Figure 1. Diagram demonstrating longshore drift

Longshore drift consists of the transportation of sediments (generally sand but may also consist of coarser sediments such as gravels) along a coast at an angle to the shoreline, which is dependent on prevailing wind direction, swash and backwash.^[1] This process occurs in the littoral zone, and in or within close proximity to the surf zone. The process is also known as longshore transport or littoral drift.^[2]

Longshore drift is influenced by numerous aspects of the coastal system, with processes that occur within the surf zone largely influencing the deposition and erosion of sediments. Longshore currents can generate oblique breaking waves which result in longshore transport.^[3]

Longshore drift can generally be defined in terms of the systems within the surf zone as seen in figure 1. This figure shows that sediment transport along the shore and surf zone is influenced by the swash (occurs in the direction of prevailing wind), which moves the pebble up the beach at the angle of wind direction and also backwash, which moves the pebble back down the beach due to the influence of gravity.

Longshore drift affects numerous sediment sizes as it works in slightly different ways depending on the sediment (e.g. the difference in long shore drift of sediments from a sandy beach to that of sediments from a shingle beach). Sand is largely affected by the oscillatory force of breaking waves, the motion of sediment due to the impact of breaking waves and bed shear from long shore current.^[4] Whereas because shingle beaches are much steeper than sandy ones, plunging breakers are more likely to form, causing the majority of long shore transport to occur in the swash zone, due to a lack of surf zone.^[5]

Overview[link]

Longshore drift formulas[link]

There are numerous calculations that take into consideration the factors that produce longshore drift. These formulations are:

1. Bijker formula (1967,1971)
2. The Engelund and Hansen formula (1967)
3. The Ackers and White formula (1973)
4. The Bailard and Inman formula(1981)
5. The Van Rijn formula (1984)
6. The Watanabe formula (1992)^[6]

These formulas all provide a different view into the processes that generate longshore drift. The most common factors taken into consideration in these formulas are:

• Suspended and bed load transport
• Waves e.g. breaking and non-breaking
• The shear exerted by waves or the flow associated with waves.^[7]

Features of shoreline change[link]

Longshore drift plays a large role in the evolution of a shoreline, as if there is a slight change of sediment supply, wind direction, or any other coastal influence longshore drift can change dramatically, impacting on the formation and evolution of a beach system or profile. These changes do not occur due to one factor within the coastal system, in fact there are numerous alterations that can occur within the coastal system that may affect the distribution and impact of longshore drift. Some of these are:

1. Geological changes, e.g. erosion, backshore changes and emergence of headlands.
2. Change in hydrodynamic forces, e.g. change in wave diffraction in headland and offshore bank environments.
3. Change to hydrodynamic influences, e.g. the influence of new tidal inlets and deltas on drift.
4. Alterations of the sediment budget, e.g. switch of shorelines from drift to swash alignment, exhaustion of sediment sources.
5. The intervention of humans, e.g. cliff protection, groynes, detached breakwaters.^[8]

The sediment budget[link]

The sediment budget takes into consideration sediment sources and sinks within a system.^[9] This sediment can come from any source with examples of sources and sinks consisting of:

• Rivers
• Lagoons
• Eroding land sources
• Artificial sources e.g. nourishment
• Artificial sinks e.g. mining/extraction
• Offshore transport
• Deposition of sediment on shore

This sediment then enters the coastal system and is transported by longshore drift. A good example of the sediment budget and longshore drift working together in the coastal system is inlet ebb-tidal shoals, which store sand that has been transported by long shore transport.^[10] As well as storing sand these systems may also transfer or by pass sand into other beach systems, therefore inlet ebb-tidal shoal systems provide a good sources and sinks for the sediment budget.^[11]

Sediment deposition (geology) throughout a shoreline profile conforms to the null point hypothesis; where gravitational and hydraulic forces determine the settling velocity of grains in a seaward fining sediment distribution.

Natural features[link]

This section consists of features of long shore drift that occur on a coast where long shore drift occurs uninterrupted by man-made structures.

Spits[link]

Figure 2. Provincetown Spit, at the northern end of Cape Cod, was formed by longshore drift after the end of the last Ice age.

