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Issue 1 Issue 3 Issue 2 - June 2005 ROSEWOOD VOLUME ONE FINALLY RELEASED Bill Nelson's custom record label, 'SONOLUXE, ' has released the long-awaited album, 'Rosewood Volume One'. This is the first ever Bill Nelson instrumental album designed to spotlight his acoustic guitar playing and is also the first ever release on the 'SONOLUXE' label. The album's15 instrumental tracks paint beautiful pictures with sound, providing an ideal accompaniment to a mythical, dreamy English summer. The music blends tints of folk, ambient, jazz, blues and contemporary composition along with spontaneous improvisation and discrete digital processing. The album is both melodic and mysterious, humming with the electricity of imagination. 'Rosewood Volume One' is only the first half of Bill's acoustic guitar project. 'Rosewood Volume Two, ' containing another 15 tracks, will be released a little later in the year. Volume Two has a slightly more uptempo feel, whilst still atmospheric and evocative. The two albums are companion pieces and should be heard in sequence to follow the music's developmental thread. 'Rosewood Volume One' is instantly available from 'The Dreamsville Department Store '. Simply click on the Dreamsville Department Store name on the Dreamsville Home Page, then click on the 'Rosewood Volume One' listing and you will be automatically connected with Sound On Sound magazine's store. (Sound On Sound have kindly provided facilities for ordering by mail). Select your country of residence, click on the 'Bill Nelson Music' name on the menu listed on the left hand side of the page and then select the product you require. Follow instructions through to the checkout, completing your details where requested. Your order will be processed for immediate dispatch. Payment can be made by credit card or cheque. DREAMSVILLE WEBSITE PROVES TO BE A BIG HIT WITH FANS The response to the recent launch of 'DREAMSVILLE, The Official Global Bill Nelson Website', has been overwhelmingly positive. Although the site is still in its infancy and much work still remains to be done, the initial reaction from fans has been extremely encouraging. Within hours of its launch, the site was flooded with enthusiastic praise and the Dreamsville Inn forum is now constantly buzzing with the vibrant thoughts and conversations of hundreds of regular visitors. Bill Nelson, when asked how he felt about the public response to the site said: "I'm overwhelmed by the kind words and continuing loyalty of all those who have posted messages of support on the Dreamsville Inn Forum . It's a fabulous feeling to know that my music and work continues to connect with those generous hearts and minds who are tuned into it. I intend to continue the development of Dreamsville far into the future, gradually building up a self-contained resource that will diligently serve all who enjoy my music, wherever they may reside. Of course, Dreamsville has received tremendous help from various quarters: Ian Gilby, Paul Gilby, Dave Graham, Chuck Bird and Jon Wallinger being amongst the principal guardian angels, but the ultimate success of the site is down to those many afficionados of my work who continue to support what I do, year after year... people who have been open-hearted and brave enough to negotiate the twists and turns of my creative life with me. My map is also their map and the complex journey is accomplished in unison as a shared experience, together. It is to these people that Dreamsville owes its being. And it is because of them that I'm pursuaded that my efforts might be worthwhile, despite my occasional bouts of self-doubt. I'd like to thank everyone, both behind the scenes and out in the public auditorium, for their much needed help in dragging my dreams from the shadows into the light of day. I hope that they will continue to enjoy sharing these musical and visual explorations with me." BILL NELSON'S AUTUMN TOUR PLANS BEGIN TO TAKE SHAPE Opium (Arts) Ltd, Bill Nelson's management company, are currently working with a London-based agency to book venues for Bill's planned November Solo UK Tour. Several possible venues have been suggested but, at this stage, nothing has been officially confirmed. It does seem that one venue in the midlands has already been advertising tickets for sale, despite the fact that official confirmation for this particular concert has yet to be given from Bill's management team. The Dreamsville Rocket advises fans to wait until official dates are properly confirmed on the Dreamsville website before buying tickets. Basically, until a proper tour announcement is made on this site, all other announcements are unauthorised and speculative. Whilst these plans are being discussed, Bill Nelson is working towards the actual concept and presentation details of the November tour. Bill plans to write new songs and instrumentals for these concerts, AND hopefully put together backing tracks for one or two older songs too. ('Though this latter idea is only a possibility at this stage. It will depend upon having enough time available beyond the new material). He also hopes to be able to assemble a brand new presentation of his videogram-style visuals, to act as a stage backdrop. Bill has been constantly developing ideas for the tour and, until the deadline for advertising is reached, everything will be subject to change. Like Bill's recordings, the ideas are in a constant state of flux until the final shape and form materialises. One possible concept, however, can be revealed by the Dreamsville Rocket, and it is this: The tour may go out under the following banner: 'BILL NELSON AND THE GREAT NORTH YORKSHIRE ASTRAL ORCHESTRA, One Man, A Galaxy Of Overdubs... ' The Great North Yorkshire Astral Orchestra, of course, is simply Bill with his pre-recorded interactive backing tapes, over which he will play guitar and sing live. But the framework that the title provides adds a theatrical, romantic element to the performance, a context within which Bill can feel inspired. Long time fans of Bill's music will be familiar with his passion for inventing fictional names and frameworks for his work so it will come as no surprise that the forthcoming tour will continue in that tradition. The element of 'play', (in the sense of a child using play to explore and respond to its personal environment), is an essential component in Bill Nelson's creative life. He has always attempted to preserve a wide-eyed wonder, a feeling of joyous awakening, whilst creating his music and visuals. An appropriate choice of titles for songs, albums, videos and concert tours becomes an essential part of this process. The 'naming of things' gives them pupose and power. Names become magical incantations, keys to unlock other realms. Whilst Bill's music could be thought of as, on the one hand, subtle, serious and knowing, on the other it is playful, whimsical and gently surreal. It is the balancing and blending of these various elements that has shaped Bill's working methods and creative choices over the years. The forthcoming Autumn tour, whatever banner it eventually goes out under, will provide a platform for further experiments in the fine art of practical dreaming. DID BRIGHTON ROCK? A weekend in Brighton to celebrate the work of Harold Budd, his last live performance as sadly Harold is retiring from music. A long and frustrating drive down from Selby on the Friday meant I had a long soak in the bath as soon as I found my hotel, then with the aches and pains washed away, it was out to find a pub. The first pub I found, I went into, and who should be at the bar but Pete Harwood (guitar tech from the tour last year) and fellow Satellite, Dave Standeven. They were the guitar techs for the show, so I knew I was going to be filled in on all the gossip! They gave me a run-down of what I was to expect the following day, including mention of a gong solo... very intriguing! Early hours of the morning and time to find my hotel... Saturday lunchtime found me (again) in the pub... who should be sitting there this time but Harold Budd himself! I introduced myself and he said he recognised my face from the couple of times we had met previously. It was then time for Harold to head back to the venue to continue with rehearsals and he invited me back with him so I could say "Hi" to Bill. I hung around during the rehearsals for a while, then decided to make an exit as I didn't want to spoil the evening's entertainment by seeing too much of the show too early! But what I did see was a real interesting mix of musicians and musical styles. So back to the pub and met up with several of the Nelson-Faithful... then onto the show. First up was the 'Balanescu String Quartet'. String quartets are not my favourite thing, probably because I have no idea what they are doing or how they are doing it, but very enjoyable all the same! Then, on comes Harold, with Theo Travis on flute and sax. For me, this was the real start of the show. An excellent mix but over far too soon. Then it was Bill's turn, nice to hear a great welcome from the crowd when he walked on! Firstly, Bill played a couple of pieces with his acoustic guitar, but the sound mix did not do the music any justice, it all seemed rather bass driven... if only Ian Thorpe had been mixing engineer this would have been awesome! On came John Foxx to join Harold and Bill. This, for me was one of the highlights of the evening. Bill was playing his Gus guitar, so the mix was better, unfortunately there was an electrical buzz coming from somewhere, but I didn't care! John Foxx's dreamy choral chants blended perfectly with Bill's guitar and Harold's piano, this trio really did seem to gel. Harold closed the first half with a couple of beautiful piano pieces, which although very minimal at times, had a beauty that had me hanging on every note. So flip the disc and let's see what's on side two... The programme stated - Steve Jansen: solo gong. I had been forewarned about this event by Dave and Pete, so was really looking forward to it. Steve started by almost brushing the surface of this huge gong, doing very light drum rolls around the edge, slowly increasing in force and moving the playing area form edge to centre to edge. The resulting sound was a resonant bass hum which tended to phase in and out while pitch was ridden up and down depending on what Steve was doing at the time. I could tell that the couple next to me weren't as impressed as I was, their tutting and complaining "Hurry-ups" was starting to get on my nerves, I could have listened to this bit alone for hours. But Robin Guthrie's guitar soon took over from the gong-hum, playing sustained/looped chords and building layer upon layer of them until there was a wash of sound. Steve Cobby then sat at his laptop and introduced bells and swirling electronic noises, which fit in so well with the background guitar. Then came Harold, followed by Theo, then Alexander Balanescu, all adding their piece, again the mix started to suffer as people could be seen playing but not much heard at times! Bill then joined the band with some exquisite E-Bow work, at times it seemed like a bit of a scramble between who would be playing their bit next and at times when everyone was playing it all got a bit muddy. Then came Jah Wobble and Steve Jansen and with the addition of bass and drums, this really kicked the piece into gear! Both Steve and Jah were exceptionally solid, a tight and dynamic sound that took the existing music to a different dimension. My only criticism was that I thought Jah Wobble could have varied his bass riff a bit. Whether it was to drift into a gentler style for a moment before raising the stakes again, or just to take his riff somewhere else so that it wasn't so repetitive. It made Jah look a bit like a one-trick-pony, which I know he isn't as I have seen him live before. Also towards the end of the 'second half' was an annoying feedback sound which seemed to be getting worse and worse and which the sound engineer didn't seem to have a clue about how to rectify! So as the piece suddenly finished (I don't think an ending had been worked out) the audience gave deserved applause in the hope of an encore... but after playing a piece of music that lasted almost an hour, how could you top that? They didn't try, but we had certainly already got our money's worth. Best wishes to Harold and whatever venture he decides upon, I will hold fond memories for a long time. Jon Wallinger. THE DREAMSVILLE DEPARTMENT STORE OFFERS RARITIES FOR SALE Three of Bill Nelson's favourite albums have been acquired from stock that Voiceprint Records were apparently planning to destroy. The albums are: 'Confessions Of A Hyperdreamer', 'Crimsworth' and 'After The Satellite Sings'. These recordings are essential works in the Nelsonic canon and, for those who don't already own them, are 'must have' items. The Dreamsville Rocket asked Bill how these albums fit into the overall scheme of things and what his feelings are about them today. Bill said: "Crimsworth is an unusual album in that it contains music I composed for an art installation, back in the early 'nineties. The installation was actually called 'Crimsworth' and was built by the artist Rob Ward. The music itself was recorded at Fairview Recording Studio, near Hull, on the 21st and 22nd of July 1994, and comprises just two long 'movements.' It is primarily concerned with particular textures and atmospheres, rather than thematic development. In this sense, it is quite abstract but, at the same time, deeply reflective and soothing. Some people have said that they consider it the most 'ambient' of my works. I'm not sure whether the term is one that I'm entirely comfortable with as I find it generically limiting. Like my friend Harold Budd, I prefer the term 'discrete', in the sense that the music doesn't force its attention upon the listener. At the same time, however, I wouldn't consider it background music. It is full of detail and ever evolving micro-patterns that slowly reveal themselves to the focussed ear. It is quite accessible as a surface piece but offers further information beneath this. The deeper one listens, the greater the reward. 'Confessions Of A Hyperdreamer' (My Secret Studio volume 2), is a double-album set. (The set comprises two cds in one box). The first of these is called 'Weird Critters' and the second is 'Magnificent Dream People.' They contain a mix of vocals and instrumentals. It's actually one of my favourite collections of music. Some pieces were recorded in my 'TAPE RECORDER COTTAGE STUDIO, others at Fairview studio. Most of the recordings come from the earlier part of the1990's, 'though the album itself wasn't released until '96. I chose several tracks from these two albums to provide foundations for my videograms, many of which found their way onto the 'Flashlight Dreams And Fleeting Shadows' DVD a couple of years ago. I still think 'Confessions Of A Hyperdreamer' has a timeless feel that will come across as fresh to new listeners. It's also a very accessible collection of songs, easy to digest. The packaging features some of my visual collage art which is intended to complement the music. The other album we've rescued is 'After The Satellite Sings'. This is a very important piece of work for me in that it explored the fusion of rock music with drum n' bass and trip-hop. It was somewhat ahead of its time and was cited by long time David Bowie collaborator, Reeves Gabrels as being inspirational in the creation of David Bowie's 'Earthling' album. In actual fact, my much earlier 'Practically Wired' album touched on similar experiments even before I recorded 'After The Satellite Sings.' In more recent years, one or two other guitarists have gone down the same avenue, Jeff Beck in particular, but 'Practically Wired' and 'After The Satellite Sings' were 'first off the starting block' as it were. I guess, in their own way, these albums have been quietly influential. 'After The Satellite Sings' was composed, recorded and mixed in Fairview Studios over a two week period. Remarkable, when I listen to it now. It sounds rich and complex, the recording quality being superbly handled by engineer John Spence. The songs are melodic and immediate too, an album I'm proud of." All three of these albums are now available from The Dreamsville Department Store for £9.99 pence, plus postage and packing. Supplies are extremely limited so copies will be allocated on a 'first come, first served' basis. HAROLD BUDD BIDS FAREWELL TO LIVE PERFORMANCE AND RECORDING On the Saturday the 21st of May, 2005, American composer and recording artist Harold Budd gave his farewell performance at Brighton's Dome Theatre in the U.K. Harold was joined by friends and collaborators who helped to celebrate Harold's tremendously influential career. Bill Nelson, John Foxx, Russell Mills, Steve Jansen, Jah Wobble, Steve Cobby, Theo Travis, Robin Guthrie, Alex Balanescu and the Balanescu Quartet all performed alongside Harold in various combinations in what proved to be a memorable occasion. For an overview of the concert, see Jon Wallinger's first hand account in this issue of 'The Dreamsville Rocket'. For a behind the scenes take on the event, see Bill Nelson's diary entry dated 29th May 2005, which can be found in the study of 'Villa Nelsonica ' within the Dreamsville website. A review of the concert also appeared in the May 27th issue of 'THE INDEPENDENT' newspaper. PLANS FOR THE EXTREMELY LIMITED EDITION OF THE 'CARSBRO NELSONIC DELUXE 'GUITAR AMPLIFIER NOW IN PROGRESS The Nelsonic Deluxe custom built amplifier and speaker cab, designed by Bill Nelson and used by him on last year's 30th anniversary UK tour, is almost ready to go into limited production. No more than 50 of these highly exclusive amplifiers will be built. Bill Nelson has recently fine-tuned some details of the design, providing hand-drawn sketches of specific control knob concepts, plus a front panel logo design, for Carlsbro's custom workshop to implement. Once Bill has authorised these improvements, the amplifier, with its matching 4x12 speaker cab, will begin a highly limited production run. Each unit will also carry a rear mounted metal plaque engraved with the limited edition serial number and Bill's personal signature. There are also plans for a hand-signed, framable certificate to be issued to each purchaser, authenticating the amplifier's exclusive status and its individual number. 'The Nelsonic Deluxe' is destined to be a highly sought after, super-collectable item and its future rarity will ensure that it becomes an extremely good investment for buyers. A percentage of the profits from the sale of the amplifier will go to The North Yorkshire Music Therapy Centre, a charity that Bill feels is deserving of support. For further details of this special production, please log on to www.carlsbro.com or click on the link in the Dreamsville Transit Lounge . To learn more about the valuable work of The North Yorkshire Music Therapy Centre, please log onto www.music-therapy.org.uk THREE ENGLISH GUITAR MAGAZINES RUN FEATURES ON BILL'S NELSONIC DELUXE AMPLIFIER It seems that Bill Nelson's 'Nelsonic Deluxe' guitar amplifier design has captured the imagination of the English guitar magazine market. 'Guitar Buyer', 'Guitarist' and 'Guitar and Bass' magazines have all carried items featuring Bill's amplifier in their June issues. The design has made a big impression when it was exhibited at the recent Frankfurt musical instrument trade fair too. Carlsbro have been very pleased with the overwhelming response that the design has generated. A NEW DIARY ENTRY IN VILLA NELSONIA Bill has written a new diary entry, (dated Sunday 29th of May), which deals with the circumstances of the Harold Budd farewell concert in Brighton and Bill's personal involvement in it. Bill also takes a trip down memory lane, recalling the previous time he'd visited Brighton in the 1970's. This part of the diary provides a personal and autobiographical insight into Bill's earlier career. There are also photographs of Brighton's seafront that Bill took himself whilst attending the Harold Budd rehearsals, which serve to illustrate the diary text. The Diary of a Hyperdreamer is now open for you to read on the desk of William's Study in Villa Nelsonica. See the Dreamsville home page map to locate this. NELSONICA: THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS Bill has been looking at the possibility of hiring a new venue at which to hold NELSONICA 05. Bill and Lord Mayor Of Dreamsville, Jon Wallinger, recently visited 'The Royal York Hotel' in the City of York and were very impressed by the facilities on offer there. They constitute a tremendous improvement over those available at The Duke Of Cumberland where the last three Nelsonica conventions have been held. Enquiries were made about the cost of hiring two properly equipped areas of the Royal York for Nelsonica 05 but, unfortunately, the hire fee, when a quotation eventually came in, was way above the convention's budget... Mind bogglingly expensive, in fact! A shame as the venue would have been absolutely perfect for Nelsonica's needs. York offers a range of attractions that would benefit convention attendees: Historic architecture, museums and galleries, good restaurants, excellent shopping, etc... It would provide Nelsonians with wives and families an all round treat and, for those travelling to the convention from overseas, add extra value to their trip. It was hoped that people might make a weekend of it, staying at the Royal York Hotel, attending the convention and enjoying the ancient and beautiful sights of York and the surrounding area. Sadly, it seems this may not now be practical, due to the high cost of hire. There is one more new option being considered, this one in Leeds... but it may be that this too proves to be financially unsuitable. Until the final quotations come in though, nothing can be decided. It may be that, for this year at least, 'The Duke Of Cumberland' in North Ferriby may have to suffice. If this should be the case, a more upmarket venue will be sought for next year's convention instead. Please keep an eye on 'The Dreamsville Rocket' and the 'Dreamsville Inn Forum ' for further announcements about this year's convention though.

Cinema Menu Be Bop Deluxe Be Bop Deluxe video clips...more will be added soon! Be Bop Deluxe - BBC Sight And Sound Full Concert - 1978 Be Bop Deluxe - Live Radio Broadcast - Dec 1976 - AUDIO ONLY! December 6 1976 - WLIR FM Broadcast Recorded at Calderon Concert Hall Garden City. Life In The Air Age, Fair Exchange, Sister Seagull, Ships In The Night, Adventures In A Yorkshire Landscape, Forbidden Lovers, Down On Terminal Street, Blazing Apostles, Dance Of The Uncle Sam Humanoids. Cinema Menu

Loose Routes: Two album - 1991 various artists Production/Contribution Menu Future Past BILL: Guitar on one song: "From King John's Christmas". Production/Contribution Menu Future Past

Starlight Stories Bill Nelson album - 1 December 2023 Albums Menu Future Past TRACKS: 01) A Wide Open Window (With A View Of The Stars) 02) Sailing Through Skies Of Blue 03) Antoria 04) My Signal Light 05) Goodbye Golden Sands 06) Everything Is Ancient Now 07) Standing In A Starlit Room 08) Slow, Slow, Slow 09) Meanwhile, Elsewhere 10) Ghosts Of Ancient Houses 11) Celestrum 12) Starlight Stories 13) The Land Of Lost Dreams 14) The Doctor Was An Alchemist 15) Ian's Radio Is On Purchase this CD Purchase this download ALBUM NOTES: Starlight Stories is an album comprising a mixture of song based and instrumental material issued on the Sonoluxe label in a limited edition of 1000 copies. The material for the album was recorded during the same sessions that produced Marvellous Realms and All The Fun Of The Fair , recorded between November 2021 and October 2022. The album title was first announced in a Dreamsville Journal entry dated 5 April 2023 which also confirmed that Nelson had tracks set aside for inclusion on it and was already busy working away on his next project, called Guitars of Tomorrow . The titles of all fifteen tracks destined to appear on Starlight Stories were then revealed by Nelson in a Dreamsville forum post dated 30 April 2023. These were among a list of 127 tracks that would make up future releases including All the Fun of the Fair (which was released on 3 November 2023), the afore mentioned Guitars of Tomorrow and another new album project, Fables of the Future . One song title earmarked for Starlight Stories was initially reported as being called 'Sailing Through the Clouds of Blue' but this was eventually to appear as 'Sailing Through the Skies of Blue'. Other than that minor modification, all fifteen tracks identified back in April 2023 would retain their place on the album. Starlight Stories was mastered at Fairview Studios by John Spence on 1 June 2023 with artwork completed by Martin Bostock in October 2023. Pre-orders details for Starlight Stories were announced by Burning Shed on 2 November 2023 for release on 1 December 2023. CURRENT AVAILABILITY: Available for purchase here in the Dreamsville Store . BILL'S THOUGHTS: "The tracks on 'Starlight Stories' were recorded during the same 2022 recording sessions that produced tracks for the 'All The Fun Of The Fair' album. However, 'Starlight Stories' has a quite different atmosphere and intent. The inspiration for many of the songs came from my memories of a set of children's story books, published in the 1920s, that my mother had owned when she was a child in the early 1930s. She had kept these books and would read to me from them when I was an infant in the early 1950s. They were thick, heavy bound books, with embossed covers and had titles such as 'The Golden Wonder Book For Children'. They were brilliantly illustrated by artists who displayed a combination of Art Nouveau and Art Deco styles. The books contained stories by famous authors such as HG Wells, Miguel De Cervantes, Homer, William Blake and others, plus poems by various poets, both classical and contemporary to those times. I was entranced by the wonderful stories and illustrations they contained. They had an aura of magic and mystery about them, with fairy tales and evocatively British poetry, filled with seasonal and rustic imagery. A treasure trove of fantasy and adventure, which I loved. 'Starlight Stories' doesn't attempt to directly portray those old books but it does try to capture some of their atmosphere and manifest my nostalgia for them. Consequently the songs on this album have a softer, melancholic quality about them, albeit with some distressed, patina-like textures that evoke the scent and feel of those old books. They are dreamy meditations, wistful reveries fed through the filter of my contemporary musical sensibility. I hope they will, in some small way, connect you with your own lost story books, as well as with mine." Albums Menu Future Past

Thursday 5th October 2006 -- 7:00 pm The weather has changed quite dramatically, cold and wet today, the Indian Summer banished overnight. Emiko's 58th birthday yesterday. Despite my constant work on the Nelsonica material, I managed to get into town for an hour and find a gift and a card. We actually went out together for a meal last night. My own 58th birthday coming up in December, not far away now. Can't believe that we're both so close to 60. When I think about how rapidly the last ten years have flown, and how quickly a week passes these days, it's difficult not to get into a state of panic. So much still to achieve in both creative and personal terms. Life's too short when your mind is buzzing like a hive full of idea bees. Into the last stages of pre-Nelsonica work now. The main things all in place but still a few details to attend to. Mastering the new backing tracks next Tuesday, the earliest Fairview could accomodate me. A rehearsal room now booked for Thursday to set out my equipment and wire it all up, attend to any repairs needed and try to get to grips with the new material and re-aquaint myself with the older pieces. I've made my 'charts' for the musical aspect of the set but can't make notes about the effects unit changes and which guitar goes with which number until next Thursday. Friday will be packing up other extra bits of gear, choosing, ironing and packing clothes for stage and the rest of the event and, hopefully, trying to get an early night. (Probably sleepless.) It's going to be an extremely busy Saturday. Whilst the attendees will have approximately 11 or 12 hours of unique entertainment, I'll be there sometime before the doors open to sound check and generally try to get my act together. Jon Wallinger and the dedicated Nelsonica team will actually be there even earlier, on the Friday night, making a start on some of the preparatory tasks. Their organisational work is, as always, carefully considered and meticulous. Each year, the project becomes increasingly more complex but also equally more professional. I'm deeply touched by the team's dedication to the music and filled with admiration for their expertise. Their vibrant enthusiasm and love shines through every aspect of what they do and gurantees that the day will be special. I'm very lucky to be surrounded by such genuine people. I hope that they realise how grateful I am. As always, we have visitors from overseas but, this year, they'll have the wonderful City of York to enjoy during their weekend, as well as the live music, videos and other presentations. An exciting change from the village of North Ferriby no doubt, even though I have many happy past associations with that place. I've had news from Campbell American guitars that my Nelsonic Transitone prototype 2 is winging its way across the Atlantic and should be here for me to play, (and unveil in public,) for the first time at Nelsonica 06. Dean, (Campbell) has sent me some new photographs of the instrument, a couple of which are attached to this diary entry. It looks great and I'm eager to get to grips with it. Once I've assesed it and made any final suggestions, and the proposed minor cosmetic details are added, it will go into production...My first signature model! It's like giving birth but, I'm sure, somewhat less painful... There's some work to do towards an extra, unadvertised item on the Nelsonica agenda, but I won't spoil it by giving details here. It should, however, add further interest to the day. I'm also planning to bring Lost Satellite Steve Cook on stage with me for an improvisational piece. He may end up being part of the Orchestra Futura feature too. We'll see...He and I are getting together this coming Sunday to work on some ideas. And he'll cut my hair at the same time... (No, not on stage, here at home!) I do find the current juggling of one thing or another difficult, stressful. There seems to be so much going on at the same time. But then, hasn't that always been the case? I'm always trying to push towards, not the future so much, as the NOW, the instant moment when fresh possibilities arise and the past is left to the sadness of ghosts. The older we get, the more the tendency arises to perpetually dwell in what we perceive as our 'glory years'. Perhaps this is simply a sign of our increasing inability to keep up, not so much with the wider world, (which often lags even further behind), but to keep up with the rate of our own inner mercurial change and progress. The artist must conquer such tendencies, such laziness, such temptation to be sweet talked into servitude. He must constantly refuse the easy laurel, the placatory kiss on the cheek and renew his commitment to the visionary impulse that, unbidden, compelled him to embark on the work in the first place. There is no place for living art in the mausoleum of lost youth. But our maturity, our ever refined and re-defined adulthood, allows us bigger and greater adventures. Not that many people have the nous or guts to grasp this and run with it. What brought this mood on, I wonder? Maybe the nostalgia that inevitably accompanies certain aspects of Nelsonica? A frustration with the pace of progress here in my little room, in my life? 'Return To Jazz Of Lights' was finished several months ago but won't be heard by my audience until 14th of this month. I'm already thinking about the next step, where I should go from here. Is this part of the problem? That I'm in some sort of hyper-speed realm whilst the 'real' world inevitably drags its worn-out heels? Or am I just bored and disgusted with the dull, tired conservatism that seems to permeate 'pop' and 'rock' culture in general? Maybe the latter, maybe all of the aforementioned. I actually haven't a clue. Or if I have, I'm not telling here. Well, that's it. A cutting of certain ties, a new freedom, a new resolve. Bob's your uncle and the world's your oyster. This is where it begins. Yet again. One of the things I'm looking forward to, once the pressure I'm feeling eases off, is to sit down and listen to some music, other than my own. I have a pile of cds that haven't been out of their jewel cases yet, some Lennie Tristano, some old recordings of John Cage's piano sonatas, the latest Bill Frisell album, some Derek Bailey, a little bit of Charles Ives, some Nino Rota. Then there's the new Madeline Peyroux album that I'm eager to buy and hear, oh, it goes on, a long list of lovely sounds and none of them remotely connected with what some people might think of as Bill Nelson's music. But then, they're not listening hard enough and so, as far as I'm concerned, their opinions don't count. Talking of Nino Rota, I've been reminded of his work by the score he created for Fellini's 'Juliette Of The Spirits' which I've managed to watch late at night on DVD, ('though not all the way through yet). I first saw this film in the '70's, I think, and loved it. Almost finished the fabulous George Melly's , Slowing Down' book, which I've been reading when I wake up in a cold panic in the middle of the night. It calms me no end for some strange reason. My brother Ian once spent a little time with George. When Ian worked at The Yorkshire Sculpture Park, he was once assigned to collect George Melly from the station and drive him to the park. It must've been a special visit or something. I can't recall the exact circumstances now but, sadly, Ian isn't around for me to call him up and check. Anyway, Ian was apparently quite impressed by George, particularly his apparent ability to allow himself the vigourous consumption of the kind of food, drink and cigarettes that were not perhaps wise for a man of his age. Somehow, George, despite various medical issues, appeared to be immune to these transgressions. My mother once commented that Ian took this as an example of the possibility of his own immunity to such things. Ian thought quite highly of George, as do I, but everyone's physical constitution is different. Not that I am particularly wise with my own health. Far from it. but, there you go...I'm reading a book by the man my brother once drove to the sculpture park. Life's like that, isn't it? Sitting here surrounded by several bright guitars. A kind of sculpture park here in my room. They're beautiful, colourful, inviting. But I'm avoiding dealing with them and their demands. It's an ambivalent relationship sometimes. I'll have to face the music tomorrow though as I still need to run some of the Nelsonica concert set through to try to grasp the shape and form of it. It's getting closer and closer. The clouds are parting and the stars are rising, a theatre of possibility. And myself alone and trembling, moving on. Top of page Tuesday 10th October 2006 -- 9:00 pm Spent much of the day at Fairview studios with engineer John Spence, mastering the new instrumental pieces and assembling the final backing tracks for my live performance at this coming Saturday's Nelsonica convention. No second guessing now as the set list is finally 'written in stone.' After a quick run through, (and a haircut), with Steve Cook on keyboards on Sunday, I've decided to add 'Nebulous Trolleybus' to the list, so there will now be 20 instrumentals performed at the convention. It makes for a quite sophisticated set lasting around one and three-quarter hours. 10 of those 20 numbers are brand new, receiving their premiere live performance at Nelsonica. The other ten include some pieces that are also relatively new, so everything should sound nice and fresh. Some of it so fresh that I'll be struggling to remember it! As always, it was a pleasure to sit with John as he mastered the backing tracks for me. This process makes a noticable difference to the sound of the performance, ensuring that each piece sits at the correct level with the other pieces and that the sound is uniform and as punchy as possible. Not only does this provide a better listening experience for the audience but it also allows me to more clearly pick out the details within the backing tracks and thereby play in the most appropriate manner. I need to feel inspired by the on-stage sound if I'm to be at my best. John was planning to visit Hull's annual autumn fair this evening. I would have loved to tag along with him but there's too much to attend to here, not least this diary update. The autumn Hull fair, John tells me, is the largest in Europe and has been a regular fixture for many years. I really would have enjoyed taking my camcorder along to grab some footage for possible use in one of my videograms, but time doesn't favour this. Maybe next year...Actually, I'll probably be just as busy with Nelsonica then, AND there's the possibility of an American Nelsonica right after it. Have been speaking with Simon Warner about our on-stage interview. Sent him some albums to fuel his questions. Should prove to be an interesting talk for those fans who take an interest in the subjects that have inspired me during the last year or two. Simon called me a few minutes ago to confirm some of the pieces to be discussed. We will have one more conversation on Friday to tie up any loose ends. I still haven't prepared any thoughts or words for my Guitar Talk though. (A separate thing from the Simon Warner interview.) Perhaps time is against me now. I'll have to rely on my wits on the day. If the weather favours my imagination, it may yet turn out to be an interesting talk. Before I could go to Fairview this morning, I had a diversion. I received notification that Parcel Force were holding an international package for me. It was prototype 2 of my signature Nelsonic Transitone guitar. I called John Spence to delay our starting time at Fairview and drove out to the Parcel Force depot on the edge of the city, paid the import duty on the guitar and brought it home. I took the guitar case from its exterior packaging and opened it up. A stunning colour...the red and cream and gold make for a very rich and warm looking instrument. I bundled it back into the car and headed off towards Hull and Fairview, eager to try it out against the soon to be mastered backing tracks. There are a few minor cosmetic details still missing on the guitar, but these will definitely be present on production models. Even without these, it's a striking instrument, as John noted. It sounds excellent. I specified a Seymour Duncan jazz pickup in the neck position which provides a glowing, warm tone to contrast with the bridge pickup's wiry twang. One thing that is remarkable about Campbell American guitars is their consistency. The quality standards are always the same, from one instrument to another. So often, you have to sort through a batch of supposedly identical guitars to find what might be considered a 'good' one. No such problem with these instruments. The three Campbell guitars I own all perform to the same high standard. As noted in previous diary entries, this year's Nelsonica will be very much a guitar-centred affair. I'm taking several favourite instruments to Thursday's rehearsal to decide on the final allocation of which instrument fits best with which track. There will be another special treat for guitar fans at the convention too. (But I'm keeeping that as a surprise.) An enthusiastic and positive reaction on the Dreamsville site to the announcement about the forthcoming Dreamsville/Nelsonica Art Awards. I'm hoping that the standard of entries will be high and that the work submitted will serve to demonstrate the intelligence and imagination of those fans who appreciate the potential of art to enliven and enlighten our lives. I have to admit that I've always felt a little uneasy using the word 'fan' to describe those people who find enjoyment and information from listening to the music I create. I tend to think of fans as being young teenagers with little experience of life and not much sophistication, cannon fodder for the big bad music industry's marketing machine....BUT: My own experience, as regards my 'fans', is more complex than that and far less easy to define. Two things seem to emerge from my experiences of meeting them. One is their clearly evident warmth, good judgement and humanity. The other is their wide-ranging cultural appetite. (Not the best phrase but the closest to what I feel, especially at this hour of night.) Music seems to have informed their lives to a tremendous degree. Many of them regularly demonstrate an awareness and depth of insight that an intelligent exploration of the creative arts inevitably brings to those who care about these things. There often seems to be what one might refer to as a 'spiritual dimension' too. Certainly, my personal encounters with my audience via my concerts and the Dreamsville website bears this observation out. So perhaps there's another word, one less loaded with notions of immaturity that might apply to those who share and enjoy my musical output with me. But I'm damned if I can come up with something appropriate... 'Connoisseurs' comes close but doesn't completely hit the spot. The word 'patrons' could be considered as part of the equation too. It's both these attributes but something more, several things more. So, out of sheer frustration at a true definition, maybe for now, the epithet 'fans' has to suffice. Nevertheless, the word belittles the actual deed. Perhaps something as plain and simple as 'friends' comes closest. If there's one thing I should be proud of it is that my music has attracted, in the main, people of this calibre. Or am I just imagining that this is so? No matter how hard one tries to communicate, there will always be a minority who, from no great fault of their own, nor mine, misunderstand the work in one way or another. This is, as in other aspects of human interaction, inevitable. (A cliche, I know.) One has to accept that such confusions will be part of the scenario, no matter how hard one tries to aim for clarity. This can, for any artist driven by his or her creative forward momentum, prove to be frustrating. I've jumped through this particular hoop over and over again during my life as a musician and no doubt will be forced to do so again and again. This is part of the 'job,' I suppose. But, as painful as it feels sometimes, it has to be done. There is no choice, other than to give in to things that one instinctively rejects as alien to one's sensibilities. It's a compulsion, in the end. Not everyone will feel like keeping pace, no matter how hard the artist pushes. But that too is the way it should be. Things eventually find their own level. For every thing left by the wayside, a new thing is gained. I'm more than happy with that. It seems natural enough to me. Whilst on the subject of art, (and I WAS on that subject, somewhere further back in this diary entry), I'm intrigued by Carsten Holler's work currently on show at Tate Modern. It's a kind of conceptual, futuristic fairground slide, taking up much of the vast space of Tate Modern's Turbine Hall. I plan to travel to London at some point during the next few weeks and will definitly be paying a visit to Tate modern to see this. Whenever I go to London, I make a habit of visiting one or other of the Tates, (more often than not Tate Modern), where I browse in their bookshops, have lunch in their cafe's and generally try to resit spending money on books that I can ill afford. But I do so much enjoy the experience of visiting these galleries and wandering amongst other art lovers. (There's now't more civilised than an art gallery tha knows!) How I'd love to be able to create an audio-visual piece for the Turbine Hall. Or for York Minster, or the Cocteau Ampitheater just outside Monte Carlo, or...well, the list goes on and on. A series of concerts-come-installations at beautiful or inspiring locations around the world, maybe with a documentary film crew in tow to document it. A celebration of the sound of special places, the resonance of travel. In today's 'Independent,' an interesting article about Facel Vega cars. A company long defunct but, if I were able to indulge myself along the lines of a super-rich pop star, a company whose elegant and stylish automobiles I would enthusiastically collect and drive. 'Automobile'...so much more evocative a word than 'Car', I think. The real news,in the REAL world, really ugly and worrying, is that North Korea has tested its first nuclear weapon. A country ruled by what appears to be a very unpredictable fanatic has now become a serious threat to its asian neighbours and the rest of the world. As if there wasn't already enough bloody-minded insanity on our own doorstep. Bought a copy of 'The Oldie' this week...Much more provocative and stimulating than the average rock rag or whatever. What will folks think? But then, I'm getting to that age when I'm damned if I give a bugger what folks think! One of the benefits of maturity is the ability to absolutely disregard the timid mediocrity of youth, my own youth included, by the way. We thought we had the world in our pocket but all we actually had was a soiled Kleenex and a copy of 'Spic and Span.' (Look it up on the web if you weren't a male teenager in the early to mid 'sixties.) Late middle age allows us to behave disgracefully whilst maintaining an annoying air of knowing nonchalance and crotchety grace. If there is such a thing. Well, there IS in MY book. But it's only valid when backed up with a certain savoir-faire, (or something or other), but definitely not the loutish, beer-soaked whinging that some oldies carry over into middle-age from the cultural desert of their lost youth. I'm back in the last diary entry's territory here, by the sound of it. Railing against the dying of the light? No! Quite the opposite, trying to shield my eyes from it's brilliance so that I can see my way forward. Sometimes, I'm deeply dazzled. Sometimes there's a headlamp that sees through the overbright darkness as if by magic. Torchy The Battery Boy...A sky full of brilliant stars, obvious if you've got a telescope, less so if you're shoegazing. It's autumn and the leaves are soon to be swept aside. A new broom, clear days ahead. Always looking forward to tomorrow... Saturday soon and nerves of steel. Ready, willing and able! Top of page Monday 23rd October 2006 -- 6:00 pm Sometimes I wonder. Reading back through the most recent diary entries I can sense the pressure and stress of the last few months. There's much that I would, (and should), change. My choice of words or phrase is sometimes ill-considered or untypical. At worst, totally off-target. A head spinning and dizzy with, if not euphoria, then ecstatic panic. Yes...Peter Panic, my alter-ego, a stretched-on-the-rack-of-existential-angst Cliff Richard, a dark shadow of the boy next door. Or maybe just the village idiot, the one who raided the local library and stole all the weird books that no-one ever read. (And then scribbled in their margins, slightly obscene doodles, fingerprints, ejaculations of dissent.) I'm exhausted but buzzing with new ideas. Spinning. Nelsonica 06 went pretty well last Saturday. Already over a week ago but still a blur for me as I was 'on tap' virtually all the time. Lots of people there, the best attendance yet, I think. The Nelsonica team had done a fabulous job of tricking up the venue with huge posters depicting various aspects of my work, including a magnificent one for the Dreamsville website. A tremendous effort all round. I exhibited part of my guitar collection. First time I'd seen these particular instruments out of their cases all at the same time. They looked beautiful. I took my Carlsbro Nelsonic amp to display too, 'though I went 100% digital with my live on-stage performance as I generally do at solo concerts these days. Prototype number two of my signature model 'Nelsonic Transitone' guitar had arrived at Nelson Acres a few days before the event and I was able to give it its first proper airing during the live performance. It sounded great and there are just a few minor tweaks that I've suggested to Dean Campbell before it goes into production. The guitar caused quite a stir amongst the players in the audience during the performance. It looks striking too, the colour has turned out just as I'd intended. My live set wasn't strictly solo. This time, I actually had other musicians to share the stage with, at least for three numbers in the set: It was a pleasure to work, during the encore section of the live set, with Theo Travis, Dave Sturt and Steve Cook who joined me for three numbers under the alias of 'Orchestra Futura,' (an improvising ensemble of some considerable skill and imagination). We had no rehearsal, just dived in and swam for it. An ocean of sound but strong swimmers all. Theo played impressive flute and saxophone, treating his flute via a delay-looper. Dave played bass, using an unusual Viger fretless bass guitar with a metal fretboard, going via processors and a lap top. Quite a few people in the audience were intrigued by this instrument, judging by comments made afterwards. Steve played his keyboard, sticking with piano and Fender Rhodes sounds. The entire ensemble had a beautifully fragmented jazz-electronica sound. The feed back on my website about this ensemble has been very encouraging, though, as might be expected, it was seen as a little too left-field for some of the more traditinally minded fans. For me, it was a positive step towards another bright horizon. I'm rather keen to see where this might lead. A stimulating side-project with potential for both recorded and live music and an opportunity for me to stretch out and enjoy playing unshackled by people's pre-conceptions about the kind of music I'm 'supposed' to make. None of this should come as much of a surprise to those fans who have been aware of my long-time passion for slightly more esoteric music. There have been plenty of precursors to the Orchestra Futura approach over the last 26 years or more, so it's not as if it's a newly aquired taste on my part. The 1980's saw me virtually abandon anything connected with straight rock music, apart from a few diversions. Works such as 'Sounding The Ritual Echo,' 'Simplex,' 'Trial By Intimacy,' 'Crimsworth,' the two 'Orchestra Arcana' albums, amongst others, explored avenues flanked by a noticably different musical architecture from the old Be Bop Deluxe sonic suburbia. In more recent years, I've re-introduced some familiar, (to the older fans), elements to the mix. Perhaps the vocal approach has opened out a little and the music has assumed a broader, more general appeal. Even so, I've kept elements from the left-of-centre material and incorporated them into the straighter pieces. Nothing I do is ever quite as straightforward as it might first appear. I think that, after all these years, it's fair to assume that the average listener has grown less luddite about my music...after all, I'm not exactly known for sticking with the same formula for very long. Even Be Bop Deluxe rang the changes. It's amusing to note that the style of electronica-based music that I adopted in the early 'eighties, a style that seemed somewhat controversial to many Be Bop Deluxe fans back then, has since been absorbed into the mainstream and is now perfectly ordinairy and acceptable, cropping up in everything from tv advertising to movie soundtracks. Minimalism, sampling, digital glitchs, sonically 'distressed' sounds, modal music, drones, poly-rhythmic beats, artificially created timbres and post-modernist, conceptual ideas are just as familiar to the general public as guitars were back in the '60's and '70's. Cheaper technology has made that kind of music even more common, especially now when computer sequencing software has enabled almost anyone to try their hand at it. Not only has yesterday's Abbey Road become every man and his dog's home studio, yesterday's avant-garde has become today's popularist music too. What was once an outsider form has been embraced by the herd. Of course, there's no reason why all these different 'genres' can't happily co-exist. To the open mind and ear, not only do they already co-exist but they mingle, mix and match also. The barriers have been down for some time and, for those of us who scraped away at them in the first place, the future is a wide open space. If the sound of dragging heels can sometimes still be heard it's probably from those who still locate their listening pleasure in the sphere of adolescent nostalgia. Now, don't misunderstand, I have a tremendous respect and love of the music that I grew up with and it naturally and unconsciously informs and inspires a lot of my contemporary output. Nevertheless, I'm constantly trying to widen my horizons...it's an approach I've nurtured almost from the beginning, a vigorous curiosity, a hunger for more. I'm just not one of those people who stopped listening to music post-Elvis, post-Hendrix, post-Sex Pistols, etc. (or post-Be Bop Deluxe for that matter). Life's too short to impose those kind of limits when there's so much more to get to grips with, explore and enjoy. But that schoolboy, 'either/or' situation where one has to join one tribe or another, (but never both), that thing of never stepping over the line, of always having to wear the correct uniform, when music becomes a 'my favourite band is better than yours' slanging match, where there's no opportunity for forward movement, where musical taste becomes a closed shop. Well...I don't really go for that. What causes such a dogmatic, narrow attitude? Fear of the unknown and the security of the familiar? Aesthetic timidity? It's sad how many people live in fear of Art with a capital 'A'. The one thing that might brighten and enliven their lives, more so than religion or politics. Back to Nelsonica... There were lots of other things for the audience to enjoy: An onstage interview with myself conducted by Simon Warner, Senior Teaching Fellow at Leeds University's School Of Music, was well received. I've known Simon for quite a few years now and have contributed to his classes at Bretton Hall College in the past. Also given talks with him at Wakefield's Unity Hall. (The latter place filled with memories for me. It was here that I first recall seeing my father play his saxophone with his own band at the silver wedding anniversary ball of Ada and Herman Ackroyd, who were good friends of my parents back in the 1940's and '50's.) Simon's interview this year centred on the topic of songwriting. It was relatively stress-free, perceptive and a real pleasure to take part in. I also improvised a talk about guitars and guitar playing. I managed to do it without the list of prompts I'd prepared the night before, which, unfortunately, meant I missed some of the topics I'd intended to cover, but I just let it ramble wherever it needed to go and all seemed to work out o.k. in the end. I can't recall much of what I said now, but I did manage to show everyone a video clip of Joe Pass playing in concert. This seemed to blow a few minds in the audience, particularly those who hadn't previously come across Joe's work. It felt like my younger days, when I'd turn friends on to my latest musical discoveries by lending them albums I'd found. The hardest part of the convention, or at least the most emotionally testing part, was the little tribute to my brother Ian that I'd arranged. Again, I had not written anything down or reheased a speech...things just happened on the spur of the moment. I tried to talk about the childhood that Ian and I had shared, about how much I missed him, how much I wished I could talk with him. I wasn't particularly articulate, I fear. Afterwards, I realised that there was much more that I'd intended to say about him, but, due to nervousness and an inner struggle not to let my emotions run away with me, I didn't quite manage to include everything I'd hoped to get across to the audience. But at least I managed to say something, which is more than I could manage at Ian's funeral service when words would have been impossible and only tears articulate. My mother, (and her husband George), and also Ian's two sons, (my nephews), Julian and Louis, were in attendance at the convention. I hope they felt the high regard the audience demonstrated for my much-missed and loved brother. I know he would have been deeply touched by it all. At Nelsonica, I placed two framed photographs of Ian, (playing his saxophone), on a little table next to me on stage. Emi had made a flower arrangement which was displayed in a vase next to the photo's of Ian and I brought a small Buddha figure from my home studio, with a tea-light illuminated in it, to sit on the table too. It was symbolic of the fact that Ian had planned to share this year's Nelsonica stage with me. We'd discussed it just two weeks before he passed away. There were times during the performance that I felt his prescence. Ian once was part of a group called 'Fiat Lux', back in the '80's and the band's vocalist and songwriter, Steve Wright, kindly agreed to come along to Nelsonica to talk about his memories of Ian. We also showed some old Fiat Lux videos and played some of Ian's last recordings, (made with his friend and musical partner John Nixon), to the audience. There was a wonderfully warm response from everyone for this. Later on in the event, I had scheduled two separate 'meet n' greet' sessions of one hour each, where attendees could sit down, have a photograph taken with me by official Nelsonica photographer Martin Bostock, and get their Nelsonica album signed. As always, we'd underestimated how long this would take and the reality was that I ended up having one very long, continuous session of over three hours without a break. It's always nice to meet the people who enjoy my music and I'm always happy to make time to chat with them but, towards the end of this long, long signing session, my brain was less than sharp. (Not helped by a magic wine-glass by my side which, amazingly, always seemed full!) It was a very exhausting experience, not just for me but for the people at the back of the apparently infinite queue. In the end though, I think everyone went home happy, despite the fact that we'd been given less than enough seating arrangements by the venue itself. Most people had been on their feet all day, (as had I), something we must guard against at next year's event. One new feature of the convention was the presence of the rather lovely 'Nelsonettes,' a group of young ladies decked out in specially made 'Nelsonette' t-shirts. They added a much needed feminine touch to the event as they moved amongst the attendees with camera and microphone, interviewing willing participants for a little souvenir audio-visual piece that we're hoping to assemble soon. Actually, there was a much higher number of females in the audience this year. A good thing in my book. I hope this trend continues! amongst the attendees with camera and microphone, interviewing willing participants for a little souvenir audio-visual piece that we're hoping to assemble soon. Actually, there was a much higher number of females in the audience this year. A good thing in my book. I hope this trend continues! One of the sweetest aspects of Nelsonica is the unexpected giving of gifts that some fans bring. They're very generous and thoughtful with their choices too. This year, I was given two extremely special and valuable books, one dealing with Chet Atkins' life and one with Les Paul's. The Les Paul book is a limited edition publication, hand-numbered and signed by Les himself. It's a superbly produced book and, for me, a huge Les Paul fan, it is something that I'll alway treasure. I was also given a book dealing with Jean Cocteau's 'Testament Of Orphee' film, which is my favourite Cocteau movie, 'though not neccesarily, in critics eyes, his best. Cocteau himself 'stars' in it though and it is clearly personal and autobiographical. I find the film very touching. Other gifts: A vintage style tin robot-spaceman, a copy of Madelline Peyroux's latest album, (excellent by the way), a sailor's Theodolite, (fascinating!), some cds of fans' own musics, a bottle of wine, some photographs of myself at previous year's Nelsonicas, a set of American Hot Rod and Custom Car magazines from the late 1950's and early '60's, (takes me back to my early teens and the model car kit mania I had then), a set of cdr copies of vintage radio shows and interviews with Derek Bailey and Bill Frisell, some video cdrs and even a 'Jesus Soap On A Rope'!!! (And there were more besides.) It felt as if my birthday had arrived two months early. A really nice touch was when the Nelsonica team presented Emiko with a large bouquet of flowers, (for putting up with me, I suspect!) She was completely taken aback and genuinely touched that the team had thought to do this for her. After a very long day, we eventually got home in the early hours of Sunday morning, slightly worse for wear but relieved that all had gone reasonably well. Mission accomplished, at least until next year. On Sunday, I had to be up early to get all my equipment back into the house. My guitar tech, Pete Harwood, who had done a super job of looking after my on (and off) stage guitar needs, brought everything back in a large van. We stacked the guitars and other equipment in the dining room and hall. I wasn't in the mood, (or energetic enough), to deal with the task of carting it upstairs, item by item, and trying to fit it into the limited space I have available for storage. (I made a start at this on the Monday but it was Wednesday morning before absolutely everything was tidied away.) Paul and Ian Gilby called around 1 pm on the Sunday and we went to a tiny village pub a few miles from where I live for a traditional Sunday roast. It was such a pleasure to be able to relax amongst genial company after the long, stressful build up to the convention. Ian and Paul have been such good friends in recent years and their help and support is something I appreciate very much. Sitting in the little village pub allowed us time and space that, due to our various workloads, would usually be at such a premium for us. A very pleasant, civilised afternoon. Time still runs fast however and already more than a week has flown since Nelsonica 06. I've been trying to catch up with various domestic duties that had been pushed to the back of the queue due to Nelsonica's demands, but...I'm still behind. Thought I might get a proper break but that seems out of the question too. I tried to book a cottage on the end of Whitby's harbour, part of my plan to have a three or four day 'mini-holiday' with Emi. However, the cottage we wanted was fully booked apart from the week around my birthday in December. This actually would have been ideal for me, a terrific birthday present but, unfortunately, Emi has to work during that week as it is one of the flower shops busiest periods, (being Christmas), so we've had to give up on the idea of a break altogether. Maybe I'll just book an overnight stay, one weekend, at the White Horse and Griffin hotel and restaurant. Better than nothing. I was really looking forward to the view from 'Captain's Cottage' though...it has windows overlooking the harbour, the harbour mouth and the ocean. It would be cold, dark and wild in December but I love Whitby out of season and the winter weather and early nights suits it somehow. So much more atmospheric than summertime when it's crowded with tourists. A very good documentary on the Artsworld tv channel the other night, dealing with Miles Davis' electric period. It featured several celebrity guest musicians talking about him, as well as interview clips and performances from Miles himself. I was amused when reminded of how some critics and many of Miles' fans reacted negatively to him introducing electronic keyboards and amplified guitars into his music, back in the 'sixties. It caused something of a stir. As did Bob Dylan going from acoustic folk to electric rocker, Joni Mitchell adding jazz elements to her music, etc, etc. (On another level, Be Bop Deluxe to Red Noise, Red Noise to 'Quit Dreaming', and so on. Familiar reactions for me too...but I've come to expect it and shouldn't be too surprised). The documentary's interviews emphasised one major point: A true artist can't stand still. It was also stated that Miles, and many other creative musicians, are not in the business of being entertainers. It was inspiring and encouraging to hear these attitudes and sentiments, (which I've held since the start of my 'career'), being confirmed by artists whom I deeply respect. I caught this tv programme halfway through but the timing was perfect as I'd just come down from an evening of trying to explain, on the forum of my website, why I can never look backwards for too long. I was feeling a little marginalised for sticking to my ideals and had been suffering some mild despair. The comments from Miles and fellow artists gave me some much needed confidence. At times, there is a sense that one is a small part of a bigger picture and, no matter how meagre, that one's own contribution is both worthwhile and honourable. How I would have loved to have played alongside Miles and other's of that calibre. Perhaps that's an over-ambitious wish, in musical terms. But, hell...I'd have liked to try. Just finished reading Frank Letchford's biography of Austin Osman Spare which throws light on the more human side of his life. So many of the (very few) books about AOS focus on his esoteric magical theories. It was good to read, in Mr. Letchford's 'Michaelangelo In A Teacup' book about the sensitive and preceptive character behind the magical image. Frank Letchford was a long time friend of Austin's and has written very much from that priveleged perspective. Another book about Spare waiting on top of my bedside pile. So many books to read. My scanner has broken down. First it kept quitting on me and now it's packed in altogether. It's not even switching on...completely inactive. I need it for album sleeve artwork and for website/diary images. I went to buy a new one but they all seem to require much more recent Mac operating systems than the one I use. I could, of course, install a newer OS but then my other software programmes wouldn't work. And I need my Final Cut Pro for the development of the 'Ghosts Etched On Glass' film. It's a love and hate relationship, computers and me. What I REALLY need is a NEW computer, even though mine is only 6 years old. The new Mac pro dual core G5 tower would be like a breath of fresh air. My current G4 is ancient in computer terms. What a game this computer lark is. Autumn now has a firmer grip. Red and gold and brown, 'though there's still more green on the trees than is usual for this time of year. Not particularly cold either. Lots of Canada geese wheeling over the river in town today, great screeching circles of them. A girl lifted her tourist map over her head in self-protection, frightened of being dumped on. Had one of my apocalyptic dreams last night. Extremely realistic. High tech Eurofighter style planes with the ability to hover flying low and slow over English villages pumping hot lead and rockets into crowds of running, screaming people. A rain of metal and fire. I was there, trying to dodge the deadly hail. Got hit though. Who were these people, glimpsed through jet plane canopies, crystal clear, strange insignia on their craft? The machinery was awesome in it's efficient beauty, bright light glinting from metal surfaces. Designer fighter aircraft, their pilots tricked out like military fashion plates, but merciless, trigger happy, ruthless. Why did I dream such a thing and why was it sharper and more vivid than my usual dreams? I've had far too many disturbing dreams of late. I'm thinking of buying myself a new bicycle, my old one being a bit heavy, a bone-shaker. I could do with something lighter and more comfortable that would encourage me to get out of the studio more and take a little gentle exercise. Saw a nice one in a shop called 'Cycle Heaven' the other day. Like most things that catch my eye, it was expensive. I'll search around for something more sensible. Actually, one of those 'electrically assisted' ones might be fun. Or a French Velo-Solex with the little petrol engine over the front wheel. I can just see me, putt-putt-putting along, from the village into town, dressed in my American newsboy's cap and steam engine driver's jacket, autumn leaves flying behind me. The neighbours would have a field day! And now what? My 'to do' list is far from empty. Lots to tackle in the ensuing months. Difficult to know where best to start. Some much needed household repairs first though. Try to leave the guitars in their cases for a little while. Or am I asking too much of myself there? Enough diary for now. I'm getting cabin-fever. Time for a stroll around town. Top of page Tuesday 31st October 2006 -- 10:00 pm I'm in a kind of limbo, a place when I've got plenty to do but little energy to do it. I feel as if I'd benefit from a week's holiday in Villefranche-Sur-Mer, strolling through the lamplit tunnel of Rue Obscura, or sitting in a seafood restaurant on the salty dog harbourside, taking a sneaky peek at the French girls' shapely legs whilst winking the tinest hint of a twinkling eye, a salacious old Riviera goat, living the poet's life. I've made a start on the 8 X 8 inch canvas artwork that I'm trying to create for the 'Stars On Canvas' celebrity charity auction being held in Brighton in November, but I've thrown two half-completed canvases in the bin so far. I'm rushing it instead of considering what I really want to do. I've also wasted time trying to use oil pastels on a roughly textured and small canvas. Far too blunt an instrument. Despite this, I have managed to complete a very simple piece, almost minimalistic, using just a brush, black ink and the merest hint of colour. It's not really a painting as such, just a drawing executed on canvas. But it's not bad. It will be my failsafe if I don't come up with something better in time for the rapidly approaching November 10th exhibition date. I went out and bought four more blank canvases this afternoon though. So, even if nothing better comes down God's pipe, I can at least pursuade myself that I've tried. Attended a memorial service in Wakefield for my brother Ian this last Sunday. It was an emotional affair, fuelled even more by certain aspects of the religious ceremony. Perhaps that was the purpose of it...a deliberate and cathartic prodding of wounds. Although the vicar and his begowned acolytes were plainly sincere in their beliefs, I still couldn't help thinking that there was a frightening lack of light beneath all the ritual. Plenty of smoke and mirrors, though. I just instinctively felt that there was a catastrophic misunderstanding of what was really required in such a situation. There was some talk of healing, there was talk of solace, but also the usual evocation of the tortured and meat-racked Christ, the cannibalistic body and blood feast, a darkly guilty and sin-soaked ecstasy of gothic remorse. Not much sunshine or true celebration of Ian's life as it was actually lived. There was one aspect of the service though, that came closer to being universally appropriate to the situation and our love for Ian, and that was the lighting of a candle with his name on it, which we, as a family, were allowed to physically, directly deal with ourselves, with only minor assistance from the church 'staff.' I guess the problem, for me at least, is that Christianity is shackled by the Bible and the history of the Church itself. It also makes me feel mean and churlish when I inevitably pick the fabric of faith apart, especially when so many good hearted people seem to gain something helpful from their involvement with orthodox religion but...It seems to me that much of religious thought and dogma is out of step with the true 'spirit' of the human condition. I know it is out of step with my own spiritual experience and I also know that my brother Ian had little time for religion in any form. He was a 'live-life-to-the-full' and 'damn the torpedoes' sort of chap. Any kind of religious or spiritual debate became an easy target for his scorn. Having said that, I do feel that he would have appreciated SOME sort of meaningful gesture, some declaration of love towards him from those of us left behind. He would also have returned the gesture with equal love. It was with that in mind that we, Ian's family and loved ones, gathered together at last Sunday's memorial service. I think he would have appreciated the lighting of the candle too. My mother, Ian's wife Diane, Ian's children, Emi and I and some close friends of Ian's all shed a good few tears in the more difficult moments of the service. The still unsettled grief, the emotional rawness, did somehow glue us together. I wish that I could spend more time with what remains of my family but I always seem to be caught up in a desperate, headlong rush to maintain what passes for my day-to-day existence. The curse of modern living? This fearful sense of time running out dissolves even the best of intentions. Before the service, Emi and I had taken fresh flowers to Ian's grave. The beautiful spring blossoms that filled the avenue of trees near his grave not long after he was laid to rest have now given way to equally beautiful russet and gold autumn leaves. How quickly time has flown. Ian's headstone is being carved at the moment and should be in place by Christmas. It will be in light gray Indian marble with silver text. For now though, only the framework that held the flowers spelling out the word 'DAD' and a couple of rain soaked cards mark Ian's resting place. And three glass vases pressed into the soil, filled with flowers. Emi and I left just pure white ones this time. Ian's mother-in-law, who passed away only a few weeks after Ian, lies at peace in the plot just behind Ian's. Her headstone will be erected there soon also. It is being carved by the same person who is creating Ian's. I've probably mentioned Wakefield Cemetary before in this diary, how, in the early 1950's, I used to visit it on Saturday mornings as a child with my mother and grandmother to place flowers on my great grandfather's grave, his location now long lost to me. How also, I used to visit the cemetary during my art school years in the 1960's, sometimes to sketch or photograph stone angels, sometimes just to wander amongst the Victorian graves and memorials, marvelling at the names and lives of souls who I never knew but, nevertheless felt some strange kinship with. An impossible nostalgia born of shared mortality perhaps? There was always an immense, overwhelming sadness in the air, but an aching, tender beauty too. It was a place where people had been left behind, waylaid, abandoned by time and the world, yet freed from its ravages, despite the inevitable sense of decay. Those perpetual Victorians, eternal miners, frozen in time mill workers, industrialists, authors, artists, doctors and clergy, etc, etc...Forever framed by and fixed in ancient Yorkshire landscapes of gaslamps, smoke and chimneys, cobblestones, dusty sash-windows, slate roofs and rainy, hooting, whistling railway sidings...Each and every gravestone marking an individual life filled with its own personal joys and sorrows, (and its own UNIVERSAL joys and sorrows!) For some strange reason, I felt more compassion, more connectedness with these distant, imagined lives than with flesh and blood passing strangers on the street. Perhaps, because death robs us of our insecurities, anger and greed, there is nothing to fear from the dead, only the living. Ghosts are our mortal fears made manifest. After the memorial service at the church, Emi and I drove my Mum and her husband George up to the 'Kings Arms' pub on Heath Common, just on the edge of Wakefield. It's an old haunt of mine from my 'sixties art school days and also the early 'seventies. It also holds some memories of Ian for me, (though not as many as the pub he and I used to meet up for lunch at when he worked at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park in the '90's.) It was here too that the Nelson family came after Ian's funeral service and reception last April. 'The Kings Arms' and Heath Common itself form part of my own history. The food may be uninspiring but the atmosphere is special. Mum, George, Emi and I decided have a meal there, nothing too fancy as George isn't a fancy eater, preferring what he refers to as 'traditional' food. Not that there was anything that he would have considered exotic on the menu anyway. So it was meat pie and veg for him and Mum and fish n' chips for Emi and I. George did let me buy him a pint of lager though. The Kings Arms ancient atmosphere soothed and charmed us. It is still lit by gaslight, a soft flickering amber-tinted glow. The pub has several small, nook-and-cranny wood panelled rooms, all crooked and tobacco stained and stone flagged. A PROPER pub and authentically old. Outside, the common stretched away in the clocks-just-changed darkness, the village of Heath quiet in the autumnal Sunday night air, a few lights visible from distant stone cottages. If I were ever to return to Wakefield to live, this would probably be my ideal location. But I can't see me returning for anything other than to visit family or to take flowers to Ian. Car touble last week...Emi's car needed repairs. Costly but unavoidable. Fixed now but we need to seriously think about changing both our vehicles. Milage too high and trade in value too low, but that's the way it goes with cars. TV broken in the living room too, has been for months now. And I still haven't called a repair man. Communicated with Matt Howarth about our ever ongoing collaboration: 'The Last Of The Neon Cynics.' Matt is looking for some more music from me. I got a disc from him with a full colour version of the story on it...looks great. Too tired to write more now. I spend far too much time on website matters. It's surprising how much mail I get from fans and how often I feel compelled to respond to topics on the Dreamsville Forum. It does occupy a great deal of my time. Perhaps its just part of that impulse to leave footprints in the sand. Melancholia setting in. Time to go downstairs and watch tv. Top of page William's Study (Diary Of A Hyperdreamer) October 2006 Jan Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Nov Dec 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2013

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2013 William's Study (Diary Of A Hyperdreamer) January 2011 Feb Mar Apr Dec Saturday 22nd January 2011 -- 3:00 pm One of my recordings, ('Zoom Sequence' from 'After The Satellite Sings'), has a voice sample that says, "Time becomes a loop...". Bob Dylan once sang, "Time plays strange tricks when you're tryin' to be so quiet...". Nick Drake sang, "Time Has Told Me". Sandy Denny sang, "Who Knows Where The Time Goes" and "It'll take a long, long time...". What has that got to do with this? Well, here we are, it's already the 22nd of January 2011 and my first diary entry of the year is, typically, overdue. Time seems to have not only passed quickly but somehow become compressed, twisted and folded. No matter how good my intentions are with this journal, time zips by at light speed. Whilst the gaps between entries become longer and longer they, weirdly, seem to have hardly any duration at all, at least in my own mind. Yes, time plays strange tricks and just when I was trying to be so quiet. Perhaps in growing older our thoughts slip through the temporal cracks more easily, as if the thinning out of our being makes us ever more prone to Time's sneaky side-steps and unpredictable glitches. Maybe we're all unconsciously engaged in the act of vanishing, both conjurors and conjured. Ok...Christmas came and went, wrapped in a blur of shopping madness and the usual nostalgic anticipation of childhood miracles, until the inevitable 'well...what was that all about?' despondency kicked in. Actually, it was ok. I brought mum over to our house on Christmas Day and Emi prepared a traditional Christmas dinner. Mum stayed here with us overnight, (bravely enduring the extremely cramped quarters of our spare bedroom), and Elle and Elliot came over on boxing day. Amongst their other Christmas gifts, I'd bought them each a 'Recording King' acoustic guitar, decorated with rather kitsch and colourful graphics. Elle's featured a cowgirl motif and Elliot's boasted a Hawaiian surfer design, palm trees and a big ship. As far as playability goes, I guess they were fairly basic...but were really intended as kitsch art-objects to prop up in a corner of a room to make the place look pretty. So...visually, 10 out of 10. I can't recall much of what we did on New Year's Eve...not that I celebrated to the point of drunken amnesia...just that Emi and I did little more than sit in front of the television trying to stay awake. Channel after channel of dumb, bland, dull as dishwater programming. Enough to turn even an intelligent teenager into a grumpy old man. Oh yes, television plays strange tricks when you're trying to be so quiet.... Since then? A flurry of activity to do with the re-releasing of a number of albums from my back catalogue. Activity in terms of mental energy more than physical at this point in time. As I think I've noted here before, Cherry Red's 'Esoteric' label are planning to assemble a career compilation boxed set: 6 cds containing examples of my music from the early 1970's up until recent years, all packaged together as a career overview. This last week, I've been occupied with trying to create a suitable title for it. A very long list of possible titles to begin with, then the tough process of attempting to cut it down to size. Not there yet with this really, 'though Mark Powell, who runs 'Esoteric Records' and is the person behind the re-issue program, has come out in favour of 'Further Adventures On Planet Earth.' I'm not sure whether this might be a wee bit too lengthy, 'though I did actually like it when it originally occurred to me. Perhaps I should post a selection of titles on my website forum and get fans to vote on it. Then again, maybe not. Creating art by committee is not something that I've ever found of much value. Maybe it's better to stick my own neck out for what I believe in rather than to delegate and diffuse ideas via some sort of popular consensus. A very nice thing happened a week or so ago. I was contacted by Dave Gascoigne of ROSEWELL AMPLIFIERS. www.rosewell-amps.co.uk Dave hand builds '50's style classic amps that look and sound like vintage models. Models that would normally cost over a couple of thousand pounds. Rosewell amplifiers have all the style and vibe of vintage amplifiers, with the singular, hand-built excellence of high-end boutique American product, but are actually hand made here in the UK, (and in Yorkshire at that), to a far more realistic price than any equivalent US amp. The Rosewell custom model I now have sitting beside me here in my studio is, quite simply, a gem. A tweed covered combo, in the style of a mid '50's Fender, but with so much more going for it. It has three 10" genuine vintage speakers, (not modern re-issues), and is all tube throughout. Dave rates it at around 35 watts but it is an extremely loud 35 watts. And sweet as a bell. Plugging my D'Angelico semi, my Peerless Monarch archtop, my Gretsch White Falcon or my Guild X-500 archtop into the Rosewell produces rich and warm jazz tones that bring to mind the sounds of Wes Montgomery, Kenny Burrell and Joe Pass. Just the right tonal balance of lows and highs. Wind the amp up and you get beautifully textured blues and rock tones. Add an overdrive or distortion pedal and the thing screams like a jet-pack angel. A pallette of classic guitar tones in one box. Now, whilst many fans will have been aware of my enthusiastic use of digital guitar processors for the last 20 years or so, I've never ruled out the benefits of a traditional valve amp. I'm not the sort of player who thinks one approach is 'better' than another. It's always a 'horses for courses' situation as far as I'm concerned and I try not to draw hard and fast lines (or erect unnecessary barriers), with technical equipment, or with the music itself. The Rosewell amplifier adds another dimension to my sound palette. An authentic, physical tonality that couldn't be replicated any other way. There's a possibility that this particular amplifier, which Dave designed exclusively with me in mind, might be made available as a signature model, literally with my autograph personally added to each one produced. At the moment, Rosewell amps are built entirely by hand by Dave in his workshop. As such, they are made to order, rather than rolling off a factory production line. This means that each amp takes a few weeks to complete, but the wait is very much worth it. Ironically, despite my extensive use of digital gear, I now have, unbelievably, here in this tiny recording room of mine, 9 guitar amplifiers and just 4 digital guitar processors. For readers of this diary who are interested in such things, my amps are as follows: 1: The aforementioned, custom-built Rosewell Combo. (My latest acquisition and a really fabulous and authentic sound.) 2: My custom built Carlsbro Nelsonic Amp and Cab which I designed in conjuction with the one-time Carlsbro 'custom shop' team. (As used on the 2004 'Be Bop Deluxe And Beyond' tour.) 3: A small 'Booker' valve combo with art-deco radio-style wooden cabinet. 4: A Line-6 Vetta 2 combo. (Also featured on the 'Be Bop Deluxe And Beyond' tour.) 5: A '70s era Pignose mini-amp. (Used on various Be Bop Deluxe recordings.) 6: A '70s Vox mini-amp. (Also used on Be Bop Deluxe recordings.) 7: A very rare, vintage early 1960s 'Shaftsbury' 'tv front' style combo with two elliptical speakers. 8: A rare and unusual Carlsbro 'Tower' combo that resembles a space-age humidifier more than a guitar amp! 9: A late 1950s Selmer 'Little Giant' mini-combo that is missing it's gilt-plastic Selmer logo but not its vintage sound. So...Not bad for someone who has recorded and performed so often with digital processors! Whilst on the subject of recording, I've been dipping in and out of one of my upcoming but as yet unfinished album projects. 'Lampdownlowland' is an album I've mentioned before in these pages. I have two more currently unfinished tracks to add to that album... Both are 'non-linear' pieces which began life as abstract instrumentals but which now contain lyrics and a vocal top line. They're interesting, atmospheric, constantly evolving songs but I haven't yet got to the point where I feel they're ready to mix. I've had quite a few other things to deal with though, which may have contributed to my current distracted state. I'm not even sure if I will retain 'Lampdownlowland' as as title for the album, although it will contain a song bearing that title. We'll see... The almost three weeks of unbroken snow we experienced before Christmas now seems like a distant memory. Nevertheless, it has turned really cold again and we've been forced to keep the central heating switched on for far longer periods than usual. Yesterday and today have felt particularly chilly, especially here in my studio where the only source of heat comes from the equipment it contains. I've been trying not to get too stressed about what 2011 might or might not hold. This time of year always feels grey and slightly depressing. I've not yet made any hard and fast decision about whether to stage a Nelsonica convention this year but I think that, if a small number of live concerts could be arranged at nice or 'interesting' venues, it might be good to take a break from the demands of Nelsonica and give some time over to other things. The next new release will be the long-overdue 'Last Of The Neon Cynics' project, the collaboration with American comic book artist Matt Howarth. As I've mentioned before, this was begun a few years ago but due to the intensity of my work rate, has developed at a very slow pace. It's almost ready to manufacture now but requires me to write some sleeve notes and work with David Graham on the physical package design. I read several pages of my 'Painted From Memory' autobiography last week, just out of curiosity to see how it felt now that it has assumed book form. Immediately, I spotted several things that I would phrase quite differently, or expand on, if I was able to go back and work on the book again. A few little typos I hadn't spotted previously too, plus a missing chapter heading and number. If I ever decide to reprint, these are things that could be picked up and corrected. But at some point in the near future, I really ought to make a start on volume two which will cover the 1960's and '70's. Strangely, the closer to the present my story gets, the more blurred it becomes. I can recall my childhood with an uncanny clarity but the 1970's are somewhat foggy. I'll need to dig into my substantial but highly disorganised career archives to help me with that particular era. That's all for this entry, though there may be another one fairly soon. I'm awaiting confirmation on an upcoming event which might prove exciting. I'll not say any more for the moment but...stay tuned! ***** Images attached to this diary entry are as follows:- 1: Bill's studio with Peerless Monarch guitar and custom built ROSEWELL guitar amplifier. 2: A closer view of the ROSEWELL amp. 3: An even closer view of the ROSEWELL with 'GOLDEN AGE' ribbon microphone. 4: Spare bedroom with a handful of guitars. 5: A closer view of the above guitars, left to right:- a Gibson Les Paul Custom, a Peerless Deep Blue Custom, a rare Musima Record archtop semi, a Gretsch White Falcon, a Greco parlour-sized jazz archtop, a Peerless Monarch jazz box and, on the sofa at the back, an old Arnold Hoyer 'Man In Black' acoustic archtop. The teddy bear in the background is as old as Bill...it was bought for him by his parents when he was born, 62 years ago. Top of page

