British Sea Power

British Sea Power
Jan Scott Wilkinson (left) and Neil Hamilton Wilkinson (right) in 2008 in Paris, France
Background information
Origin	Brighton, East Sussex, England, United Kingdom
Genres	Indie rock, alternative rock, film score, post-punk revival, post-rock
Years active	2000–present
Labels	Caroline International, Golden Chariot, Rough Trade
Associated acts	Brakes
Website	BritishSeaPower.co.uk
Members	Jan Scott Wilkinson Martin Noble Neil Hamilton Wilkinson Matthew Wood Phil Sumner Abi Fry
Past members	Eamon Hamilton

British Sea Power (BSP) are an indie rock band based in Brighton, East Sussex, England, although three of the band members originally come from Kendal, Cumbria, England. The wide-ranging nature of their material has led critics to liken their sound to a variety of groups, from The Cure and Joy Division to the Pixies and Arcade Fire. The band are famed for their live performances, the unusual lyrical content of their songs and the adventurous choice of locations for some of their shows.

Since 2008, the British Sea Power line-up has consisted of Jan Scott Wilkinson (vocals, guitar), Martin Noble (guitar), Neil Hamilton Wilkinson (bass guitar, vocals, guitar), Matthew Wood (drums), Phil Sumner (cornet, keyboards), and Abi Fry (viola). The only former member is Eamon Hamilton (keyboards, vocals, percussion, guitar), since 2006 the frontman of Brakes.

British Sea Power's Yan and Hamilton are brothers 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 played some gigs and produced a 4 track demo in Reading as British Air Power, 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 as "Carrion". In Brighton, BSP amassed a strong local following, due mainly to their own club night called "Club Sea Power" which was hosted at the Freebutt and Lift clubs. The club nights featured many support acts, including the Copper Family, a 200-year-old Sussex folk troupe and other forms of entertainment such as a 1940s fashion show.