Brighton based band British Sea Power is made up of 4 members, Yan on vocals (Also guitar and main songwriter), his brother Hamilton on bass, Noble on guitar and Wood on drums.
    They've been compared with a wide range of artists, no one quite able to put their finger on the sound. Joy Division have drawn most comparisons, others include David Bowie, Talking Heads and most recently they've been labeled as the new Smiths by Steve Lamacq.
    The press have taken to the band quite well, enjoying their exciting live performances as well as the records. There have been appearances in the NME, Q, Sleaze Nation, Dazed & Confused, The Face, The Independent and The Guardian within the last year. All of the publications seem impressed.
    Influences and inspirational figures include magic lanternist George Albert Smith, Charles Lindbergh, Jaroslav Hasek, Field Marshall Montgomery, Joe Meek & Geoff Goddard. The band share an interest in Czech history and architecture too.
    They dress in uniform, most frequently they wear RAF Jackets and Navy flairs, it's 'a military but decommissioned look', their live performances are certainly theatrical as they stare at the audience, climb the amps and put on an aerobics show at the same time, their live performances have delighted and bemused the crowd. Plastic owls and herons join the band onstage among bits of tree and foliage which have been placed on stage by women dressed as Russian Peasants, the attention to detail is immaculate, the boys run a tight ship.
    From the start of 2002, the band have been tipped for the top as one of the new bands of the year. This has meant showings in UK publications, tours supporting Six By Seven, Clinic and Pulp including a special performance at Cornwall's Eden Project, shows for the NME, Sleaze Nation, Playlouder & Q, plus a soundtrack to the film Baraka at the ICA in London.
    Here's the story from the beginning. The band originate from the Lake District with brothers Yan and Hamilton from Natland, a small village just outside Kendal, the home of Wood, Noble originally comes from Bury in Lancashire. Yan and Hamilton knew Wood from school but the final part of the jigsaw was when Yan went to Reading University and while there, he met up with Noble.
    In Reading they met Geoff Goddard who worked in the Reading University canteen. Geoff was a great musician writing hits such as Telstar and Jonny Remember Me. Hyped as the next Liberace by Joe Meek who had named him Anton Hollywood, it looked like he would go far but numerous arguments tore their relationship apart, Geoff was a great influence on the band but sadly died in 2000.
    It was in 1999 when Noble and Yan got in touch Wood and Hamilton, the younger 2 of the band who had formed a grunge band up in Kendal. They persuaded the pair to come down to Reading and form a new band together, they were named British Air Power for a while but eventually changed the name to BSP. For the rest of 1999 they lived together in Reading for a while preparing to start gigging but by the time they were ready clubs had closed and the place had 'no culture or band scene' so they left and relocated to their current home of Brighton.
    Brighton was perfect for the band, the home of a few new bands including The Electric Soft Parade, The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster and Clearlake. In 2000 things started to get going for the band. The famed Club Sea Power began in November 2000 alternating each month between the Free Butt and The Lift, both Brighton venues. The first performance was on Remembrance Day and as the club continued the band began to pick up a loyal local fanbase.
    By 2001 they had their first release. This was a 1000 only CD with the tracks 'Fear Of Drowning' and 'A Wooden Horse' on their own label 'Golden Chariot' in July 2001, it picked up barely any press attention but any it did get was positive. The same month it was released was when Geoff Travis of Rough Trade Records saw one of their Club Sea Power performances. Instantly impressed with their emphatic performance he signed them up. Around the time of the release the band did their first XFM session. Both of the singles tracks were played alongside a slow version of 'The Spirit Of St Louis'.
    With Club Sea Power continuing successfully and many other gigs taking place, British Sea Power were ready to release another single. 'Remember Me', released in early December 2001 picked up much more press attention which was on the hole positive. This was their debut on Rough Trade Records and was released on CD and 7". It was no top 40 hit but was well received by those who bought it. They picked up good single and gig reviews frequently and were getting themselves a reputation as one of the country's best new and original bands.
    The new year of 2002 saw more publicity with early year introductory features in The Face, Dazed and Confused and a place in the NME as one of the 10 best new bands for 2002.
    The press attention has continued throughout the year with both Uncut and Q featuring the band on cover mounted CD's, many more gigs and a new double a side single released on CD & 7" in late April featuring new track, 'The Lonely' and 'The Spirit Of St Louis'. The single received good press as usual and went on number 76 in the UK chart, a fine achievement with barely any promotion.
    After the single they took on a busy tour schedule performing at all the top summer festivals both at home and abroad alongside a wide range of well known artists. From there it was support slots with Gene & The Fall, introducing more people to their music and then on to their first headlining UK tour which picked up more positive reviews, larger crowds than expected and a new member named Eamon who soon adopted the nickname 'The Official Fleet Reserve'.
    All this was in preparation for their 4th single 'Childhood Memories' which managed to chart at number 90 in early November. The song was a grower and was never destined for a high chart position but yet again it got their name in the press with even better reviews than any single before. Websites which in the past had been negative suddenly praised the band, enjoying the mix of tracks on the single. New magazine X-Ray praised the band and the new release and NME, who had so far loved and hated the band supported BSP on the latest release. They've also backed this up with a good live review and 2 bands, Interpol and The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster have both featured BSP in NME's 'Burn It' section where bands choose their favourite tracks for a CD of their own.
    The end of 2002 was reasonably quiet for BSP, they played their first French show, picked up support from Q & Kerrang music magazines, supported The D4 (surely they shouldn't be supporting such a band.....) and finally finished off their busiest year yet with a Christmas gig in Brighton and recording for the long delayed debut album which should be out in January 2003.
    It's now hoped that 2003 will be their year with a new single 'Carrion', the debut album 'The Decline Of British Sea Power' and another headlining UK tour, we can only wait and see if the country stands up and pays attention to the most original band in years....

By Joe Seal.
Original version written on 29th March 2002.
Updates since on 9th August 2002 and 2nd January 2003.

If you know of any mistakes in the bio please email  
If you know even more about the band that could be used in the bio please email