Will Sergeant
Will Sergeant | |
|---|---|
 Performing in 2007 at the Summer Sundae festival | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Will Sergeant |
| Born | 12 April 1958, Melling, England |
| Genres | Post-punk, alternative rock, ambient, psychedelic, experimental, post-rock |
| Instrument | Guitar |
| Years active | 1978–present |
| Labels | Korova, Ochre, 92 Happy Customers, Spiffing, Cooking Vinyl |
William Alfred "Will" Sergeant (born 12 April 1958, Melling is an English guitarist, best known for being a member of Echo & the Bunnymen. Born in the centre of Liverpool, he grew up in the village of Melling and attended nearby Deyes High School.[3] He is the group's only constant member.
Career
As a solo artist, Sergeant focused on minimalism and atmospherics, and usually released entirely instrumental music. Sergeant's first solo work was in 1978, when he self-produced Weird As Fish[4] and made a total of seven copies. The album was officially released 25 years later. Early in the life of Echo & the Bunnymen, Sergeant recorded La Vie Luonge, a soundtrack piece for a short Bunnymen concert film of the same name. His first formal solo album, Themes for Grind, was released in 1982, while still active with Echo & the Bunnymen, and reached number 6 on the Indie album chart.[5][6]
Sergeant continued with the Bunnymen even after Ian McCulloch left in 1988, bringing in Noel Burke to sing on Reverberation in 1990, before breaking up the band. In 1994, Sergeant and McCulloch reunited to form Electrafixion. The band toured extensively and released one album, Burned, in 1995. After a few singles and more touring, the band began to play a large number of old Echo & the Bunnymen songs at their shows. In 1997, the Bunnymen reformed.
Sergeant also returned to solo work in 1997, under the moniker Glide, producing experimental, ambient and psychedelic instrumental music based around keyboard and electronic sounds.[7] That year, he released the live Space Age Freak Out, followed by another live album, Performance, in 2000. Glide began to tour, and would often open for Echo & the Bunnymen in the early 2000s. Glide released Curvature of the Earth in 2004.
Sergeant has guested on Primal Scream's "When the Bombs Drop" (2006) and Baltic Fleet's self-titled debut album (2008).
Playing style
Throughout his time with the Bunnymen in the 80s, Sergeant used a black Fender Telecaster with lots of reverb and delay. This gave the Bunnymen sound a clear, cutting tone. On several occasions during the 80s Sergeant would use a Fender Jaguar guitar. When the Bunnymen reformed in 1998 he started using his Jaguar as his main instrument with a lot of tremolo.
Discography
With Echo & the Bunnymen
See Echo & the Bunnymen discography
With Electrafixion
As Glide
- Space Age Freak Out (1997)
- Performance (2000)
- Curvature of the Earth (2004, Cooking Vinyl)
Solo
Albums
- Weird as Fish (1978)
- Themes for Grind (1983), 92 Happy Customers – UK Indie #6[5]
- Weird As Fish/Le Via Luonge (2003), Ochre
Singles
- "Favourite Branches" (1982), WEA
- "Cosmos" (1995), Ochre
- "You have just been poisoned by the serpents" (1998), Ochre
- Themes from Grind: Remixes (2000), Ochre
References
- ^ "Ian McCulloch of Electrafixion" by Dave Robbins Ian McCulloch interview (1996)
- ^ "Will Sergeant". GuitarPlayer. 1 March 2010. Retrieved 19 March 2013.
- ^ Frame, Pete (2000). Pete Frame's Rocking Around Britain. Music Sales Group. p. 176. ISBN 0-7119-6973-6.
- ^ Will Sergeant – Weird As Fish – Review – Uncut.co.uk
- ^ a b Lazell, Barry (1997). Indie Hits 1980–1999. Cherry Red Books. ISBN 0-9517206-9-4. Cite error: The named reference "Lazell" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ Adams, Chris (2002). Turquoise Days: The Weird World of Echo & the Bunnymen. Soft Skull Press. p. 322. ISBN 1-887128-89-1.
- ^ Warshaw, Aaron "Glide Biography", Allmusic, retrieved 9 October 2010
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