordion, mandolin, concertina, bouzouki, whistles, bagpipes).
Power, McCann and Hallett had already been playing together in another band. In the winter of 1989, the band, a six-piece with guitar, bass, fiddle, accordion and mandolin played its first show at the Memorial University's winter carnival talent show under the name "Newfoundland Republican Army" or NRA, and won first prize. The band's only other appearance as NRA was later that winter at the university "Grad House". The band then dropped the fiddler, accordion player and the name.
The band found its new name as original bassist Jeff Scott rented an apartment on Rankin Street, St. John's, where the members first met and discussed the formation of the band. As a four-piece, the band first appeared as "Rankin Street" at a little pub in downtown St. John's called "The Rose and Thistle", playing for $100 and beer. They played through Sean McCann's stereo system, as renting a PA would have cost more than the night's earnings. Susan Hickey (guitar and vocals) left the band months later to attend school in Halifax and was replaced by Darrell Power. The band gained much popularity playing such local pubs as Bridget's and Greensleeves. In 1991 Jeff Scott was replaced by Jackie St. Croix on bass. The band released one recording on cassette titled "Rankin Street".
In 1997, the band reached the top ten of the Canadian RPM pop chart with "When I'm Up (I Can't Get Down)", a cover of a song by the British folk group Oysterband. They performed at the 1999 Stardust Picnic festival at Historic Fort York, Toronto.
The band won the Entertainer of the Year award at the East Coast Music Awards for every year between 1996 and 2000. In 2001, they decided not to submit their name for nomination in order to allow other bands to compete. They have also been nominated for several Juno Awards, including Group of the Year in 1998, 2005, 2009, and 2011.
Darrell Power retired from Great Big Sea in 2003 to spend more time with his family and friends. Supporting members of the band include Canadian freelance drummer Kris MacFarlane (2002) (drums, accordion, guitar, backing vocals) and Murray Foster (2003, formerly of the band Moxy Früvous) (bass, backing vocals).
In late 2005, the band released its long-awaited "traditional" album, The Hard and the Easy, on which they recorded their favourite Newfoundland party songs. The title of the album comes from a line of the song "Tickle Cove Pond", one of two songs on the album about a horse falling through ice.
On June 13, 2007, the band announced they would return to the studio with producer Hawksley Workman. On March 14, 2008, the band announced that the title of the new album would be Fortune's Favour, borrowing a phrase from one of the songs on the album, "England". The album was officially released on June 24, 2008 across all of North America.
On February 23, 2010, band member Séan McCann released his debut solo album Lullabies for Bloodshot Eyes to pleasing critical success.
On July 13, 2010, Great Big Sea released their new album Safe Upon the Shore in North America. Alan's "From the Road" blog on the band's website, originally confirmed its production in an April posting, speaking also of the album's subsequent release in July. "Nothing But A Song" was the first single off the bands' ninth studio recording, with a subsequent tour kicking off at the end of the summer 2010.
Great Big Sea announced a 'greatest hits' album titled "XX" in October 2012, accompanied by a 20th anniversary tour with 32 dates in 28 cities across the US and Canada which kicked off on March 5, 2013 in Los Angeles and finished in St. John's on April 23, 2013.
In 2013, McCann announced that he would be leaving the band at the end of the XX tour, much to the dismay of his bandmates. Struggling to maintain his new sobriety, he told his bandmates in January of 2013 that XX would be his last tour with the band, but the rest of the band and its management refused to announce this publicly. Finally, in November 2013 with XX almost over, McCann announced his departure himself in a tweet, feeling that the fans needed to know. While largely vilified by Great Big Sea fans with little said by the band or management to counter this view, McCann claims he was devastated by how Great Big Sea ended and wishes it could have gone differently.
Following McCann's departure, the remaining band members spent a year or so trying to find an amicable way that they could continue without him. Eventually coming to the realization that they didn’t want to go on like that, and happily retiring the band.
Billy Peddle
Great Big Sea Lyrics
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Billy Peddle Billy Peddle did you see Tom White?
Billy Peddle Billy Peddle did you see Tom White?
Gone around the harbour gonna stay all night
Gone around the harbour gonna get a dose of beer
Gone around the harbour gonna get away from here
Gone around the harbour gonna have a cup of tea
If you see a Billy Peddle tell him I wants he!
The lyrics to Great Big Sea's song "Billy Peddle" describe a colloquial conversation between two people about the whereabouts of one of their friends or acquaintances named Tom White. The repetition of the line "Billy Peddle Billy Peddle did you see Tom White?" creates a rhythm that is easy to sing along to, and the response of "Gone around the harbour gonna stay all night" suggests that Tom White may be indulging in some late-night revelry. The lines "Gone around the harbour gonna get a dose of beer" and "Gone around the harbour gonna get away from here" imply that Tom White is seeking temporary respite from his daily routine, and the line "If you see a Billy Peddle tell him I wants he!" suggests that the singer is hoping to hear more about Tom White's adventures from their mutual acquaintance, Billy Peddle.
The song's lyrics are written in a Newfoundland dialect, which may be difficult to understand for those unfamiliar with the dialect. The dialect is heavily influenced by the Irish and Scottish immigrants who settled in Newfoundland in the 17th and 18th centuries. The use of expressions such as "gonna get a dose of beer" and "I wants he" is typical of the colloquial language used in Newfoundland.
The song is also notable for its upbeat and catchy melody, which is played on a combination of traditional instruments such as the bodhran, accordion, and fiddle. The song has become a staple of Great Big Sea's live performances, and is often accompanied by lively dance routines that are popular with audiences across North America.
Line by Line Meaning
Billy Peddle Billy Peddle did you see Tom White?
Asking Billy Peddle if he has seen Tom White
Gone around the harbour gonna stay all night
Tom White has gone around the harbour to spend the night there
Gone around the harbour gonna get a dose of beer
Tom White is going around the harbour to have some beer
Gone around the harbour gonna get away from here
Tom White wants to get away from this place by going around the harbour
Gone around the harbour gonna have a cup of tea
Tom White is also planning to have a cup of tea while he is around the harbour
If you see a Billy Peddle tell him I wants he!
Asking someone to inform Billy Peddle that Tom White wants to see him
Lyrics © LEAN GROUND MUSIC LTD., Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: TRAD, Alan Thomas Doyle, Darrell Power, Robert Bruce Hallett, Shawn McCann
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind