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Newsletter
No. 16
Vendemiaire CCXII
• New concert dates in
November
• Jeffrey Lewis to guest at London
show
• Appearance on Later With Jools
Holland
• The early bird gets a nutritious
bar of mintcake
At
this time of year, the Finns find their
lakes subject to a peculiar natural
phenomenon. Like swathes of cloth laid
across a mirror, mysterious dark bands can
be seen on the water interrupting
reflection from the surface. To the Finns,
these eerie bands suggest the ghostly
presence of a boat piloted by the mythic
warrior Vainamoinen. They are are known as
The Wake Of Vainamoinen. As British Sea
Power begin a tour of England and Scotland
today, Wednesday 1 October, a mysterious
dark band will soon be seen along our
nation's motorways and loading guitars
into Bristol Fleece & Firkin. Are you
ready for The Wake Of British Sea Power?
BSP
begin their October dates at the lovely
Old Market in Hove. But this is only the
start of a busy autumn schedule. There
will be an October tour of the North
American coastal regions (details to
follow soon). There will also be November
dates in both England and
Wales.
The
latter run as follows. Wed 12 Nov London
Astoria (supporting The Electric Soft
Parade) (Tel: 08701 500 044) Wed 19 Nov
Nottingham Rescue Rooms (Tel: 0115 958
8484) Thu 20 Nov Leeds Josephs Well (Tel:
0113 203 1861) Fri 21 Nov Lincoln Bivouac
(Tel: 01522 527 069) Sat 22 Nov Cardiff
Ifor Bach (Tel: 029 2023 2199) Mon 24 Nov
High Wycombe The White Room (Tel: 01494
446 330) Tue 25 Nov Northampton Soundhaus
(Tel: 01604 250 898) Wed 26 Nov Reading
Fez (Tel: 01865 420 042) Thu 27 Nov
Colchester Arts Centre (Tel: 01206 500
900) Fri 28 Nov Birmingham Academy 2 (Tel:
0870 771 2000) Sun 30 Nov Warwick
University (Tel: 024 765
24524).
Please
note that the Warwick University date is
one that has been rescheduled from 14
October. We have also had to reschedule
one other date from the October tour. The
show at Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms will
now take place on 15 October, rather than
the original date of 13 October. We
apologise for these rearrangements and
very much hope that they donât cause
anyone any distress. The reason for this
rescheduling is that BSP have been invited
to perform on the first show in the new
series of the BBC 2 programme Later With
Jools Holland.
British
Sea Power will appear on Later alongside
REM, Buddy Guy and Jamelia. The show is
set for broadcast at 11.35pm on Friday 17
October. Rehearsal and filming take place
on 13 and 14 October, hence the
rescheduled shows.
The
band are honoured to appear alongside the
venerable Louisiana bluesman Mr Guy and
believe that his jamming with British Sea
Power will do him no more harm than
previous associations with Mick Jagger and
Mark Knopfler. BSP are also happy to be
associating with the renowned REM and the
fragrant Ms Jamelia. However, uppermost in
our minds is news that the Later producers
have given us free rein to deck the studio
with foliage and selected wildlife
effigies. The initial feeling is that
beech leaves should look good at this time
of year. We'd also like to bring in a
plastic whooper swan for the night. Can
anyone help?
But,
back to British Sea Power's October dates.
We can now confirm the special guest for
the show on 20 October at London
University Of London Union. This will be
the great New York singer, songwriter and
comic artist, Jeffrey Lewis.
Will
Mr Lewis be playing such favourites as
Back When I was 4 and You Don't Have To Be
A Scientist To Do Experiments On Your Own
Heart? Will be displaying his famous
illustrated song-history of Rough Trade
Records? And will it include a new chapter
on ARE Weapons? We are not quite sure, but
we are certain that Jeffrey will charm and
amaze. The running order for the London
show will now be Eastern Lane, The
Tenderfoot, Jeffrey Lewis and British Sea
Power.
Eastern
Lane are from Berwick-Upon-Tweed and are
bound for great things. They recently
released their debut album, Shades Of
Black, on Rough Trade Records. The
Tenderfoot are enigmatic Sussex
song-and-dance men. Their voices are rich
with port and desire and their sweet
melodies are soon to resound over both
stoop and stadium. They also, of course,
feature the magnificent mix martlet Marc
Beatty, producer of the original version
of the BSP recording Fear Of Drowning. We
can only advise ticket-holders to arrive
at ULU in good time. Sadly, in some ways,
the London show has now sold out. Other
October shows are to soon follow suit. So,
we must invoke the words of the late,
great social engineer and chalet magnate
Fred Pontin and advise you to Book Early.
Or even call down the thoughts of Fred's
dread rival, Billy Butlin, and remind you
that Our True Intent Is All For Your
Delight.
The
Tenderfoot will perform at all BSP October
dates, while Eastern lane will play at all
shows except Oxford Zodiac and the
rescheduled show at Portsmouth Wedgewood
Rooms. We would also like to remind you
that the mighty Echo & The Bunnymen
guitarist Will Sergeant will be special
guest at the Sheffield, Manchester and
Liverpool shows in October. Mr Sergeant
will be performing under the banner of his
experimental Glide project. His last
string of experimental shows went so well
that he discovered a cure for gout and
also a sonic device that non-lethally
dispels grey squirrels from bird tables
without interfering with any other
resident wildlife. At which point, and
with all this gum-smackery, we best remind
you of those October dates once more.
Pleasingly, a free bar of British Sea
Power own-brand Kendal mintcake will be
available to the first 200 concert-goers
at every show. This prized confectionary
will be available for collection beside
the T-shirts at the British Sea Power Show
Shop. October BSP dates as follows. 1 Oct
Brighton Old Market (C/C phoneline:
08701 500044) 2 Oct Sheffield University
(0114 222 8777)* 4 Oct Leicester Charlotte
( 0116 255 3965) 5 Oct Oxford Zodiac
(01865 420 042) 6 Oct Staffordshire
University at Leek (01782 206 000)
8 Oct Belfast Empire Music
Hall
9 Oct Dublin Whelans
(00353 1 478 0766)
10 Oct Cork Half Moon
(00353 21 4271168) 12 Oct Bristol, Fleece
& Firkin, (0117 945 0996) 15 Oct
Portsmouth, Wedgewood Rooms (023 9286
3911) 16 Oct Manchester Hop & Grape
(0161 832 1111) 17 Oct Liverpool
University (0151 256 5555) 18 Oct Glasgow
King Tuts (0141 221 5279) 20 Oct London
ULU (C/C phoneline: 08701
500044).
