Promo photo, 2002 (L-R: Hamilton, Noble, Wood, Yan)
Origin	Brighton, England, UK
Years active	2000–present
Genre(s)	Indie rock, Post-punk revival
Label(s)	Rough Trade Records (UK) Rough Trade America (USA) Toy's Factory (Japan)
Members	Yan Noble Hamilton Wood
Past members	Eamon (2002-2005)
Website(s)	britishseapower.co.uk

British Sea Power are a four-man band based in Brighton, England. They are an indie rock band with a sweeping, often epic, guitar pop sound, often compared to that of Echo & the Bunnymen and The Smiths. The vocals owe much to David Bowie and on some songs the post-punk influence of Joy Division is clear. The band is comprised of: Image File history File links BritishSeaPowerLogo. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1889x1889, 503 KB) Licensing This is a copyrighted image that has been released by a company or organization to promote their work or product in the media, such as advertising material or a promotional photo in a press kit. ... Brighton is a town on the south coast of England, which together with its immediate neighbour Hove forms the city of Brighton & Hove. ... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location (dark green) within the United Kingdom (light green), with the Republic of Ireland (blue) to its west Languages English Capital London Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population – Total (mid... A music genre is a category (or genre) of pieces of music that share a certain style or basic musical language (van der Merwe 1989, p. ... Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music often used to refer to bands that are on small independent record labels or that arent on labels at all. ... The post-punk revival is a movement in modern rock music, being part of the larger indie/garage rock, punk, and dance genres. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Rough Trade on 130 Talbot Road (nearby Notting Hill station) Rough Trade Records is a British independent record label. ... Rough Trade Records is a British independent record label. ... Brighton is a town on the south coast of England, which together with its immediate neighbour Hove forms the city of Brighton & Hove. ... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location (dark green) within the United Kingdom (light green), with the Republic of Ireland (blue) to its west Languages English Capital London Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population – Total (mid... Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music often used to refer to bands that are on small independent record labels or that arent on labels at all. ... Echo & the Bunnymen is a British rock group formed in Liverpool in 1978. ... The Smiths were a British rock group active from 1982 to 1987. ... David Bowie (born David Robert Jones on January 8, 1947) is an English rock singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, arranger, mixer and actor. ... Post punk generally refers to the particularly fertile and creative period following the initial punk rock explosion. During the first wave of punk, roughly spanning 1976-1983, bands such as The Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Ramones and The Damned began to challenge the current styles and conventions of rock... Joy Division were a rock band formed in 1976 in Salford, Greater Manchester. ...

• Yan - Vocals, guitar
• Noble - Guitar
• Hamilton - Bass, vocals, guitar
• Wood - Drums

Yan, BSP promo photo (2002) Scott Wilkinson (stage name Yan) is the lead singer and main songwriter in British Sea Power. ... Noble, Grasmere Village Hall (2005, photo by User:Me677) Martin Noble (stage name Noble) is British Sea Powers lead guitarist. ... Neil Wilkinson (stage name Hamilton) is the bassist in British Sea Power. ... Woody, in a fridge (2003) Matthew Wood (stage name Wood, or sometimes using the nickname Woody) is British Sea Powers drummer. ...

History

British Sea Power's Yan, Hamilton and Wood are school friends from Kendal in Cumbria. They were in a number of bands together while at school, but after finishing his exams Yan moved to study at Reading University, where he met guitarist Noble. A few years later Hamilton and Woody moved down to join them and form a band. Yan, BSP promo photo (2002) Scott Wilkinson (stage name Yan) is the lead singer and main songwriter in British Sea Power. ... Neil Wilkinson (stage name Hamilton) is the bassist in British Sea Power. ... Woody, in a fridge (2003) Matthew Wood (stage name Wood, or sometimes using the nickname Woody) is British Sea Powers drummer. ... Kendal is an ancient town in the traditional county of Westmorland, in the South Lakeland district county of Cumbria, England. ... Cumbria is a county in the North West region of England. ... The University of Reading is a university in the English town of Reading. ... Noble, Grasmere Village Hall (2005, photo by User:Me677) Martin Noble (stage name Noble) is British Sea Powers lead guitarist. ...

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 vibrant 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). Brighton is a town on the south coast of England, which together with its immediate neighbour Hove forms the city of Brighton & Hove. ...