Spits are formed when longshore drift travels past a point (e.g. river mouth or re-entrant) where the dominant drift direction and shoreline do not veer in the same direction.^[12] As well as dominant drift direction, spits are affected by the strength of wave driven current, wave angle and the height of incoming waves.^[13]

Spits are landforms that have two important features, with the first feature being the region at the up-drift end or proximal end (Hart et al., 2008). The proximal end is constantly attached to land (unless breached) and may form a slight “barrier” between the sea and an estuary or lagoon.^[14] The second important spit feature is the down-drift end or distal end, which is detached from land and in some cases, may take a complex hook-shape or curve, due to the influence of varying wave directions.^[15]

As an example, the New Brighton spit in Canterbury, New Zealand, was created by longshore drift of sediment from the Waimakariri River to the north.^[16] This spit system is currently in equilibrium but undergoes phases of deposition and erosion.

Barriers[link]

Barrier systems are attached to the land at both the proximal and distal end and are generally widest at the down-drift end.^[17] These barrier systems may enclose an estuary or lagoon system, like that of Lake Ellesmere enclosed by the Kaitorete Spit or hapua which form at river-coast interface such as at the mouth of the Rakaia River.

The Kaitorete Spit in Canterbury, New Zealand, is a barrier/spit system (which generally falls under the definition barrier, as both ends of the landform are attached to land, but has been named a spit) that has existed below Banks Peninsula for the last 8000 years.^[18] This system has undergone numerous changes and fluctuations due to avulsion of the Waimakariri River (which now flows to the north or Banks Peninsula), erosion and phases of open marine conditions.^[19] The system underwent further changes c.500 year BP, when longshore drift from the eastern end of the “spit” system created the barrier, which has been retained due to ongoing longshore transport.^[20]

Tidal inlets[link]

The majority of tidal inlets on longshore drift shores accumulate sediment in flood and ebb shoals.^[21] Ebb-deltas may become stunted on highly exposed shores and in smaller spaces, whereas flood deltas are likely to increase in size when space is available in a bay or lagoon system.^[22] Tidal inlets can act as sinks and sources for large amounts of material, which therefore impacts on adjacent parts of the coastline.^[23]

The structuring of tidal inlets is also important for longshore drift as if an inlet is unstructured sediment may by pass the inlet and form bars at the down-drift part of the coast.^[24] Although this may also depend on the inlet size, delta morphology, sediment rate and by passing mechanism.^[25] Channel location variance and amount may also influence the impact of long shore drift on a tidal inlet as well.

For example, the Arcachon lagoon is a tidal inlet system in South west France, which provides large sources and sinks for longshore drift sediments. The impact of longshore drift sediments on this inlet system is highly influenced by the variation in the number of lagoon entrances and the location of these entrances.^[26] Any change in these factors can cause severe down-drift erosion or down-drift accretion of large swash bars.^[27]

Human influences[link]

This section consists of long shore drift features that occur unnaturally and in some cases (e.g. groynes, detached breakwaters) have be constructed to enhance the effects of longshore drift on the coastline, but in other cases have a negative impact on long shore drift (ports and harbours).

Groynes[link]

Figure 3. Timber groyne from Swanage bay, UK

Groynes are shore protection structures, placed at equal intervals along the coastline in order to stop coastal erosion and generally cross the intertidal zone.^[28] Due to this, groyne structures are usually used on shores with low net and high annual longshore drift in order to retain the sediments lost in storm surges and further down the coast.^[29]

There are numerous variations to groyne designs with the three most common designs consisting of:

1. zig-zag groynes, which dissipate the destructive flows that form in wave induced currents or in breaking waves.
2. T-head groynes, which reduce wave height through wave diffraction.
3. ‘Y’ head, a fish tail groyne system.^[30]

Artificial headlands[link]

Artificial headlands are also shore protection structures, which are created in order to provide a certain amount of protection to beaches or bays.^[31] Although the creation of headlands involves accretion of sediments on the up-drift side of the headland and moderate erosion of the down-drift end of the headland, this is undertaken in order to design a stabilised system that allows material to accumulate in beaches further along the shore.^[32]

Artificial headlands can occur due to natural accumulation or also through artificial nourishment.