Let
us, then, anticipate these myriad new
examples of Band Live On Tour and inform
you that the night of the BSP ULU show
will also see a session from the band on
Lamacq Live on Radio 1. That is right.
With the rowan berries hanging ripe and
men with beards donning distinctive horned
helmets all across Dartmoor, the radio
season is on us again. Please do what is
right and natural and e-mail the following
disc jockeys, politely asking them to play
that forthcoming British Sea Power single,
Remember Me. jo.whiley@bbc.co.uk
mark.radcliffe@bbc.co.uk
steve.lamacq@bbc.co.uk.
Further,
if you care to contact the following
jokers and instruct them to air the
remarkable video for Remember Me, then all
the better www.nmechart.com
www.mtv2europe.com/nmechart.
Act
now and do not be the rock lost iceman of
the Alps. Over and out.
With
thanks,
Yours,
Old Sarge
PS.
Somewhat amazingly, tickets for
BSPâs Sheffield show are £3.50
in advance! Well done, Sheffield
University. Has quality even been so
reasonably priced? chuff.
Newsletter
No. 15
Fructidor CCXI
• Special guests for October
tour
• Concert success in the United
States
• Bread dumplings and Czech-language
recording
As
British Sea Power prepare to unveil their
autumn collection, decking the shortening
months with concerts and record releases,
the band have already had an early taste
of the encroaching dark. British Sea Power
have recently returned from a string of
shows on America's east coast. The band
tripped the light fantastic, but also saw
shadows fall.
The
band's first show was at The Bowery
Ballroom in Manhattan. They found
themselves playing alongside Dido, Bowling
For Soup and My Morning Jacket at a
showcase evening for America's independent
record retailers. We were far from sure
what these turntable-furnishing tradesmen
and women wold make of BSP.
We
needn't have worried. At the end of the
show, the drunken shopkeepers were asked
to fill in a comment sheet for the six
bands which had played. Slightly
surprisingly perhaps, BSP were universally
declared the hit of the night. The
reaction jotted down by the man from the
Criminal Records chain was typical. The
other five acts on the bill were simply
assessed as "Not British Sea Power" while
BSP were "The greatest band of all time."
Further, BSP were happy to have been able
to invite Dean Wareham of Luna and Galaxie
500 to the show at The Bowery Ballroom.
Rough Trade are soon to release a
compilation called Stop Me If You Think
Youâve Heard This One Before. The
compilation is designed to commemorate the
label's 25th anniversary and features
current Rough Trade bands covering records
by previous Rough Trade bands. BSP have
covered Tugboat by Galaxie 500.
It
was the next day, as BSP headed out of New
York to a show in Philadelphia that the
dark descended. The band were heading
through the Holland Tunnel, under the
Hudson River to New Jersey, when the
lights went out. It seems that as British
Sea Power left New York, the power left
also. New York had just been hit by a
complete power cut, or severe cascading
power outage as our American friends know
it. The next night, BSP were due to play
in New York, supporting The Libertines at
the Irving Plaza. Would they find
themselves playing their song Blackout in
an actual blackout?
The
show in Philadelphia was at a lovely bar
called The Khyber. The band resisted the
temptation to dress as Kenneth Williams in
the Carry On film of the same name, but
turned in an excellent show nonetheless.
The audience reaction was in keeping with
a review of the BSP album in The
Philadelphia Weekly. It praised the "slim,
spastic melodies" of the band's
"marvellously ramshackle debut album". The
album was, the reviewer concluded, "What
The Coral's record should have been, but
wasn't."
The
lingering power cut meant that the New
York show with The Libertines was
cancelled. Graciously, Interpol staged an
impromptu rooftop party and BSP were able
to attend this in place of their concert.
However, BSP and The Libertines did play
together in Washington DC the next night.
After that, all that was left to do was
for BSP to navigate their way back to the
airport and find an electrical storm (or
abrupt meteorological voltage-in) delaying
their flight home. They did leave in the
end, and left with praise ringing in their
ears. This closing concert had been almost
as good as the ultimate highlight of trip.
BSP
had been able to enjoy a night at the
cinema, getting an early view of the new
documentary, Winged Migration. The star of
this beautifully filmed look at bird
migration was the Arctic Tern, a bird
which would have been greatly troubled by
the New York dark. It is reckoned that
this species enjoys a greater amount of
daylight than any other bird. It breeds in
the northern hemisphere then traverses the
globe to spend our winter in the far
south, down Tierra del Fuego way. For some
resourceful creatures, there really is a
light > that never goes out.
BSP
returned to Sussex to immediately resume
work. A band emissary was sent to Heathrow
airport to collect Katerina Winterova and
Jan Muchow of the Czech ensemble The
Ecstasy Of St Theresa. Jan and Kate had
been invited over to add their talents to
a new Czech-language version of the BSP
song A Lovely Day Tomorrow. This hugely
charming pair presented BSP with an
example of the Czech national football
team's jersey and a book called Best Czech
Recipes. BSP look forward to knocking up
some Bohemian bread dumplings, almost as
much as they look forward to releasing
this new version of A Lovely Day Tomorrow,
which will feature a bewitching vocal from
Katerina. The plan is to release the
record only in the Czech Republic,
accompanied by a pair of shows where BSP
and EOST will play together. There will be
one show in Prague and another in London.
More news will follow in the not too
distant future.
We
will leave you with news of one further
alliance with BSP. On the forthcoming
October tour of Scotland, England and
Ireland, it seems that Echo & The
Bunnymen's Will Sergeant should be
bringing his experimental solo performance
to the concerts in Sheffield, Liverpool
and Leeds. This is still subject to formal
confirmation. There will also be support,
at all dates, from the gifted Brighton
group The Tenderfoot and a special guest
at the London show. Let's hope the power
stays on.
With
thanks,
Yours,
Old
Sarge
Newsletter
No. 14
Thermidor CCXI
• Next single selected
• Additional performance at Carling
Festival
• Year Of The Sea with BSP and David
Seaman
Greetings
to all. There is much afoot in the British
Sea Power camp and I am now going to
attempt to tell every one of you all about
it. As the Tour De France heads towards a
dramatic conclusion, British Sea Power
have been invoking the French idiom, Au
Charbon. As with these resourceful
cyclists, BSP have also been putting on
coal. Chuff, chuff, chuff.
The
band will soon be leaving for concert
dates in America, Germany, England,
Scotland and Ireland. There will also be a
new single. And, looking further into the
future, the band have been approached
regarding a remarkable event at The
National Maritime Museum in Greenwich.
But, first, let us start with some equally
remarkable news.
