Bill Nelson - Simplex

Simplex
1990 UK: compact disc on Cocteau JCD 23 in late 1990. 995 copies pressed for the Cocteau label in 1990, 299 of them distributed to Acquitted by Mirrors members in late 1990 to early 1991. The remaining CDs were sent to See For Miles Records LTD but never released.

2001 UK: compact disc on Toneswoon (TS-1), March 2000. Limited edition run of 500 copies with new artwork. Once the initial 500 are sold out, another edition with slightly different artwork will be available.

Price is £14.99 UK pounds/$21.99 US dollars (excluding postage) per CD. Contact e-mail is: lenin19556@aol.com - see also Lenin Imports' Simplex web page. Please include country from which you are ordering from and quantity desired. If you wish to pay via credit card go to billnelson.gemm.com and do a search for Simplex. You can buy via credit card direct from Lenin Imports from Gemm's Secure Server.

Listen to MP3s of Bronze and The Profaned Sanctuary Of The Human Heart at Bill's MP3.com page.

Simplex was music done as a "first draft" for a British TV film on sculptor Henry Moore. It was planned on being released but didn't make it as Cocteau Records was falling apart and Enigma had gone bust in the US. The documentary for which Bill Nelson composed the music subsequently released as 'Simplex' is called 'Henry Moore and Landscape'. It was originally intended for release on Cocteau JC23 (UK) and Enigma/Cocteau (US). According to Court records during Bill's lawsuit against Mark Rye, 995 copies were pressed for the Cocteau label in 1990, 299 of them distributed to Acquitted by Mirrors members in late 1990 to early 1991. (Originally ABM club members were asked whether they wanted a cassette or compact disc, but according to court records the cassette idea was a "typo" and none were ever pressed.) The remaining CDs were allegedly sent to the label See For Miles Records LTD. Whatever actually happened to the remaining CDs is speculation at this point. People have found copies for sale all over the world. Bill says he considers all copies of this album to be bootlegs and he has yet to receive any royalties from its sale. He discourages any fan from buying it. This album will eventually be properly released.

At the close of the 80's, former Bebop Deluxe mainman Bill Nelson composed the soundtrack to a TV film about the sculptor Henry Moore. It was due for release on his Cocteau imprint but imminent bankruptcy scuppered that. An unscrupulous ex - manager then tried to release it without consent, resulting in a court case and the banishing of the tracks - reputedly among his finest - to legal purdah. Gentle and meditative, Simplex turns out to have been worth the wait. Murmuring synths and raindrop piano notes are 10 - a - penny nowadays, but in Nelson's deft hands they retain a vital musicality. Thus, Female Form sounds like a tipsy Harold Budd tinkling a pub joanna, Waiting For Rain an Eno - esque, Alpine glide and Your Morning Blessing a poignant movie flashback waiting to happen.