Editing Sea Power (section)

===Early years and ''The Decline of British Sea Power'' (1995-2003)===
British Sea Power's Yan and (Neil) Hamilton are brothers<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/mar/13/elbow-doves-birdwatching-pop-music |title=Twitchin' the night away |date=13 March 2009 |author=Roy Wilkinson |quote=My younger brothers Yan and Hamilton are BSP's co-frontmen. |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=17 November 2009 | location=London}}</ref> and were school friends with Wood near [[Natland]]<ref>[https://www.itv.com/news/border/update/2015-08-03/cumbrian-band-british-sea-power-talk-about-10-years-of-kendal-calling/ Cumbrian band British Sea Power talk about 10 years of Kendal Calling] Retrieved 13/4/21</ref> in [[Kendal]], [[Cumbria]]. 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]].

In 1995, Yan and Noble were looking to start a band together; they recruited fellow student Alison Cotton via advertisements on the university's notice board, and the trio began performing together, initially under the name British Air Powers. (Neil) Hamilton and Wood moved to Reading and joined the group shortly thereafter. Cotton was "headhunted" by Adam Cresswell and Mike Smoughton of local band [[Saloon (band)|Saloon]] in the late 90s, and left British Air Powers before they began their recording career.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Fischer |first=Bob |date=July 2022 |title=Alison Cotton and ''The Portrait You Painted of Me'' |work=Electronic Sound |url=https://hauntedgeneration.co.uk/2022/09/15/alison-cotton-and-the-portrait-you-painted-of-me/ |access-date=5 October 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Allan |first=Jennifer Lucy |date=9 March 2021 |title=Visions of the Country: Alison Cotton Interviewed |work=The Quietus |url=https://thequietus.com/articles/29683-alison-cotton-interview |access-date=5 October 2022}}</ref>

The group played gigs and produced a four-track demo in Reading as British Air Powers, 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.

Their first single, "Fear of Drowning", was issued in limited numbers on 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 World War II. [[Geoff Travis]] of [[Rough Trade Records]], impressed by seeing the band live, signed them to his label in September 2001. Originally a four-piece, Eamon Hamilton was recruited to play keyboards and bass drum in autumn 2002.

''[[The Decline of British Sea Power]]'', the band's first album, was released in June 2003 to critical acclaim. A single from the album, "[[Carrion/Apologies to Insect Life|Carrion]]", became the band's first Top 40 single. The album charted in the lower reaches of the UK Album Chart.