Sunday 23rd October 2005 A sense of relief and satisfaction this morning. And a hangover. Yesterday's annual Nelsonica Convention turned out to be another grand day out for all its attendees and particularly for myself. It's always a pleasure to spend the day with such devoted fans and friends but yesterday's event was particularly heart warming for me, in so many ways. As always before these conventions (and indeed, before any public appearance of mine), I seem to get myself worked up into a state of nervousness approaching outright panic. I had been working flat out over the past few weeks, preparing new material for the forthcoming tour, including video pieces to project behind me on stage. In fact, I lost a lot of time when two days worth of video footage and seven days worth of render files were inadvertantly erased from my computer's hard disc... the second such loss this year (although the first time it happened was on my multi-track hard-disc recorder, rather than my computer). The days before the convention saw me working into the early hours to try to catch up with lost time. In the end, I managed to make videograms for 10 of the pieces of music in the set. But it was tough going. My friend Paul Gilby burned my finished digital video tapes to DVD for me, literally on the night before Nelsonica opened its doors to the public. It was all very much a last minute thing. Fortunately, Jon Wallinger and the convention team of Ian, Eddie, Ged and Dave had pre-planned the actual event to perfection and didn't suffer from the computer malfunctions that blighted both myself and Paul's efforts. Everyone attending the event commented on how extremely well organised the day was. But, what appears on the surface as relaxed and smooth running is actually the product of months of hard work, forward thinking, careful teamwork and organisational skill. The Nelsonica team coped superbly with all the logistics involved and, apart from a frustrating mistake at the pressing plant involving the manufacture of both the 'Sailor Bill' album and the convention's limited edition 'Orpheus In Ultraland' album, all went like clockwork. The pressing plant problem was completely unforseen and entirely out of our control. It seems that they hadn't printed up the albums sleeve art in time to deliver to Nelsonica and it was only after some very formal complaints from Paul that we got anything from them at all. In the end, they sent up just enough convention albums to give to ticket holders, but, unfortunately, minus cover artwork and sleeves. We now have to send each convention ticket holder the artwork through the post. Once the factory gets around to delivering them to us, that is. Annoying, frustrating, etc, etc... especially after all the hard work that went into finishing those albums in time to get them manufactured. Nevertheless, this problem didn't seem to mar people's enjoyment. I heard nothing but praise from attendees and the event was a great success. There were many familiar faces there but also many new ones too. People are always extremely sweet and kind to me at Nelsonica and this year's convention was no exception. I was bowled over by the warmth of sentiment shown to me by everyone I spoke to. It was also a pleasant surprise to meet up with someone I hadn't seen for many years, someone I remember fondly from the very earliest days of Be Bop Deluxe, before we were professional musicians. The band played the Leeds pub circuit in the early 'seventies and the person I'm referring to used to be a regular audience member. Although she was usually accompanied by her boyfriend, she managed to slip away from him to spend a little time with me. I was very flattered by this attention, particularly as she was an attractive 17 year old at the time and I wasn't the typical, 'party animal' type of rock guitarist. I hope I was a bit more sensitive than that. I'll admit to always having a deeply romantic nature and I guess that was the way that this particular relationship took me, although I was actually married at the time... but not happily, or for long, I must stress! Of course, I was a much younger, less wise man back then, skinny, selfish and ambitious. What time does to us though, eh? Well, the years have certainly changed my waistline for the worst, if not my ambition. But maybe the ambition is focussed elsewhere now, less concerned with commercial success and glamour. But I still want to achieve so many other things. But I do hope I've developed more compassion for others and have tamed the wilder aspects of my ego. Anyway... it was lovely to see that the person mentioned above looked hardly any different from those long ago days, apart from a rather vivid change of hair colour! I, on the other hand, have less and less hair to worry about these days... (Probably as a result of bleaching it blonde, back in the 'eighties!) The stresses and strains of a life spent battling to preserve some kind of musical freedom have left their unfortunate mark, I guess. I'm sure my appearance must have come as something of a shock to someone who hasn't met me for over thirty years. It comes as a shock to me everytime I catch my reflection in a mirror! But life is strange and things go around in circles it seems. Old faces return out of the mist with warm smiles and welcoming eyes. It's beautiful, sad and poetic all at the same time. As well as the happy opportunities to meet with friends, Nelsonica this year provided a new item on the programme. I was the subject of a 'live on stage' interview with Simon Warner who coaxed out my thoughts about the arts in general and their influence on my musical career. I really enjoyed this part of the programme and, from what I can gather, the attendees did too. There was also an opportunity to give everyone a preview of the 'Sailor Bill' album, even if we had no copies available for them to take home. I included a piece from the album in my live performance, the song 'The Ocean, The Night And The Big, Big Wheel'. I chose this track as it is one of the easier songs to tackle from the album, at least in a 'solo performance with backing tracks' style. (Which is what my forthcoming November tour will be.) I had some reservations about including vocals in the set at all, but the four I've allowed myself to perform seem to work quite well. Much better than I expected. As with all the recent Nelsonicas, I end the day feeling a little bit melancholy as well as happy. It's the celebratory aspect of the event that both encourages and warms one's heart but it also helps to underline the passing of the years and how much is still to be achieved. So many possible ideas to pursue and yet nowhere near enough time to fulfill them. I could never be one of those self-conscious minimalist types who squeeze out an album once every few years as if it was some gargantuan triumph over a kind of creative constipation, or some precious god-like artefact torn from deep within the soul. Music for apartment dwellers and aging yuppies? That sort of approach feels a little too restricting for me, too tedious and slow and too obviously tweaked to fit a certain marketplace. I prefer the constant fireworks display, the snowstorm of thought, the perpetual fountain of sound. The Kerouac continuous roll. Having said that, 'Sailor Bill' just about exhausted me beyond anything I've ever done before. A lot of work and attention to detail... But it was made over a few months, not years. I'm still very pleased with the way it came out though, compromised or not. Considering I made it on a non-existent budget, without the help of other musicians, engineers or whatever, I think I can allow myself to feel a little pride and satisfaction with regard to the end result. I think that time will vidicate me on this one. Now I'm back in video making mode, creating further videograms to project behind me on next month's concert dates. More slow and painstaking work, but it is getting there, bit by bit. Weather definitely colder now, leaves falling faster from the trees, rain and grey skies, darker earlier. I'm glad we have such seasonal changes and not the less dramatic seasonal uniformity of mediterranean countries. Living here in Yorkshire, the landscape really allows one to see nature's cycle in a vivid and wonderful manner. I consider myself extremely lucky to have such beauty on my doorstep. And, as Nelsonica serves to remind me, to have such beautiful, warm hearted fans to share my music with. I'm hoping to dream up some new ideas to incorporate in next year's Nelsonica, to try and make it even better and more unmissable. With a fair wind and the blessing of the fates. Thanks to everyone involved in this year's event, both on the organisational side and the attendee's side. You gave me a day I'll never forget. Top of page William's Study (Diary Of A Hyperdreamer) October 2005 Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Dec 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2013

A to Austr album - 1970 A to Austr Production/Contribution Menu Future Past BILL: "Global Village" Bill Nelson played guitars, including steel and Hawaiian. Production/Contribution Menu Future Past

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2013 William's Study (Diary Of A Hyperdreamer) February 2008 Jan Aug Sep Oct Thursday 14th February 2008 -- 9:00 pm My stepfather George passed away during the early hours of 30th January. Less than 24 hours after being admitted to the Hospice in Wakefield. Emi and I drove over there, as mentioned in the previous diary entry, but George was sedated, barely conscious and breathing with difficulty when we arrived. The deterioration in his condition from only two days previously was quite shocking to see. There were a couple of extremely fleeting moments of recognition from George but it was impossible to ignore that the disease was in its terminal stage. He died sometime around 5:30 am, surrounded by his family. George's funeral was held at Wakefield Crematorium just over a week ago. A short but well conducted service which included music of George's choosing. Afterwards, the mourners gathered at Holmfield House in Wakefield Park for an informal buffet. George's daughter Jennifer, over from Australia where she lives, had assembled a laptop slide show of photographs from George's life. It was placed on a table for friends and relatives to view. George has gone now and nothing can change that but my mother Jean is left to face the tribulations and lonliness of widow-hood and there are serious concerns that I need to help her with. Emiko and I have driven over to Wakefield to support her almost every day. She's beginning to find her old resilience and strength again but it will be some time before she can discover a new path in life. She will be 80 years old this year and has health issues of her own to surmount but, despite her soft, generous and non-confrontational nature, she's a pragmatic, intelligent and aware woman, and certainly not one to give up the ghost. Nevertheless, at this point in time she's terribly vulnerable and needs time and love to regain her sense of self. I'm feeling the responsibility of caring for her keenly, particularly as my younger brother Ian is no longer with us. I've missed Ian even more these last few weeks. This sad situation has really underlined his absence. In many ways he was much tougher than me and his no-nonsense attitude would have been a tremendous asset during the last month or so and particularly in the weeks ahead. But the Nelson clan is not large and I'm now the only remaining offspring from the original union of my father and mother. Of course, my mother has grandchildren, (and let me just put on record that Ian's two sons and daughter have been wonderfully supportive of my mother during her latest bereavement). And mum has a wonderful great-grandson in the form of Luke, (my eldest daughter Julia's son). But, as the only surviving offspring of Jean and Walter Nelson, I guess I'm very much central to my mother's well-being. Poor mum, stuck with me as her only son. I make a pretty poor 'head of the family,' being generally hopeless at dealing with my own problems, but, whatever my shortcomings, I must do my best to help my mother through this difficult time. Awareness of mortality and the brevity and fragility of existence has been with me for much of my life but it has increasingly and painfully been brought into focus these last 18 months via a whole series of bereavements, both of family and friends of family. It inevitably casts a shadow across my own life and emphasises the need to work diligently at my music whilst I'm still able to. Morbid to think that way, I know but think about it I do (and probably far too often than is healthy). Music making has taken a back seat to recent pre-occupations but I have managed to maintain some sort of momentum by working late at night after returning from Wakefield. I've fallen behind schedule with the 'Silvertone Fountains' album, which I'd hoped to have made available by now but this hasn't neccesarily been a bad thing as I've had time to re-think aspects of it. I think I've finally settled on its ultimate form after several atttempts at it. It is, as of today, a 15 track album. Here is its track list: 'SILVERTONE FOUNTAINS.' 1: 'BEAUTY RIDES THE LAST BUS HOME.' 2: 'THE FABULOUS WHIRLIGIG OF NOW.' 3: 'AUTUMN DROWNS APPLES IN GOLDEN TIDES.' 4: 'SILVERTONE FOUNTAINS.' 5: 'LA VIE MODERNE.' 6: 'SLOW CLOUDS.' 7: 'HAPPY IN MY HELICOPTER HAT.' 8: 'DECEMBER WALTZ.' 9: 'THE WORLD SLEEPS LATE ON NEW YEAR'S DAY.' 10: 'YOUNG DREAMS, WHIRLED AWAY.' 11: 'SPEARMINT AND MOONBEAMS.' 12: 'WE VANISH AT SHADOWFALL.' 13: 'THE BELLS OF VILLEFRANCHE.' 14: 'FISH ARE DANCING IN THE FOUNTAIN OF DREAMS.' 15: 'SHOWER OF SPARKS.' There were so many tracks left over after I'd made the above selection that I decided to create a second, companion piece album which I've titled 'ILLUMINATED AT DUSK.' I intend to release the two albums simultaneously shortly after Easter. The track list for 'ILLUMINATED AT DUSK' is as follows:- 1: 'SWITCH ON THE SKY, LIGHT UP THE STARS.' 2: 'THE VIEW FROM MOUNT PALOMAR.' 3: 'DANCE OF THE LUMINOUS DIALS.' 4: 'THE VENETIAN CONJURER.' 5: 'A SPIRIT MAP OF MONTPARNASSE.' 6: 'ANGELS OBEY BELLS.' 7: 'NO MEMORIES HERE TO MAKE YOU SAD.' 8: 'ART IS MY AEROPLANE.' 9: 'SILVER SAILBOAT ON SAMSARA SEA.' 10: 'SPRINGTIME COMES A' DANCING.' 11: 'THE VANILLA SUMMER OF MR. WHIPPY. 12: 'FRANKIE UKELELE AND THE FIRE IN THE LAKE.' 13: 'LAKESIDE.' 14: 'THE ETERNAL FASCINATOR.' 15: 'THOUGHTS WITHOUT FRICTION.' 16: 'SUMMER OVER SOON.' 17: 'LITTLE KISSES WRAPPED IN CHOCOLATE.' 18: 'ILLUMINATED AT DUSK.' Packaging artwork is almost complete for 'Silvertone Fountains' and just begun for 'Illuminated At Dusk.' Mastering has yet to be done for each album and I need to book my good friend John Spence at Fairview Studios to accomplish this. The two albums offer 33 new pieces of music but there are STILL several pieces left over to be used as possible Nelsonica 08 album tracks. No doubt by the time autumn and the Nelsonica convention rolls 'round, I'll have a few more out-takes and misfit tracks to add to the list. For now though, 'Silvertone' and 'Illuminated' represent an intense period of work that began last year with the now abandoned 'Frankie Ukelele' project. This is a very rich and dense seam of music which will, I hope, reward the diligent listener for quite some time to come. For whatever reason, (and the reason is beyond both my control and understanding), music keeps coming down the pipeline and, despite all the work I've done over my career, despite all the previous music I've recorded, I'm still searching for creative satifaction...But it's hard won. Maybe I'll never find it but I'll keep on trying until I can't try any more. Very little else makes much sense to me in this world, more's the pity. 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Soluna Oriana Bill Nelson download single - 30 June 2010 Singles Menu Future Past TRACKS: 1) Soluna Oriana NOTES: "Soluna Oriana" is an exclusive instrumental piece composed especially for a fund raising campaign launched on behalf of former Japan bass guitarist, Mick Karn, who was then undergoing treatment for cancer. Sadly, on the 4th of January, 2011, Karn lost his battle against the disease. Initially Nelson had written an exclusive song to donate to the Mick Karn campaign called "Bluebird", spending a week working on it in June 2010. With the track nearing completion though, Nelson re-thought his plans, concluding that the lyric to "Bluebird" was not in line with his original intentions, and he immediately set to work on "Soluna Oriana". The download was made available through SoundCloud, where it remains as a tribute to Karn. CURRENT AVAILABILITY: Available as a free digital download on this page, or in the Free Downloads section . BILL'S THOUGHTS: "Soluna Oriana has turned out to be an ethereal, floating, gentle piece, featuring an e-bow improvisation over a modal 'puzzle pattern' backdrop. It's a track that I would have been pleased to put on any upcoming album of mine but am excited to offer as a free download for those of you who would like to contribute to the Mick Karn appeal and receive a heartfelt little musical gift from me in return." _____ "I have fond memories of working with him in the 1980's. A wonderfully talented musician and artist." _____ "Like so many of my titles, the sound and juxtaposition of the words is enough to make the thing attractive to me, but...'Soluna' could be interpreted as a marriage of 'Sol' (Sun), and 'Luna' (Moon). Which, alchemically could be thought of as male and female, yin and yang, etc, etc. 'Oriana' suggests to me the 'Orient' and East, or even 'Queen Oriana'...certainly, to me, something royal and mystical. But above all, it feels poetic and exotically beautiful. In the context of the music it brings identity to the piece, but the real meaning is to be found in your own heart when you hear the music and understand the reason for its existence." Singles Menu Future Past

