Friday 14th November 2003 -- 9.15 AM  

I seem to have found the inspiration to dig deeper into the guitar instrumental work with new, part-composed, part-improvised pieces emerging on a daily basis. I have one and a half albums worth of good material waiting in the wings and more still coming down the pipe. Much of the material will be gathered into a single album, (as yet untitled) which will be a slight diversion from the 'Romance Of Sustain' thread. Volume 2 of 'Sustain' is planned for some time in the future but, before I release that one, I want to build something around Frank Olinsky's special artwork, the 'exploding' guitar graphic that he sent me a while ago. The image doesn't really fit the 'Romance' mood but suggests a more deviant, exploratory direction. I had a couple of quirky tracks already recorded which have set the tone for the project and I have been recording more along similar lines in the hope of putting together a cohesive album. As usual, there will be moments when the album will go off in a slightly different direction to the stated one. I always feel that something should be added to stop the overall concept becoming too much of a stereotype. I'm not comfortable being tied to one particular course of action so I'm quite happy to break the mood of an album here and there with a contradictory statement or two.

Nevertheless, this intermediary album will be different from the 'Romance Of Sustain' concept in some ways. First of all, it will mostly feature tracks that are not part of any live performance plan, purely studio based things. Second, several of the pieces will be quite abstract, non-linear, almost 'ambient' recordings and a touch more introspective than the 'Sustain' pieces. One of the early foundation stones for the album is the long 'Six Legged Critter Singing In The Trees' piece that is used on the 'Flashlight Dreams' DVD to accompany the gallery of my visual artwork. The album, as noted above, has no title as yet, 'though I have a list of possibilities. Too soon to mention here, I think.  The individual tracks do have titles though, titles such as: 'The Orson Welles Memorial Sleighride',  'Spanish Galleons Cruise The Sunrise',  'A Prayer To Sleep With Mercurial Women',  'Somewhere Else Is Here',  'Flowers Made Of Light',  'Pure Joy', 'Come To Me In My Dreams (And By Day I Will Be Well Again)',  'The Revenge Of The Man In The Burning Ice Cream Van', 'Lagoon',  'Hostess Twinkie Vaporised',  'The Embarkation Song Of The Last Fast Airship' and so on. A couple of these pieces were originally destined for 'Romance' volume 2 ('The Art School Ascended On Vapours Of Roses'), but may work as curve balls on this more abstracted album. We'll see...there seems to be no shortage of ideas and enthusiasm on my part at the moment and the recordings are on-going.

Of course, this isn't exactly what I'm supposed to be doing right now. My main task is to edit five years of my online diaries in preparation for their forthcoming publication in book form. I signed the contract with Pomona Books and need to get on with the hard work of editing, revising, correcting and adding footnotes. I've installed Appleworks 6 on my Mac to assist me with this. (Previously, I've had no word-processing software on board, just the proprietary Apple SimpleText, which is quite basic.)  Spent last weekend with Paul Sutton-Reeves who is the author of another forthcoming book dealing with my work. We spent two days going through my archives, press-cuttings, letters, various memorabilia, etc. in search of information for his book.

Amongst all this stuff, I was pleased to find my 1973 letter from Hank B. Marvin of 'The Shadows' , which I thought I'd lost. Hank wrote to me back then to tell me how much he'd enjoyed my 'Northern Dream' album. I treasure his letter as he was one of the reasons that I took up the guitar in the 1960's.  I also found several letters to me from John Peel (dated early 1970's), some hilarious old Be Bop Deluxe photo's from the earliest days, a couple of hand drawn concepts for Be Bop publicity purposes, fragments of early accounting linked to local gigs, an entire universe of press-cuttings dealing with various aspects of my career...Tons of stuff, basically. The problem is, none of it is in any kind of logical order, chronologically or otherwise. It really needs sorting through and repacking, preferably in something more protective than the frayed cardboard boxes it resides in at the moment. Perhaps I'll ask Alan and Garry from RWBV if they would like to assist me in properly archiving it all. It would be an extremely interesting exercise for any fan, I'm sure. Most of this material is quite rare and precious.  (At least, it is for me.)

Paul Sutton-Reeves is also conducting interviews with me for his book.  Recalling dates and the proper sequence of events isn't easy after so many years of constant activity but we're getting there by a kind of detective work. (Or at least, Paul is.)  He's also been speaking with various people who I've worked with over the years, plus contemporaries who have been inspired by my music in some way or other. Paul tells me that Reeves Gabrels informed him that Robert Smith of 'The Cure' is a fan and may be worth interviewing. There are several others too, which is all extremely flattering and a tremendous surprise for me. I've kind of worked in a vacuum for so long, it's nice to hear that other artists pick up on what I'm trying to do.