British
Sea Power have not been nominated for the
2003 Mercury Music Prize. The nominations
for the 2003 Prize were announced on 22
July by Jules Holland at The Commonwealth
Club in central London. They included
Radiohead, Coldplay, Martina Topley-Bird,
Dizzee Rascal and leading names from the
worlds of classical and traditional music.
British Sea Power were not on the list.
Alongside British Sea Power, other artists
not nominated for the Mercury Prize
include Mick Hucknall, Kelly Osbourne,
Jazzy B, Capercaillie, Placebo, UB40, John
Power, John Squire, Alabama 3, Roy Harper,
The Cooper Temple Clause, Morcheeba, Nigel
Kennedy and PJ Harvey.
It
is, I think you will agree, a most
perplexing state of affairs. Indeed, some
seasoned observers within the
entertainment industry are already
reflecting that the BSP non-nomination is
the most perplexing event since the Sam
& Dave tour that featured neither Sam
nor Dave. But, while a Mercury nomination
was not forthcoming for British Sea Power,
the band have been invited to take part in
a more euphonious spectacle. The director
of The National Maritime Museum had
approached British Sea Power regarding
their participation in Year Of The Sea.
This event is to be staged in 2005 and
will amount to a wide-ranging examination
of British maritime history and our
national psychology. The National Maritime
Museum is also inviting contributions from
solo yachtswoman Ellen McArthur, TV chef
Rick Stein, Norman Cook and the goalkeeper
David Seaman. At this point, we have to
ensure you that this is all entirely true.
It seems that, as well as owning a most
maritime surname, David Seam! an is also a
keen deep-sea angler. Norman Cook, we are
told, loves a bit of beachcombing.
British
Sea Power are scheduled to meet National
Maritime Museum director Roy Clare later
this year. But already, the BSPHQ is
plotting an ambitious day's programme for
2005. We would like to invite
contributions from The Who's Pete
Townshend, Scottish artist Ian Hamilton
Finlay and Julian Cope. The musical centre
pieces of a BSP-curated day at the
National Maritime Museum would be include
a performance from BSP themselves. We
would also seek to engage the Liverpool
musicians John and Michael Head of the
group Shack. What could be better than to
hear the Head brothers perform, in its
entirety, their sea-themed 1997 album The
Magical World Of The Strands? The plan
would for an open-air performance with the
Heads accompanied by their usual band
mates, plus the national Sea Cadets
orchestra.
If
anyone has any suggestions for British
musicians to play at such a
maritime-themed event, please send an
e-mail headed National Maritime Museum to:
britishseapower@hotmail.com. Clearly,
suggested artists should have addressed
the sea and the waves in their work.
Further, please feel free to mull over
this idea on the BSP forum at:
http://www.britishseapower.co.uk/forum.htm
Some
time before Year Of The Sea, we can expect
a new British Sea Power single. This
single will be Remember Me and is
scheduled to be released on CD on
seven-inch vinyl on 6 October 2003.
Now,
we realise that the song Remember Me has
been a British Sea Power single before.
But, we hasten to point out that this
previous single featured an entirely
different recording of the song: created
at a different recording studio and
substantially different in aural quality.
On the other hand, a single taken from an
already released album is not necessarily
the most earth-shattering of events. In
the light of this, BSP are, as ever,
hoping to exceed the national average and
to make this single an interesting item.
Various additional tracks are being worked
on even now, including the Hamilton-penned
to-the-fields singalong, Good Good Boys.
And, as with the Carrion single, sleeves
for the seven-inch version of Remember Me
will be individually named.
The
Remember Me seven-inch will be available
in a limited edition of 2,005 copies, a
figure intended as an early preview
reference to Year Of The Sea. Each sleeve
will be individually hand-inscribed with
2,005 names. The idea is that these 2,005
names will be the names of 2,005 people
who really should be remembered for deeds
large or small. Of course, several names
from the BSP pantheon will automatically
suggest themselves: Geoff Goddard, James
Osterberg, Violette Szabo, Maurice The
Specialist Tesco Drunk, Viscount
Montgomery of Alamein, Jeff The Liar,
Cathy Freeman, Geoff Travis, The Bielski
Brothers, Joe Seal, Carlos Dengler,
Captain Riot, Scout Niblett, etc, etc.
However, this is also your chance to
suggest a name for this modest but
pleasing consignment for posterity.
British
Sea Power call upon you to put forward
names for inclusion on the sleeve of the
Remember Me vinyl edition. Feel free to
suggest the famous, the friends and the
family. All proposals are welcome and
should be accompanied by a explanatory
note of a maximum of 50 words. Please mark
e-mails Remember Them and send to:
britishseapower@hotmail.com
That
just about brings us to the end of this
Newsletter. Let us conclude by saying that
further details on the British Sea Power
touring schedule will be made next week.
But, for now, we can impart the news that,
alongside BSP's two headline slots on The
Carling Stage at the 2003 Carling
Festivals at Leeds and Reading, there will
also be an additional performance at the
Leeds Carling Festival. On Saturday 23
August at Leeds Carling Festival, British
Sea Power will be reprising their
soundtrack for the film Baraka, as
previously performed at London's Institute
for Contemporary Arts. This performance
will consist of BSP playing their own
soundtrack alongside a screening of
Baraka. More news, next week. And, now, a
closing item.
Performing
alongside high-art filmic works is all
well and good. But BSP would never forget
the more populist ending of the cultural
spectrum. Excitingly, then, the producers
of Channel 4 drama Teachers have
approached British Sea Power with a
request to use the composition Memories Of
Childhood in a episode of the programme.
The song will be used in two particular
scenes: Kurt Makes Tea For Everyone Except
Brian and Simon Is Accused Of Losing
Essays.
Ironic
perhaps, because British Sea Power make
tea for everyone, even Brian. Nonetheless,
there is no diluting the strange joy that
this request brings. If BSP are to
complete their sworn mission of Making
Things Better, they must be heard and seen
on every outlet, on every avenue.
Yours,
Old
Sarge
PS.
For the record, there was no Newsletter
No.13. Traditionalist in some respects,
British Sea Power elected not to risk the
ominous numeral 13.
Newsletter
No. 12
Messidor CCXI
• BSP single out now
• Dry cider and Tiger Moth
• To Rotherhithe for a mystery
prize
"The
covers of this book are too far apart,"
wrote the American newspaper columnist,
satirist and novelist Ambrose Bierce. It's
a dismissal that retains both a
devastating succinctness and a devastating
reach.