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2013 William's Study (Diary Of A Hyperdreamer) June 2010 Jan May Sep Nov Dec Tuesday 15th June 2010 -- 7:00 pm (Begun Sunday 13th June 2010 and concluded Tuesday 15th June 2010.) Well, what a fabulous week it's been! Last Sunday, 6th of June, I received an email inviting me to attend Mojo magazine's annual 'Honours List' award ceremony in London. The email informed me that the magazine was planning to give a special signature award to one of rock n' roll's legendary artists and that they would like me to personally present it to him at the event. Well...you could have knocked me down with the proverbial feather. I was both excited and terrified by the prospect. The truth is I'm never really at my best in these 'celebrity situations,' being rather quiet and maybe a little shy compared to many rock musicians, but THIS was something that I couldn't possibly pass up, this was something REALLY special: Mojo magazine's 'Icon' award was going to be bestowed upon the legendary American guitarist Duane Eddy, an artist who, I can genuinely say, I owe my love of the guitar to. I've cited Duane many times in interviews over the 36 years since Be Bop Deluxe released their first album and journalists took an interest in my musical roots but, for the record, I really should tell the story again here. In fact, I'll throw caution to the wind and allow readers of this diary a sneak preview of my unpublished autobiography. This short excerpt from the book relates how Duane came to inspire my original passion for the electric guitar. So, here's an exclusive peek at the relevant section. Remember, at this point in the autobiography, I'm just eleven years old: "Around this time, Rock and roll entered my life in a big way via radio, television and records. My parents had bought a second-hand radiogram, a big console model with a beautifully veneered cabinet and an automatic turntable. It was a vast improvement on the family's ancient wind-up gramophone. A number of records came with the purchase, mostly old 78 rpm discs but with a few modern 45's scattered amongst them. Some were early Elvis Presley records and others were English 'skiffle' music, the precursor of rock n' roll in the UK. Whilst listening to the console's radio one day, I heard a BBC programme, (hosted, I think, by DJ Johnny Walker), that used a beautiful instrumental recording as its opening and closing theme. It was a single, released on the 'London' record label, by a young American guitarist called Duane Eddy. The track was titled 'Because They're Young.' It was originally composed as the title theme for a movie in which Duane briefly featured with his band, 'The Rebels.' (The film also featured actress Tuesday Weld.) Duane Eddy was cool and handsome, a kind of rock n' roll James Dean. He developed a highly distinctive and original approach to the guitar. Duane played a beautiful Gretsch 6120 electric archtop, (although I wasn't aware of such technical details back then), and, as a result of the sound he created with producer Lee Hazelwood, became known as the 'King Of Twang.' This new and unique sound was achieved by playing the melody mostly on the bass strings of the guitar, which were then amplified and fed through a reverberation chamber, often with the addition of tremolo. I discovered, many years later, that Duane had actually used a Danelectro baritone guitar on this recording, rather than the Gretsch he was so often photographed with. When I first heard 'Because They're Young' on the radio, I had no idea who was playing the piece, all that I was aware of was a beautiful, deep, shimmering sound, offset to great effect by an orchestral string arrangement courtesy of Lee Hazelwood, the record's producer. But this sweet little tune, played so perfectly by Duane Eddy, was the spark that lit the fire under me, the one record that inspired all my consequent guitar dreams. Not long after, I caught some flu virus or other and was allowed to stay at home to recuperate, rather than go to school. Resting in bed, I asked my mother to switch the radio on so that I could listen to 'Because They're Young' at it's usual broadcast time. She evidently realised my delight in hearing this piece of music and somehow made a note of its title and the name of the artist performing it. The next day she went into Wakefield and purchased the 45 rpm single for me in the hope of cheering me up and encouraging my recuperation. I was ecstatic about being given the single and asked for it to be played over and over on the radiogram which stood majestically in a corner of the living room. I vividly recall laying on my bed, the sound of Duane's guitar floating through from the front room, echoing across the narrow hallway of 28 Conistone Crescent, and into my bedroom. Somehow, it was as if the future had finally come knocking at my door. The B-side of the single was titled 'Rebel Walk.' This was a supremely moody piece, a kind of beatnik, 'film-noir' theme, based around a haunting, simple riff augmented by wordless backing vocals in a kind of 'Jordinairs' (Elvis Presley's backing vocalists), style. I enjoyed this piece just as much as the 'A' side. Looking back on this, 50 years later here in the 21st Century, I now realise that I had found my life-changing 'eureka' moment, the sort of moment we are never able to never forget, a moment to appreciate forever, and, yes, to feel genuinely grateful for. If I had to sum it up in one single word, it would be: 'Magic.' Actually, I still have the original 'Because They're Young' single in my possession and treasure it greatly. Owning that record inspired me to attempt to play 'Because They're Young' on my recently acquired Zenith guitar, but I only got as far as the opening few bars of the main melody. The size of the real guitar's neck was much bigger than the toy guitar that I had been more familiar with, and the steel strings were much thicker and cut into the ends of my fingers. I was temporarily discouraged but it didn't diminish my passion for the sound of the instrument. Or the look of the thing. In fact, the visual appeal of the guitar was very important to me. Not long after getting the single, I discovered a photograph of Duane Eddy in one of my mother's magazines and was impressed by how sharp he looked and how 'sci-fi' his Gretsch electric guitar appeared with it's shiny pickups and mysterious controls. I made a life-sized copy of this guitar from a flat piece of cardboard which I cut to the appropriate shape and then painted, gluing it to a piece of wood to represent the neck. (The wood was appropriated from a child's painting easel I'd had for a few years. It was the first time that I sacrificed the visual arts to music!) To emulate the controls of the guitar, I glued old shirt buttons onto the cardboard body, totally unaware of the function of these controls on the real thing. Once my non-playing facsimile was complete, I would stand in front of my bedroom mirror and mime to Duane's record, throwing the appropriate shapes, as observed from his publicity photographs." Ok, dear diary readers...I'm not going to give away any more of my autobiography here...but the above brief excerpt should give you an idea of the impact that Duane had on the life of an eleven year old schoolboy living in a council estate flat in Wakefield, fifty years ago. Fifty years ago? Wow.... And THAT'S the amazing thing. I've held onto my original 'Because They're Young' single and kept it close to my heart, (and all that it symbolised), for fifty years. I guess that the unassuming young guitar player who recorded that track had no idea of the power it contained, the ripples that radiated out from his far away American reverb tank, out across the world, to a skinny schoolboy here in Yorkshire. As an eleven year old kid, I would sometimes dream about meeting Duane Eddy and, in these dreams, I'd ask him about guitar playing and he'd pass on a secret technique or two. But if anyone had said to me, "one day, fifty years from now, you will personally present Duane with an award recognising him as an icon of rock n' roll." Well, I would have thought that they were crazy. But, it seems, magic happens. (Well, I of all people, should know that!) Something about the award ceremony itself now: The three days before travelling to London were excruciatingly stressful. I hardly slept, worrying about what to say, about my appearance, my clothes, worrying about every single thing to the point of feeling physically sick and ill with it all. I tried to keep as much of this trepidation to myself as possible but it leaked out in even the most mundane tasks around the house. Emiko was not able to travel with me to London to attend the Mojo awards. She had been given an important and prestigious freelance floral design commission which required her to work long hours thoughout the week if she was to prepare all the complex arrangements for her client. At first, I thought that I wouldn't be able to face the stress of the Mojo event without her by my side. I am not naturally gregarious in social situations and my nerves often betray me. Emiko has the quiet charm and ease that I lack, and her gentle presence is a great asset whenever I have to socialise in such circumstances. Don't misunderstand, I'm fine and dandy around people who I've had the opportunity to get to know and trust, but the superficial celebrity charm that seems to work for other people often evades me. Anyway, I called my friend Paul Gilby and asked him if he'd be at all interested in accompanying me to the event to lend a little moral support. Paul, very encouragingly, said he'd be honoured to do so and I felt a little less anxious about the whole thing. However, once the day arrived, my nerves kicked in again...even more excruciatingly than before. I was shaking at York station, shaking on the train to London and trembling like a daisy as I changed at the hotel before being whisked off in a limo to the event itself. All I could do was think of the alternative, which would have been to stay at home and later regret not accepting this wonderful opportunity to say 'thank you' to my first ever guitar hero. I HAD to do this, for Duane and for myself. First little miracle of the evening came when the limo arrived to pick me up to take me to the event. As I walked out of the hotel door, there in front of me, (actually with his back to me), was a person I thought I knew. He turned his face, ever so slightly, to speak to someone standing next to him. The resultant half-glimpsed profile was instantly recognisable to me. It was Peter Hammill, an artist who I'd toured with many, many years previously during the early days of Be Bop Deluxe. I probably don't need to introduce readers of this diary to Peter's extensive and highly respected work as a singer-songwriter and founder member of the band 'Van der Graaf Generator.' He is a unique and very special artist who anyone interested in music as an art form should be aware of. (And shame on you if you're not.) Peter has chosen to plough the same deep furrow as all those artists who are driven by something other than the lure of the corn market. In short, he's the genuine article. The first ever tour Be Bop Deluxe undertook as a support act was with Peter Hammill, on one of his solo concert tours. I remember it with great fondness. Peter treated us kindly and sympathetically. We landed our contract with EMI records during the course of that tour and Peter seemed genuinely overjoyed for us. To celebrate our signing, Peter bought a bottle of Polish White Spirit for us...(a fierce alcoholic drink with pyrotechnic capabilities). I remember a drop or two of it being poured onto a wooden bench in the dressing room of a venue on that tour. And a match being set to it...It caught fire in a whoosh of incandescent energy. We were lucky...the entire building could have burned to the ground, such was the drink's potency. Rocket fuel in a bottle. We each, (this was the original line-up of the band), had a sip from the bottle...but it was far too fierce and strong a medicine for us. Remarkably, the band's drummer, Nicholas Chatterton-Dew, seemed able to handle it without the top of his head coming off in a cloud of fire and brimstone. What a guy! Towards the end of the tour, Peter gave me a copy of a book of his lyrics and poetry that had recently been published. In the first pages of the book he drew a little caricature of me and signed it. I still have that book and treasure it, along with the now distant memories of that first Be Bop Deluxe tour. So, meeting Peter again, after all these years, was a very happy experience for me. But, back to the Mojo Honours List awards: There was a red carpet awaiting at the venue. And a line up of press photographers. A kind of modest Hollywood Oscar moment, I thought. I had my photograph taken by the gathered photographers and, despite my trepidation and natural inclination to be dismissive of the importance of such things, I somehow slipped into the grin and bear it mode that was so often required during my Be Bop Deluxe years. "This way Bill...", "Could you look into the camera, Bill?", "Head up a little Bill...", Etc, etc. It wasn't too difficult, just a bit embarrassing. I guess it's that, 'once you've learned to ride a bike' syndrome. All bollocks, of course, but a kind of acceptable bollocks. Most artists just grin and give out what's required of them, no matter how ridiculous they feel or how surreal it all becomes. I suppose we're all flogging our individual horses, dead or alive, according to public perception. Truth is, I don't mind this sort of thing at all really. In fact I almost enjoy it, musician's egos being what they are... Entering the interior of the venue, I mingled with the crowd who had not yet been invited to sit at the circular tables situated before the stage where the actual awards would be given. The stage was designed to resemble an oversized stately home library, or something similar, complete with fake wood panelled wall, a giant fireplace complete with a video fire, (a pair of Gibson Les Paul guitars crossed above it like armorial bearings), and a huge screen and table filled with the actual Mojo award trophies. All very impressive I thought, but also a little overwhelming. Amongst the crowd of celebrities I came across my old pal John Leckie. Ah...here was someone I actually KNEW and could relate to without pretence. John is a dear, dear friend who has always remained the same sweet and lovely person he was back in the '70's when we first worked together. And that despite his fame and success as the producer of many well-known bands during the intervening years. I was relieved and pleased to see him. We'd last met at the 2009 Nelsonica fan convention when John and I gave an on-stage interview about our years of working together. John's also coming up to this year's Nelsonica. I think he really enjoyed himself at last year's event. But there were other familiar faces too: Some I knew personally from other situations, (Mark Powell, Peter Blake, John Foxx, Marc Almond, to name just four), but also people whom I had only previously been able to admire from afar, (Rufus and Martha Wainwright, Richard Thompson, Emmylou Harris, Jimmy Page, Jarvis Cocker, Roy Wood, Wilco Johnson, Mark Mothersbaugh of DEVO, Roger Daltrey, Tony Christie, Richard Hawley and others.) The place seemed to be teeming with pop and rock celebrities. Shame Julian Cope didn't show though...it would have been nice to thank him for the kind words he's written about me on his website. The table at which I was seated was graced by Beth Orton, Alex James from Blur and Andy Gill and Jon King from Gang Of Four. All very nice people. A combination of shyness, nerves and ambient noise from the hall limited my entering into anything other than superficial conversation with my fellow diners, but it was good to be seated amongst them, even though my mind was constantly fretting about the daunting task ahead of me. We were served a three course meal, (vegetable terrine starter, braised lamb main course, then bread n' butter pudding desert). Each table was groaning with its own vast supply of booze: several bottles of wine, a crate of beer, even a bottle of Scotch. I stuck to water, worried that I might become a bit too 'loose' if I drank the wine. It then turned out that the Mojo Icon award was going to be the final presentation of the evening, the culminating event. I would have to sit through all the other presentations before I could do my bit and relax. As the evening went on, my nerves became more and more acute. I watched in envy as each presenter took to the stage and announced the various awards in witty and professional style. How could I compete with such bravado? My nerves leapt up another octave, almost to the realm of 'screech.' Ok...maybe just a half glass of wine wouldn't go amiss. I'd prepared a pre-composed speech which I'd printed out, as a back up, just in case my nerves got the better of me but, as it happened, the format of the presentation was slightly different to what I'd expected and the speech would not have worked in the actual context of the show. A very nice girl, one of the event's staff, came over to our table and explained the drill to me. The format was that I would take the stage, say a few words but not reveal who the award was for. I then had to say, 'and let's have a look at his work' which would cue a short video presentation. At the end of the video, I was then to announce Duane's name, he would come on stage and accept the award from me. Right...(mild panic). It looked like I'd have to wing it, come up with something reasonably spontaneous but loosely based on my original idea. I decided to trust to the moment and play it by ear. I watched the various award trophies being handed over to their recipients by the presenters until there was just one award left. I took a deep breath and began to squeeze my way between the closely packed tables, heading toward the stage. I was expecting the ceremony's host, Mojo editor Phil Alexander, to say something basic along the lines of, "and here's Bill Nelson to present the Mojo Icon award...". But, Phil was very generous and said some quite flattering things about my work, which came as a welcome surprise and gave my confidence a much needed boost. (Thanks for that Phil, it was very kind of you.) I'd got up from my seat a little too soon so stood at the foot of the stage for a few moments until Phil's introduction was concluded...it must have appeared as if I was incredibly eager to get onto the stage but, the truth was, I wasn't expecting such a nice introduction. Finally I was on stage, shook hands with Phil and walked to the microphone. I'd taken my 50 year old copy of 'Because They're Young' on stage with me. I began my short speech with "Some people will try to tell you that records don't change lives..." (Then I held up my Duane Eddy single), "But THIS one changed mine...!" I'm afraid that was all I could remember from my prepared speech, the rest of it I made up as I went along. I can't recall exactly what I said now as the next five minutes or so became a dream-like, near hallucinogenic, blur. I managed to give the cue for the video, (which showed various album sleeves of Duane's whilst a selection of his tracks played,) then said, "Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome, the legendary King Of Twang, Mr. Duane Eddy!" Then suddenly, walking towards me across the stage was the man whose music had launched an 11 year old boy on a fifty year long journey to here and now. I can't describe how emotional a moment it was. Quite unbelievable! Duane walked right up to me and gave me a big hug and thanked me warmly for my introduction, then took the microphone and spoke to the assembled celebrity audience. He was given a wonderfully enthusiastic reception by everyone. We were then both led backstage where we were to be photographed together, then on to a joint interview for the Mojo website, then a few more photographs. Next came the group photographs with a selection of winners and presenters lined up in three rows. I stood on the back row next to Richard Thompson. Rufus was on the next row down and Duane sat at the front. As I said, it was all a bit of a blur and quite unreal.Duane and I were then asked to sign a Gibson Les Paul guitar that will be auctioned to raise funds for the War Child charity. It's not every day that my signature sits on a guitar alongside the signatures of Duane Eddy, Jimmy Page and Richard Thompson. Another honour that I'll treasure. Duane also offered to sign my original 'Because They're Young' single...which was what I'd hoped he'd do. I plan to frame it along with a photo of Duane and hang it on my studio wall, next to my Les Paul, Hank Marvin and Joe Pass framed photographs. One more nice surprise: Duane and his lovely and thoughtful wife Deed thanked me for all the things I've said about Duane in interviews and on my website over the years. I had no idea that they were aware of me at all so this came as a happy surprise. Duane's wife told me that she supports Duane in the same practical ways that Emiko supports me, so it seems Duane and Deed actually read this diary sometimes. What a thrill to discover that! Duane asked for my 'phone number and we exchanged email addresses. It would be terrific if we could keep in touch and perhaps collaborate on something in the not too distant future. I would definitely be thrilled to create a track for both of us to play on. Oh, I also gave Duane two albums of mine, 'Rosewood Volume 1' and 'Here comes Mr. Mercury.' I'd grabbed them just before setting off to the station to travel to London. I hope they're a good choice for him. With such a large and varied catalogue of music, it's sometimes difficult to know what to choose when I want to introduce someone to my work. None of it follows the usual routes anyway, but these two albums might have one or two tracks on them that a guitar player might enjoy. Next, it was off to the aftershow party. This was held in a little cellar club, just across the road from the awards ceremony venue. The place reminded me of a 'sixties club called 'Cafe Des Artistes' which, all those years ago, used to be in Fulham Road, (I think). I'd visited it in the latter half of the 'sixties when I'd spent a weekend with an art school pal whose parents lived in Hampstead. (And THERE'S another tale to tell in volume 2 of my autobiography!) The aftershow party place however, had a much louder sound system than any 'sixties club. The DJ played some classic music from the past, 'Green Onions' by Booker T and the MG's, and other tracks that evoked a groovy '60's retro atmosphere. Great track choices but it was just a little too loud, and of such an aggressive mid frequency that conversation was nigh on impossible. It would have been nice to have a slightly quieter environment where people could have met without having to literally yell in each other's ears. Nevertheless, it WAS enjoyable to hear some classic tracks and watch several rather attractive girls dance a 21st Century version of the 'Hully Gully' or whatever. I almost joined in but thought better of it...best to hang on to whatever decorum that remains to me as a 61 year old! John Leckie and I shouted into each other's ears for an hour or so and I managed to catch a few words from Mark Powell and a nice guy from the band 'Kasabian.' (At least, I think that's who it was.) I also met a guy from Gibson guitars who was very helpful. I had my photo taken with ace vocalist Tony Christie too. What a very nice chap and looking enviously slim and youthful too. Oh, and I managed to wish Roy Wood well, just as he was about to head back to the hotel. I first met Roy on a Kid Jensen radio show, quite some years ago now. He's another lovely chap...he'd been given a well deserved songwriter award at the Mojo Honours List. I still recall those early Move singles...they were a band I very much enthused about back then. The noise levels eventually got the better of me and Paul and I decided it was time to head back to our hotel in Bloomsbury. A car was summoned, I thanked everyone in sight for allowing me to bestow my first ever guitar hero with the Mojo Icon award, and fell gratefully into the back seat of the car and set off for the hotel, tired and happy. Next morning, I awoke, after little more than three hours sleep, with a very sore throat and an extremely hoarse voice, probably a direct result of the previous evening's aftershow yelling. I met Peter Hamill in the hotel foyer and we exchanged emails and 'phone numbers. Then Paul and I wandered down the street for breakfast, and then to Foyles bookshop so that I could peruse the 'Ray's Jazz' section. Bought a book dealing with English swing bands of the 1930s and '40s. Also a Bill Frisell album titled 'Where In The World' that I'd not previously heard. Whilst in Foyles, I got a call from Richard at Opium on my mobile. He was calling to say that the Mojo site had my 'red carpet' photo' on it. Then it was a taxi ride to Kings Cross and the train journey back to York and home. And a huge sigh of relief. Saturday morning, I helped Emiko to deliver the final part of her important flower commission. She had enlisted a friend of hers to help her on the Friday morning, whilst I was in London. Everything went to plan and her client was overjoyed with the many arrangements that Emi had created for her. I'm so pleased when people recognise the sophistication of her designs. Our new kitchen is now, finally, complete. (Fanfare!) All that remains is to move various items back into it, a task which Emiko and I began this weekend. We've almost concluded that process now and it is so good to have our kitchen back, in much brighter and shinier condition than before. There's more to tell, as always, but this diary entry has taken up more time than I expected. I'm now going to catch up with some recording work. But what an unexpected and much appreciated honour that was. Duane, thank you so much for being so gracious to me. And Mojo magazine...thanks for giving me this once in a lifetime opportunity. All I can say, to end this diary entry is: WOW! ***** The images accompanying this diary are as follows:- 1: Bill and John Leckie at the Mojo Honours 2010 event. 2: Bill and Peter Blake at the Mojo Honours 2010 event. (Note Jarvis Cocker in the background.) 3: Bill and Duane Eddy at the Mojo Honours 2010 event. (Bill holding his original 50 year old 'Because They're Young' single, now signed by Duane.) 4: A close up of the single that Duane signed for Bill. It reads: 'To Bill, thank you so much, Duane Eddy.' 5: Bill with Tony Christie at the Mojo awards aftershow party. 6: The Gibson Les Paul guitar, signed by various guitarists, including Duane and Bill, at the Mojo awards. This guitar will be auctioned to raise funds for the 'War Child' charity. All photographs taken by Paul Gilby with the exception of the close up of the signed 'Because They're Young' single which was taken by Bill Nelson in his home studio. Top of page

