British Sea Power are a four-man indie rock band based in Brighton, England. 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 to the Pixies[1].[2] They have most often been compared to Joy Division.[3][4] The band is comprised of: Yan (Scott Wilkinson) - Vocals, guitar Noble (Martin Noble) - Guitar Hamilton (Neil Wilkinson) - Bass, vocals, guitar Wood (Matthew Wood) - Drums 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. 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). 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 (Eamon Hamilton) was recruited to play live keyboards in autumn 2002. 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.
Former Band members