Figure 4.Picture showing the use of artificial headlands and detached breakwaters in a coastal system

Detached breakwaters[link]

Detached breakwaters are shore protection structures, created to build up sandy material in order to accommodate drawdown in storm conditions.^[33] In order to accommodate drawdown in storm conditions detached breakwaters have no connection to the shoreline, which lets currents and sediment pass between the breakwater and the shore.^[34] This then forms a region of reduced wave energy, which encourages the deposition of sand on the lee side of the structure.^[35]

Detached breakwaters are generally used in the same way as groynes, to build up the volume of material between the coast and the breakwater structure in order to accommodate storm surges.^[36]

Ports and Harbours[link]

The creation of ports and harbours throughout the world can seriously impact on the natural course of longshore drift. Not only do ports and harbours pose a threat to longshore drift in the short term, they also pose a threat to shoreline evolution.^[37] The major influence the creation of a port or harbour can have on longshore drift is the alteration of sedimentation patterns, which in turn may lead to accretion and/or erosion of a beach or coastal system.^[38]

As an example, the creation of a port in Timaru, New Zealand in the late 1800s led to a significant change in the longshore drift along the South Canterbury coastline.^[39] Instead of longshore drift transporting sediment north up the coast towards the Waimataitai lagoon, the creation of the port blocked the drift of these (coarse) sediments and instead caused them to accrete to the south of the port at South beach in Timaru.^[40] The accretion of this sediment to the south, therefore meant a lack of sediment being deposited on the coast near the Waimataitai lagoon (to the north of the port), which led to the loss of the barrier enclosing the lagoon in the 1930s and then shortly after, the loss of the lagoon itself.^[41] As with the Waimataitai lagoon the Washdyke Lagoon, which currently lies to the north of the Timaru port is undergoing erosion and may eventually breach causing loss of another lagoon environment.

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Brunn, P.(ed) (2005). Port and coastal engineering developments in Science and technology. South Carolina: P.Brunn. 
• Hart, D.E; Marsden, I; Francis, M (2008). "Chapter 20: Coastal systems". In Winterbourne, M; Knox, G.A; Marsden, I.D et al.. Natural history of Canterbury (3rd edn). Canterbury University Press 30p. pp. 653–684. 
• Kirk, R.M; Lauder, G.A (2000). "Significant coastal lagoon systems in the South Island, New Zealand". Science for conservation. DOC 46p. pp. 13–24. 
• Michel, D; Howa, H.L (1997). "Morphodynamic behaviour of a tidal inlet system in a mixed-energy environment". Physical chemical earth. 22. pp. 339–343. 
• Peterson, D; Deigaard, R; Fredsoe, J (2008). "Modelling the morphology of sandy spits". Coastal engineering. 55. pp. 671–684. 
• Reeve, D; Chadwick, A; Fleming, C (2004). Coastal engineering-processes, theory and design practice. New York: Spon Press. 
• Soons, J.M; Schulmeister, J; Holt, S (1997). "The Holocene evolution of a well nourished gravelly barrier and lagoon complex, Kaitorete "Spit", Canterbury, New Zealand". Marine Geology. 26. pp. 69–90. 

External links[link]

• Photos, animation and explanation for schools, geography-site.co.uk
• Intranet.lissjunior.hants.sch.uk has a brief animation on longshore drift.
• USGS — Coastal Erosion on Cape Cod, woodshole.er.usgs.gov
• Shore drift, ecy.wa.gov
• Longshore drift in South Carolina, cofc.edu

v t e Coastal geography Landforms Anchialine pool Avulsion Archipelago Atoll Ayre Barrier bar Barrier island Bay Baymouth bar Bight Brackish marsh Cape Channel Cliff Cliffed coast Cliff-top dune Coast Coastal plain Coastal waterfall Continental margin Continental shelf Coral reef Cove Dune Estuary Firth Fjard Fjord Flat coast Freshwater marsh Fundus Gat Geo Graded shoreline Gulf Headland Inlet Intertidal wetland Island Islet Isthmus Lagoon Marine terrace Mouth bar Raised shorelines Machair Mega delta Mudflat Natural arch Peninsula Reef Regressive delta Ria River delta Rocky shore Salt marsh Shore Sound Stack Steep coast Strait Strand plain Submarine canyon Tied island Tidal island Tidal marsh Tide pool Tombolo More... Beaches Beach cusps Beach evolution Beach ridge Beachrock Modern recession of beaches Pocket beach Raised beach Storm beach Shingle beach Processes Blowhole Coastal erosion Concordant coastline Current Cuspate foreland Discordant coastline Emergent coastline Feeder bluff Fetch Headlands and bays Large scale coastal behaviour Longshore drift Marine regression Marine transgression Rip current Sea cave Sea foam Shoal Spit Submergent coastline Surf break Surf zone Surge channel Swash Volcanic arc Wave-cut platform Wave shoaling Wind wave Wrack zone Management Coastal management Accretion Integrated coastal zone management Submersion Related Bulkhead line Coastline length Intertidal zone Littoral zone Particle size boulder shingle pebble sand silt clay Physical oceanography Region of freshwater influence Scree More...