There
are indeed too many pages, too many books,
too many records, too many bands. But,
even now, even in 2003, we ask you to
believe that this need not necessarily be
the case. Not always.
On
Monday 30 June, British Sea Power release
the double A-side single Carrion/Apologies
To Insect Life. We contend that it is not
a record too far. Even when there are
three of the things.
CD1:
Carrion (Commander's Croft Mix), Apologies
To Insect Life, Heavenly Waters.
CD2:
Carrion (Ridgeway Mix), Apologies To
Insect Life (Russian Rock Demo), Albert's
Eyes.
7-inch
vinyl: Carrion (Commander's Croft Mix),
Apologies To Insect Life.
This
past weekend, a working party from The
British Sea Power Appreciation Society
assembled in the picturesque East Sussex
valley of Cuckmere Haven. The mission was
to walk up to the edge of the Seven
Sisters range of coastal cliffs and
assemble a network of stone cairns - all
the better to inform the occupants of any
passing aircraft that Carrion/Apologies To
Insect Life was to be released on Monday.
Over
the course of the day, from sunrise to
dusk, the BSP party saw a green
woodpecker, a little owl and several
yellowhammers. They drank Biddenden dry
cider and Harvey's Tom Paine, the latter
brewed at 5.5% alcohol by volume and
intended as tribute to a man who, just by
writing a book, helped catalyse both the
American and French Revolutions. After the
BSP men and women had drunk all their
beer, a De Havilland Tiger Moth biplane
came flying across the valley, the pilot
about to look down at the cliff top and
glean some vital information. Painted a
uniform yellow, the biplane glowed in the
sunlight; a beautifully frail construction
of wood and wire, but one which could fly
though the air even so. All of this, all
of the above is what we hope a British Sea
Power record might amount to. Something
fragile, but also powerful. Something
timeless, but not self-consciously antique
and powered only by genuine pre-1950s
electricity. Something that can fly
through the air.
So,
here it is. Carrion/Apologies To Insect
Life is out there on CD1 and CD2 and
7-inch vinyl. The CDs should be freely
available for £1.99 a piece, the
vinyl at 99p a go. The CD1 and CD2 contain
a total of six tracks and no two are the
same.
On
CD1, Carrion (Commander's Croft Mix) is
the version of this track as featured on
the album The Decline Of British Sea Power
- a mix of anthemicism and poignancy, salt
water and hair pomade, as expertly mixed
by the gifted musical French-polisher Dave
Bascombe. It is a recording that has has
already had the NME telling the world to:
Embrace this wonderful, wonderful band.
Apologies To Insect Life is also the album
version. But even those who already own
the LP need not worry that they are
getting poor return for their two pounds.
The sleeve alone is worth that (its covers
are not far apart). Then there's Heavenly
Waters. Here we have 6.33 minutes of
beautiful and elegiac instrumental
ensemble playing. This is the track that
The Flaming Lips could be heard playing at
soundcheck on their last British tour.
This is the track that is of such manifest
quality that it could even have held its
own on the last Sigur Ros album. On both
counts, this is really rather going some.
With
CD2, Carrion (Ridgeway Mix) is a more
direct, rhythmically powerful version, as
mixed by the impassioned Anglo-Italian,
Lenny Franchi. Apologies To Insect Life
(Russian Rock Demo) is an unhinged,
gloriously gone-to-the-wind pre-album
version recorded by the band at their own
Golden Chariot studio. You know the bit in
Walt Disney's The Sorcerer's Apprentice
when all the mops and tools come alive? It
sounds like that, only as directed by Link
Wray or Joe Meek. In an era when untold
bands have clumsily sought a proto-rock
primalism, British Sea Power have trumped
virtually all of them without even
thinking about it (which, of course, is
the only way that this particular grail
can be grasped). Last on the list is the
bewitching Albertâs Eyes. This
recording has all the fractured, eldritch
prettiness of a Neil Young or Galaxie 500.
Hear it and you will know that this is not
an excessive claim. Hear it and you will
also wonder how this recording never made
it onto British Sea Power's album. A fair
question, but also one that tells us
something interesting - that, here, we
could be dealing with a very rare group
indeed.
The
seven-inch vinyl version of the single is
a story of resourcefulness and novelty in
its own right. As you will, no doubt,
know, the 7-inch vinyl comes in a limited
edition of 1,264 - with each sleeve
individually and uniquely hand-inscribed
with the name of a feature from the
British coastline. We know that people are
already thinking about how they might be
able to achieve ownership of a name
particularly dear to them. We are not sure
how this can be, apart from feeling sure
that fate will work beneficently here.
Time
prevents us from providing a full list of
the 1,264 names. But here is an
appropriate introductory selection. Which
will you get? Armed Knight, Asparagus
Island, Babbacombe Model Village, Baggy
Point, Bare, Barra Airport, Barrel Of
Butter, Barry Island Pleasure Park, Bass
Rock, Beachy Head, Beaumaris, Bedruthan
Steps, Beef Neck, Beer, Belle Tout,
Berwick Upon Tweed, Bexhill-On-Sea,
Birling Gap, Bishop Rock, Black Pill,
Blowup Nose, Booby's Bay, Boscastle,
Boswinger, Brandys, Brides Hole, Brixham,
Brownsea Island, Bucklers Hard,
Burntisland, Butlin's Starcoast World,
Butt Of Lewis, Caldey Island, Camber
Sands, Cape Wrath, Cardigan Bay,
Catterline, Chesil Beach, Clevedon Pier,
Cockwood, Colonsay, Cooden Beach,
Crackington Haven, Cromarty Firth, Crosby
East Training Bank, Crow Island, Cuckmere
Haven, Cuckold's Point, Cullercoats,
Dancing Beggars, Dawlish Warren, Deadman's
Cove. Deer Sound, De La Warr Pavilion,
Donna Nook, Donkey Sanctuary, Dr Syntax's
Head, Dungeness, Durdle Door, Dymchurch
Redoubt, Faggot, Fairbourne &
Barnmouth Railway, Fair Isle, Fairlight,
Farne Islands, Felixstowe, Fetlar, Filey!
