An Australian man who works as a professional air conditioner cleaner and serves part-time as an honorary town crier has earned a spot in the record books as the world’s loudest person.
Guinness World Records officially recognized Joseph McGrail-Bateup, 58, of Canberra, Australia, last week for producing the loudest shout ever recorded by a single individual. His thunderous cry of the word “now” registered at 122.4 decibels.
That single syllable was enough to topple a record that had been held since 1994 by Northern Ireland schoolteacher Annalisa Flanagan, who had yelled the word “quiet” at 121.7 decibels. To put that volume in perspective, 122.4 decibels falls in the same noise range as a chain saw, a jet aircraft during takeoff, or an ambulance siren heard up close.
McGrail-Bateup said on Tuesday that there was simply no way to prepare for such a feat. “There’s no way that you can actually practice for it. You have to just keep it for the day, especially with the world record attempt,” he said.
The record did not come easily. “It took me seven attempts just for one word, which was the word ‘now,’ and my voice was shot for the next couple of days as well. It was husky. It was terrible. So no, you can’t really practice for it. But it’s a lot of fun when you’re doing it,” he added.
McGrail-Bateup was careful to note that he views himself as the world’s loudest man, not the loudest person overall — a distinction that allows Flanagan to retain her own place in history. “I’m pleased that she gets to keep her record. So she’s still the loudest woman in the world and I’m the loudest male in the world,” he said. There had been no previous Guinness record specifically for the loudest man.
His path to the record began when he searched the Guinness World Records database for achievements related to town crying and came across Flanagan’s entry instead. He had been appointed the official town crier of Canberra in 2017, a part-time honorary position created by the local government. He goes by the title Lord Joseph in that role and describes it as “a bit of fun.” His duties include making announcements at community gatherings, school fetes, and car shows.
Taking on that role also brought him membership in the Ancient and Honorable Guild of Australian Town Criers, a competitive organization dedicated to keeping alive the historic and ceremonial traditions of town crying. In a 2024 guild competition, he claimed top honors with the loudest “Oyez, Oyez, Oyez” at 98 decibels — the traditional call used to command silence and attention before a proclamation is made.
Before landing on “now” as his record-attempt word, McGrail-Bateup tested several other options. His shout was captured on May 2 inside a Canberra radio studio, with a professional acoustic engineer handling the recording and witnesses on hand to verify the attempt. The documentation was submitted to Guinness World Records, which announced the new record last Friday.
This is not McGrail-Bateup’s first time in the record books. Back in 2019, he broke a speed record for an archer firing 10 arrows, completing the feat in 60.03 seconds — shaving a fraction of a second off a record that had stood since 2015. That record lasted just nine months before a 7-year-old boy beat it by 11.4 seconds.
Despite that experience, McGrail-Bateup said he has no interest in chasing the archery record again and is equally unbothered about someone eventually topping his new shouting record. “If someone beats me, that’s fantastic,” he said. “Records are meant to be broken.”
