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Bob is the guy you'll have a hard time recognizing if you've skipped a few albums. His hair has changed drastically in the band's life, from very long, to buzzed, to shoulder-lenght. But I hope you'll agree that the new hair is best. Go Bob! Check him out - far left on stage.
Born Robert Bruce Hallett, to Roberta Hallett on the 23rd of May, Bob is a native St. Johnsman. From a young age, he was encouraged to learn every instrument which pleased him, and this led to the widest selection of talents that you'll find in the band. He plays fiddle, violin, high and low whistles, tin whistle, Irish flute, flute, bouzouki, accordion, button-accordion, banjo, bagpipes and concertina (correct me if I forgot a few.). He's also been known to play acoustic guitar in his spare time. In high school, he first played baritone saxophone.
As of now, he's the less-heard voice in Great Big Sea, singing mainly backup and harmony. But he has a few glory moments, and if you want to hear them all, you'll have a wide few records to buy. Firstly, Hallett sings an eleven-second shanty at the start of "Greenspond", on the "Play" record. He then sings the second verse of "Scolding Wife", on "Sea of No Cares". His first whole song was the Hockey Song, "Helmethead", on "Something Beautiful", and lastly, he fully sings "Come and I Will Sing You" for "The Hard and the Easy".
His band-mate, Séan McCann so fittingly described him as being 'strikingly intelligent', and also said he enjoys sitting next to him on a plane to peer over his shoulders at the "nine books he's reading". His intelligence is proved with his Bachelor's Degree of Arts in English, from the Memorial University of Newfoundland. The same major and degree as the other boys; Is that a band requirement??
Hallett is usually very quiet on stage, because he's actually very shy. But the right word or expression on-stage can cause pittiful laughter from Doyle. Doyle sometimes has a hard time even looking Hallett in the eye. Hallett says that when the others make mistakes, he enjoys giving them a 'stern look', so they are suitably humiliated at having screwed up in front of hundreds of people. This usually works, unless his eyes meet the wrong person; talk about confusion! But though he's quiet he's been known to harbor a very witty sense of humor, and a love for animals, concerning the adorable Schnauzer (?) he calls his own. The dog seems to have a love for chewing on camera wires.
I've often heard people say that they're intimidated by Bob, because he's so quiet. But remember; he's more scared of us than we're scared of him! (Bob, correct me if you disagree!)
Not much is known of Hallett's pass-times, but we do know that he's a very good golf player, beating Doyle more often then not. But don't fret, Alan has a knack for having no jealousy whatsoever, and he always praises Hallett's accomplishments. Hallett is also known to enjoy a game of Hockey or two, but I'm carried to think that Doyle and McCann strike the strongest love for it.
Hallett is possibly the most well-spoken band member, replacing Doyle's "cool" with "elaborate" more times than none, and his area of expertise is in restoring traditional songs, like "The Old Black Rum", which was slightly modified from the original Irish version. He, along with Doyle, greatly look up to Fergus O'Byrne and the rest of Ryan's Fancy, hoping to one day reach the well-respected band's vocal power. But to a fan of Great Big Sea, they've always have, and always will be number one.
