Will Sergeant

English guitarist (born 1958)

Will Sergeant

Sergeant in 2014

Background information
Birth name| William Alfred Sergeant
Born|  (1958-04-12) 12 April 1958 (age 67),
Liverpool, England
Genres| Post-punk, alternative rock, ambient, psychedelic, experimental, post-rock
Instrument| Guitar
Years active| 1978–present
Labels| Zoo, Korova, Sire Records, WEA, 92 Happy Customers, Ochre Records, Earworm Records, London Records, Cooking Vinyl, Spiffing, Proper Records, Weatherbox, 429 Records, Epic Records
Formerly of|

* Echo & the Bunnymen
* Electrafixion
* Glide
* Poltergeist

Website| willsergeant.com

Musical artist

William Alfred Sergeant (born 12 April 1958) is an English guitarist, best known for being a member of Echo & the Bunnymen. He is the group's only constant member.

## Career

[edit]

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[1] and made a total of seven copies. The album was officially released 25 years later.[2] 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.[3][4]

Performing in 2007 at the Summer Sundae festival.

Sergeant continued with the Bunnymen after Ian McCulloch left in 1988, bringing in Noel Burke to sing on Reverberation in 1990,[5] before breaking up the band in 1993. 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 1996, 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.[6] 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).[7]

In 2013, Will Sergeant and Les Pattinson, ex-bass player with Echo & the Bunnymen, formed "Poltergeist" with former Black Velvets drummer Nick Kilroe. They have been playing live and released an album called Your Mind Is A Box (Let Us Fill It With Wonder) in June 2013.[8] Sergeant told journalist Jon Cronshaw that: "We don't want to have to stick to the verse-chorus-verse format, because that's what we have to do in the Bunnymen. We're trying to do something that's a bit different, and a bit more open-ended. We can do anything with this project because we're not governed by any preconceptions about what people expect. If we wanted, we could do a 40-minute ambient nose flute solo if we really wanted, you know? I just like that aspect that we can take it anywhere."[9]

In 2021, he published Bunnyman, the first part of his autobiography covering his childhood and the formation of Echo and the Bunnymen up until just before they replaced the drum machine with Pete de Freitas. The second part, Echoes was published in 2023. [10]

## Equipment

[edit]

Sergeant with an Eastwood Saturn '63 in 1992

During most of his time with the Bunnymen in the 1980s, Sergeant used a black Fender Telecaster with much reverb and delay. This gave the Bunnymen sound a clear, cutting tone. On several occasions during the 1980s Sergeant would use a Fender Jaguar guitar.[11] He used a Fender Stratocaster to a great extent on the 1987 Echo & the Bunnymen album.[12] In the music video for "Lips Like Sugar," he can be seen playing a vintage Hagström Deluxe 90, (possibly a prop since the performance is lip-synched to the studio track).[13] When the Bunnymen reformed in 1997 he started using his Jaguar as his main instrument with a lot of tremolo. He also uses a Vox 12 string guitar.[14]

## Discography

[edit]

### With Echo & the Bunnymen

[edit]

See: Echo & the Bunnymen discography

### With Electrafixion

[edit]

See: Electrafixion#Discography

### As Glide

[edit]

* Space Age Freak Out (1997)
* Performance (2000)
* Curvature of the Earth (2004, Cooking Vinyl)
* Assemblage 1 & 2 (2014, 92 Happy Customers)
* Assemblage Three & Four (2023, AV8 Records Ltd)

### With Poltergeist

[edit]

* Your Mind is a Box (Let Us Fill It With Wonder) (2013)

### Solo

[edit]

#### Albums

[edit]

* Weird as Fish (1978)
* Themes for Grind (1982), 92 Happy Customers – UK Indie No. 6[3]
* Weird As Fish/Le Via Luonge (2003), Ochre
* Things Inside (2012), 92 Happy Customers

#### Singles

[edit]

* "Favourite Branches" (1982), Warner Music Group
* "Cosmos" (1995), Ochre
* "You Have Just Been Poisoned by the Serpents" (1998), Ochre
* Themes from Grind: Remixes (2000), Ochre