I should mention the birthday party that I performed at in honour of my friend Steve who was 40 a couple of weeks ago: Despite being very nervous, I think it went down reasonably well with an audience who were not really there to hear a Bill Nelson recital. I set up in a corner of the wine bar, screen and projector too, and proceeded with a slightly adapted version of the 'Sustain' tour set but incorporating a couple of 'Jazz Cafe' items and a couple of 'Festival Of Drifting' pieces too. The hardest thing was staying off the wine until I'd got the performance out of the way. I played for an hour. Throughout, the 'audience' kept up with their eating and drinking and talking (which, as it was a birthday party and not really a concert, was quite understandable, even though it threw me  somewhat!). It seemed such a contrast from the tour when I'd been given the luxury of an audiences undivided attention.     Nevertheless, several people came up to me afterwards and said how much they'd enjoyed the performance, which was encouraging. Steve, who's party it was and who had wanted me to play in the first place, seemed really pleased that I'd done it. And that, of course, was the whole point of the exercise. Mission accomplished. Steve and his wife Julia took Emi and I out to dinner this last Wednesday as a way of saying 'thank-you', which was really sweet of them. I'm still recovering from the hangover.

On the domestic front: a dinner with Elle and Elliot who continue to make me proud of them, both as people and as creative musicians, a nice email from Steve Harley, some worrying news from my mother who has been ill with a kind of vertigo but seems to be recovering OK, some bad news from Japan where Emi's 19 year old nephew has been diagnosed with bone cancer, an invitation to dinner at Hazelwood Castle on Saturday evening from Rick Harrison of the 'Music Ground' guitar emporium, an increasing pile of bedside books to get through but too tired to read more than five minutes each night, and various other distractions. In other words, all life is here, present but not necessarily correct.

And now, more recording, I think.

Wednesday, 19th November 2003 -- 10.02 AM 

Extremely busy with one thing or another still. Tasks mounting up and only certain ones getting my proper attention. I have yet to begin the editing of the last five years of my diaries in preparation for publication and really need to clear some space for this soon.  The diary seems to have caused me a certain amount of unforeseen trouble of late, particularly with it's reference to the Leeds City Varieties concert on the 'Romance Of Sustain' tour... My manager, Richard Chadwick, this week received an email from the concert's promoter John Keenan who said he was annoyed by my diary entry documenting the event. I'd recorded in the diary that I'd been upset by what I thought to be misleading advertising on John's behalf. These statements were based on complaints relayed to me from various sources concerning people who felt that the flyers and promotion had implied that I would be playing 'old favourites' at the show. Some people interpreted that as meaning 'Be Bop Deluxe' songs, which of course, is not what the tour was about at all. I'd got myself particularly steamed up about these complaints and reacted (perhaps over impulsively), with the diary entry in question. In John's email he states that at no time did his advertising mention or hint at the possibility of me performing old material and that he is very upset by my comments. Of course, I have no intention of deliberately upsetting anyone with these diary pages and I'm deeply sorry that this seems to have been the situation in this instance. My statements were based on what I believed to have been true at that time but, when I'm wrong, I'm more than happy to stand corrected.

After reading John's complaints, I've written and sent an apolgy to him which I will copy here for the readers of this diary to peruse. Hopefully, this will put the record straight. Here it is:

Dear John,

Richard Chadwick forwarded your email to me and I thought it best if I reply to you personally.

First of all, I hope you'll accept my apology for any offence I've caused you with my diary entry about the advertising for the City Variety concert. There was no wish to cause trouble on my part but I was angry and upset by reports reaching me from various quarters about the way the concerts had been publicised. It may be, from what you've said in your email, that I've been mislead somewhat. You may already be aware of the circumstances leading to my diary entry but it was written purely as a result of the following events:

I received complaints from some people that the promotional material on your emailed flyers etc gave the impression that the concert was going to contain Be Bop Deluxe material.  Whilst the actual words 'Be Bop Deluxe' were not present, the use of the term 'old favourites', according to these people, implied that this would be the case. I also heard this same story from different sources before the concert took place, which is why I asked my office to make sure that you were aware that the advertising should be absolutely clear in stating that it was to be an instrumental concert, with video, etc. and nothing to do with Be Bop Deluxe or 'old favourites.'

