FRED Smith and The Lost Quays is a tantalising collaboration.

A talented Australian troubadour, Smith is known for his razor-sharp wit, intelligence and literate country/folk, while The Lost Quays are purveyors of rollicking sea shanties.

They’re joining forces for a gig at the Fremantle Workers Club on Thursday, which has been billed as “thinking man’s drinking songs with moments of beauty and delicacy”.

Maybe in 2026 that should be “thinking person’s drinking songs”. Hmm. We’ll leave that to Captain Birdseye.

• The Lost Quays (above) and Fred Smith (below) are joining forces in Fremantle.

Some folk musicians sing about the moral complexities of war from the safety of their hemp-lined study and have never been near the whiff of gunpowder on the frontline.

Smith is not one of them.

In July 2009, he travelled to Uruzgan province in Afghanistan to build relationships with tribal leaders and improve cooperation and understanding between the local community and the Coalition Forces. 

Acting as a bridge between these two vastly different cultures, he was in a unique position to understand both.

He served most of his 18-month tour of Uruzgan province on the Multinational Base in Tarin Kowt and at a Forward Operating Base in the Chora Valley.

Smith put bands together from musically competent soldiers on base and they played regular concerts in Tarin Kowt where his songs were on everybody’s iPod.

His comic ditty Niet Swaffelen op de Dixi, entreating Dutch soldiers not to do unspeakable things in the portaloos, became a hit with the Dutch military and he toured Holland in November 2010 on the strength of it. 

Whilst in Afghanistan, Smith wrote a collection of powerful songs about his experiences and the realities of life for soldiers in this difficult war.

These songs were released in 2011 on Dust of Uruzgan. The album garnered featured reviews and front pages in The Australian, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. 

Based in Fremantle, The Lost Quays are a nautical vocal group famous for their a cappella harmonies and tub-thumping beats. Out of all the salty dog groups, they are one of the best and have performed in festivals and concerts across the globe.

Mixing traditional and original material, they have released several albums, including a live performance recorded in the Whalers Tunnel at Bathers Beach.

Their most recent record Tall Tales and Tall Ships is particularly rousing.

At the Fremantle Workers Club gig, Smith and The Lost Quays will be performing the album Urban Sea Shanties, which Smith originally recorded with the Spooky Men’s Chorale in 2009.

The album won the National Film and Sound Archive Award.

It’s billed as “a celebration of misadventure—an exploration of the masculine psyche executed with a restrained buffoonery befitting the subject matter.”

The gig is on July 9 at 7:30pm. For more info see fredsmith.com.au and thelostquays.com.