Why British Sea Power has dropped ‘British’ in their name & people are outraged ‘Pathetic’ | Music | Entertainment
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After two decades of being known as British Sea Power, the indie band will simply be called Sea Power, choosing to drop the word “British” from their name. The band say they don’t want to run any risk of being confused with “isolationist, antagonistic nationalism”.
Sea Power had been known as British Sea Power since its formation by brothers Scott and Neil Wilkinson in 2000.
The band announced their name change “after much reflection and soul-searching” on their website on Monday.
They simply wrote: “Goodbye British Sea Power. Hello Sea Power.”
On their website, they said their original name had “come to feel constricting, like an ancient legacy we were carrying with us”.
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They said: “When we came up with the original band name, Britain no longer ruled the seas. The band name was intended with a kind of wry humour.
“The idea of British sea power in the historical sense was an obsolete thing. It was now just the name of a rock band…”
They added: “Now, 20 years later, we’re recasting the name. 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.”
The band said they wanted to distance themselves from a “wave of crass nationalism” as they hope to be an “internationalist band”.
They cite one of their songs, “Waving Flags”, as “an anthem to pan-European idealism”.
Although their decision to change their name seems to distance themselves from Britain they were keen to stress: “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.”
However, some fans aren’t best pleased with the name change, with one simply writing: “Pathetic!”
One posted on Twuiter: “I really don’t get this. How can the name British Sea Power be in any way offensive or isolationist? Music and politics should be kept well apart and this is just creating an issue that didn’t exist. I don’t associate the bands Japan or Portishead with their geographical namesake”
Another said: “Maybe @SeaPowerBand could be renamed Globalist Sea Power? Seriously though, British Sea Power ended the Transatlantic Slave Trade, now why would a band want to distance itself from that?”
A fourth questioned: “Which begs the question.. Why call yourself British Sea Power in the first place?”
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Not everyone agreed, however,. One Twitter user said: “Of course British Sea Power is jingoist. Don’t be an idiot.”
The brothers who founded the band were brought up in Cumbria. The band say: “Several of 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.”
Sea Power says they “very much hope” no one will be offended by the change.
The band has completely rebranded changing their Twitter and website names.
The band relaunched a new Twitter account @SeaPowerBand, closing down their old one @BSPOfficial.
Their website has also been relaunched, it is now called seapowerband.com.
Their rebranding come comes with the release of a new song called “Two Fingers.”
Sea Power said: “Twenty years on from their inception, Sea Power now sail forth, free of any national flag of convenience.
“The new band name is a modest gesture of separation from the wave of crass nationalism that has traversed our world recently.”
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