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British Sea Power


British Sea Power
British Sea Power

Yan (left) and Hamilton (right) in Paris in 2008
Background information
Origin Brighton, England
Genres Indie rock
Years active 2000–present
Labels Rough Trade
Associated acts Brakes
Website britishseapower.co.uk
Members
Yan
Noble
Hamilton
Wood
Former members
Eamon

British Sea Power are a four-man indie rock band based in Brighton, England, although three of the band come originally from Kendal in Cumbria. Their style ranges from the sweeping, often epic, guitar pop sound to the visceral and angular. Critics have likened their sound to a variety of groups, from The Cure and Joy Division to the Pixies.[1][2][3][4] The band's members are Yan (Scott Wilkinson; vocals, guitar), Noble (Martin Noble; guitar, piano, keyboards), Hamilton (Neil Hamilton Wilkinson; bass guitar, vocals, guitar), and Wood (Matthew Wood; drums).

Contents

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[edit] History

British Sea Power's Yan and Hamilton are brothers[5] and were school friends with Wood in Kendal. They were in a number of bands together while at school, but after finishing his exams Yan moved to study at the University of Reading, where he met guitarist Noble, who was originally from Bury, Greater Manchester. A few years later, Hamilton and Wood joined them and formed a band. They have since been joined by Abi Fry, who plays viola for the band.

Guitarist Martin Noble playing in Paris in 2008.

They played some gigs and produced a 4 track demo in Reading as British Air Powers, before relocating to Brighton in search of a more active music scene. "British Sea Power" was actually the name of one of these demo tracks, and was eventually reworked into "Carrion". In Brighton, BSP amassed a strong local following, due mainly to their own club night called "Club Sea Power". The club nights featured many different support bands, and other forms of entertainment such as a 1930s fashion show, and were most frequently hosted at the Freebutt and the Lift. (The latter has now closed down.)

Their first single, "Fear of Drowning", was issued in limited numbers on their own Golden Chariot label. The artwork for the B side, "A Wooden Horse", borrows heavily from the dust cover of the 1950 book The Wooden Horse that details the escape of Allied POWs during World War II. Geoff Travis of Rough Trade Records saw the band live and in September 2001 signed them to his label. A number of singles were issued on the label, and Eamon Hamilton was recruited to play live keyboards in autumn 2002.

The Decline of British Sea Power, the band's first album, was released in June 2003 to critical acclaim. A single from the album, "Carrion", became the band's first Top 40 single. The album only charted in the lower reaches of the UK Album Chart but turned out to be a word-of-mouth success, selling well over 60,000 copies in the following two years and allowing them to play sell-out UK tours to audiences of over 1,000 people.

Yan, Hamilton & Eamon - Grasmere Village Hall (2005)

The follow-up, Open Season, was released in early April 2005, and also enjoyed wide critical praise. It showcased a more accessible, produced sound and charted at #13 in the UK Albums Chart. The lead single, "It Ended on an Oily Stage", charted at #18 in the UK Singles Chart a week earlier.

British Sea Power has a reputation for elaborate and well-thought out live shows and won the 2004 Time Out Live Band of the Year award. Their stage is often decorated with foliage and plastic birds and shows generally finish with a semi-improvised song called "Rock in A", which sometimes lasts for over 20 minutes. Various members often climb riggings and tear down the foliage, Eamon walks around the audience beating his marching drum, and a ten-foot bear, Ursine Ultra, occasionally makes an appearance - often taking a beating from various band members. This has become one of the signatures of the band. Their tours often include unusual venues such as the Scillonian Club on the Isles of Scilly, Grasmere Village Hall, the St. John Boste Social Club in Kendal and Carnglaze Caverns in Cornwall.

The band has built up an eccentric image in interviews and press releases; some of which is based on fact, other times merely whimsical building of outward personas. This has included giving journalists grid references at which to meet them, and expressing obsessions with Field Marshal Montgomery and bird watching. Similarly, they appeared on the day time TV show Countryfile in which they discussed their love of the countryside and played an outdoor performance of the track "Canvey Island".

At the beginning of 2006, it was announced that Eamon had left British Sea Power to concentrate on his own band Brakes [1]. The group spent part of late 2006 working on new material in Montreal, and is preparing a DVD.

In 2007, American Laundromat Records announced that British Sea Power would record a version of the Pixies' "Caribou" for an album called Dig For Fire - A Tribute To Pixies."

In October 2007, the band toured the east coast of America to showcase their new 5-track EP Krankenhaus?. In November 2007, they toured a variety of unusual locations in the UK including a seaside cafe in Saltdean, East Sussex; a ferry across the River Mersey, Liverpool; the Tan Hill Inn, the UK's highest inn; All Saints' Church in Newcastle-upon-Tyne; and White Mischief, an indoor festival mixing live bands with unusual vaudeville acts.