Brig, Fingle's Cave, Fladda, Flamborough
Head, Fort Fun, Gallantry Bower, Gara
Rock, Gew-graze, Grange Over Sands Grave
Yard, Great Zawn, Great Orme's Head, Great
Wingletang, Greeb Point, Gurnard, Hayling
Island, Hell's Mouth, Hengistbury Head,
Holy Island, Hove Lagoon, lfracombe,
Inchkeith, Irish Lady, Isle Of May, Isles
Of Scilly, Jack Scout, Jenny Brown's
Point, Jolly Rock, Jury's Gap, Lady Isle,
Lady Rock, Leven Viaduct, Lizard Point,
Lligwy Burial Chamber, Longships, Lulworth
Cove, Lundy, Lusty Glaze, Mad Wharf,
Maiden Bower, Mallaig, Man And His Man,
Manningâs Amusement Park, Manx
Electric Railway, Mersey Estuary,
Mevagissey, Midfield, Milford Haven, Moist
Covert, Morecambe Bay, Mousehole, Morte
Point, Morvern, Muckle Skerry, New
Brighton, New Grimsby, Norman's Bay, North
Shields, North West Passage, Nut Rock,
Oban, Old Battery, Old Man Of Hoy, Out
Skerries, Overstrand, Padstow, Paignton
Pier, Peacehaven Heights, Pellew's
Redoubt, Peter Pan's Playground, Pett
Leve! l, Pevensey Bay, Pigeon Ogo,
Pleasure Island, Plumb Island, Point Of
Air, Point Of Comfort Scar, Point
Spaniard, Point Of Winkie, Polostoc Zawn,
Polperro, Porth Conger, Portland Bill,
Port Merrion, Portslade, Puffin Island,
Ragged Island, Raleigh, Raven Meols Hills,
Ralph's Cupboard, Reculver, Retarrier
Ledges Rhyl Sun Centre, Ringdoo Point,
Robin Hood's Bay, Robin's Rocks, Rockall,
Rocken End, Rock, Roker Beach, R'skilly,
Rotunda Amusement Park, Rough Bottom,
Royal Sovereign, Ruff Reef, Rumps Point,
St Boldred's Cradle, St Ives, St Mary's In
The Marsh, St Michael Mount, Saltcoats
Samphire Island, Saxon Shore Way, Scapa
Flow, Scarborough, Seaford Head,
Seagreens, Selsey Bill, Sennen Cove, Shag
Rock, Sharks Fin, Silverdale, Skomer
Island, Skokholm Island, Slapton Sands,
South Shields, South Stack. Spike Island,
Spliff Island, Spurn Head, Staffa, Start
Point, Stinking Cove, Stornoway, Strait Of
Dover, Stranraer, Sullum Voe, Summerisle,
Swanage Bay, Tantallon, Tater-du,
Teignmouth, Telscombe Cliffs, Tily Whim
Caves, Tintagel, The Balk, The Bears, The
Bellows, The Clapper, The Cob, The Eric
Morecambe Hide, The Frenchman, The Gear,
The Horse, The Island, The Isle Of Grain,
The Lizard, The Manacles, The Mumbles, The
Naze, The Neck, The Needles, The Road, The
Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway, The
Scalp, The Seven Sisters, The Timewalk,
The Undercliff, The Valley Of Rocks,
Thorney Island, Tomb Of The Eagles,
Tremadoc Bay, Troon, Tynemouth,
Tubbyâs Head, Ve Skerries, Vidlin
Voe, Westward Ho!, West Kirby, Whitley
Bay, Winchelsea Beach, Wolf Rock,
Wormâs Head, Wicca Pool, Wish Tower,
Yarmouth, Zawn Organ and Zennor Head
Finally,
we will conclude with a competition and
the information that the British Sea Power
website is now back up and running at the
following address. We are sorry that it
was unavailable for a spell. Please pay a
visit and jump for Jesus, or maybe just
leave a message on the forum page:
www.britishseapower.co.uk
COMPETITION
In
the song Carrion, there is mention of both
Scapa Flow and Rotherhithe. Until
recently, we were unaware of any other
songs that mention either of these places.
But, now, we come across two songs that
mention Rotherhithe. Anyone who can name
two songs that feature this place name
will win a mystery, one-off prize as
created by the BSP crafts offshoot Teenage
Artkunst. Anyone who can tell us of any
song that mention Scapa Flow will be
awarded a further prize. Suggestions to
the following e-mail address, marked
Rotherhithe: britishseapower@hotmail.com
NB.
On this note, we are well aware that we
still owe prizes to some previous
competition winners. If you fit the bill,
please e-mail, telling us the prize that
is pending. Please send any mail to above
e-mail address. Well, I think that will
quite do for now. Thank you for time.
Please return to your stations. There are
shops to visit, records to buy.
Yours,
Old Sarge
Newsletter
No. 11
Prairie CCXI
• Debut album now in the
shops
• English and Welsh concert dates in
June
• The Supremes and the benefits of
the Atkins Diet
At
long last, the debut album by the band
British Sea Power is available to every
woman and every man.
The
album is released on 2 June 2003 CE, a
date which has also seen happy event in
the past. For instance, Thomas Hardy was
born on this day in 1840. The second day
of June, however, has also seen more
questionable occurrence. In 1953, this
date saw the coronation of Queen Elizabeth
II. But, fear not. Now this chronological
connection with the antique notion of
hereditary monarchy has been entirely
superseded by the advent of a long-playing
a record - a record called The Decline Of
British Sea Power.
As
this British Sea Power album is variously
celebrated in the popular press, these
reports perhaps tell us that this world
does not always change for the worse. The
very newspapers that, even now, give
particular credence to Elizabeth Windsor,
have also been disposed to royally praise
The Decline Of British Sea Power. Perhaps
most bewilderingly of all, The Sunday
Express made the BSP album its CD of the
week. On top of this, The Daily Telegraph
reviewed The Decline Of British Sea Power
with both enthusiasm and insight. The
review, by David Cheal, is worth quoting
at some length:
"One
of the most exciting albums of 2003 has
arrived - a near hysterical fervour runs
through every song, a febrile, urgent
madness which suggests that time is
running out, that if this stuff isn't
captured here and now, it will be gone
forever. Mercifully, they've caught it,
and here it is, in all its epic glory."
The
Telegraph was not alone in impassioned
recommendation. There now follows a
selection of other views on the album from
our nation's music writers. "Currently the
best band in Britain." Dan Cairns, The
Sunday Times.
"A
genuinely great album - The Decline Of
British Sea Power is to 2003 what The
Coral's debut album was to 2002." Chris
Salmon, Time Out.
"British
Sea Power's slightly camp, wholly menacing
and startlingly audacious debut is unlike
anything else you'll hear this year."
Betty Clarke, The Guardian,
4/5.
"Out
of this world... The track Carrion is
truly wondrous, the crowning moment of a
dazzling debut." Time Jonze, NME,
8/10
"This
always poised, often epic rock oscillates
between the frenzied and the elegiac. A
strange and exhilarating record." Simon
Price, The Independent Of Sunday,
4/5.
