British Sea Power See Bright Side of Chinese Clampdown

Posted on Oct 6th 2009 8:42AM by Stephen Dowling
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What was to have been British Sea Power's first gig in Communist China was dealt a blow last week when the powers-that-be decided to ban BSP -- and 13 other international acts -- appearing at a Beijing festival.

The Modern Sky festival was supposed to have included sets by the Brighton-based band, as well as the Buzzcocks, Radio 4, Japan's Shonen Knife and Australian group Regurgitator. But in a last-minute reversal, Chinese authorities denied permission for all the interntaionla bands to play.

British Sea Power, however, will still be jetting off for Asian dates.

The band -- twice nominated for the Mercury Music Prize -- play Taipei's Wall Live House in Taiwan on Friday and Hong Kong's Grappa's Cellar the following day.

And as singer and guitarist Scott Wilkinson (aka Yan) tells Spinner, the band will try and look on the bright side of being victims of a good-old-fashioned government clampdown.
"I suppose they've got their own way of doing things! Still, we are going to Taiwan and Hong Kong. We're still going to China, but just for fun. Just as tourists." Martin Noble, the band's resident birdspotter, has already made plans to visit a nature reserve to see species that never visit Britain.

British Sea Power have already won a reputation for playing out of the ordinary places -- they've done shows in Moscow, Istanbul, the UK's highest pub (in Yorkshire) and the Czech Embassy in London – and recently played London's Regent park Open Air Theatre, a venue more used to host Summer Shakespeare than the likes of BSP.

"We were joined by the London Bulgarian Choir for a half a dozen songs and did some old songs with them in a different way. I don't think they've really put bands on there before. The security got a bit confused.

"There were people trying to climb up the lights and stuff. And it wasn't really built with everything secured down."

And the aband had stage invaders? "Yeah, we had a few. They had a weird way of getting them off. Three of them would kind of hug them off the stage. It was the gentlest stage removal I've ever seen," Wilkinson says.

The Asian dates will see Wilkinson back to full fitness after the Regent's park show -- one which saw him, he ruefully admits, try and ape the on-stage antics of one certain Angus Young...

"At the London show I was testing out my first wireless guitar pack and was climbing up these pylons, and then I did an AC/DC impression and busted me ankle. I've only just stopped limping... it was a bit feeble. I try and step in his shoes and look what happens to me."