Their debut single, "Fear of Drowning", was issued in limited numbers of their own Golden Chariot label. 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 was recruited to play live keyboards in autumn 2002. Fear Of Drowning was British Sea Powers very first release. ... Rough Trade on 130 Talbot Road (nearby Notting Hill station) Rough Trade Records is a British independent record label. ... Eamon Hamilton is frontman of Brakes and also plays keyboards for British Sea Power. ...

The Decline of British Sea Power, the band's debut 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, shipping well over 60,000 copies over the following two years and allowing them to play sell-out UK tours to venues of over 1,000 people. The Decline of British Sea Power (2003) is the debut album of British Sea Power. ... Carrion/Apologies To Insect Life was a double A-side release by British Sea Power. ...

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. Lead single "It Ended on an Oily Stage" charted at #18 in the UK Singles Chart a week earlier. Image File history File links BSPGrasmere2005. ... Image File history File links BSPGrasmere2005. ... Open Season is the second album from the Brighton-based English band, British Sea Power. ... It Ended On an Oily Stage was the first single from British Sea Powers second album Open Season. ...

A traditional BSP crowd

British Sea Power have a reputation for elaborate live shows and won the 2004 Time Out London Live Band of the Year award. The stage is often decorated with foliage and plastic birds and sets generally finish with a semi-improvised song called "Rock in A", which usually lasts for over eight 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 and the St. John Boste Social Club in Kendal. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2048x1536, 765 KB) Licensing I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2048x1536, 765 KB) Licensing I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ... Time-out can mean: sport time-out, a break in play that may be called by a side to formulate strategy or respond to an players injury. ... The Isles of Scilly (Cornish: Ynysek Syllan) form an archipelago of islands off the Cornish coast. ... Grasmere village and lake as seen from the fell of Stone Arthur This article is about the village in the UK. For the neighborhood in Staten Island, New York, USA, see Grasmere, Staten Island. ...

The band have 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. A grid reference is a standard method for the location of a point on a map. ... Field Marshal Sir Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, KG, GCB, DSO, PC (17 November 1887-24 March 1976) was a British Army officer, often referred to as Monty. He successfully commanded Allied forces at the Battle of El Alamein, a major turning point in World War II... Birding is a hobby concerned with the observation and study of birds (the science proper is termed ornithology). ...

At the beginning of 2006, it was announced that Eamon had left the band to concentrate on his band Brakes ^[1]. The band are currently believed to be working on new material, and are preparing a DVD. Brakes are a 4-piece band from Brighton, UK. They formed in 2002. ... DVD-R writing/reading side DVD (also known as Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc) is an optical disc storage media format that can be used for data storage, including movies with high video and sound quality. ...

Discography

Albums

• The Decline of British Sea Power (2003 - UK, Japan, USA)
• Open Season (2005 - UK, Japan, USA)

The Decline of British Sea Power (2003) is the debut album of British Sea Power. ... Open Season is the second album from the Brighton-based English band, British Sea Power. ...

Singles

• "Fear of Drowning" (2001 - UK)
• "Remember Me" (2001 - UK)
• "The Lonely" (2002 - UK)
• "Childhood Memories" (2002 - UK)
• "Carrion"/"Apologies to Insect Life" (2003 - UK)
• "Remember Me" (2003 - UK)
• "A Lovely Day Tomorrow" (with The Ecstasy Of Saint Theresa) (2004 - UK)
• "It Ended on an Oily Stage" (2005 - UK)
• "Please Stand Up" (2005 - UK)
• "Remember Me"/"I Am a Cider Drinker" (with The Wurzels) (2005 - UK)

Fear Of Drowning was British Sea Powers very first release. ... Remember Me was British Sea Powers first proper single and the first released after they signed to Rough Trade records. ... The Lonely was British Sea Powers third single and their second on Rough Trade. ... Childhood Memories was the fourth single to be released by British Sea Power. ... Carrion/Apologies To Insect Life was a double A-side release by British Sea Power. ... Remember Me was the final single from British Sea Powers debut album The Decline of British Sea Power. ... A Lovely Day Tomorrow was a one-off single from British Sea Power, only released to shops in the Czech Republic but available at certain shows and via mail order in the United Kingdom. ... It Ended On an Oily Stage was the first single from British Sea Powers second album Open Season. ... Please Stand Up was the second single from British Sea Powers second album Open Season. ... Remember Me/I Am a Cider Drinker was a split single released by British Sea Power and The Wurzels. ... Adge Cutler and The Wurzels, renamed The Wurzels after Cutlers death, are a British Scrumpy and Western band. ...