"The
Decline Of British Sea Power is a work of
intense resonance... British Sea Power
have made an indelible mark on music's
register... A remarkable achievement."
Jane Gillow, Bang, 5/5
"Stadium-sized
melodies and exquisite song-writing... The
intelligent, nonconformist listener has a
new band to love." Ian Harrison, MOJO,
4/5.
"Light
up those cliff-top beacons ö British
Sea Power might have signed up to see the
world, but this incredible debut album
makes it sound like they intend to rule
it." The Fly, 4.5/5
To
complement the release of the album,
British Sea Power will be playing in
concert in June. These dates include the
band's first hometown show this year, plus
a concert with the magnificent Interpol in
London town. The dates are as follows: 18
June Hereford Manhattans (01432 269968) 19
June Exeter Cavern Club (01392 495370) 20
June Bristol Louisiana (0117 929 9008) 21
June Newport Le Pub (01633 221477) 23 June
Brighton, Hove Old Market (01273 709709)
24 June London Shepherd's Bush Empire
(supporting Interpol; sold out.)
Tickets
for the Hove Old Market show are available
from the following: The Dome box office
(01273 709709); Rounder Records (01273
325440); (www.ticket.co.uk ). Tickets for
this show are priced at £8 (£6
for senior citizens, students and the
unemployed).
The
Old Market show will also feature two
other notable Brighton groups - The
Tenderfoot and The Brakes. The latter will
feature BSP keyboard player/drummer The
Official Fleet Reserve, plus Tom and Alex
White of The Electric Soft Parade.
Hopefully,
all of British Sea Power's June dates will
be as memorable as their May tour of
England and Scotland. Over the course of
these concerts, event was both conspicuous
and cherishable. Noble saw his first ever
crossbill on the way to the Aberdeen show.
Two members of Showaddywaddy came to the
BSP show in Leicester. In Mansfield, the
heroic BSP supporter known as Captain Riot
supplied the entire audience with
home-made sandwiches and samosas. However,
perhaps the most poetic moment on the tour
came while the band were enjoying a day
off in Cumbria.
Having
spent the night on the tour bus, BSP men
Yan and Hamilton had then walked up the
road, to their family home in the village
of Natland. As the pair walked through the
door in the morning, ready for a
home-cooked breakfast, they were greeted
by remarkable sounds and sights. Even as
Yan and Hamilton walked into the living
room, the forthcoming BSP single Carrion
was sounding out from the radio set. It
was being aired by long-time BSP admirer
Jeremy Vine on his midday show on Radio 2.
Yan and Hamilton were pleased to see their
mother and father enjoying a celebratory
waltz around the room as the record
played.
"They
really are a great band," Mr Vine
announced before fading out Carrion and
following it it with Reflections by The
Supremes. This disc was, in turn, followed
by a lively phone-in discussion on the
Atkins Diet, featuring the renowned
popular nutritionist Rosemary Conley.
Apparently, according to one caller to the
programme, this dietary plan allows one to
"Eat as much sausage and butter as you
like". A record by Del Amitri was then
aired as Yan and Noble's fried vegetarian
delights sizzled in the pan. Happily, they
would, seemingly, be able to tuck in
without the slightest fear for their
figures.
Of
course, with The Decline Of British Sea
Power out in the world, none of us have to
fear for anything ever again. Well, that's
how I see it at least.
Yours,
Old Sarge
*For
the information of our friends oversees,
The Decline Of British Sea Power is
released across Europe on 2 June. The
album will be released in Japan on 23
August on the Toy's Factory label. Release
in the United States Of America will
follow on 9 September on Rough Trade
Records.
Newsletter
No. 10
Floreal CCXI
• Crazed rock mecca
• Projected multi-million album
sales
• Songs and Shearwaters in The Scilly
Isles
We
all want to get back to sea. We all want
to sit and stare at the blue, to loiter
and to listen to the swwwisshhhh of wave
on rock. Why else would the old folks
instinctively head to the coast? Out to
the margins to spend their sunset in
Eastbourne and Hastings? With this mind,
British Sea Power headed for the salt
water once more. We are pleased to tell
you that British Sea Power have just
returned from The Isles Of Scilly where
wonderful rock music sounded out while
high-quality new potatoes flourished in
the fields.
As
far as our global information-gathering
network can tell us, British Sea Power are
the first ensemble of national repute to
play in the Scillies.
The
journey was long, but the results were
remarkable. After the journey from
Portslade to Penzance, British Sea Power
boarded the flat-bottomed ship The
Scillonian III. They then made ready to
sail out into the sunshine and deep-indigo
seascape. Several distinguished
representatives of the British print media
accompanyied British Sea Power on their
voyage. But, already, even before the
gangplank had ascended, reportage had been
favourable.
Wisely
figuring that British Sea Power visiting
The Scillies was more newsworthy than
Judge Jules playing at Newquay Koola Klub,
The West Briton, foremost of all West
Country newspapers, heralded the BSP
Scillies concert with a generous spread.
"For one night only The Isles Of Scilly
will become a crazed rock mecca,"
trumpeted the piece with frank Islamist
fervour. The article went on to relate how
British Sea Power's 2002 performance at
The Eden Project had left a rival reporter
"physically scared after witnessing BSP in
concert with their stuffed heron, assorted
plantlife and manic bass player".
Even
better, The West Briton BSP feature ran
alongside a story telling us that, "A rare
bird of prey has been spotted in
Cornwall." This story about a Pallid
Harrier, normally a denizen of the Eastern
Mediterranean, popping over to Cornwall
was surely a happy portent for BSP
Scillies trip. Followers of the rock form
will, of course, be aware that one aim of
this excursion was to improve
communication between the worlds of rock
and ornithology. As BSP sailed along the
Cornish coast, ready to bring the heroic
rock archetype to these distant isles,
they were also mentally preparing for a
spot of ornithology with the Isles Of
Scilly Bird Group. Pleasingly, as The
Scillonian headed out through slight to
moderate winds, out past Mousehole, former
centre of the British pilchard-fishing
industy, inspiring avian forms swished
into view. Look! A group of Manx
Shearwater flipping up and down along the
waves tops. There! A lone Artic Skua
taking a more direct flightpath over the
swell!. Could that really have been a
Storm Petrel, the dauntless and enigmatic
ballet-dancer of the brine?
As
The Scillonian III entered harbour, our
destination, the island of St Mary's, was
revealed in all her glory. Stepping across
the pale sandy beaches, The British Sea
Power party immediately headed out to
pitch their tents at The Garrison
Campsite.
