Profiles

Devon folk star Seth Lakeman was only a young boy at the time of the Penlee Lifeboat disaster in December 1981.

But the story of the tragedy, in which 16 people perished, made him sit and think about the sea around the Devon and Cornwall coast.

The result is his latest album, Poor Man's Heaven, which entered the chart at Number 8 in the first week of its release on 30 June 2008.

"It's very exciting," said Seth. "For me, it's massive. I'm a fiddle-playing folk artist, singer-songwriter who's been going for three or four years now and never expected I would ever be in the top 10 album sales.

Poor Man's Heaven - a hit with fans

"It's hard to take in, to be honest."

The CD is full of songs about the South West's seas and Seth, who lives on Dartmoor, admits it's a dark album with dark songs.

"It has a coastal concept, based around Devon and Cornwall," he explained. "The sea is so important for all our lives, those of us who come from Devon and Cornwall.

"The Story of Solomon Browne really sums up the album. December 2006 was the 25th anniversary of the Penlee Lifeboat disaster and it inspired me to write about it.

"That in turn inspired the rest of the album.

"I was only young at the time but my father (journalist, Geoff) covered the story. The song is about the bravery and courage of these eight lifeboatmen who put to sea and lost their lives."

Sixteen people perished in all: the lifeboat crew on board the Solomon Browne, and the eight seamen on board the stricken cargo ship they were assisting, Union Star.

Seth at a live performance in Devon

The new album again features Seth's brother, Sean, a double bass player and a percussionist.

Steve Knightley, of Devon duo Show of Hands, co-wrote three of the songs and appears on some of the tracks.

Seth said: "It's quite a dark album actually. It's also a more driven album. It's more of a representation of how we are live. That's what we were trying to do and I think we've achieved it."

He described Poor Man's Heaven as a band-orientated album, rather than a solo effort, but said he didn't intend to become "poppier."

"No, I don't think so. This is as far as I want to take it," he said.

The album, released on Relentless Records, was launched at the Watering Hole beach pub on Perranporth Beach on 25 June 2008. The proceeds from the gig went towards the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI).

"It seemed fitting to donate the money to the RNLI, as the album is about our coastline."

Seth will also be playing at Morwellham Quay near Tavistock on 2 August as part of the Folk on the Quay event. One of his earlier songs, Blood Upon The Copper, was about the mining industry in the area.

This is Seth's fourth album, and will be the follow-up to 2006's Freedom Fields, which sold 100,000 copies and earned him Folk Singer of the Year and Album of the Year Awards in the BBC Radio 2 folk awards.

Seth's big break came with his self-released 2005 album, Kitty Jay, which was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize.

You can listen to Seth talking to BBC Radio Devon's Judi Spiers in June 2008, and another chat with Vic Morgan after the CD went into the album chart in July 2008, by using the audio links on this page.

And watch an interview with BBC Spotlight's Rebecca Wills using the video link.