After the concert, I met some members of the audience who also complained to me that the advertising had mislead them, although, as it turned out, they'd thoroughly enjoyed the show, despite their expectations of hearing Be Bop Deluxe material.  The following week, there were a few more, similar comments relayed to me via the web site and I began to feel that I'd been deliberately misrepresented by the way in which the concert had been promoted. I also felt sorry for those people who had come along expecting a different kind of show. Naturally, no one wants want to disappoint their audience or have an audience based on a misleading promotional statement. It was this alone that led me to write the diary entry about the problem. I genuinely felt I'd been taken advantage of and placed in a difficult position, despite my attempts to avoid such a thing.

I do accept that it was only a small minority of the audience that felt this way and that, on the whole, the evening was a tremendous success. I hope you realise that I'm very pleased and very grateful for that too. Perhaps I shouldn't have let those complaints throw me and overshadow the more positive aspects of the event. The problem here, I suppose, is that I actually care enough about my audience to feel genuinely upset if I don't send them all home 100% happy. An impossibility, I admit, but there you go.

Anyway, reading through your email, it seems that there may have been a misunderstanding of sorts. My reaction was entirely based on what I'd been told and, as this was being confirmed by various independent sources, I thought it to be true. If I have made a mistake regarding this, then I'm deeply sorry. I have no desire to malign anyone undeservedly. My diary entries are always an honest reportage of the things going on around me, the highs and lows of trying to maintain some musical worth and integrity in an industry that increasingly tries to diminish such values. It's a journal of one particular musician's struggle to maintain something that he deeply believes in. It is not intended to be deliberately controversial but, due to it's openness and directness, can sometimes be contentious. Whatever, it's never been my intention to cause undue offence.

One small point though: In your email, you said something about some of the City Varieties' material being 20 years old. This wasn't the case. Much of it was new, some of it was drawn from the last five years and two pieces were first performed in 1990. So, the oldest two numbers date back thirteen years, the rest were much newer. It's possible, from what you've said, that the agent had the wrong end of the stick if this is the information you'd been given.

I'm about to write a new diary entry and in it I will relate the story of your email, the misunderstanding and also my apology. I hope that this will demonstrate to you my desire to play fair and that there is no underlying malice on my part.

Once again, John, I'm sorry if I caused you any distress. Thanks for your help with the concert and thanks for reading this rather long email.

                            Best wishes from Bill.
 

So, there you have it. I hope there are no hard feelings on John's behalf and that he can accept that it was a genuine misunderstanding. Like myself, John Keenan goes back a long way on the Yorkshire music scene. He has been promoting concerts for many years and recalls seeing Be Bop Deluxe play at the 'Fford Greene' pub in the band's earliest days. He also promoted the large 'Futurama' events, (named after Be Bop's second album, apparently,) in the early eighties that documented the emerging post-punk scene. I wish him well.

On to other things. I finally came up with a title for the new guitar album, (after a great deal of soul searching.) In the end, I went for a simple, one word option. The album will be called 'DISTORTION.' This fits both Frank Olinsky's cover art and the music. This isn't to imply that the guitar instrumentals on it are 'heavy metal' or anything, just that their forms are a bit 'twisted', even the acoustic oriented tracks, of which there are several. Of course, there are some more, shall I say, 'impertinent' pieces, rather raw and rude. In general terms, it's a little more confrontational than 'The Romance Of Sustain' series, more a hand down your pants than a nudge and a wink. Like all lusty creations, it has its moments of gentle tenderness too, a little romance amongst the feverish fumblings. Just like me, in fact.

A new piece underway to be included on the album is called 'I Remember Circus Boy.' Another is called 'Blue Sparks Flying (Beyond)'. This latter has a hint of the old Be Bop Deluxe number 'Shine' about it, albeit in more modern terms. It's a Dr. Punkenfunk type track. (One of my personal fantasy alter egos... A lurexed boffin in an afro-wig.)  

Watched a video tape of 'A Dance To The Music Of Time' which I'd missed when Channel 4 television first screened it. I enjoyed it, despite some rather confusing editing. A mammoth undertaking though.  Shall I risk another diary controversy?  Here goes, Mars calling Earth: Paul Page of Lenin Imports continues to ignore all pleas for communication regarding accounting to me for the recordings I allowed him to release. The last time I wrote about this in these pages he actually got in touch and promised he'd sort things out and keep in regular contact. I've heard nothing from him since and he ignores my attempts at contacting him and everyone else's too, including Opium (Arts), Ltd. This is, as I've said before, not good enough. In fact it's scandalous. Things are coming to an unpleasant head, I'm afraid, unless he does the decent thing and behaves in a more professional manner. I really am at my limit with this one.

Right, too much time writing diaries and not enough time spent having anything vaguely resembling a life. I'm off. Until next time.

On to December 2003

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