Physical oceanography – Waves and Currents Waves Airy wave theory Ballantine Scale Benjamin–Feir instability Boussinesq approximation Breaking wave Clapotis Cnoidal wave Cross sea Dispersion Infragravity waves Edge wave Equatorial waves Fetch Freak wave Gravity wave Internal wave Kelvin wave Luke's variational principle Mild-slope equation Radiation stress Rogue wave Rossby wave Rossby-gravity waves Sea state Seiche Significant wave height Sneaker wave Soliton Stokes boundary layer Stokes drift Surf wave Swells Tsunami Undertow Ursell number Wave base Wave–current interaction Wave height Wave power Wave setup Wave shoaling Wave radar Wave turbulence Waves and shallow water Shallow water equations Wind wave Wind wave model More... Circulation Atmospheric circulation Baroclinity Boundary current Coriolis effect Downwelling Eddy Ekman layer Ekman spiral Ekman transport El Niño-Southern Oscillation Geostrophic current Gulf Stream Halothermal circulation Humboldt Current Hydrothermal circulation Global circulation model Langmuir circulation Longshore drift Loop Current Maelstrom Ocean current Ocean dynamics Ocean gyre Rip current Thermohaline circulation Shutdown of thermohaline circulation Subsurface currents Sverdrup balance Whirlpool Upwelling GLODAP MOM POM WOCE More... Tides Amphidromic point Earth tide Head of tide Internal tide Lunitidal interval Perigean spring tide Rule of twelfths Slack water Spring/neap tide Tidal bore Tidal force Tidal power Tidal race Tidal range Tidal resonance Tide Tide gauge Tideline More...   Physical oceanography – Other Landforms Abyssal fan Abyssal plain Atoll Bathymetric chart Cold seep Continental margin Continental rise Continental shelf Contourite Hydrography Guyot Oceanic basin Oceanic plateau Oceanic trench Passive margin Seabed Seamount Submarine canyon Coastal geography More... Plate tectonics Black smoker Convergent boundary Divergent boundary Fracture zone Hydrothermal vent Marine geology Mid-ocean ridge Mohorovičić discontinuity Vine–Matthews–Morley hypothesis Oceanic crust Outer trench swell Ridge push Seafloor spreading Slab pull Slab suction Slab window Subduction Transform fault Volcanic arc More... Ocean zones Benthic Deep ocean water Deep sea Littoral Mesopelagic Oceanic zone Pelagic Photic Surf zone Sea level Current sea level rise Future sea level Sea-level curve DART GLOSS NOOS OSTM WGS Acoustics Ocean acoustic tomography Sofar bomb SOFAR channel Underwater acoustics Hydroacoustics Other Alvin Argo Benthic lander Color of water Marginal sea Mooring Ocean Ocean energy Ocean exploration Ocean observations Ocean pollution Ocean reanalysis Ocean surface topography Ocean thermal energy conversion Oceanography Pelagic sediments Sea surface microlayer Sea surface temperature Seawater Science On a Sphere Thermocline Underwater glider Water column World Ocean Atlas NODC More...

Ian Brown
Background information
Birth name	Ian George Brown
Born	(1963-02-20) 20 February 1963 (age 49) Warrington, England[1]
Origin	Manchester England[2][3][4][5]
Genres	Alternative rock, indie rock
Occupations	Musician, songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, keyboards, Tambourine
Years active	1984–1996, 1998–present
Labels	Polydor/Fiction Records (UK) Interscope, E1 Music (US)
Associated acts	The Stone Roses
Website	www.ianbrown.co.uk

Ian George Brown (born 20 February 1963 in Warrington) is an English musician, best known as the lead singer of the alternative rock band The Stone Roses, which broke up in 1996 but are confirmed to reunite in 2012. Since the break-up of the Stone Roses he has led a successful solo career. His latest studio album My Way was released on 28 September 2009.

