A complete coincidence but last week I plucked out these 2 and Mazda K off my cd shelves to reacquaint myself and play the 3 in order, as advised. Currently I have on "No memories here to make you sad" from Illuminated At Dusk. My mind has drifted to an image of driving solo through the Mid West, pulling over on the roadside, one arm resting on the door frame and taking in a view of some largely uninhabited landscape. No idea where I am but I sense I have about an hour before finding a nice bar and motel to stay, chatting to some locals and then heading on the next day after a pancake stack with eggs, bacon and maple syrup.

There were 3 bass players that were a huge influence on me all around the same time which led to me wanting (and getting) a bass guitar as a Christmas present in 1982. Derek Forbes (Simple Minds), John Taylor (Duran Duran) and Mick Karn (Japan). All with their own style but a common theme, for me at least, was that they all brought the bass to the fore within their bands' songs. Creative bass lines being an integral part of the song, as well as a functioning rhythmic instrument. I have seen the former two live several times, but I only saw Mick Karn live on the Sons of Pioneers (Tin Drum) tour. I was in awe watching him play. His style, in every sense of the word, including his unique "stage shuffle" whilst delighting us with those sounds from his Wal, is something I won't forget.

This is such sad news. I met Dunc at the very first Nelsonica event in York in 2001. I got chatting to him and his wife at that time, and we seemed to gel and stick around one another throughout the event. As well as a shared passion for Bill's music we were both Black Country lads (although his accent was a lot stronger than mine!) and loved football - Dunc a big West Bromwich Albion fan and me a Walsall fan. He had another link to my home town as he had been a tutor at Walsall College. At each subsequent Nelsonica I would find him manning the merch stalls and after Eddie or Jon had let me in, he'd be almost always the first person I would go and approach and have a chat with and also my go-to guy to talk me through all the t shirt, posters and CD options for me to open my wallet for. 🙂 We'd keep in touch by occasional text and some years ago he said he fancied coming to a football match with me, so he came to see the mighty Walsall play Swindon. Probably not the standard he'd have been used to watching regularly as a WBA fan but we had an enjoyable afternoon combined with some time to chat about music and Nelsonica events. Dunc was a lovely, kind and generous guy and I am struggling to digest this news. I can only offer my condolensces to his family/friends and am sure all those who got to know him through our common bond of Bill's music will be experiencing similar thoughts. RIP Dunc. Adam

Got mine from Rough Trade in Nottingham yesterday. I noticed someone last night looking to get £90 for it already on ebay! Unless it sold out in stores, RSD retailers with an online facility should be selling it from 8pm Monday night.

CD of this is within the Art Empire Industry box set.

Thanks Jon. Will do

Pre ordered mine weeks ago. Should i be concerned it's not arrived yet?

This is excellent news. Thanks for the heads up. I had noticed a digital single release of Secrets (new version) but wasn't aware of new album or Hired History on CD. Side 1 of my vinyl version of Hired History is an utter joy.

Posted a message on the old forum about this. Totally shocked to hear this news last night via Twitter. It was touching to read so many messages on Twitter and appreciate how his music made a profound impact on people. I hadn't appreciated how much his / their music had been appreciated outside of the UK, especially in countries like Italy, Spain and France. RIP Mark