EPs

• "Remember Me" (Japan - 2003)
• "The Spirit of St. Louis" (Japan - 2004)

The Remember Me EP was a Japan-only release by British Sea Power collating the title track, the 5 b-sides from its UK single re-release and 3 tracks from the earlier Carrion/Apologies to Insect Life UK single. ... The Spirit of St. ...

References to people, places and things

The band is noted for referencing (sometimes somewhat) obscure things in their lyrics.

• Charles Lindbergh, in "The Spirit of St. Louis".
• The assassination of Reinhard Heydrich in "A Lovely Day Tomorrow"
• Larsen B ice shelf in "Oh Larsen B"
• Lullington Church in "The Smallest Church in Sussex"
• Fyodor Dostoevsky in "Apologies to Insect Life"
• Field Marshal Montgomery in "Favours in the Beetroot Fields"
• Kattegat (a bay bordered by Sweden and Denmark), L. P. Hartley's novel The Go-Between, Hercules and George Formby in "Lately"
• The Trojan Horse in "A Wooden Horse"
• The Shining Levels and William Shakespeare in "Something Wicked"
• Geoff Goddard (writer of the, Joe Meek produced, Tornados song "Telstar") and Liberace in "The Lonely".
• Albert Einstein in "Albert's Eyes"
• Hilaire Belloc in "Blackout"
• The French Revolutionary Calendar in "Be Gone"
• Bohumil Hrabalin the album cover of "Open Season"

Charles Lindbergh Charles Augustus Lindbergh, Jr. ... Reinhard Heydrich as SS-Gruppenführer Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich (March 7, 1904 – June 4, 1942, Prague) was an SS-Obergruppenführer, chief of the Reich Security Main Office (which included the Gestapo, security agency and criminal police) and Reich governor of Bohemia and Moravia. ... A Lovely Day Tomorrow was a one-off single from British Sea Power, only released to shops in the Czech Republic but available at certain shows and via mail order in the United Kingdom. ... Larsen A and Larsen B iceshelves marked in red The Larsen Ice Shelf (67°30′ S 062°30′ W) is a long, fringing ice shelf in the northwest part of the Weddell Sea, extending along the east coast of Antarctic Peninsula from Cape Longing to the area just southward of... Lullington Church, in the South Downs is reputedly the smallest church in England. ... Fyodor Dostoevsky. ... Carrion/Apologies To Insect Life was a double A-side release by British Sea Power. ... Field Marshal Sir Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, KG, GCB, DSO, PC (17 November 1887-24 March 1976) was a British Army officer, often referred to as Monty. He successfully commanded Allied forces at the Battle of El Alamein, a major turning point in World War II... The Baltic Sea The Kattegat (Danish), or Kattegatt (Swedish), is a bay of the North Sea and a continuation of the Skagerrak, bounded by Denmark and Sweden. ... Leslie Poles Hartley (December 30, 1895 - December 13, 1972) was a British writer, known for novels and short stories. ... The Go-Between is a novel by L.P. Hartley (1895 – 1972), published in London in 1953. ... Hercules is the Latin name used in Roman mythology for a hero corresponding to the Greek mythological hero Heracles (or Herakles). ... George Formby George Formby (May 26, 1904 - March 6, 1961) was a British singer and comedian who became a major star of both cinema and music hall. ... 19th century etching of the Trojan Horse The Trojan Horse is part of the myth of the Trojan War, as told in Virgils Latin epic poem The Aeneid. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... The original Telstar had a roughly spherical shape. ... Liberace shows off his rings (circa 1980). ... The Lonely was British Sea Powers third single and their second on Rough Trade. ... Albert Einstein, photographed by Yousuf Karsh in 1948. ... Photograph of Belloc Joseph Hilaire Pierre René Belloc (July 27, 1870 – July 16, 1953) was one of the most prolific writers in England during the early twentieth century. ... The French Revolutionary Calendar or French Republican Calendar is a calendar proposed during the French Revolution, and in use by the French government for 13 years from 1793. ... Bohumil Hrabal (March 28, 1914, Brno - February 3, 1997, Prague) was a famous Czech writer. ...

Notes

1. ↑  Kendal band seeks nominations, The Westmorland Gazette, 18 Sep 2003.
2. ↑  British Sea Power member quits, NME Online, 16 Jan 2005..

External links

• Official website
• Salty Water - Fansite featuring discography, gig listing archive and press articles.
• Brilliantine Mortality - Fansite containing fan reviews and audio links.
• A Lovely Day Tomorrow - Old fansite, no longer updated.