Hart Backbord - here you can read about us

‘HART BACKBORD’ – on stage since 1978
with international seasongs and stories about salty dogs and the seven seas

Hart Backbord just before the first gig. 1. Mai 1978 - Bremen		The nautical command ‘HART BACKBORD’ means ‘hart to port’ and this left turn is exactly what Hartmut Emig and the other founders of the choir intended politically back in the 1970s. For their music, they had similar plans: to create a contrast to the traditional German shanty choirs which consisted mainly of old men in black hats and ironed pants. A political message is implied in our rousing and authentic songs. We stand side by side with seamen around the world when it comes to social conditions on board and fair payment. ‘HART BACKBORD’ attends union demonstrations and the singers may even board and take over a ship with their music, in agreement with the International Transport Workers Federation ITF.
OUR INSTRUMENTS Typically guitar, banjo, mouth organ and bodhran form the rhythmical background of shanty choirs. Musicians usually sing in four parts. Over the time we also tried various other instruments like the bagpipe or the „crumhorn“.		Hartmut and Quetschi
		OUR SONGS Shanties tell of the hard life on board which was in no way as romantic as sometimes imagined. The songs were intended to accompany and support the hard tasks that seamen had to perform. Usually, one lead singer or more provided the rhythm and the other sailors answered with the refrain. Forecastle shanties were sung at night when the work was done. These songs were about the beautiful places seamen had visited or about their loved ones back home.

		Despite the hard work on board shanties are very melodic and varied. Usually a crew consisted of French, Italian, British and German men who all influenced the songs. Black sailors enriched the music with gospel and Caribbean sounds. Shanties are mostly sung in English as it was the common language on board. ‘HART BACKBORD’ accompanies the songs with instruments ranging from classic guitar to bagpipe. This fascinating mix of musical history should be regarded as one of the earliest forms of folk music!
		Guntram in action
Festival Maritim 2002		With our individual interpretation of shanties and our vigorous performance ‘HART BACKBORD’ soon saw success. In 1981 we launched the first album. As the following albums, it was distributed by well-known labels. As one of few western German bands we toured in the former GDR in the 1980s. Many times, we performed at international festivals, for example in Liverpool, Bristol and Rotterdam, Ilawa and Wilhelmshaven. We are also co-founders of the ‘Festival Musik Maritim’ in our hometown of Bremen, first held in September 1999.

Hart Backbord in Kourou		Hart Backbord took course overseas We have sung at many German and European festivals since 1978, but due to a coincidence we even travelled to South America. In Kourou in French Guayana, the group was part of a small line-up during a celebration of the "Ariane" employees (ESA - European space agency). During our stay, we were not only able to experience the country and its people, who were enthusiastic about our music, but we were even allowed to witness the start of an Ariane rocket.
‘HART BACKBORD’ ON STAGE When we perform on stage, we always tell the audience what the songs are about and how life on board of the big merchant ships used to be. And of course, some incredible tales are not to be missed.		Hart Backbord - Liverpool 2002
Partner band of the Bremen harbour museum		FRIENDS AND PARTNERS Since 2006 we have been the partner band of the Bremen harbour museum. A warm and long-standing cooperation continues with the ‘Deutsche Gesellschaft zur Rettung Schiffbrüchiger’ (German equivalent of the lifeboat institution).

HARTMUT EMIG, founder and musical director of ‘HART BACKBORD’ until his retirement in 2012, edited a book about shanties. His unusual and modern interpretation of shanties influenced many choirs in Germany – just as he and his mates intended when they created ‘HART BACKBORD’. Hartmut died in November 2021.
CHANGES AND A NEW COURSE When Hartmut retired in 2012, the survival of “HART BACKBORD” was at stake. But we decided to sail on: with Franz Powalla as new choirmaster we managed to divert our course while holding on to our well-tried repertoire. Even some proven seamen came back on board. Together with the old crew and some freshmen “HART BACKBORD” is now all set for its musical future. In 2017 we booked the well-known Studio NORD in Bremen again, where we already produced our first record in 1981. This studio has been a favourite of well-known artists for over fifty years. In autumn 2017 we released our current DC "Salty Dogs". In April 2018 Hart Backbord celebrated its fortieth stage anniversary at the fully booked Bürgerhaus Weserterassen in Bremen with former co-singers, friends and fans. In 2020 and 2021 Covid brought our performances on stage to a near standstill. The Festival Maritim, our home festival, had to be cancelled twice due to the pandemic. We are delighted that the festival with maritime music is now back in Bremen Vegesack. In the summer of 2021 we were finally able to practice again outside of Schlachthof event centre, our rehearsal venue for thirty-five years. Autumn 2021 brought even more changes with the departure of Franz Powalla, musical director of Hart Backbord for many years, when Guntram Probst, a long-time member (singer and instrumentalist) took over.
		In 2023, Jannes Waterstrat joined us as musical director.
With Jannes, we began to appear on stage again in 2023. The highlights of the year were certainly our Festival Maritim and our trip to the Mevagissey Shanty Festival, the only German group in the programme.		Hart Backbord 2023 in Mevagissey