Air Age Anthology retrospective 2CD collection - 17 February 1997 Be Bop Deluxe Collections Menu Future Past TRACKS: 1-01) Axe Victim 1-02) Love With The Madman 1-03) Sister Seagull 1-04) Heavenly Homes 1-05) Ships In The Night 1-06) Twilight Capers 1-07) Kiss Of Light 1-08) Crying To The Sky 1-09) Sleep That Burns 1-10) Life In The Air Age (Live) 1-11) Electrical Language 1-12) Panic In The World 1-13) Maid In Heaven 1-14) Between The Worlds 1-15) Blazing Apostles 1-16) Lovers Are Mortal 1-17) Down On Terminal Street 1-18) Darkness (L'immoraliste) TRACKS: 2-01) Adventures In A Yorkshire Landscape 2-02) Night Creatures 2-03) Music In Dreamland 2-04) Jean Cocteau 2-05) Beauty Secrets 2-06) Life In The Air Age 2-07) Speed Of The Wind 2-08) Modern Music 2-09) Dancing In The Moonlight 2-10) Honeymoon On Mars 2-11) Lost In The Neon World 2-12) Dance Of The Uncle Sam Humanoids 2-13) Modern Music (Reprise) 2-14) Fair Exchange (Live) 2-15) Autosexual 2-16) New Mysteries 2-17) Surreal Estate 2-18) Islands Of The Dead 2-19) Visions Of Endless Hopes 2-20) The Bird Charmers Destiny 2-21) The Gold At The End Of My Rainbow NOTES: Air Age Anthology is a double CD compilation offering the new listener a thorough introduction to Be Bop Deluxe. No room was found for any rarities, but three tracks came with previously unheard studio talk (Nelson counting in a couple of tracks, and ending one take with the observation "we'll keep that one"). The set was enhanced by a nicely illustrated booklet with a sleeve notes written by Kevin Cann. PAST RELEASES: 36 of the 39 tracks on this compilation album were taken from the six albums released in the band's lifetime (issued between 1974 and 1978), with the remaining 3 tracks originally released on The Best Of and the Rest Of double album (1978). See individual entries of those albums for full details including vinyl editions of the same material. CURRENT AVAILABILITY: This compilation is now out of print in physical form, but is available to download from online stores. Collections Menu Future Past

Pedalscope Bill Nelson album - 26 June 2014 Albums Menu Future Past Purchase this download TRACKS: 01) Pedalscope One 02) Bicycle Building 03) Dream Cycles One 04) Velorama Pastoral 05) Dream Cycles Two 06) Bumpcycle 07) The Cycle Factory 08) Pleasure Bikes 09) Dream Cycles Three 10) Uphill 11) Downhill 12) Cyclebumps 13) Workcycles 14) Pedalscope Two ALBUM NOTES: Pedalscope is an album of instrumental music issued in a one off print run of 500 copies on the Sonoluxe label. All but 4 tracks on the album were written for the film Velorama (directed by Daisy Asquith), a nostalgic look at cycling, that was being made in celebration of the 2014 Tour de France. Work on the music began in January 2014 with Nelson working without the benefit of the finished film to compose to, and to a very tight deadline. (The film premiered on 28 March 2014.) With the music for the film delivered on time, Nelson then prepared additional material to complete the work on Pedalscope . These appear as tracks 11-14. The soundtrack was released on 26 June 2014 and was sold out on 29 July 2014, but within a week was available as a digital download from Bandcamp. In November the Velorama film was made available on iTunes to purchase digitally. CURRENT AVAILABILITY: Available for purchase as a digital download here in the Dreamsville Store . IF YOU LIKED THIS ALBUM, YOU'LL PROBABLY ENJOY: Picture Post , Map of Dreams , Simplex , Neptune's Galaxy , All That I Remember , Albion Dream Vortex , The Years , Model Village BILL'S THOUGHTS: "Well, today is the day when I can officially reveal the exciting project I'm currently working on: As part of the Tour de France festival, I'm collaborating with BAFTA award nominated documentary film maker Daisy Asquith on a film titled 'VELORAMA'. The film is a celebration of UK bicycling throughout history using rare, historic footage sourced from the British Film Institute and Yorkshire Film Archives. Daisy is editing and assembling this footage and I am composing and recording the soundtrack music. The archive footage will cover various themes such as leisure cycling, cycling to work, wacky uses of bicycles, bicycle building, sport and so on. Some of the footage will go right back to the early 1900's, and all points from then up to now. The project first started last year when various creative teams were competing in a bid to secure funding for a film to be screened as part of the Tour de France event. I was asked to be composer on one of these teams but, at that time, there was no guarantee that we would be awarded the job. However, we did win the bid and the project is now underway." "The music I have made so far is rich and complex. I understand that there will be no spoken narrative so the music needs to be strong and illustrative. I very much like what I've come up with so far and only hope that Daisy will too. I've put in long hours and taken great care over the choice of sounds and tried to pack the music full of potential visual edit points." _____ "Well, part of the brief from the film's director favoured something along Kraftwerk lines...but I have to admit that I wasn't really sure of that approach, mainly because Kraftwerk had already made an album inspired by the Tour de France and, as much as I enjoyed Kraftwerk back in the '70s and early '80s, I harbour no nostalgia for that style...unless quoted as a kind of kitsch homage. However, I did my best to hint at that sort of thing whilst attempting to hold true to tonalities that were a little closer to my own sensibilities. One of my approaches was to combine the techno thing with a hint of the nostalgic British orchestral sounds from the original British Film Institute archive footage which furnished the visual component of the film. Inevitably, whatever one's intentions, and the problem of realising them in the real world, the end result is its own thing and emerges independent of the artist. It's this unexpectedness which makes these projects truly interesting." _____ "You may be surprised but it wasn't me who came up with the title! It certainly seems like something I would have dreamt up, but it came from within the creative team. Lots of different titles were bandied about. I'd suggested calling it Pedalscope and 'When Britain Dreamed of Bicycles' and was trying to put the word 'Velocipede' into a title too. (A Velocipede is a bicycle in olden day language.)" FAN THOUGHTS: BenTucker: "It's a real breath of fresh air, and has a sense of wonder and new directions. I bet the film makers felt like they'd struck the national lottery jackpot, getting music like that for their film." "Bicycle Building": "my favourite at the moment, due to the glorious sound and the multiple directions it takes. Very evocative, quirky, "visually" colorful, Cinematic with capital "C"." G. Vazquez: "It sounds amazing! Like a Kraftwerk's "Tour de France", but played by a human being, with a beating heart inside his chest!" Paul Andrews: "What a jolly soundscape it makes. There's a certain whimsical optimism throughout." felixt1: "I think Pedalscope could well turn out to be one of the gems. It's not Picture Post , it has a different vibe. But it does share a sense of optimism and sunshine. Is that Jan Hammer playing keys on "Bumpcycle"? "Bumpcycle" is awesome!" "Pedalscope definitely has a 'Get up and go' vibe. It’' been a particular pleasure to have it playing, while I work. The sun has even come out again..." alec: "Pleasure Bikes": "It is such a pleasurable journey this track, that it's a film unto itself with shifting light, shifting vistas, shadows of clouds moving across landscapes." Ed: "It's quirky, surprising, inventive, highly hummable, just a touch nostalgic, and I'm sure it's going to be a fine soundtrack to the film, which I aim to watch very soon (thank heavens for YouTube!)." mr manchester: "Pedalsope shot into my personal BN top ten. Reminded me a lot of the sounds heard on albums like Map of Dreams and Chance Encounters (maybe I'm delusional). There are some truly exceptional tracks on this album. I'm not familiar with the titles yet, but there were a few moments that I swear I could hear a Pathe-like voice-over. A very evocative album." damian dale: "The music is wonderful though, and makes me want to pedal to town. Now where did I leave my bicycle pump?" "Thanks for another musical gem, Bill!!" Albums Menu Future Past

Acquitted By Mirrors - Issue Ten - Published July 1984 Back to Top

Auditoria Bill Nelson 3-CD album set - 01 December 2018 Albums Menu Future Past Purchase this download CD1 - These Stars Are Fire 01) What Furnace Is Thy Brain? 02) My Dreamy Life 03) The Latest Delay 04) Icing On The Cake 05) Summer Comes In Colour 06) Raindrops 07) Weatherproof 08) These Stars Are Fire 09) Auraville 10) A Song Of Heart And Mind 11) Bugging Me 12) Contrary Wise 13) Let Me Dream You From Afar 14) Wide Awake/Half Asleep 15) All Hail The Dreamer (Miss Futurama Smiles) CD2 - Mysterium 01) Beyond Yonder 02) When Midnight Falls 03) Forevertron 04) Holy Of Holies (Waiting For The Night) 05) Mysterious Mysterium 06) Orson's Ghost 07) Back Of Beyond 08) Who's That Floating Above The Trees? 09) Mystere 10) Astra 11) Luna Rosa 12) Ghosts Of Ancient Orchestras 13) Only One Blue Moon 14) A Long Time Ago 15) Alone In A Lunar Light CD3 - Plus U ltra 01) Dali's Dream Of Venus 02) March Of The Metaphysicians 03) The Science Of Extraordinary Things 04) In The Neighbourhood Of Normal (My Style Of Writing) 05) Aqua Celeste 06) There Is A Moment 07) Whirlaway 08) From Another Place 09) The Eye Of Heaven Shines 10) In The Land Of Far Beyond 11) Super-Hyper Hocus Locus 12) Waiting For The Midnight Flyer 13) Plectricity 14) Rockers Of The Rosy Cross 15) An Ordinary Man 16) The Last Transmission ALBUM NOTES: Auditoria is a triple album of vocal pieces and instrumental tracks issued on the Sonoluxe label in a limited edition of 500 copies. The Auditoria album was recorded between February and August 2018, and was especially created to tie in with Nelson's 70th birthday event, Plectronica – Bill Nelson at 70, staged at Leeds University Clothworker's Hall on 1 December 2018. The album began life as a single album initially given the title Stylus , but was barely a month into production when it grew into a double album with a revised title These Stars Are Fire . Never one to let his plans remain fixed for too long, Nelson continued recording more material for the album and expanded his plans a second time, resulting in These Stars Are Fire becoming his first triple album (of entirely new material). With over 40 tracks completed for the project Nelson was forced into replacing his trusty drum machine, an Akai MPC 2500, that had served him so well over the past decade or so. As a replacement unit, Nelson invested in a new Akai model, an MPC X. By August, Nelson had accumulated an astonishing 55 new recordings for the project, at which point he was settling on the final track listing and considering how the 3 CD set should be packaged. Not only had the album been expanded into a triple, Nelson also assigned a new title to the work, Auditoria . However, each album within the package would be given individual titles. Disc 1 of the set retained These Stars Are Fire as its title, with disc 2 named Mysterium . Nelson had several alternate titles for disc 3, with his initial choices being either State of Play or This Way or That . Soon both titles were abandoned in favour of Secret Knowledge , only for that title to be replaced with Plus Ultra . The album was mastered by John Spence at Fairview between 29 August and 31 August 2018, although not without a nerve-wrecking incident that threatened to derail the entire mastering session. The frustrating tale involves a jammed DAT tape, a malfunctioning back up disc, and in general - gremlins! For a detailed account of these unexpected hurdles see Nelson's journal entry here . With the album successfully mastered, Nelson then turned his attention to the artwork. Initially he had intended that the album would be housed in a triple fold out digi-pack. But concerns over the costs of that design caused him to re-think, settling instead for 3 individual jewel cases to house each album, all contained within a card slip case. Assembly of the sleeve design fell to Martin Bostock working from images that Nelson had selected in early September 2018. Among the material listed for possible inclusion on Auditoria, but omitted from the final track listing, are a number of currently unused pieces, namely: "The Clock that Tells the Time", "Drifting Through Your Dreams", "The Woman of Tomorrow", "The Driving Force", "Through These Windows Wonder Comes", "Billy's Blues", "My Shadow Cast By Midnight Moon", and "Everycat". It remains to be seen what Nelson does with this surplus material. Auditoria was initially made available exclusively to attendees of the Plectronica – A Celebration of Bill Nelson at 70 birthday event held on 1 December 2018. All copies sold that evening had been signed in advance by Nelson. The remaining 325 copies went on sale through SOS on 3 December 2018 and sold out in less than 24 hours. CURRENT AVAILABILITY: Available for purchase as a digital download here in the Dreamsville Store . BILL'S THOUGHTS: "Feeling very positive about everything on the sessions so far, though I've yet to call a halt and sort through all the finished material to choose the album's final running order. I'm really enjoying the process though and feel completely at one with my guitars which, in their various guises, are providing me with lots of inspiration. The album will cover a lot of the musical territory I've traversed over the years. There's rock, pop-rock, left-field jazz, ambient, experimental, a touch of acoustic, some synth based stuff and plenty of vocals and instrumentals. I intend to mix it all up and not divide the three discs into separate generic categories...a surprise on every track for every listener." _____ "Many of the vocal pieces have surreal, 'stream of consciousness' lyrics that contain their own illogical kind of logic. An example: "The driving force is in the fuse/Eddie sings the 'Summertime Blues'/The square of the hypotenuse is not my style..." And so on... " _____ "The track I remixed [today] is titled "The Science of Extraordinary Things". It's a vocal piece in an almost '70s country waltz style but mutates into a jazzy coda which then mutates again into a kind of abstract sonic assault. A track that, on one level, is quite straight but, on another level, utterly bizarre. Don't know whether to love it or hate it. Emi, it seems, loves it for some reason. Says it reminds her of Be Bop Deluxe. (She hasn't heard the chaotic racket on the end though!)" _____ "It's not a perfectly honed, tightly arranged album. It has many rough edges and spontaneously improvised components, but it is, nevertheless, an interesting amalgam of many facets of my music, a kind of cornucopia of styles...maybe something for everyone?" _____ "It's a very rich feast though...I would recommend that listeners don't attempt to take the entire three discs in in one listening session. Just enjoy one disc at a time, allowing it to sink in. It's one of those albums that will grow with repeated listenings, some of it is easy, some of it challenging, but all of it will be satisfying, over time. " FAN THOUGHTS: Skyrocket : "Loving it! Some very beautiful stuff on all 3! Been listening to it a lot! Fave of the whole set at the moment is CD2, track2, 'When Midnight Falls'...Just beautiful! Too short!" Axe Victim: "Bill never fails to amaze me, and always produces quality albums. Auditoria has been on constantly since I was fortunately able to get a copy at Nelsonica. Beautiful sounds, layers & textures. I have recently had some bad news and this album has been a huge help to me when I've been in the deepest and darkest of places and because of this I will treasure this piece of work/art/music. Thank you Bill." Palladium: " 'Immersive' seems an overused term these days, but I think it applies to Auditoria . Also, after noticing the varied styles, it now seems a very cohesive trilogy to me. I think the packaging helps in that (I was lucky enough to get the physical album) and certainly colours the way I experience the music - in a subtle way at least. I've been listening to it a lot; it really does create a whole universe you want to spend time in to recharge the batteries of poetic sensibility, as it were (and to get away from the more depressing and tedious aspects of everyday living!)." Mr. Curt: "Any amount of Mr. Nelson never seems enough. Single, EP, album, multi-album, MEGA-ALBUM - he's a prolific whiz that will never stop. Bravo, sir!" Albums Menu Future Past

Dazzlebox Bill Nelson double album - 30 April 2021 Albums Menu Future Past Purchase this download DISC ONE TRACKS: 01) Antique Gods 02) Show Home 03) Art Deco Dance 04) Sleepless City 05) In A Streamlined World 06) Reverse Engineering 07) We Run Before The Wind 08) My Amigo 09) Covered In Chrome 10) Our Friends In The Stars 11) The Road To Elsewhere 12) The Clockwork Light Machine 13) Otherworld 14) A Cottage On The Moon 15) Unearthlings DISC TWO TRACKS: 01) Squeaky Toytown 02) Radio Rialto 03) North Yorkshire Moors Rain (For Harold Budd) 04) Blue Spin 05) Venetian Submarines 06) Tweetime 07) Green Tiger In The Gold 08) Selectatone 09) Tremola 10) Experimental Erotica (Scene One) 11) In The Realms Of The Unreal 12) Billy's Blues 13) Footsteps In Rain 14) Spy Vs Spy 15) Experimental Erotica (Scene Two) ALBUM NOTES: Dazzlebox is a double album of instrumental pieces issued on the Sonoluxe label in a limited edition of 1000 copies. The album was recorded throughout 2020 and during January and February 2021. The 30 tracks included on Dazzlebox represent a fraction of the material assembled during the above period. Dazzlebox represents the second Bill Nelson album to be released since the composer moved to his recently established Cubase recording set-up assembled in 2019 and which he began utilising from January 2020. Plans for the album were first announced on the Dreamsville forum on 16 December 2020 when Nelson provided a list of 22 tracks recorded with this album in mind. However, the proposed track listing, revealed on 25 February 2021, included just 16 of the original tracks considered for Dazzlebox alongside 13 new titles included since that initial forum post. For a brief time, Nelson considered delaying the release of Dazzlebox in favour of Phantom Fuzzbox , an album completed back in 2014 which remains unreleased. Within days though, he reverted back to his initial plan to release Dazzlebox as his first album of 2021. However, Nelson was concerned that the material might prove too much to absorb as a double album. Consequently, he revealed an intention to reduce Dazzlebox down to a single album, the unused material being allocated to a separate album called In Tick Tock Land . In spite of these conflicting plans, on 23 February 2021 Nelson confirmed that, in line with his initial intentions, Dazzlebox would indeed be a double album. As the deadline for the mastering session approached Nelson made a couple of late changes bringing the number of featured tracks to 30. Dazzlebox was mastered at Fairview Studios by John Spence on 19 March 2021with artwork created by Martin Bostock working with images selected and manipulated by Nelson. With the UK still dealing with the Coronavirus pandemic any sort of public event to launch Dazzlebox was understandably out of the question and consequently the album received no such fanfare. Pre-orders for the Dazzlebox were announced by Burning Shed on 25 March 2021 with it being released on 30 April 2021. Physical copies of Dazzlebox sold out in November 2025. CURRENT AVAILABILITY: This digital download is available to purchase in the Dreamsville Store . BILL'S THOUGHTS: "Dazzlebox is the second release of recordings made using my relatively new Cubase recording software. It is an instrumental double album with a variety of stylistic twists and turns. The tracks sometimes use 'distressed' drum and percussion sounds, electronic effects and keyboards but always layered with a rainbow of electric guitars. "The thirty tracks presented here provide a rich, sometimes complex listening experience. It will require a patient and attentive ear to fully appreciate, but I hope you will take the time to unlock the music's charms and find much to enjoy." Albums Menu Future Past

Six Strings For Sara Bill Nelson download single - 26 November 2007 Singles Menu Future Past Purchase this download TRACKS: 1) Six Strings For Sara NOTES: "Six Strings for Sara" is an instrumental track that was the first exclusive musical offering to be made available through Sara's Hope Foundation , a charity for which Nelson was a patron. The Charity was set up in the memory of Sara Hoburn, who tragically lost her battle with colon cancer in 2001 at the age of 16. Inspired by Sara's strength, warmth and positivity, her family and close friends raised the funds to build and run a holiday retreat in the sun for children facing similar battles and emotions. After meeting Sara's dad at a fan convention, and hearing how brave Sara battled the disease, the guitarist was so moved that he decided to compose and record the instrumental. All proceeds from the download have been kindly donated by Bill to the foundation. Fans could download the song in return for a modest donation to the charity. The track was re-released on a special ' Bill Nelson (Charity Single)' Bandcamp p age on 30 October 2023. CURRENT AVAILABILITY: Available to purchase from the Bill Nelson (Charity Singles) Bandcamp page. BILL'S THOUGHTS: "You'll never be able to hear this piece of music anywhere else, and it's a corker... And don't forget, by choosing to listen to it, you'll be bringing a little sunshine into the lives of people who will really appreciate, and benefit by your generous support. So, show your good, kind hearts, citizens of Dreamsville and go for it!" Singles Menu Future Past