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Music Reviews". Uncut.co.uk. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
2. ^ Ned Raggett. "Weird as Fish/La Vie Luonge - Will Sergeant | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
3. ^ a b Lazell, Barry (1997). Indie Hits 1980–1999. Cherry Red Books. p. 200\. ISBN 0-9517206-9-4.
4. ^ Adams, Chris (2002). Turquoise Days: The Weird World of Echo & the Bunnymen. Soft Skull Press. p. 322. ISBN 1-887128-89-1.
5. ^ Michael Sutton (12 April 1958). "Will Sergeant | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
6. ^ Warshaw, Aaron "Glide Biography", Allmusic, retrieved 9 October 2010
7. ^ "Baltic Fleet - Interview". Pennyblackmusic.co.uk. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
8. ^ "Poltergeist – 'Your Mind Is A Box (Let Us Fill It With Wonder)'". NME. 21 June 2013. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
9. ^ "Music: Interview with Echo and the Bunnymen guitarist Will Sergeant about his new project, Poltergeist". Jon Cronshaw. 19 October 2013. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
10. ^ "Echoes by Will Sergeant". Hachette. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
11. ^ "The Jaguar | Fender News & Tech Talk | Fender Guitar". www.fender.com. Archived from the original on 8 January 2013. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
12. ^ "Now that Warners has remastered the first five albums, who better than guitarist will Sergeant to walk us through the back catalogue? Jenny Knight pricks up her ears". Homepage.ntlworld.com. Archived from the original on 12 June 2013. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
13. ^ "Echo and the Bunnymen - Lips Like Sugar (Official Music Video)". YouTube. 24 June 2014. Archived from the original on 13 December 2021. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
14. ^ "Will Sergeant Soundcheck". Guitarplayer. 23 October 2009. Retrieved 13 August 2014.

* v
* t
* e

Echo & the Bunnymen

* Ian McCulloch
* Will Sergeant

* Les Pattinson
* Pete de Freitas
* Jake Brockman
* Noel Burke
* Damon Reece

Studio albums|

* Crocodiles
* Heaven Up Here
* Porcupine
* Ocean Rain
* Echo & the Bunnymen
* Reverberation
* Evergreen
* What Are You Going to Do with Your Life?
* Flowers
* Siberia
* The Fountain
* Meteorites
* The Stars, the Oceans & the Moon

Live albums|

* BBC Radio 1 Live in Concert
* Live in Liverpool
* Me, I'm All Smiles

Compilations|

* Songs to Learn & Sing
* The Cutter
* Ballyhoo
* Crystal Days: 1979–1999
* Seven Seas
* More Songs to Learn and Sing
* Killing Moon: The Best of Echo & the Bunnymen
* B-sides & Live (2001–2005)
* The Works

Extended plays|

* Shine So Hard
* The Sound of Echo
* The Peel Sessions
* New Live and Rare
* World Tour E.P.
* Avalanche

Singles|

* "The Pictures on My Wall"
* "Rescue"
* "The Puppet"
* "A Promise"
* "Over the Wall"
* "The Back of Love"
* "The Cutter"
* "Never Stop"
* "The Killing Moon"
* "Silver"
* "Seven Seas"
* "Bring On the Dancing Horses"
* "The Game"
* "Lips Like Sugar"
* "Bedbugs and Ballyhoo"
* "People Are Strange"
* "Enlighten Me"
* "Prove Me Wrong"
* "Inside Me, Inside You"
* "Nothing Lasts Forever"
* "I Want to Be There (When You Come)"
* "Don't Let It Get You Down"
* "Rust"
* "Get in the Car"
* "It's Alright"
* "Make Me Shine"
* "Stormy Weather"
* "In the Margins"
* "Scissors in the Sand"
* "Think I Need It Too"
* "Lovers On the Run"

Related articles|

* Discography
* Korova
* Electrafixion
* "(How Does It Feel to Be) On Top of the World"

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF
* WorldCat

National|

* Germany
* United States
* Spain
* Norway

Artists|

* MusicBrainz

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