The
afternoon was spent with the band
answering interview questions from The
Sunday Times, The Face, and Word and Bang
magazine. As show time approached,
however, there was one even more
impressive written report. At the offices
of The Isles Of Scilly Steamship Company,
the things-to-do-today blackboard was full
with potential pleasure. Inviting indeed
was the information on a ocean-going
rowing-boat race for The Dustcart Trophy.
The boats in question are known as gigs.
Appropriately , then, the race was to be
followed by a gig. "Live music tonight at
The Scillonian Club," revealed the
chalk-scribed board. "Featuring British
Sea Power, an Innovative and Exciting New
Band."
The
Scillonian Club proved an alluring venue.
Gloriously flock-wallpapered and full of
bonhomie, The Scillonian was revealed as a
British Legion set in paradise. Outside,
another blackboard beckoned the people in:
"Tonight, one of the best bands in
Britain. DO NOT MISS THIS
SHOW!"
It
seemed the residents of St Mary's had
heeded the advice. The population of the
island is around 1,700 and, as BSP,
prepared to take the stage, Mark, co-owner
of the club, estimated that there were 350
souls in the house. Over 20 per cent of
the population! Good news indeed. If we
apply these figures to the British Isles
as a whole, BSP can expect to sell around
11 million copies of their forthcoming
debut album.
Back
at The Scillonian, in front of an audience
ranging in age from five to over 70,
British Sea Power proceeded to play one of
the most remarkable shows of their career
to date. At the front, a mass of Top
Shop-accessorised teenage womanhood
punched the air and danced like acolytes
of Rasputin. Young male rave afficionados
raised pints to the heavens and swivelled
on the spot. It was a glorious sight and,
on this evidence, BSP's crossover to the
joyous masses is a matter of course.
Highlights
of the set included the new, stompalong
Shania Twain-style version of Remember Me,
as first unveiled at The Ram Inn in Firle.
By the end, the mood was explosive.
Encores were demanded, bringing forth a
beautifully fragile take on Albert's Eyes
and a rare outing for Bass Rock. The show
came to a close with Noble filling his
windbreaker with twigs and diving headlong
into the crowd. This resulted in a
characterful graze on one young lady's
cheek. She was momentarily miffed, but
easily bought off when Noble strode to the
bar to get her two pints of cider.
Sing
ye from the hillsides! This was the stuff.
If the May 2003 tour of England and
Scotland equals this Scilly showing, we
will all be thanking the heavens.
Tunbridge Wells Forum and Mansfield Town
Mill are unlikely to see any Storm
Petrels. But they will see a concert
performance by a band who are now, by some
margin, the most impressive group in all
of the British Isles.
Best
wishes.
Yours,
Old Sarge
British
Sea Power's concert in the Isles Of Scilly
was sponsored by Isles Of Scilly Travel.
More information at www.ios-travel.co.uk
AUXILLARY
NEWSBOOSTS
•
Amazing treats at London Garage
Fingers
crossed, British Sea Power's performance
at The London Garage on Thursday 15 May is
set to feature a special, all-star finale.
We can only tell you that it will involve
many men and many drum kits. This night at
The Garage will benefit from a late
licence, until 2am, and is intended as
London-based manifestation of British Sea
Power's legendary Brighton club night,
Club Sea Power.
The
bands will play at orthodox times, with
Mower taking the stage at around 8,30pm
and British Sea Power appearing at
10.00pm. After this, the noted disc
jockeys Monsignor Ian, Phil King and SAS
Dirtyman will be playing records as they
attempt to get the people dancing to New
Order, Elgar, The Smiths, The Shirelles
and ska versions of the theme from The
Guns Of Navarone. We urge you all to book
cabs and stay for the long haul. The
post-bands disco section of the evening
will also include two competition
features.
There
will be a prize for Most Remarkable
Costume Of The Night. There will also be
an All-Comer's Interpretative Dance
Tournament. Anyone who wants to enter
should bring their chosen track on CD or
vinyl. Our disc journeys will then play
the disc while the entrant enacts a bold
and diverting dance routine interpreting
the record's mood or lyrical content.
Thus, the dancers can opt for Literal
Lyrical Encapsulation or Pure Passion, or
a mixture of the two. However, we have to
advise you that we can only accept records
for the competition that are at least
reasonably danceable. It is felt that an
empty dancefloor may be too forlorn and
forbiding, even for the most
fume-emboldended drunk. The event will be
filmed and the footage then stored for
purposes of extortion should any of the
dancing fools go onto fame or fortune in
later life. What an
opportunity.
•
Official launch of British Sea Power
clothing line
The
British Sea Power concert at The Garage on
Thursday 15 May will see the launch of a
British Sea Power clothing range, designed
exclusively for the band by Brighton-based
design house The Patrick Mooreheads. This
debut line is described as partially
inspired by Violette Szabo, the celebrated
SOE operative who lost her life during
World War II. It will consist of a range
of dresses manufactured on bespoke cotton
overprinted with a British Sea Power logo.
In an era typified by narrowly defined
retro styling, The Patrick Mooreheads buck
the prevailing trend by seeking design
inspiration from many epochs, from 1789 to
the present day. The range will also
eschew the prevalent notions of kitsch and
the surrogate poverty-seeker.
"Please
don't expect T-shirts with images of
dancing horses as if drawn by a poor,
poverty-stricken Puerto Rican lady," runs
a Patrick Mooreheads comminque. Nor will
their be a studded velour bum-bag to be
worn over distressed denim incontinence
pants and a Wishbone Ash satin tour
jacket. We are not interested in making
clothes for people who want to buy old
things, but who can afford to buy new
things. The range is concerned with
elegant, well made clothing that will
flatter both man and woman."
•
Album draws pleasing reaction
British
Sea Power's debut album, The Decline Of
British Sea Power, is released on 2 June.
The album is already drawing remarkable
reaction across the globe. The first
printed review of the album ran on the Do
Something Pretty website and concluded
with the following: "Very rarely does a
record have the ability to touch your soul
and take control of all emotion from
delight to sorrow, anger to nostalgia.
This truly is an untouchable debut from
possibly the finest British band in
decades."
Meanwhile,
the band were sent the following e-mail by
one Trip Brown, The Flaming Lips' US
concert agent: "This is Trip Brown at
American Artists in LA. I am the agent for
The Flaming Lips and many others. I've
received the British Sea Power CD from
Rough Trade US and after over 100
listenings, I HAVE TO BE THE US AGENT FOR
THIS BAND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The album is
amazing. It's one of the best things I've
heard in years."
