Yan (Jan Scott Wilkinson) - Vocals, guitar
Noble (Martin Noble) - Guitar
Hamilton (Neil Hamilton Wilkinson) - Bass, vocals, guitar
Wood (Matthew Wood) - Drum
Phil Sumner - Cornet, Keyboards
Abi Fry - Viola
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 Wood 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. 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 WWII. 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.
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.
British Sea Power have a reputation for elaborate and well-thought out 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 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, Cumbria and Carnglaze Caverns in Cornwall.
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.
The band has a fiercely loyal and devoted hardcore fanbase, sometimes referred to as the Third Battalion.
At the beginning of 2006, it was announced that Eamon had left British Sea Power to concentrate on his own band Brakes. The group spent part of late 2006 working on new material in Montréal, and are 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 went on tour throughout the east coast of America to showcase their new 5-track EP, Krankenhaus EP. 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 November the 20th. Their third album, Do You Like Rock Music? was released on 14th January 2008 in the U.K. and scheduled for release on 12th 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 ended up in hospital after being knocked unconscious when he attempted a stage dive. The crowd at Leeds Irish Centre failed to catch Phil Sumner, who jumped off 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.
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 are also scheduled to play at Glastonbury, Reading and Leeds, Latitude, T in the Park and Bestival.
In May 2009, British Sea Power released their fourth album, Man of Aran. Several tracks on this album are remakes of older songs, such as the main riff from North Hanging Rock which features in the new track Boy Vertiginous. The album comes paired with a DVD containing the Robert J. Flaherty film 'Man of Aran', a silent film with music from the album dubbed in.
In October 2010, British Sea Power released the seven track 'Zeus' ep and announced the release of their next album, 'Valhalla Dancehall' in January 2011.
In November 2011, the band started hosting a regular club evening in Brighton called "Krankenhaus" that recalled some of their Club British Sea Power events. DJ sets, friends of the band and general BSP hijinx.
On 9 August 2021, British Sea Power announced they were changing their name to Sea Power. In a statement the band explained:
"In recent times there’s been a rise in a certain kind of nationalism in this world – an isolationist, antagonistic nationalism that we don’t want to run any risk of being confused with. It’s become apparent that it’s possible to misapprehend the name British Sea Power, particularly if someone isn’t familiar with the band or their recordings. We’ve always been internationalist in our mindset, something made clear in songs like Waving Flags, an anthem to pan-European idealism. We always wanted to be an internationalist band but maybe having a specific nation state in our name wasn’t the cleverest way to demonstrate that. We very much hope the band’s audience won’t be affronted by this adjustment to the name. We’d like to make it clear that removing the word “British” does NOT indicate any aversion to the British Isles whatsoever. We all feel immensely fortunate to have grown up in these islands. Several or our songs are filled with love and awe for this place. We do love these lands. We all still live within the British Isles, but we are now just Sea Power. We feel the name change comes in part from the band’s audience – who at a good show will shout out, “Sea Power! Sea Power!” Maybe this name change has been there for years, shouted in our ears. It’s just taken us this long to realise – to hear what was there in front of us… "
Mongk II
British Sea Power Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Looking to the hills and chaos and destroy yourself
You are unworthy of breathing the air
You gotta beat it out, gotta beat it out yourself
Breathe in time to the rhythm in the well
Gotta lose yourself, gotta lose yourself to it
Be in mind, don't be in touch with it
And don't place yourself before the bushman
A fungal farm
And don't raise yourself up above the Inuit or Gorilla
You gotta beat it out, gotta beat it out yourself
Breathe in time to the echo in the well
You gotta scare yourself 'till you don't know where you're at
Give it up, there is no why
Ever lost in love, ever lost in time
Ever lost your mind, there is no why
I don't believe in you but you believe in me
You're an animal you're a homorapien
There it is but you don't know where it is
Elevated primatemaia
And you can't stop dancing till you call an ambulance
Call an ambulance
The human nature show has got no place to go
It's all just effigies and girls in magazines
I'm crawling out of my head, not getting anywhere
While you were getting down just like an animal
Gotta lose yourself, gotta lose yourself to it
Gotta rock in time time back to 798
Gotta lose yourself, gotta lose yourself to it
So you're coming down, so you bring it down, down
The lyrics of British Sea Power's Mongk II are cryptic but open to interpretation. Sacrificing your eyes to blind mice could mean people blindly following leaders or ideals without question. Looking to the hills and chaos and destroying yourself is about the power of the environment and the world around us. The lines "you gotta beat it out, gotta beat it out yourself" and "you gotta lose yourself, gotta lose yourself to it" suggest that one needs to find their own way and not be influenced by external factors or societal norms. It's about taking responsibility for oneself and being true to one's own beliefs.
The lyrics also touch on the idea of social hierarchy and the need to break down those barriers. The line "don't place yourself before the bushman, a fungal farm" implies that no one person or group is inherently better than another. The reference to the Inuit and Gorilla further reinforces this idea of equality among all beings. The last stanza is somewhat of an existential pondering of one's own sanity or place in the world.
Line by Line Meaning
Sacrifice your eyes to blind mice
Give up your vision to those who cannot see and follow chaos and destruction, which will make you unworthy.
Looking to the hills and chaos and destroy yourself
When you look at the chaos and hills, it brings destruction to you and damages yourself.
You are unworthy of breathing the air
You are not deserving of the mere act of breathing in air.
You gotta beat it out, gotta beat it out yourself
You must beat out whatever you are feeling within yourself and rely on your own self to do it.
Breathe in time to the rhythm in the well
Breathe in time with the rhythm of your soul deep within.
Gotta lose yourself, gotta lose yourself to it
You must lose yourself in whatever feeling is present, embrace it without hesitation.
Be in mind, don't be in touch with it
Be aware of your feelings rather than letting them control you.
And don't place yourself before the bushman
Don't see yourself as superior to the bushman, who is knowledgeable about his surroundings.
A fungal farm
A place where fungus thrives
And don't raise yourself up above the Inuit or Gorilla
Do not think of yourself as better than the Inuit or Gorilla.
Breathe in time to the echo in the well
Breathe in time with the sound that is reflected in the deep boundaries of your mind.
You gotta scare yourself 'till you don't know where you're at
You have to scare yourself so much that you lose your bearings and are unsure where you are.
Give it up, there is no why
Abandon your search for reason, as there may not be any.
Ever lost in love, ever lost in time
Have you ever been lost in both love and time?
Ever lost your mind, there is no why
Have you ever lost your sanity without any explanation?
I don't believe in you but you believe in me
Even though you trust and rely on me, I do not reciprocate that same level of faith.
You're an animal you're a homorapien
You are both an animal and a human being (Homo-Sapien).
There it is but you don't know where it is
It is present, but you fail to recognize its location
Elevated primatemaia
Elevated forms of primates, reaching a superior level of awareness and understanding
And you can't stop dancing till you call an ambulance
You cannot stop dancing until the energy being exerted is so much that you need medical help.
The human nature show has got no place to go
The inherent nature of humanity has no clear direction to move towards.
It's all just effigies and girls in magazines
Everything is just an illusion, idols or models presented in magazines.
I'm crawling out of my head, not getting anywhere
I'm slowly losing my mind without any actual growth or progress.
While you were getting down just like an animal
While you were dancing and letting go of your inhibitions.
Gotta rock in time time back to 798
You must go back in time, all the way up to the Tang dynasty, specifically the year 798, which was an era of cultural growth and artistic exploration.
So you're coming down, so you bring it down, down
You are now descending and bringing it down while you dance, exerting your remaining energy.
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
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