Sounding The Ritual Echo Bill Nelson album - 8 May 1981 Albums Menu Future Past Purchase this download TRACKS: 01) Annunciation 02) The Ritual Echo 03) Sleep 04) Near East 05) Emak Bakia 06) My Intricate Image 07) Endless Orchids 08) The Heat In The Room 09) Another Willingly Opened Window 10) Vanishing Parades 11) Glass Fish (For The Final Aquarium) 12) Cubical Domes 13) Ashes Of Roses 14) The Shadow Garden 15) Opium ALBUM NOTES: Sounding the Ritual Echo is an instrumental album recorded at Nelson's home studio, The Echo Observatory. The album was initially released as a limited edition free album available with both vinyl and cassette copies of Quit Dreaming and Get on the Beam . It was packaged in its own album sleeve, which slipped inside the Quit Dreaming cover, or simply as side two of the cassette edition. Once Nelson had left Mercury and transferred more attention towards Cocteau for releasing his own albums, Sounding the Ritual Echo became the first album to be re-issued on Cocteau in July 1985 (on vinyl only). By then Nelson had released the four-album box set Trial By Intimacy , and the new edition of Sounding the Ritual Echo was redesigned (in terms of artwork) to fit inside the box set as a companion piece. In fact, when Trial By Intimacy was conceived, Sounding the Ritual Echo was originally one of the four albums to be included in the box, but then a new recording, The Summer of God's Piano , took its place. PAST RELEASES : The UK and US CD issues from 1989 are both long out of print. Sounding the Ritual Echo was reissued by Esoteric/Cocteau Discs in December 2017 as part of a 3-CD set of Bill's early soundtrack work, entitled Dreamy Screens . CURRENT AVAILABILITY: Available for purchase as a digital download here in the Dreamsville Store . BILL'S THOUGHTS: "Sounding the Ritual Echo was recorded in the privacy of my own home on broken or faulty tape machines and speakers, each track possessing its own technological deformity. For this I offer no apology as the music owes its existence to a very personal and selfish obsession. As a direct result, some pieces will require a little patience." _____ "At the time, I saw 'Ritual Echo' as being more indicative of my inner, deeper self (in 'artistic' terms), whilst Quit Dreaming was perhaps a little more superficial, closer to my commercially minded work. Perhaps I was still chasing fame and fortune with one hand but rejecting it with the other. Here and now, in the 21st Century, the production quality of Ritual seems, (to my ears), simplistic and dated, but its approach and content feels contemporary and connected to my current creativity." _____ "Many of those old four track or eight track recordings were done as sketches or demos, ('though mainly the song-based material), as I felt frustrated by the technical limitations of the recording equipment I had at that time. I always added the qualification to the sleeve notes that these were, in a sense, little more than rough blueprints for work that would be refined if I ever had the opportunity to record them to a much higher standard in a 'proper' studio. However, these technical limitations sometimes worked to the music's advantage, particularly when it came to recording minimalist instrumental pieces. "The enforced simplicity and primitive recording technology suited the stripped back form of the pieces that went into albums such as Sounding the Ritual Echo , Chamber of Dreams , The Summer of God's Piano , Pavilions of the Heart and Soul , Catalogue of Obsessions , Simplex and the two 'Orchestra Arcana' albums. "Whilst I understand that some people might have thought of these recordings as 'experimental' or 'avant garde', I never really approached them in that way...for me, they seemed accessible, direct, and far from difficult... All I wanted to do was make music which transcended limitations of genre and instead came across as beautiful and timeless. To achieve that goal, now more than ever, is the driving force behind my music." _____ "My interests have always been fairly broad so, for me, it feels natural to enjoy a wide range of musical expression without worrying too much about genre limitations or fashionable fads. But if there was a key to my musical identity, I think it could be found in the instrumental work, rather than the vocal things. It's from there that the essence of my creativity flows. It's always been that way, even with Be Bop Deluxe. "As John Peel once said, "You get the feeling that Bill just wants to get the singing bit out of the way as soon as possible so that he can tear into another guitar solo". (Or words to that effect)." _____ "Here's something you may not know regarding the above Ritual Echo photograph: I took the photo in a field on the edge of the Yorkshire village of West Haddlesey, where I lived at that time. The two large mirrors, (one reflecting a tree behind my position with the camera and the other reflecting the sky), were originally made for a Be Bop Deluxe tour. They were designed to reflect, to the audience, Andy Clarke's hands playing his keyboards. "After Be Bop and Red Noise, the Mylar mirrors were stored in my garage at Haddlesy House and, one day, I thought I might be able to use them in a photograph of some kind. I carted them out to the edge of the village and propped them up using some guitar stands, (hidden behind the mirrors). The wind kept blowing them away as they were rather like sails, but eventually the weather gave me a still moment to take the photograph you see above. Unfortunately the original print and neg have long ago been lost but it remains one of my personal favourite photographs and chimes nicely with those in my 'Arcane Eye' photographic book." FAN THOUGHTS: Waspy: Sounding the Ritual Echo : "was the icing on the cake. Here was an artist doing everything on his own terms, a one-man cottage industry conjuring up intriguingly evocative sound-worlds and getting them down on tape before the moment passes. The hand-written liner notes, photography and graphic design, the DIY nature of it all - it made a mighty big impression on a kid in a regional town in Australia. (Thanks, Bill!)" Boat to Forever: "What I really like about the instrumental albums of that period - Ritual Echo , Trial by Intimacy , Chance Encounters - is the strange, ethereal and completely unique sound of those records. A kind of other worldly quality that is only enhanced by the low-fi and basic production of the albums." paul.smith: "As soon as this time of year comes along with some good weather it always reminds me of that summer of '81 when [ Quit Dreaming ] was released...and I always follow it up with Sounding the Ritual Echo as a matter of course...made me look at music in a very different way did that..." " Sounding the Ritual Echo eventually had more of an an effect on me than its parent -- it is probably part responsible for the way that I started to look at certain things as a young kid - not just this fractured set of sounds full of intention and serendipity but titles such as "Glass Fish for the Final Aquarium" really got my imagination. It's a haunting album full of sounds that conjure up images I can't ever explain. I played QDAGOTB on the way to work today because of these posts reminding me of the 30 year anniversary and played Sounding the Ritual Echo on the way back - I think it's got to be one of the most evocative albums I have the pleasure to possess." "The Echo Observatory always conjured up fanciful images for me all those years ago listening to Sounding the Ritual Echo ...I used to picture this remote and isolated whitewashed dome overlooking the ocean with Bill hard at work inside as the sea rolled in silently in the distance, grass blowing in the wind - that sort of thing... ...the reality was a little different though, but I still maintain it's a great name and playing STRE always brings those kind of images to mind even after all this time." Returningman: "Love every crackle and click on this as it brings back some very keen memories. Turned me on to "ambient" all those years ago." Southern Dreamer: "The other wonderful aspect about getting hold of the two LP release was being able to listen to Sounding the Ritual Echo . That particular album opened up a whole new experience of listening to Bill's 'ambient' music (although personally I have never really liked that particular label for his instrumental works). Whilst I was not surprised at the nature of the recordings on that album, having listened to "The Shadow Garden" on the From Brussels with Love cassette many times over the previous year; having a whole album of this instrumental music to sit (or lay) back and just drift or dream along to, gave me an real appreciation for a whole different side to Bill's music, one that has remained just as vital to me as his rock/pop side ever since." wonder toy: "I never thought of this music as ambient or new age, etc. To me it was electronic, futuristic and necessary." "Thank you for being curious and never stopping in the face of many challenges." John Izzard: "A quick word about Bill's demos and sketches. It was many of those early demos, including Sounding the Ritual Echo and the Trial by Intimacy box set that inspired confidence in me to make my own music and helped shape my attitude towards the creative process. Those records taught me that it was not necessarily about the big production, budget - or 'being signed', but the seed of an idea being the important thing. I'm sure many other musicians, here and elsewhere, feel the same. It was brave of Bill to release those pieces in their raw form...although the truth is, the music and ideas were strong enough to stand naked and proud, without the need for further stylisation or polish." Albums Menu Future Past

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2013 William's Study (Diary Of A Hyperdreamer) August 2009 Jan Jul Sep Oct Nov Dec Thursday 20th August 2009 -- 8:20 pm (Noon) Feeling tired, sad and somewhat less than chipper. Was up at 6 am this morning to take Emi to Leeds/Bradford airport. She is flying to Japan today (20th August), to visit her mother who is terminally ill. The last few weeks have been very difficult for Emi due to her mother's deteriorating health, plus having to honour a freelance wedding flower commission which made it impossible for her to fly to Tokyo any earlier. But now she's finally on her way to be by her mother's side. We waved a sad goodbye to each other at the airport this morning after a 45 minute drive through the pleasant Yorkshire countryside. Couldn't help thinking how different Tokyo will seem to Emi. She's become as fond of the beautiful North Yorkshire landscape as myself. Leeds/Bradford Airport, which is actually situated near the village of Yeadon, is very convenient for us, far more so than Manchester, (which is where Emi flew from last year). Unfortunately, there are no direct flights to Japan from Leeds/Bradford Airport so Emi's journey is via Amsterdam where she will have a three hour wait for her connecting flight to Tokyo. Her flight from Manchester Airport last year wasn't direct either so, really, there's no particular advantage in travelling all the way to the far side of Manchester when there's a much more convenient departure point just 45 minutes drive from our Yorkshire home. And, as I said, it's a pleasant, scenic drive free from motorway pressures. The early morning sunshine warmed the hills and fields as we skirted the edge of the en-route Harewood House Estate, (where we'd been guests at the Eric Clapton concert last year), before turning off the main road onto the A659 winding its way through the village of Arthington, then on to Pool, then left, before Otley, and up the hills towards Yeadon and the airport itself. As the journey progressed, the golden sunshine gradually gave way to grey clouds, suitably matching our increasingly sad mood. We'd both been dreading the moment of parting, trying not to think about it...but when it came it was emotional and distressing, made even more so because of the reason for Emi's trip and the uncertainty about when she will be able to return to England. Although her return ticket is booked for the 4th of September, (in two weeks time), there's a very real and worrying possibility that she will need to stay in Japan for quite a while longer than that. It all depends on her mother's condition over the next two weeks. It doesn't seem very long since Emi's previous trip to Japan, last year, when her mother was admitted to hospital for surgery related to intestinal cancer. At the time, the surgery was deemed to be successful and Emi's mum made what appeared to be a reasonably good recovery. Sadly, it was not to last and now we've now been told that nothing can be done to stop the progress of the disease. Emi has regularly called the hospital in Tokyo to speak with her mother but each time, her mum seems to have become weaker. Such a vast distance between England and Japan...It's made the situation really hard for Emi to bear. My heart has gone out to her but I've felt helpless. All I can do is try to be supportive and understanding. But now Emi and I are to be separated by thousands of miles too and my help will be little more than words on a telephone line, stretched half-way around the world. We both need to be strong. Emi's eldest brother has warned her that she will be shocked when she sees her mum's physical condition. Equally worrying is Emi's impression, from her calls to the Tokyo hospital, that her mother is becoming increasingly weak and depressed and has given up her struggle to fight the illness. We're praying that Emi's arrival in Tokyo will ignite some spark of energy and hope in her mother. But, it's a time of suffering. It seems the last few years have been blighted with one mortal situation after another. We're at that time of life, I guess. My lonely drive back home from the airport this morning was filled with dark thoughts and dark clouds, the mood lifted only for a couple of minutes when my mobile 'phone rang. It was Emi, calling on her mobile from the airport departure lounge to tell me that she was now waiting at the gate to board the 'plane to Amsterdam, which was on time, and that she wished I was by her side. As I've attempted to explain before in this diary, we are a very close and fortunate couple in that we complete each other, live for each other and, even though we were born on opposite sides of the world with quite different social and cultural backgrounds, we have a quiet, gentle, almost telepathic relationship. Soul mates in so many ways. And, despite the fact that I'm not the easiest person to live with, (aren't most artists obsessive, driven characters with a stupidly stubborn streak and a desperate need for love?) Emi stoically accepts my negative attitudes and heroically nurtures whatever positive ones I can muster. I'm extremely lucky to have her to share my life with me. But, right now, here I sit totally alone in the house, (except for two sleepy cats), contemplating what might turn out to be several weeks of solitary existence. No choice in the matter. I'll have to get used to it. Of course, I have plenty of work to attend to. I always have, 'though today I'm not much in the mood for anything other than writing up my sorrows in this diary. But I must try to get on with my work as best I can...and soon too. There's still tons of Nelsonica work for me to prepare. I've been so busy these last few weeks, creating new video and live performance pieces for the event. I've now completed several brand new backing tracks to improvise with. The problem is, only a scant few of these tracks appeal to me. Many of them are 'shunters,' (ie: they'll end up on next year's convention album). Nevertheless, I've probably got enough decent new pieces to add to the older pieces in my solo performance set. I THINK... Having said that, I've yet to choose ANY pieces to perform, old OR new, let alone deciding upon their sequence before mastering the backing tracks at Fairview. Actually, there's another new instrumental piece in progress at the moment...it might be completed by tomorrow evening. (Or it might not.) No fixed title for it as yet but it's definitely shaping up to be a contender for the Nelsonica set list. Took a break after the above paragraph, during which I received two more 'phone calls from Emiko. She's arrived safely in Amsterdam. First call was to tell me of that...second call an hour later to tell me she's bored with waiting for her connecting flight, but that the airline is soon to begin the boarding proceedure. She'd found a noodle bar on the Amsterdam airport concourse and treated herself to a lunch of Japanese-style Ramen. Noodles are one of her favourite Japanese foods. At this stage, the psychic umbilical cord that connects us doesn't feel too stretched. Hearing her voice from Amsterdam is like hearing her call from York to home to ask if there's anything I need from the supermarket. But soon, as her flight carries her further and further away, the sense of distance will become more and more acute. It was only two days ago that I helped her deliver and set up the wedding flower arrangements that she'd created for a reception at the rather splendid Rudding Park Hotel on the edge of Harrogate. She'd worked very hard all last weekend, without any assistance, sculpting away at a huge array of flowers, including some stunning roses, to provide several table arrangements, a big mantlepiece arrangement, two large bouquets for the mothers of the bride and groom, plus the bride's own bouquet, etc, etc. When we delivered the arrangements to the venue, the wedding supervisor at Rudding Park praised Emi's work, saying that it was 'absolutely beautiful.' Everyone who sees her work says the same. Nice to have such a genuine response, I think, especially when Emi is so modest and unassuming about her talents. I'm very proud of her. Another break since the above. It's now 6:32 pm. The clouds cleared briefly this afternoon but the sun shining through my studio window made it difficult to see my computer screen...so I decided to go into town for a while. Needed some treats for Django and Tink and something easy to cook for my dinner. There will be lots of microwave tv dinners over the next few weeks I suspect. I have no time or inclination to cook something decent for myself. I expect the village fish n' chip shop will see me more frequently than usual too. Had to negotiate heavy traffic on the way home from York city centre. It's the races, 'The Ebor' I believe this particular one is called. Whilst horse racing brings business into the city during the season, they're a curse for those of us who live nearby and get stuck in the constant tacky parades of stretch limos and excursion coaches. Always amusing to see the drunken race-goers staggering along the pavements from the racecourse though...Men with hilarious footballer-style haircuts in bad suits accompanied by women with orange-coloured skin, dressed in bust-revealing frocks at least a size too small for them, wobbling about on heels unsuitable for anything other than bedroom entertainment, whilst clinging on to hats that might be better employed straining a salad. I overheard one worse-for-wear guy mumbling to someone on the other end of his mobile 'phone: "Well, I didn't actually WIN anything...but I only lost a few hundred quid." Yes I know I shouldn't laugh, but I did. Change of subject: Les Paul, a guitarist whose work, (both as a musician and inventor of studio technology), had inspired me since I was a young man, has sadly passed away. The news came as something of a shock, even though I knew he was 94 years old. Les always seemed invincible, having survived all kinds of physical set backs throughout his life. He was, to quote the old cliche, 'one of a kind.' A unique and brilliant artist to whom all modern day guitarists owe a debt. His albums grace my shelves and his fortitude and attitude continue to inspire. And, his little note to me is framed here on my studio wall, something I will always treasure. And now a break for dinner. A Tesco microwave fantasia of salmon fillet in watercress sauce with two new potatoes with some peas and broccoli. Close the door and ZAP! Instant dinner. Emi isn't the only one suffering airline food. It's now 8:28 pm. I ate the microwave meal, (which actually wasn't bad), then spoke with my mother on the 'phone. We speak to each other two times per day, morning and evening. She's a compulsive worrier and needs regular reassurance. That's where I get my own weird nervousness from, I guess. Anyway, I'm now back in my little studio, typing these words, a glass of Merlot by my side. Django and Tink are outside in the fields somewhere, terrorising the rodent population. I'm wondering whether I should attempt to post this diary entry on my website now or have a shot at mixing the previously mentioned backing track first? I need to decide on some images to accompany the diary, which means a little computer re-sizing and tweaking work. Or, maybe I'll finish this diary entry tomorrow and attempt the backing-track mix tonight, or at least get the first stage of it set up. Hell no, it's now 9 pm and I'm far too tired to start a mix. I'll try to post this entry on the Dreamsville site instead...maybe add some photo's of Emi's flowers and a snap of my autographed Les Paul note. Then watch a movie on tv, or a DVD. In any case, tiredness aside, I'm hoping to be awoken in the early hours by a 'phone call from Emi to tell me that she has arrived safely at Narita airport. Another diary entry soon, I suspect. Need someone to talk to. ***** The photos accompanying this diary entry are of Emiko's recent wedding flowers, plus a pic of the framed Les Paul autograph that hangs on my studio wall. Top of page

All Dressed Up In Your Art School Clothes Bill Nelson download single - 3 November 2023 Singles Menu Future Past Purchase this download TRACKS: 01) All Dressed Up In Your Art School Clothes 02) Five Flying Horses NOTES: "All Dressed Up In Your art School Clothes" is a single Bill composed and recorded exclusively for the Sara's Dream Foundation . The charity's aim is to raise money for the families of children suffering from cancer to help provide some happiness and to create special memories. Fans can download the songs in return for a donation to the charity. The single also includes a 'b-side' entitled 'Five Flying Horses' which is an instrumental version of the single's title track. "All Dressed Up In Your Art School Clothes" was released on a special ' Bill Nelson (Charity Single)' Bandcamp p age on 30 October 2023, with news of the release first announced in a Dreamsville newsletter on 3 November 2023. CURRENT AVAILABILITY: Available to purchase from the Bill Nelson (Charity Singles) Bandcamp page. Singles Menu Future Past

What, Me Worry? album - 1982 Yukihiro Takahashi Production/Contribution Menu Future Past BILL: Guitar and E-Bow Production/Contribution Menu Future Past

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2013 William's Study (Diary Of A Hyperdreamer) February 2005 Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Dec Tuesday 22nd February 2005 -- 9 pm Snow these last two days. Heavy yesterday. I decided to drive Emi to work rather than let her risk the treacherous roads on her own. Today a slight thaw and now a freeze. Icy conditions tomorrow. Still working intensely on the website images with Dave Graham. Slowly but surely coming together. This is just the 'skin' for some areas of the site... Soon, the cavities beneath the skin will have to be created and filled with content from my archived 'private' sources and also from the Permanent Flame files supplied by Chuck Bird. Still a long way to go before we're fully operational but things will be added as time progresses. It will be several months before the site approaches the kind of strength and complexity I've got in mind. I'm also working on visual content for Paul Sutton-Reeves book about my career. Due to various things beyond his control, he's had to come back to me for more photos to go into the book. I've spent the last few days scanning things from my own collection and have just put out an appeal to fans to send in any photographs they may have of Red Noise. As Red Noise's career was relatively short, I don't have much visual material relating to the band. It's one area where my archives are a lacking. Duncan Ahlgren and Garry Nichol have sent in some of their own personal shots of Red noise though and we should be able to use a couple of these for the book. Also working on the possibility of major label re-releases... the EMI box set and Universal's proposal to re-issue the 'Mercury' years. It's a complex project though, particularly the latter as much of the material has been issued as part of my Cocteau Records catalogue. Adrian at Opium is trying to get to the bottom of it. Adrian just got back from the Grammys in L.A. Sounds glamourous. Not sure I'd want to go though, other than to ogle those girls in almost non-existent frocks. Oh, yes... I saw them on TV and thought, 'lucky Adrian'. Yes, maybe I would go, given the chance... drool all over their chiffon like the shameless old dog I am. Adrian shared a table with the Foo Fighters who, so Adrian told me, said very nice things about my music. Credibility time with Elle and Elliot again, then. A brownie point for me. My acoustic guitar based instrumental album at a standstill. Frozen like the weather. No time available to work on it right now. I hope I can get it finished in time for a spring release. I've got more ideas in mind for it though... more little snippets of composition that I ought to record before they melt into air. I'd like to assemble a guitar instrumental compilation album too, as I may have mentioned before in these pages. Pull together some of my favourite pieces from across the years and add in a couple of unreleased tracks for good measure. Could be an interesting combination of things. Lots of other little things nagging away in the background. Some I can't speak about here yet... but some very interesting developments coming up soon. Quite exciting, I think. I'll tell more when the time is right. Enough work for today. Maybe I'll watch TV for a while until bedtime. Unwind. A short diary entry but, to be expected considering my tiredness. Some more website visual promo attached to make up for it. Top of page Saturday 26th February 2005 The snows have melted and the view across the field from my studio window is green again. Quite cold, nevertheless. Became frustrated by the constant visual scanning and photoshop work I've been so busy with and decided to put it all to one side and spend a day or two recording some new pieces for my electro-acoustic guitar album. This thing seems to take a different turn each time I return to it after a lay-off. Two new tracks completed and more ideas bubbling under. For an acoustic album, it seems to have developed a jazzy turn of phrase. Jazz has always been a subliminal force in my music, even from the pre-Be Bop Deluxe days. ( I didn't chose the words 'Be Bop' just for the sound they made.) As the years advance, however, I seem to be mutating into some kind of 'jazz' guitarist, though not in the sense that other musicians would generally recognise within the academic implications of the term. As a man who neither reads music nor has ever had a guitar or music theory lesson in his life, I'm ill equipped to deal with jazz in its orthodox, commonly accepted sense. Perhaps I shouldn't really use the word in this context at all. It's just that, for some time now, I've found myself feeling increasingly more inspired by (and empathetic with), the lives of jazz musicians. For all the glittering (if dumb), excess of rock music's iconic figures, it seems to me that jazz music's icons lived their musical lives more completely, intelligently and profoundly. Equally as self-destructive as some rock musicians (sometimes perhaps)... but even so, as a species, it's obvious that there's something a bit more evolved going on. My real bottom line is that it's all just music and that categories are as much a restriction as a help. We're all victims of the kind of conceptual packaging that sorts music into conveniently labelled boxes... boxes that not only divide the music up but also restrict our free movement within music's ocean of sound. Perhaps it is naive of me to believe that it is possible for anyone to respond positively to the whole range of musical expression available to us as 21st Century consumers but I like to think that an ability to appreciate a broad range of music is everyone's birthright... even the girls who work with Emiko in the flower shop who seem blissfully unaware of any music outside of the radio and disco 'norm'. I've said it before but, we need a higher standard of musical education in our schools... the subject needs taking much more seriously than at present, particularly with reference to music's wider implications. By this, I mean abstract thought, pure aesthetics and philosophical development. For me, naturally, it's the one true religion and always has been. All else is heresey. Which brings me to a very special event: I've now been given permission to write about a concert that I'm to be involved in on the 21st of May this year. It is (for want of a better term), a tribute concert to my long-time and very dear friend Harold Budd . Harold announced his retirement from performance and recording last year, his latest album, 'Avalon Sutra' purporting to be his last. He played a farewell concert in Los Angeles towards the end of 2004 but there is now going to be a similar event here in the UK as part of this year's Brighton Arts Festival . A number of artists are to take part in this and a band is being put together around Harold for the final segment of the concert. The artists involved in this are myself, Michael Nyman, Jah Wobble, John Foxx (of Ultravox), Steve Cobby (of Fila Brasilia), Robin Guthrie (of Cocteau Twins), Steve Jansen (of Japan), The Balanescu Quartet and others still to be confirmed. Channel Light Vessel was once given the title 'ambient supergroup' by the music media but this event promises to take that term somewhere else entirely. Harold has been dropping me letters and e-mails over the last couple of months or so about the project and I'm pleased to see that it is finally coming to fruition. Harold naturally had some personal reservations about the project, unsure of what stresses and strains might be involved but I think these have been overcome. Everyone taking part in this event has a personal respect and love for Harold and his work and it will be a privelege and sheer thrill for me to take part and honour Harold alongside everyone else. And of course, I will be absolutely terrified too. Neverthless, when all's said and done, it will be an absolutely unique, one-off event that anyone who gives a damn about the possibility of art within music should not miss. I should spend time with Emiko today. I've been working late in the studio every night for some weeks and Emi has to sit downstairs watching TV when she comes home from work. Saturdays and Sundays are usually the only time we get to do anything together socially. I'll switch off the music and visuals and take her out somewhere. Recharge my own batteries too. Top of page