Biography[link]

Early life[link]

Brown was born in Warrington, England in 1963.^[6] His father, George, was a joiner and his mother Jean worked as a receptionist in a paper factory.^[6] When he was 5, Brown's family, including a brother and sister, moved to Timperley, Altrincham.^[7] He was educated at Park Road County Primary Infant and Junior School and then Altrincham Grammar School for Boys.^[7] His interest in music was inspired by the punk movement, specifically the bands Sex Pistols, The Clash and Manchester band Slaughter & The Dogs.^[8] Brown and original Stone Roses bassist Pete Garner attended the recording of the Clash single "Bankrobber" in Manchester.^[9]

Stone Roses[link]

Brown's music career began in 1980, playing bass guitar in band with John Squire and Simon Wolstencroft.^[10] They eventually became The Patrol, with Andy Couzens on vocals. The band soon split up, with Brown selling his bass to buy a scooter.^[11] Brown moved to Hulme, and attended northern soul "all-nighters" across the north of England in the early 1980s as the scene faded. Around this time, Brown met soul legend Geno Washington, who told him, "You should be a star".^[12] In 1983 Brown joined The Waterfront, the band that would evolve into The Stone Roses, as co-vocalist.^[13]

The Stone Roses rose to prominence in the late 1980s and early 1990s, with their debut album voted the best British album of all time in 2004.^[14] The band's second album, Second Coming, received a mixed reaction, and after several changes of line-up, the band split up in October 1996.

On 17 October 2011, Brown alluded to a Stone Roses reunion via text message, saying: "We are going to rule the world again. It's happening."^[15] On the following day, a reunion was announced for the band with performances planned for June 2012 in Manchester.^[16][17] In a press conference interview, the members of the Stone Roses have said that a new album is planned.^[18]

On 2 December 2011 Ian Brown and John Squire performed together live for the first time since 1995. They joined Mick Jones from The Clash, The Farm and Pete Wylie at the Manchester Ritz in in aid of the Justice for Hillsborough campaign. They performed "Elizabeth My Dear" as a duo before being joined by Mick Jones and The Farm for renditions of the Clash’s "Bankrobber" and "Armagideon Time" with Ian Brown taking on lead vocals for the three songs.

Solo career[link]

After a break from music in Morocco, Brown established his solo career with the debut solo single "My Star", which was released in the UK on 12 January 1998.^[19] The debut album Unfinished Monkey Business followed on 2 February 1998. The album was produced and financed by Brown, and featured ex-Roses members Mani, Nigel Ipinson, Aziz Ibrahim and Robbie Maddix.^[20] The album sold over 300,000 copies.^[21]

Brown toured in Summer 1998 with a band that included Ibrahim, Inder Mathura (percussion), Simon Moore (drums), and Sylvan Richardson (bass), including performances at the Glastonbury Festival and the V Festival.^[22] Brown was arrested after a flight back from his live show in Paris, and later sentenced to four months in prison for using threatening behaviour towards an airline stewardess and captain, a charge which he denied, causing his tour to be rescheduled.^[23][24] His bandmate Aziz Ibrahim condemned the sentence, saying that Brown was "just being cheeky".^[25] While in Strangeways Prison, Brown wrote the lyrics for "Free My Way", "So Many Soldiers", and "Set My Baby Free".^[26] He was released on parole after two months.

His second album, Golden Greats, was released by Polydor Records 1999. It featured more electronic instrumentation and earned high critical acclaim. For his third studio album, Music of the Spheres, Brown sought outside production help for the first time, hiring the services of songwriter and producer Dave McCracken who would go on to become a regular collaborator. He toured the US for the first time as a solo artist in support of the album.^[27]

Brown's fourth solo album, Solarized, was released in the UK on 13 September 2004, and was the first to be released under the revived Polydor imprint Fiction Records. When his new Fiction A&R Jim Chancellor was asked in HitQuarters what contribution he makes to Brown's records he said, "There's not as much to do. Ian is very much the master of his own records."^[28]

Since the break-up of the Stone Roses in 1996, Brown has released six solo albums and fourteen UK Top 40 singles.^[29] He has sold out seven UK tours, and appeared three times at the Glastonbury Festival, including headlining The Other Stage in 2005.^[30] He has appeared five times at V Festival since 1998 along with regular appearances at T in the Park and Oxegen festivals, and played the Move festival in 2002 at Lancashire Cricket Ground.^[31] and two tour of AUSTRALIA IN 2006 AND 2008

Ian Brown at the Witnness festival in Ireland in 2002. Note: he is wearing a bucket-hat with Irish rock band Aslan's logo.

