Undoubtedly the most famous of all the groups to be performing again at next month's Falmouth International Sea Shanty Festival, is Fisherman's Friends and no-one, it seems, is more surprised at their success than the boys themselves.

They say: "When we got together in John Brown’s front room in Port Isaac back in the late autumn of 1991, the majority of us were in our thirties; little did we envisage what the future might hold. Back in 2009, we were spotted performing on the Platt in Port Isaac by an independent record producer,who for some reason not readily apparent to us at the time (or indeed now) thought that he could make a record with us.

"And so there we were, no hopers, jokers and rogues propelled quite unprepared into the shallow and superficial world of showbiz. Our first album Port Isaac’s Fisherman’s Friends got high up into the charts and soon after, we were in proud receipt of the special “Best Traditions” award at the BBC Folk Awards.

"Excitingly, we’ve performed a number of times at the Festival Hall and Royal Albert Hall, it was very special to sing for Her Majesty during her Flotilla down the Thames."

They've gone on to perform on tour and at festivals around the UK finding themselves on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury before singing in front of 55,000 at Proms in the Park where they were supported by Earth,Wind and Fire.

"We’ve made two further CDs, there’s been a documentary about one year of being discovered, a book telling our story, we’ve done lots of TV and radio and we’ve, ahem, made a fish finger advert," they add. "In 2017 we hope to bring to our audiences some new songs with a taste of the sea but more importantly the same mixture of music and fun that has always been our trademark.

"Having performed at all the previous Falmouth International Sea Shanty Festivals bar one, The Fisherman’s Friends are looking forward to meeting old friends at this year’s event and striking sound with anyone who’ll join in."

Another group appearing who also date back to 2009 is The Falmouth Fish. From humble beginnings in the pubs of Falmouth, the Fish took their music far and wide, performing in pubs and festivals both in Britain and abroad.

Their mix of "heart-thumping sea songs, soulful ballads of loss and love, and the occasional comedy song" has always been well-received.

This year sees their much-anticipated return to the Falmouth Sea Shanty Festival, with a small change in crew, but the same unique blend of singing styles. As happy singing in mystical boulder-strewn valleys as they are on the stage, the Falmouth Fish are back to sing, drink ale, and sing while drinking ale.

The festival, which will see 61 groups perform at 23 venues across the town, takes place from June 16 to 18 with the money raised going to Falmouth RNLI's £100,000 appeal. For up-to-date details of the festival go to falmouthseashanty.co.uk.