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William Alfred Sergeant (born 12 April 1958) is an English guitarist, best known for being a member of Echo & the Bunnymen. Born in Walton Hospital, he grew up in the village of Melling and attended nearby Deyes Lane Secondary Modern. He is the group's only constant member.


Career

As a
solo artist In music, a solo (from the Spanish and Italian based-word: ''Solo'', meaning ''alone'' or ''by yourself'') is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung featuring a single performer, who may be performing completely alone or supported by an ...
, Sergeant focused on minimalism and atmospherics, and usually released entirely
instrumental An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to instru ...
music. Sergeant's first solo work was in 1978, when he self-produced ''Weird As Fish'' 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. Sergeant continued with the Bunnymen even after Ian McCulloch left in 1988, bringing in
Noel Burke Noel Andrew Burke (born 29 November 1962 in Belfast) is an Irish singer, who is best known for replacing Ian McCulloch (singer), Ian McCulloch as the lead singer with Echo & the Bunnymen. Burke's first band was St. Vitus Dance (band), St. Vitu ...
to sing on ''
Reverberation Reverberation (also known as reverb), in acoustics, is a persistence of sound, after a sound is produced. Reverberation is created when a sound or signal is reflected causing numerous reflections to build up and then decay as the sound is abso ...
'' in 1990, 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 Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''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 Glide may refer to: * Gliding flight, to fly without thrust Computing *Glide API, a 3D graphics interface *Glide OS, a web desktop *Glide (software), an instant video messenger *Glide, a molecular docking software by Schrödinger (company), Schrà ...
, producing experimental, ambient and psychedelic instrumental music based around keyboard and electronic sounds. 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). In 2013 Will Sergeant and
Les Pattinson Leslie Thomas Pattinson (born 18 April 1958 in Ormskirk, Lancashire) is an English musician, best known for his work as the bassist and co-writer of the Liverpool-based band Echo & the Bunnymen,Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discog ...
, 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. 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.” 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.


Equipment

Throughout his time with the Bunnymen in the 1980s, Sergeant used a black
Fender Telecaster The Fender Telecaster, colloquially known as the Tele , is an electric guitar produced by Fender. Together with its sister model the Esquire, it is the world's first mass-produced, commercially successful Les Paul had built a prototype solid bo ...
with much reverb and delay. This gave the Bunnymen sound a clear, cutting tone. On several occasions during the '80s Sergeant would use a
Fender Jaguar The Fender Jaguar is an electric guitar by Fender Musical Instruments characterized by an offset-waist body, a relatively unusual switching system with two separate circuits for lead and rhythm, and a short-scale 24" neck. Owing some roots to t ...
guitar. He used a
Fender Stratocaster The Fender Stratocaster, colloquially known as the Strat, is a model of electric guitar designed from 1952 into 1954 by Leo Fender, Bill Carson, George Fullerton, and Freddie Tavares. The Fender Musical Instruments Corporation has continuously ...
to a great extent on the 1987 '' Echo & the Bunnymen'' album. In the music video for " Lips Like Sugar," he can be seen playing a vintage
Hagström Hagström () is a musical instrument manufacturer in Älvdalen, Dalecarlia, Sweden. Their original products were accordions that they initially imported from Germany and then Italy before opening their own facility in 1932. During the late 19 ...
Deluxe 90, (possibly a prop since the performance is lip-synched to the studio track). 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.


Discography


With Echo and the Bunnymen

''See: Echo & the Bunnymen discography''


With Electrafixion

''See: Electrafixion#Discography''


As Glide

*''Space Age Freak Out'' (1997) *''Performance'' (2000) *''Curvature of the Earth'' (2004,
Cooking Vinyl Cooking Vinyl is a British independent record label, based in Acton, London, England, founded in 1986 by former manager and booking agent Martin Goldschmidt and business partner Pete Lawrence. Goldschmidt remains the current owner and chairman ...
) *''Assemblage 1 & 2'' (2014, 92 Happy Customers)


With Poltergeist(featuring Les Pattinson)

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


Solo


Albums

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


Singles

*"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

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sergeant, Will 1958 births Living people English rock guitarists Echo & the Bunnymen members Electrafixion members Musicians from Liverpool English male guitarists