Oh, I do love lists like this. Looks very thorough to me! Thank you!

The only one I had to make myself (rather than having an original copy) was Orpheus in Ultraland. Is it one you have?

A wise reply, boswell, but doesn't this then raise the question instead of why 'The World and his Wife' and 'Dancing Music' are included? Not a complaint at all as they are both songs I'm very fond of, so they should get all the chance to be heard that is available. Kalamazoo Kid's thread about all these pre-1985 recordings [ https://www.billnelson.com/forum/william-s-world/non-lp-tracks-circa-red-noise-chimera ] is well worth reading again at this point. When someone puts together a box-set edition of The Love That Whirls, I hope they will take TheKKid's list very seriously, if only to avoid loose ends.

That's not exactly official merchandise, is it? I'm intrigued that some seller (in Sri Lanka!) decided that Bill was going to be a focus for design and manufacture. A really interesting set of image choices too. But if any money from it was going to Bill, I'd go with the 'Special Metal' design.

Hey! I looked it up! https://www.billnelson.com/jobson-nelson - in the discography right here in Dreamsville. Yes, it was part of an issue of SFX. AND it was on the 'Signature Tunes' Cocteau compilation!

I've gone blank about this one as well. I know that I have a copy somewhere though... I know the song (a strange chanting thing) was called Ieyasu, and can remember some of its melody. Was it part of one of the issues of the short-lived SFX music magazine on cassette? I know I have those somewhere! I can't think of where else it might have come from other than one of the Cocteau compilations. Can someone whose brain is working better than mine just now answer the question properly?

Wow! That's an impressive analysis of those years. I haven't spotted any snags yet! Thanks for you work on it. It's feels as if I should play them all in order now...

Don't underestimate what you've managed so far. You're into a new way of listing this stuff, I think. If there is a BN scholar who has all of it listed or in their heads already, they should join in the conversation. I know some of the sessions were made up of the 'final' versions of the songs but I had always assumed that some were recorded as separate versions of songs for which Bill also had 'his own' (home-recorded) version. As an example, there's a later, live session Bill did for the 'Hit the North' show on Radio 5 (BBC) that was nothing but fresh and live takes, using backing tapes. It's very possible that you are right though and all the sessions from the time period in question are made up of songs that have only one version each. Oh, this is getting quite complicated, isn't it?

Yes, this is great work, TKK. Thank you for it. Agreeing with Ed's comment and expanding on it, to integrate all the various radio sessions into your list (see separate thread about the sessions) would be useful because the sessions all come with recording or broadcast dates and show what Bill's current ongoing work was at the time he paused to do a session for radio. With the exception, I think, of Contemplation, Bill rarely returned to a song long after first recording it - he's always moving onwards! - so radio session dates are probably within days or weeks of any first home recording dates. We're close to having a 1979-1984 (85?) timeline for known songs of that period. And what an exciting, experimental time that was! Dropping into that timeline such items as dates of UK and US tours would be a bonus as well. Thanks again for getting this far.

I wish I had some facts to offer here because this is the kind of geeky conversation that I think we should be having more often! I am a huge fan of the double CD set 'The Two-Fold Aspect of Everything' - expensive to come by these days but worth it. The set is probably very nearly complete in covering everything that wasn't on 'Quit Dreaming' or 'The Love That Whirls' or the fan club EPs (the Transcorder set). Most of what you seem to be trying to do is to separate the stuff from TTFAOE into groups that 'belong' in one place or another, I think. Are there other recordings from that time that were in anyway released but aren't available as part of one of the four sets (QD, TLTW, TTFAOE and Transc)?

That does seem to hit the 'nostalgic retro-futurist space cadet' nail right on the head! Just needs a guitar, really...

This is one of those albums that we should mention to new attenders at this site that are still somehow missing Be Bop Deluxe. No, it doesn't sound like a BBD album, but the comment by aj below is correct - Bill is heard here creating a glorious rock noise with accessible tunes and the sense that the whole process is easy and fun to do. There are strong blues threads running through the album but never any feeling that Bill is tied up or down by them - throbbing blues riffs still seem to flex and stretch, just giving enough leeway for Bill to play with a little bit more joy and imagination in the gaps created by what may just have been a momentary whim. Drums - occasionally an element that Bill has kept simple and fairly obvious - are varied and included here as a proper part of the creativity. These songs would work so well on a stage with a band that really click together! Early in this thread I commented that Bill's 'noisy' would be "a bit deeper and more intelligent than everyone else's noisy". I was right. I hadn't expected the bonus of a sheer happy flow of tunes though. A good comparison to this one (though a little rougher around the edges) is the "Special Metal" release (2016, sadly a Bandcamp only item).

Obviously, I'm sorry to offend if that's what I've done. Equally though, if they are that familiar with Bill's work they should grasp the points I've made: paying tribute to someone is a demanding thing to do and evoking the sound and spirit of Bill's music is not at all easy. I much prefer what they've produced to a lame cover version though - at least they are actually creating something which expresses something of themselves.

Having now heard this... https://www.patreon.com/posts/port-sulphur-92860747 ...my reaction is: 'They wish!' You can see that they had a guitar sound that had a BN-like feel as it starts off. But if you want to sound like Bill it's not a guitar or a 'sound' you want - it's someone who actually plays the instrument like Bill does. But the tribute seems well meant, so I may be being too harsh. The better tribute is the track 'Hope' by Fiat Lux on their 'Twisted Culture' album. Skilful, sincere and a great song in its own right.

This one sounds quite excitingly noisy - but I expect it will also be quite a bit deeper and more intelligent than everyone else's noisy. I've ordered my copy!

Excellent article and interview! I've always had a lot of time for Chris Roberts - I even liked his music (Catwalk, Scalaland). But to have an interview that focuses on Bill now and the music now is marvellous - quite a relief from the usual furrows that are ploughed again and again! Thanks for putting the text here, Palladium.

Thanks for the update, Jon. It's not so much that we worry - more that we want to check that everything is going smoothly for him on the things he's trying to do. Hey, we care!

This is what we needed just now. Thank you, Bill - A Merry Christmas to you and Emiko and Django!

Yes indeed, Happy Birthday! Is this the three-quarters of a century then, or did I lose count? Have a great day.

..and my second listen might have been in a car (not the best way) but it was through unlit countryside during dark, dark evening, nice and loud! This is a wonderfully accessible, memorable album with real strength - and gravitas, if that's the right word. I love the reference to 'October Man' during 'The Doctor was an Alchemist'!