Brown had a cameo role in the 2004 film Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban'.^[32]

For the 2005/6 season, Brown was the shirt sponsor of London Commercial Division football team Chiswick Homefields, the players wearing an 'IB – The Greatest' logo on their chests.^[33]. Brown is a life-long supporter of Manchester United and is a season ticket holder ^[34].

At the 2006 NME awards, Brown was presented with the "Godlike Genius" award and in 2007 was given the Q "Legend" Award.^[35][36]

In September 2007, Brown released his fifth studio album, The World is Yours. The album represented a more political approach in his music, particularly the anti-war track "Illegal Attacks", which featured Sinéad O'Connor. The album also featured former Smith bassist Andy Rourke and Paul Ryder of Happy Mondays.^[37]and Steve Jones and Paul Cook of the Sex Pistols

My Way, his sixth solo album, was released in September 2009.^[38] It was recorded at London's Battery Studios with producer Dave McCracken; the first single, "Stellify", was released 21 September 2009. Brown played Manchester Arena for the 3rd time in Dec 2009 and in 2010 made his 3rd appearance in Moscow and 2nd in Beijing China Since turning solo in 1998 Brown has played shows in 45 countries

Brown has collaborated several times with UNKLE, appearing on "Be There" in 1999 and on "Reign" on the 2003 album Never, Never, Land, which was also released as a single.^[39]

Awards and achievements[link]

Brown has won numerous awards in his career, in recognition of his work as a solo artist and his work with The Stone Roses. The awards he has won are as follows:

The Stone Roses

• 1997 The Stone Roses reached No. 5 in The Guardian's 100 Best Albums Ever poll
• 1998 The Stone Roses reached No. 4 in Q magazine's 100 Best Albums Ever poll
• 2004 The Stone Roses reached No. 1 in The Observer's 100 Best British Albums Ever poll
• 2006 The Stone Roses reached No. 1 in the NME writers 100 Best British Albums Ever poll
• 2006 The Stone Roses reached No. 7 in NME fans 100 Best Albums Ever poll

Solo

• 2002 Muso Awards Best Single ("Whispers")
• 2002 NME Awards Best Solo Artist^[40]
• 2006 NME Awards Godlike Genius Award^[35]
• 2007 Q Awards Legend Award^[36]
• 1999, 2000,^[41] 2002,^[42] 2006,^[43] 2009^[44] – nominated for Best British Solo Artist at the Brit Awards

Discography[link]

In the UK Ian Brown as a Solo Artist and with The Stone Roses has sold over a Certified 1.7 Million Albums

Albums[link]

Singles[link]

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Larkin, Colin (ed.) (1998) The Virgin Encyclopedia of Indie & New Wave, Virgin Books, ISBN 0-7535-0231-3
• Robb, John (2001) The Stone Roses and the Resurrection of British Pop, Random House, ISBN 0-09-187887-X

External links[link]

• Official website
• Don't Stop / Stone Roses
• The Definitive Ian Brown Discography

Sweet Billy Pilgrim
L-R Alistair Hamer, Anthony Bishop, Tim Elsenburg, Jana Carpenter.
Background information
Origin	Aylesbury, England
Genres	Art Rock / Prog Rock
Years active	2003-present
Labels	Luxor Purchase, Samadhi Sound, Wonderland Avenue.
Website	www.sweetbillypilgrim.com
Members
Anthony Bishop Jana Carpenter Tim Elsenburg Alistair Hamer

Sweet Billy Pilgrim are an English experimental rock/art rock band, composed of bassist/banjo player Anthony Bishop, guitarist and singer Jana Carpenter, singer, guitarist and songwriter Tim Elsenburg, and drummer/percussionist Alistair Hamer.

Biography[link]

The original three members met whilst at school, Elsenburg and Bishop are from Wingrave and Hamer from Wendover, both near Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire. American born Carpenter joined the band in 2010.

