1970s road bike stars in video for new British Sea Power single (+ video)

A 1970s road bike is one of the stars of the video of the forthcoming single Machineries of Joy by acclaimed Brighton-based rock band, British Sea Power. Released on 1 April, it's also the title track of the group's new album. The video, filmed near Biggin Hill in Kent, was made by BBC documentary maker Clare Tavernor and Angus Sutherland - an editor and cinematographer who just happens to work on the Tour de France for ITV4.

The single is being released by Rough Trade records, which says:

The film has two stars – sometime triathlete Kate Tiernan and a 1970s road bike by Allin Cycles of Croydon. Apparently, as well as filing frame lugs into elegant filigree-like patterns to save weight, the Allin Cycles staff would also sell gramophones to boost winter income. Now the worlds of cycling and recorded sound are once more combined in the British Sea Power video.

British Sea Power, described by The Sunday Times as “the best band in Britain”, are based in Brighton and released their first album in 2003. Cycles have been an occasional feature in the band’s history. The lyrics to the 2008 track No Lucifer include mentions for the Carlton Corsair road bike and the Raleigh Twenty shopper bike. Frontman Yan Wilkinson worked in the Kendal branch of Halfords while at school.

The Classic Lightweights website has more information about Allin Cycles.