We
look forward to seeing what the press at
large make of the album. It seems that,
with this record, British Sea Power are
providing another notable benefit for
mankind: the most reliable idiot-detector
since the last Jeffrey Archer novel.
Locate a dismissive review of this record
and you will be looking at the work of the
utmost cretin.
British
Sea Power tour, England and Scotland in
May 2003: Monday 12 May Northampton
Soundhaus (01604 250898) Tuesday 13 May
Warwick University (024 76524524) Thursday
15 May London Garage (020 7344 0044)
Saturday 17 May Coventry Colosseum (02476
554473) Sunday 18 May Leeds Josephs Well
(0113 245 5570) Monday 19 York Fibbers
(01904 651250)904 651250 Tuesday 20
Liverpool University (0151 256 5555)
Wednesday 21 May Manchester Life
Café (0161 832 1111) Friday 23 May
Oxford Zodiac (01865 420 042) Saturday 24
May Tunbridge Wells Forum (01892 530411)
Sunday 25 May Leicester Sumo (0116 255
1906) Tuesday 27 May Newcastle University
(0191 263 5000) Wednesday 28 May Glasgow
King Tuts (0141 221 5279) Thursday 29 May
Aberdeen Lava (01224 648000) Friday 30
Nottingham Rescue Rooms (0115 958 8484)
Saturday 31 May Mansfield Town Mill (01623
632451).
Support
at all UK dates, except Northampton, will
be the London-based trio Mower
Newsletter
No. 9
Ventese CCXI
• Red Kites on the up
• British Sea Power single
• Wayne Coyne, quick-fit
fitter
•
To Weisbaden Schlachtof with
Interpol
Even
in the blackest night, stars are shining
above. So, yes, there may have been a new
record released by The Red Hot Chili
Peppers. And, yes, it may be that British
aircraft will soon be diverted from their
true mission and sent off to more
unfortunate ends - from swooping low and
scaring the sheep alongside Lake Coniston
to dropping bombs in distant lands. But
even among the darkness, there is still
light. For instance, Britain's population
of Red Kites is now the healthiest in
Europe. And, even if these birds aren't
doing quite as well on the Continent,
there is hope still for the Spaniard and
Dutchman. In March and April, British Sea
Power will be playing in Europe with
Interpol, taking their right-and-natural
rock music to a total of nine
countries.
If
these dates can equal recent BSP outings,
then they will be memorable affairs. In
January, British Sea Power played on The
Flaming Lips' tour of Scotland and
England. Throughout, Wayne Coyne, Steven
Drozd and Michael Ivins lived up to their
reputation as the most unaffectedly
pleasant men in contemporary song. The
tour opened at Glasgow Barrowlands and BSP
were hoping to introduce their set by
projecting the opening sequence from
Powell and Pressburger's 1946 film A
Matter Of Life And Death. Initially, there
were problems with the projector. However,
these were soon overcome - not by
reluctant roadie, but by Coyne himself
stepping forward to fiddle with
screwdriver and give the machine an
encouraging thump. Soon the device was up
and running and Mr Wayne had impressed one
and all without his even realising it.
It's true what they say - if the BBC need
someone to single-handedly atone for the
recent disastrous quality of actors
playing Doctor Who, then here he is. With
his quiet charisma and lightly warn
authority, Coyne is someone who could
instantly take us back to the glory days
of Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker. Drozd and
Ivins, meanwhile, would doubtless get on
well with the men at the BBC Radiophonic
Workshop.
British
Sea Power arrived at the second date on
the Flaming Lips tour - Manchester - to
find The Lips soundchecking by playing the
BSP instrumental Heavenly Waters.
Inspiring eventuality for our men.
Encouragement was increased at the
after-show booze-up. The Badly Drawn Boy,
Damon Gough, had played an acoustic slot
before The Flaming Lips. As he laid into
the Diamond White at the end of the night,
he was keen to tell BSP how much he'd
enjoyed their set. "Inspiring",
"incredible", "the best in years" all
figured in his kind evaluation.
Entertainment was increased further when
the spectacularly juiced singer from Alfie
launched a bumbling physical assault on
BDB. Folks stepped in and this
gladiatorial contest between wooly hats
was soon brought to an end.
After
these two dates, the tour continued in
fine fashion, ending with two shows at
London Forum. The Lips were in
life-affirming form, as if playing their
own hallucinatory score to It's A
Wonderful Life.
Somewhat
bewilderingly, Damien Hirst's wife, Maia
Norman, befriended BSP at the Forum shows,
leading them in dancing long into the
night in Kentish Town, Kilburn and beyond.
The next day, the heroic Ms Norman even
sent the band a couple of CDs - a Smog
album for Hamilton and an Ace Records
cajun compilation for Eamon. Thankee,
ma'am.
The
tour completed, BSP entered a recording
studio in Surrey. As Chinook helicopters
sounded overhead, clattering away with a
sound that told of young men's mortality,
BSP finished the recording of their debut
album.
BSP
will now return to the fray with a new
single in May, followed swiftly by the
album. The single will be a double A-side.
There will be two CDs, with six different
tracks in total. The twin A-sides will be
Apologies To Insect Life and the track
with the working title Carrion. The band
are now deciding on this song's name
proper and welcome suggestions (see Forum
page at www.britishseapower.co.uk). The
B-sides will include Heavenly Waters.
Before
that, BSP will play in Europe with
Interpol, taking in locations from
Heidelburg Schwmmbad to Copenhagen Loppen
(see Concert page at
www.britishseapower.co.uk for full tour
itinerary). Of course, BSP are honoured to
play with Interpol, the F Scott
Fitzgeralds of the modern rock
alternative. Interpol's ongoing success is
one of several reasons for optimism
regarding contemporary sound.
Alongside
Interpol's Turn On The Bright Lights
album, British Sea Power have recently
been enjoying the new releases from Tatu,
Catpower and The Go-Betweens and making
the most of the first official release for
the Jimmy Scott album Falling In Love Is
Wonderful. Of course, BSP have been
particularly enjoying R Cowna C Yma, the
Russian-language version of Tatu's All The
Things She Said. It seems that these young
ladies have recently been damned and
blasted for "pretending to be lesbians".
Maybe there are worse things to do than to
pretend. Maybe there are worse things to
pretend to be. Doubtless, if D Rumsfelt
and R Cheney and the other death's-head
boys at the Whitehouse came across Lena
and Julia, they'd be seen as one more
signifier of a confusing and decadent
Europa. Thank heavens, then, for Interpol,
Americans with no obvious fear of brie and
unfamiliar languages. It's a black night,
but the stars are still shining above.
Yours,
Old Sarge
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