Their Krankenhaus? EP was released digitally for purchasable download in October 2007 and was released on CD and vinyl on 20 November. Their third album, Do You Like Rock Music? was released on 14 January 2008 in the U.K. and scheduled for release on 12 February 2008 in the U.S. Prior to their tour in support of Do You Like Rock Music? (visiting Ireland, UK, Belgium, Holland, Germany and US), Wood injured his back and had to be temporarily replaced by Tom White of Electric Soft Parade and Brakes fame.

In January 2008, the keyboard and cornet player was admitted to hospital after being knocked unconscious when he attempted a stage dive.[6] The crowd at Leeds Irish Centre failed to catch Phil Sumner, who jumped from a 12-foot PA system landing head first. The press department at Rough Trade Records reported "The impact knocked him out. Thankfully an ambulance was quickly summoned and he was whisked away, bloody and unconscious and despite a concussion, a broken molar and a maze of stitches in his chin, a very groggy Phil is expected to make a full recovery." In spite of this, he returned to the stage with the rest of the band a day later in Kendal.

The band's reputation for daring-do during live appearances was enhanced at the Two Thousand Trees Festival, near Cheltenham, UK, on 18th July 2009, when, following their headline appearance guitarist, Noble, staged-dived into the crowd and the fans failed to catch him, leaving him to somersault onto his back. However, he returned to the stage and successfully stage-dived into a different section of the crowd.

In February 2008, the band appeared on Later with Jools Holland, playing "Waving Flags", "Canvey Island" and "No Lucifer". They were ably accompanied by a small number of the London Bulgarian Choir and a display of Cumbrian wrestling. The band also played at Glastonbury, Reading and Leeds, T in the Park and Bestival in 2008, amongst other festivals.[7]

The band played "No Lucifer" on The Late Show with David Letterman on the 12 March 2008, performed and were interviewed on Countryfile, and had a concert filmed for the Canadian music series Beautiful Noise.

The band played a free show in Oklahoma at the First Annual Norman Music Festival on April 26, 2008, and on June 21, 2008, played a concert at the Natural History Museum in London, some of which was filmed. [8]

On 22 July 2008, the band was announced as one of the nominees for the 2008 Mercury Prize. To coincide with the nomination they re-released their song Waving Flags on 8 September 2008[9], which they also performed at the award ceremony the following day.[10]

On 23 January 2009, the band announced that they were recording a soundtrack to the documentary Man of Aran. They performed it in concert at the British Film Institute in April, and a CD/DVD was released in May[11]. On 7 February 2009, they released a new 10-minute track, "The possibility of an island", on myspace.

The band's next album is expected during 2010.[12] In January, the band announced on their blog that recording for it had been taking place in East Sussex and on Skye and was 95% finished.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

[edit] Singles

[edit] EPs

[edit] Compilation Appearances

  • "Waving Flags" - "2000 Trees - Cider Smiles Vol.2", (Hide & Seek Records, 2009)

[edit] References

  1. ^ Long, Chris, British Sea Power, Open Season, http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/release/bqjw/, retrieved 2007-09-14
  2. ^ Siebelt, Olli, British Sea Power, http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/release/nbdp/, retrieved 2007-09-14
  3. ^ British Sea Power Biography, http://music.aol.com/artist/british-sea-power/517469/biography, retrieved 2008-09-14
  4. ^ Review of Open Season, http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/collective/A3840770, retrieved 2007-09-14
  5. ^ Roy Wilkinson (2009-03-13). "Twitchin' the night away". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/mar/13/elbow-doves-birdwatching-pop-music. Retrieved 2009-11-17. "My younger brothers Yan and Hamilton are BSP's co-frontmen."
  6. ^ BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Stage dive knocks out musician
  7. ^ GIGWISE, British Sea Power Confirm Glastonbury Slot
  8. ^ British Sea Power filmed at the Natural History Museum
  9. ^ Manchester Music | Waving Flags re-release
  10. ^ BBC | Mercury Prize 2008 | British Sea Power
  11. ^ http://www.thisisfakediy.co.uk/articles/news/british-sea-power-finish-man-of-aran-soundtrack
  12. ^ "The music stars returning in 2010". BBC News. 2010-01-03. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8427367.stm. Retrieved 2010-01-29.
  13. ^ a b c d e f Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 78. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Kendal band seeks nominations, The Westmorland Gazette, 18 Sep 2003.
  2. ^ British Sea Power member quits, NME Online, 16 Jan 2006.
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