Public Service Broadcasting (band)

Public Service Broadcasting are a London-based pseudonymous musical group consisting of J. Willgoose, Esq. on guitar, banjo, other stringed instruments, samplings and electronic musical instruments, Wrigglesworth on drums, piano and electronic musical instruments, and J F Abraham on flugelhorn, bass guitar, drums and assorted other instruments including a vibraslap.^[3] The band have toured internationally and in 2015 they were announced as nominees in the Vanguard breakthrough category of the fourth annual Progressive Music Awards, staged by Prog magazine,^[4] which they won.^[5]

History

At first, the band consisted solely of Willgoose. He made his public debut at The Selkirk pub in Tooting, London, England in August 2009. Shortly afterwards he issued EP One. Teaming up with Wrigglesworth on drums the band played its first festival in September 2010, Aestival in Suffolk, and work began on a second EP, The War Room, which was released in May 2012. Since then, the band has released three albums, Inform-Educate-Entertain (2013); The Race for Space (2015); and Every Valley (2017). The Race for Space was supported by two shows at the National Space Centre in Leicester celebrating the album's launch. The album charted just outside the top 10 in 11th place in the UK in its release week and reaching Number 1 in the UK Independent Charts for that week. A follow up EP was released at the tail end of 2015 (Sputnik/Korolev) which was backed up by a UK tour, climaxing in the band's biggest headline show, a sold-out night at the O2 Brixton Academy, of which a live album was released in 2016. While writing The War Room the band formed a close relationship with the British Film Institute, using their material during live shows.^[6]

On 10 March 2017, PSB unveiled a new single titled Progress featuring vocals from Tracyanne Campbell from Camera Obscura with photo shoots showing the band as a three-piece with new member JF Abraham featured on promotional photos. On March 20, 2017 it was revealed that the band are to release their 3rd studio album entitled Every Valley about the coal mining industry's rise and fall in the Welsh Valleys between the 1950s and 1980s. Every Valley was released on 7 July 2017, and, as with The Race for Space the band have two album launch concerts lined up, this time in Ebbw Vale where the LP was recorded.

Music style and live performances

The band plays instrumental music, with Willgoose noting that "singing is never going to work. I'm not going to be happy with it, I'm not going to be comfortable playing it to other people."^[6] (However, Willgoose does sing on one track of the Every Valley album, because the intended vocalist was not available.) They take samples from old public information films, archive footage and propaganda material, attempting (with tongue firmly in cheek) to 'teach the lessons of the past through the music of the future'.^[7]

For live shows the band are augmented by visuals expert Mr. B.

Discography

Albums

• Inform-Educate-Entertain (2013) UK no. 21
• The Race for Space (2015) UK no. 11
• The Race for Space / Remixes (17 June 2016)^[8] UK no. 59
• Live at Brixton (2016)^[9]
• Every Valley (2017) UK no. 4^[10]

EPs

• EP One — 7 August 2010.^[11]
• The War Room — 28 May 2012 ^{[12][13][14][15]}
• Signal 30 — 15 April 2013

Singles

• "ROYGBIV" — 5 March 2012 ^[16] which won the BBC Radio 6 Music Rebel Playlist.^[17]
• "Spitfire" — 26 March 2012 ^{[18][19][20][21]} which won the BBC Radio 6 Music Rebel Playlist.^[22] The song sampled dialogue and sound from the 1942 film "The First of the Few", and the video incorporated footage from the same film.
• "London Can Take It" — 13 August 2012 ^[23][24]
• "Everest" — 12 November 2012 only for digital downloading. The song is based around The Conquest of Everest, a 1953 film charting Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay's first successful ascent of the mountain.^[25]
• "Signal 30" ^[26]
• "Night Mail"^[27]
• "Elfstedentocht" (Record Store Day single; 11 November 2013)^[28][29]
• "Gagarin" - 1 December 2014 (first single of the album "The Race For Space")
• "Go!" - 23 February 2015
• "Sputnik/Korolev" - 20 November 2015 #4 UK Physical ^[30]
• "Progress" - 10 March 2017 (first single of the band's third album) ^[31]
• "They Gave Me a Lamp"
• "People Will Always Need Coal"

References

Notes

Citations

External links

• Official website
• Public Service Broadcasting on BBC Music
• Public Service Broadcasting on MusicBrainz