Sweet Billy Pilgrim formed in 2003 after their previous band, Cordisto, came to an end.^[1] The band are named after the main character in Kurt Vonnegut's book Slaughterhouse 5.^[2]

After repeated rejections from both major and independent record labels, Elsenburg bought a Power Book, they installed Logic, and the band began to record themselves. Due to financial restraints, the early Sweet Billy Pilgrim recordings up until 2012s "Crown and Treaty" were (apart from the acoustic drums) produced in a garden shed using a laptop and one quite good microphone. The band feel this has had a positive influence on their sound.^[3]

Their first release "Experience", was distributed amongst fans and was followed up by the Stars Spill Out of Cups EP. Released on their own label (Luxor Purchase) and featuring hand-stamped artwork, it contains three songs "Stars Spill Out of Cups", "God In The Details", and "Atlantis". The band also gave away a recording called "Forget to Breathe" as an .mp3.

As of 2012^[update], they have gone on to release three albums.

We Just Did What Happened and No One Came was released in 2005 and awarded four stars by Mojo magazine, and The Sunday Times called it, "a rather special debut",^[4] making the track "Stars Spill Out of Cups" one of their songs of the year.^[5]

Twice Born Men was released in 2009 and was awarded 5 stars and made CD of the Week by The Sunday Times,^[6] later that year it made The Sunday Times' top 100 albums of 2009 list.^[7] The album was also awarded 4 stars by Mojo^[8] and Uncut,^[9] and was made a Mercury Prize^[10] album of the year for 2009.

Crown and Treaty was released on 30th April 2012. Critical response was very positive, with all major UK national papers awarding the record 4 or 5 stars out of 5. It was awarded 5 Stars and Instant Classic by Mojo and 4 stars by Q Magazine. The majority of the recording for this album took place at Elsenburg's cottage, with the exception of the acoustic drums which were recorded at Earth Terminal studios. Crown and Treaty was self released on their own label (Luxor Purchase) much like the early recordings, but distributed through EMI label services.

Besides their work as Sweet Billy Pilgrim, Bishop, Hamer, and Elsenburg have worked together as session musicians having toured as members of Martin Grech's band during the Open Heart Zoo era, and playing on the Toyah Willcox album Velvet Lined Shell.

Carpenter writes for, sings, and performs with folk band Piefinger.

Bishop currently plays electric bass in The Boy Least Likely To's touring band, and his playing is featured on both of the band's albums.^[11]

Hamer toured with The Boy Least Likely To until 2008, and his drumming is featured on the James Dean Bradfield album The Great Western.^[12]

Elsenburg has recorded and performed with Steve Jansen, recorded with Adem Ilhan,^[13] remixed for David Sylvian and Steve Adey, and written with Toyah Willcox.

Due to the complexity and layering of sounds used on the recordings, recreating the songs live requires the members to play many different instruments on stage. Bishop plays electric bass, banjo, and vocals. Carpenter plays acoustic guitar, cymbals samples keyboards and vocals. Elsenburg plays guitar, keyboards, harmonica, and vocals. Hamer plays drums (usually a Yamaha Rock Tour Custom), samples, and vocals. They are typically joined live by musician Dan Garland playing piano, keyboards, samples, vocals, and square waves, Barney Muller on electric guitar and backing vocals; and sometimes by Adam Chetwood (I Am Arrows) playing acoustic guitar, electric guitar and banjo.

On 9 July 2010 Sweet Billy Pilgrim appeared as themselves in series four, episode three ("Something Happened") of The IT Crowd.

On 13 July 2010 their song "Future Perfect Tense" was made available as a download for the game Rock Band 2

In August 2010 they recruited Jana Carpenter and started recording their 3rd studio album.

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• We Just Did What Happened and No One Came - Wonderland Avenue (2005)
• Twice Born Men - Samadhi Sound (2009)
• Crown and Treaty - Luxor Purchase (2012)

EPs[link]

• Stars Spill Out Of Cups EP - Luxor Purchase (2004)
• Brugada EP - Spoilt Victorian Child (2005)^[14]

Singles[link]

• "Experience" - Luxor Purchase (2004)^[14]
• "Forget to Breathe" - Luxor Purchase (2005) (Free .mp3 download)
• "Future Perfect Tense b/w Kalypso (featuring Jen from the IT Crowd)" - Samadhi Sound (2010)

References[link]