June 19 (UPI) -- An Australian town crier's powerful voice earned him a Guinness World Record when he let out a yell measured at 122.4 decibels.
Joseph McGrail-Bateup, aka Lord Joseph, the official town crier for Canberra and Queanbeyan, told Guinness World Records his pipes have not always been so potent.
"When I was a kid I didn't really have a loud voice, I was very shy, withholding all that stuff until I left school and I joined the theater. It was very clear then that I needed to pipe up, make myself loud," he said. "So, I trained in the theater where you didn't use microphones or anything like that and I got loud and as the years went by, louder."
McGrail-Bateup was appointed town crier in 2017, and started participating in Ancient and Honorable Guild of Australian Town Criers competitions in 2022.
"In the first year I managed to take some places in the event, but in 2024 I took first place away for the loudest cry at 98 dB," he said.
