St Austell Brewery searches UK for karaoke star

04.07.11

Hot on the heels of being awarded Champion Bottled Beer of Britain at the Great British Beer Festival held at London’s Earl’s Court earlier this week, St Austell Brewery is launching a nationwide search for the UK’s best pub singers.

Inspired by shanty singers singers Port Isaac’s Fisherman’s Friends - the new faces of the Brewery’s much-loved Tribute Ale- the company is encouraging fans to enter the Tribute Act competition by submitting videos of themselves and their colleagues, family or friends performing their version of the traditional Cornish pub song ‘Little Eyes’. The best tribute act wins its very own Fisherman’s Friends gig in their local pub.

The 10-strong group, who first met in a St Austell Brewery pub, have been making waves as one of the biggest selling new signings for Universal Music during 2010, winning a much-coveted Radio 2 Folk Award and securing an hour-long ITV1 documentary as part of the 'Perspectives' series. A film and book deal look set to propel the Fisherman’s Friends’ fame to new heights in the near future.

James Staughton, St Austell Brewery's managing director and great-great grandson of Cornishman Walter Hicks, founder of the Brewery in 1851, said: “Like Tribute Ale, the Fisherman’s Friends are a true Cornish success story.

“Traditional Cornish pubs are renowned for fantastic cask ale as well as for great pub singing as the beer flows. By linking up with Fisherman’s Friends’ we want to give Tribute customers across the whole country a chance to ‘have a go’ and win an authentic piece of Cornish pub life on their doorstep with folk music’s fastest rising stars.”

The brewery is hosting the original and karaoke-friendly versions of the song on its website www.tributeale.co.uk along with full entry details. To enter, contestants must film and submit a video of their performance of Little Eyes by 31 October 2011. Spot prizes, including exclusive CDs and T-shirts, will be awarded by the judges for any entries they consider to have the ‘FF Factor’.

For more information and full terms & conditions visit: www.tributeale.co.uk

To follow the competition and view the latest entries, and for the latest information on Fisherman’s Friends news and gigs, visit: www.facebook.com/tributeale