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2013 William's Study (Diary Of A Hyperdreamer) March 2011 Jan Feb Apr Dec Tuesday 8th March 2011 -- 9:00 pm I really should be dealing with the upcoming television show preparations, but have found myself pottering about on the 'Dreamsville' website every day, answering questions and responding to fan's postings. It's as if I'm trying to deny that the 'Legends' television appearance is actually going to happen, even though full band rehearsals kick in on the 19th of this month. Trying to pretend that the programme doesn't exist is one thing, but denying the presence of stress in my life as a result of it is impossible. I've not had a full night's sleep since this thing appeared on my horizon. I wake up at crazy hours with endless details of this or that or the other buzzing around in my head like a vicious swarm of synaptic bees. Lack of confidence, I suppose, and a general uneasiness about appearing like some flickering digital ghost in the electronic picture frames of our nation's living rooms...Or maybe I'm simply frightened of looking like an ancient fish in a haunted fishtank. I wonder, will I regret doing this? As I've said before, my gut instincts are screaming 'run, run, run, run away...!' But common sense and commercial expediency says, 'do it and damn the torpedoes... 'I've been trying to choose some solo pieces to add to the 14 band songs that we are planning to perform. I've decided to include a couple of melodic familiars frommy solo concerts: 'For Stuart,' and 'A Dream For Ian.' Both pieces were written as deeply felt tributes to people who are sadly no longer with us: the first to an old friend, the second to my dearly missed brother Ian. Perhaps these tunes will reach out and touch those who are unfamiliar with my more recent work, (provided nerves and failing memory don't make me screw them up). I also want to include something a wee bit more left of centre in the show, something that dances a little closer to my current sensibilities...At the moment this look like being 'Golden Dream Of Circus Horses' and 'Above These Clouds The Sweetest Dream.' Neither piece could be considered radical or avant-garde, I admit...but they're probably more than enough enough of a challenge for anyone unaware of my musical development since the 1970s. Recurring themes throughout my creative life: Dreams, reveries, memories, meditations, musings, coupled with desperate attempts to get to grips with it all, to try to figure out what it all might mean, if indeed it means anything at all. Always the age-old tension between an egotistical desire to mean something...and our deeply repressed awareness that, ultimately even the most profound artistic commentary amounts to absolutely nothing. Had to search through some old photo' albums today to find images of a particular guitar I once owned. Looking through these albums I was shocked to discover how badly deteriorated many of the photographs have become...colours changed, contrasts lost. Washed out memories, once taken for granted, now precious and fragile, fading fast. I realised that I need to spend time scanning them into my computer and adjusting the quality as much as possible if these old images are not to be lost forever. There are polaroids taken on US tours in the '70s, very early black n' white shots of Be Bop Deluxe, family archive photographs...etc, etc. All suffering from the accelerating effects of entropy. So...I made a decision to try and scan and restore some of them each day. And not just do this but also publish them here in Dreamsville. As the only means of personal access I have to the site is this diary and the Forum, I've decided to do a sort of 'archive photographs' version of the diary. It won't have much to say about what is going on here and now but will comment a a series of photographs that I'll upload. The text will be brief but the images will hopefully speak volumes. I'll flag these types of diary entry up on the forum in a way that will distinguish them from my more usual 'journal' type entries. This particular entry will introduce the first six images from my archives. It may be that I've posted some of these images on the site previously. If so, my apologies...but stay tuned over the next few weeks for some regular updates on these visual archives. Here are the first six photographs: 1: Bill Nelson in the grounds of The Century Plaza hotel, Los Angeles, USA, 15th April 1976. 2: Bill and Be Bop Deluxe standing beneath a Be Bop Deluxe 'Sunburst Finish' advertising billboard on Sunset Boulevard, Los angeles, USA, April 1976. 3: Bill Nelson standing by a vintage American Car, New York, USA, 1970s. 4: Bill Nelson at the Mayflower Hotel, Washington DC, USA, 26th March 1976. 5: Bill Nelson rehearsing at S.I.R. sound studios, in Los Angeles, USA, 1970's. 6: View of Beverly Wiltshire Theatre frontage with billboard announcing Bill Nelson solo concert, Los Angeles, USA, early '80's. Top of page Wednesday 9th March 2011 -- 3:00 pm Another in a new series of diary entries specifically intended as a way of sharing a few of my personal archive photographs with fans on the Dreamsville website. Nothing new to report progress-wise so I'll get straight to the six images that I've attached here. These are all from 1977, (35 years ago!) 1: This is a photograph of Villa St. George, in Juan-Les-Pins in the South Of France. It was where Be Bop Deluxe began recording the songs that eventually made up the band's 'Drastic Plastic' album. Sadly, this lovely villa was demolished more than several years ago. The last time I visited Juan-Les-Pins, all that remained was a huge quarry-like crater in the garden where it had stood, although the gates and perimeter fence were still intact. Recording in this location was an unforgettable experience, one of the most treasured memories of my life. We were a particularly happy group of people, all working together to make the album, but in a romantic, relaxed and idyllic atmosphere. In this photograph of the villa you can see the white Range Rover which was used by the band for travelling to concerts in the UK. It was taken to the South Of France to serve as general band transport, although I travelled there in my black Daimler. On the left of the photograph you can glimpse the Rolling Stones mobile recording truck which we used on these sessions. The band played in the lower room (with the white shutters). Microphone cables were run from the truck, (which contained the 24 track recorder and a mixing desk), into the villa to capture the performances. The balcony with the red sunshade was part of my bedroom. The views down to the sea were wonderful and I recorded my vocal for 'Islands Of The Dead' on that very balcony, a microphone set up so that I could gaze out to sea as I sang. 2: This photo' shows me standing on that same balcony although the angle doesn't reveal the full view. 3: This photograph shows me sitting at the grand piano inside Villa St. George. It was a lovely old French piano, a 'Gaveau' I believe, ('though I may have got the spelling wrong). This was the room where the majority of the recording was done, although I think this photograph was taken just before we left the villa to return to England as the band's equipment is no longer set up in the room. The villa was filled with lovely old French furniture and had some nice vintage light fittings. Most evenings we ate in the villa's dining room, our meals being cooked by wives and girlfriends who were with us. I forget exactly how many people made up our team but we had John Leckie and Haydn Bendall and their wives and children, our crew and road manager, sometimes our business manager and his girlfriend...mealtimes were a communal affair.After dinner we might do a little more recording but usually we'd amble down the road into the centre of Juan-Les-Pins and take a couple of tables at one of the open fronted bars, (usually 'Le Pam-Pam'), and indulge ourselves with colourful cocktails and ice cream extravaganzas whilst watching the beautiful local girls and boys parade around the block in their open-topped Ferraris and Porches. 4: Just to show that I was once a lithe young thing before the years took their terrible toll, here is a photograph of me sitting on the rocks on the edge of one of Juan-Les-Pins beaches. I had to spend rather more time at the villa recording than the other guys in the band so didn't get as much time as them for sunning and relaxing. However, once in a while, I'd take a few hours out of the day to work on my tan! 5: And here's another photograph of me at Juan-Les-Pins enjoying the salt-water sparkles and the glorious Cote D'Azur sunshine. Again, taken 35 years ago. 6: This photo' shows mestanding outside the gates of the Villa Santo-Sospir on the little peninsula of St Jean Cap Ferrat. Cocteau lived at Santo Sospir for quite a time and decorated the interior with his artwork. I actually own an original Cocteau letter which is written on Santo Sospir headed notepaper. Like these old photographs, the ink is fading on the letter now but I bought it over 35 years ago and it hangs on my dining room wall today. It took me a little while to find Villa Santo Sospir back in 1977. I didn't have a full address, though I knew from books that it was somewhere in St. Jean Cap-Ferrat. I also had seen a photograph taken in the villa's back garden and noticed that Cap Ferrat's lighthouse was visible in the background. When I decided to try and find the villa, I located the area where the lighthouse stands and drove up and down various streets until I finally discovered Villa Santo Sopir on Rue De Phare. Like some sort of crazy groupie, I sneaked into the villas front garden and pulled up a small flowering plant which I eventually took home to England where I planted it in my own garden at Haddlesey House. I've no idea if it still grows there as Haddlesey House's gardens have sadly been turned into a housing estate by a local building company. But for a while, a little piece of Cocteau's Santo Sospir grew in the Yorkshire sunshine of my garden. Well, that's all for today...not really a diary entry, more of a reminiscence, but hopefully an entertaining one. I'll perhaps continue this theme tomorrow. Stay tuned! Top of page Thursday 10th March 2011 -- 1:00 pm Emi has caught a nasty cold and is in bed feeling poorly. We suffered a sleepless night due to a combination of Emi's restless coughing and the wild weather. Strong gusts of wind and rain rattled the windows and stormed the rooftops all night long. Feeling tired and without energy today. I now have to avoid catching whatever virus Emi has come down with. Not easy when we live in such close proximity to each other. The last thing I need at this point in time is to fall ill. Rehearsals for the tv show start soon and then the show itself. Strange how this has happened now...the same situation cropped up just before last year's Nelsonica when I was desperately trying to stay clear of a bug that Emi had caught at that time. I managed to avoid it but succumbed to a different flu virus right after Nelsonica was concluded. Today's diary entry once again serves as a means of publishing more photographs from my personal archives. This selection continues with yesterday's theme of Be Bop Deluxe in the South Of France. All these photographs are from 35 years ago. Photograph number 1: Here is a snap of John Leckie and myself in Juan-Les-Pins, strolling from the town's central square and heading towards Villa St. George to get back to work on the 'Drastic Plastic' album. I think we'd been for an early morning coffee and croissant. 2: A portrait of myself taken in the bedroom I had at Villa St. George. The guitar pendant I'm wearing around my neck was a gift from EMI Records. They had it specially made for me. I think it may be made, (legally I hope), from old ivory. It has solid silver fittings and I still own it today. That blue, flecked shirt is rather nice too. I remember buying it in the Kings Road in London, before Kings Road became just another corporate chain store high street. I don't have the shirt anymore but, even if I did, I wouldn't be able to squeeze into it! 3: On the final day of recording at Villa St. George, we had a sort of 'wrap' party. Lots of good food and wine and a fun jam session, part of which featured Charlie Tumahai playing my acoustic guitar, Simon Fox playing the harmonica and myself playing percussion, (which I'm doing in this photograph). The guy in the pale grey shirt on the left of this photo' was, (if I recall correctly), called Mathieu. We'd befriended him at one of the bars in Juan-Les-Pins. He turned out to be a purveyor of the odd 'jazz woodbine.' ;-) 4: Another shot of the same jam session at Villa St. George. I think that is Andy Clarke behind me holding the drumsticks. 5: Whilst we were working in Juan-Les-Pins, the Queen's Jubilee day occurred. None of us were staunch royalists or anything but we used the Jubilee celebrations as an excuse to stage an open air party in the grounds of Villa St George. We decked the place out with red, white and blue bunting and balloons and laid on a very nice feast for everyone, even inviting in locals we'd met at various locations in town. One of the people who turned up to our party was Bill Wyman, at that time still in the Rolling Stones and living nearby, close to the walled hilltop town of St. Paul Du Vence. This is a snap of him having a drink and a snack in Villa St. George's garden. The Jubilee party features in my 'Be Bop Deluxe In The South Of France' video on the 'Picture House' DVD. In the video, Mr. Wyman can be glimpsed popping in to the Stones truck to have a listen to what we'd been up to. 6: A snap of me with my Canon home cine camera, the one I used to capture the footage that I would eventually edit to make the 'Be Bop Deluxe In The South Of France' video. This photo' was taken during those sessions at Villa St. George in 1977. Well, that's all for today. If I find time, I'll scan some more archive photo's and post them here tomorrow. Top of page Friday 11th March 2011 -- 3:00 pm Woke up this morning to the shocking news of a huge earthquake off the coast of Japan. The 'quake is the largest in Japan's recorded history and has caused a huge Tsunami that has swept inland carrying all before it. The scenes on television were unreal, like something from a Hollywood disaster movie. Predictions are that the effects of the earthquake will result in Tsunamis throughout the Pacific region over the next 24 hours, reaching as far as New Zealand and South America. Tokyo has suffered some damage as a result of the earthquake itself but the coastal towns to the north east of the capital have suffered most. Here both earth and water have conspired to cause devastation. Emiko's brothers are in Tokyo and it seems that they will be ok. However, Emi has a Japanese friend called Akko who lives in the next village to us here in Yorkshire. (Like Emi, she married an Englishman.) Akko is originally from Sendai, the Japanese town nearest to the centre of the earthquake, and Akko's mother still lives there. She must be very worried about her. Emi's 'cold' has turned out to be 'flu. She felt much worse yesterday evening and developed a high temperature. Today, her cough is quite severe and she feels terrible. She has remained in bed and I'm doing my best to look after her whilst trying not to pick up the virus that has laid her low. I dread to think of the consequences if I should catch it. The entire tv show could go belly up. I did have a sore throat and a headache this morning and have taken all the precautions possible, multi-vitamins, echinacea, several glasses of fruit juice, etc, etc. Fingers crossed that it doesn't get me. I'm continuing with my archive photo' presentations in the diary today. Here are six more from my personal snapshot albums: 1: This is a polaroid photograph of Eddie Condon's jazz club in New York, taken in 1976. That's me in the long coat with the fur collar, standing in the club's doorway, beneath the striped awning. I was first introduced to this club by a guy called Bob Bonis who worked for an American agency who handled Be Bop Deluxe's concerts in the 'States. Bob was a lovely man and became a good friend to the band and myself in particular. He had been the Beatles AND the Rolling Sones tour manager when they first toured America. Bob was a big jazz music fan and knew many famous jazz musicians personally. I remember him trying to get me to go and sit in with the great Joe Pass, (who was also one of Bob's friends), one evening, just to have a jam. I might have had more confidence in my playing back then then than now but, even so, I was wise enough to know that I'd be completely out of my depth and so politely declined the offer. What I really should have done was just go to see Joe play and let Bob introduce me so that I could shake Joe's hand and tell him how much his music meant to me. But Bob took me to Eddie Condon's club, and to Jimmy Ryan's club which was right next door. I'd known about Eddie Condon since my early teens when I'd read Condon's 1948 autobiography, 'We Called It Music.' Eddie Condon played tenor guitar with various bands before running his own band. He worked throught the 1920's, '30's and '40's with many famous jazz musicians including Louis Armstrong. He established his 'Eddie Condon's Jazz Club' in 1945. Eddie died in 1973 but his guitar was still hanging behind the bar when Bob Bonis first introduced me to the place. Eddie Condon's and Jimmy Ryan's became favourite places for me to visit whenever I was in New York. The atmosphere was mellow and sophisticated and the live music sublime, even when played by musicians who were not so well known. I have fond memories of spending a relaxing evening or two there whilst enjoying the food and music so was shocked when, several years ago now, I was in New York and went to visit these two clubs only to find that they had been pulled down. All that was visible where they once stood was a car parking lot. Such a shame. As a footnote to the above story, I came across an article in the March issue of Mojo Magazine regarding a recently published book of photographs Bob had taken of the Rolling Stones. This book, ('The Lost Rolling Stones Photographs: The Bob Bonis Archive 1964-'66') collects together Bob's personal photographs of the Stones, taken whilst acting as their US tour manager. It wasn't until I read the piece that I realised that Bob had actually passed away. I then searched the internet and discovered thatBob died in 1991...10 years ago now. I had no idea. I've never forgotten him though, or his kindness to me and that wonderfully chilled-out evening at Eddie Condon's in New York. 2: This is a photograph of me on the top of the Empire State Building in New York, in the 1970s. It was taken through an observation gallery window so suffers from some reflections which I've attempted to remove without much success. But I like the mood of the shot and that it was taken as the sun was going down. I look a little bit like Rufus Wainwright in this, don't you think? 3: This is a photograph of Be Bop Deluxe's keyboard player Andy Clarke, taken whilst touring America with the band. He's wondering if his weird little herbal roll up might turn him into a munchkin. ;-) 4: Here's a snap of myself looking thoughtful in Abbey Road studios during a Be Bop Deluxe mixing session. I'm thinking, "Hmmm...maybe that vocal is too loud..." 5: Here's John Leckie in the control room at Abbey Road, probably during the above mentioned mixing session. He's probably thinking: "Hmmm...that vocal needs to be louder..." 6: This is a photograph of some of Be Bop Deluxe's equipment in Abbey Road studios. (Studio 3, I think.) A lot of it is still in flight cases and not set up yet but you can see, in the centre of the room, the gong that Simon Fox used on a couple of Be Bop tracks and, if you look carefully towards the rear of the room, sitting against the far wall, between the red door and the control room window, you can glimpse my twin Carlsbro amp set up. A noisy beast and that's for sure. Well, that's all for today. Since beginning to write this entry, my sore throat seems to have become more noticeable. I'd better go and take some more 'First Defence.' Top of page Saturday 12th March 2011 -- 3:00 pm Another restless night due to Emiko's flu which troubled her with a constant cough throughout. She's feeling exhausted and washed out with it all. Her condition hasn't been helped by the news from her home country, which she is finding very upsetting. Once again, all the tv news programmes today are filled with terribly distressing footage from Japan. First the earthquake, then the Tsunami and now a nuclear emergency at an atomic power station. There has also been new footage shown of the Tsunami destruction which swept away property and lives yesterday. It's hard to take it all in, almost incomprehensible. Many other countries have offered help, including England and America. How long it will take to clean everything up and put it all back together is impossible to estimate. A huge task. Emi has made contact with her brothers who seem to be ok. Her youngest brother, (who is a singer), was about to start a session in a Tokyo recording studio when the quake struck. He said it was the worst he'd ever experienced and very scary. He eventually managed to get back home to his apartment where, miraculously, everything was intact. Not so for Emi's older brother. He was at home when the quake hit and his apartment shook so violently that all his shelves and cupboards were emptied of their contents and crockery, glassware, family mementoes and decorative objects were smashed on the floor. Luckily he escaped unscathed but his apartment is a mess. A friend of Emi's had just parked her car in the Ginza shopping district of Tokyo when the first, slightly less powerful 'quake struck. Even then, she had to cling to a tree to stop being thrown off her feet. Then the tree started to sway loose...She ran back to her car and the shaking subsided. Then, as she desperately tried to drive back to her apartment block, the main earthquake began. This was the 8.9 one which was long and violent. Emi's friend watched from her car as a huge crane mounted on the top of a tall building toppled over and fell to the ground. She said it was as if she was in a disaster movie. Another friend of Emi's spent the night in her office as there were no trains running to get her home. Many commuters simply walked along the empty train tracks to get back to their apartments. From what we can gather from Emi's brothers, people in Tokyo are now worried about radiation leakage from the crippled nuclear power plant. Whilst the source of the problem is some distance from Tokyo, there are concerns that weather conditions might bring the radiation or dust clouds in the direction of the city. Publishing more photographs from my personal archives seems churlish in view of the above...but I promised more snapshots and the time I've spent preparing them has helped to keep my mind of other things, including my worries about catching Emiko's 'flu virus. So here they are. Today's selection goes way back, much further than the 35 years of the Be Bop Deluxe ones I've previously posted. Todays selection dates back to the 1950's. Photograph number 1: This is a photograph of myself, when I was very young indeed. It was taken outside the caravan where my parents took a holiday at Chapel St. Leonards, near Skegness. (1949 or 1950?) I seem to be sporting a 'pudding-basin' haircut. This is the only photograph from that particular holiday that didn't make it into volume one of my 'Painted From Memory' autobiography. Those fans who have the book will find today's selection of snaps adds further detail to the story and an extension of the photographs contained in the book itself. 2: This is my mother and myself standing on the cliff tops at Reighton Gap on the East Coast with the sea behind us. We used to stay at at a wooden bungalow owned by friends of my parents and this particular spot was just a few yards from there. A couple of years or so ago, I took my mother back to that same spot and Emiko took a photograph of us which I published in my online diary at that time. But here's the inspiration for it. In the book, there is a photo' of my father and I in the same spot, taken on the same day. As I child, I loved visiting Reighton Gap and staying at the bungalow. Where the old bungalow once stood is now a 'static' caravan site but the surrounding landscape has hardly changed. It's a lovely spot and always brings back fond memories whenever I find time to go back and spend a few minutes reminiscing. 3: This is a photograph of my mother, my brother Ian and myself, sitting in the garden of the Reighton Gap bungalow. You can just glimpse the sea and its horizon beyond the bushes to the right of the shot. 4: In this photo, I'm kneeling with my brother Ian in front of the family's Hillman Minx, which is parked at the rear of the Reighton Gap bungalow. This was the second car we'd ever owned. The first was an old 1930's Jowett, (either a Jowett Kestrel or Jowett 10 model). The Hillman seemed quite modern by comparison. It's number plate registration was 'MUM 333.' 5: This photograph shows my mother, Ian and myself on the ferry that took us to France for a day trip outing when we were holidaying at Dymchurch on the South Coast. It was the first, (and only), time that the family had ventured out of the UK. We were back in England by late evening, our day trip taking in a World War 2 cemetery where many British soldiers were buried. I'm still in short trousers and have a little Kodak camera in a canvas camera case, hanging around my neck. 6: I'm not sure where this photograph was taken...a beach in Yorkshire I would think. Bridlington? Withernsea? Scarborough? Or was it in Blackpool on the other coast? Anyway, it shows myself, (on the left of the photo), and my brother Ian making a sandcastle. (I'm looking rather smart in my little blazer and Brylcreemed hair.) Behind us is my mother and next to her, on the extreme right of the photo' my grandmother Ethel Griffiths. Ian's hair was wonderfully curly back then. My mother recently told me that he hated his curly hair when he was little. Apparently he used to say, "I want it straight like my big brother's..." But everyone used to say, "Hasn't he got lovely curly hair?" Well, that's all for today. I'll see how things are tomorrow before scanning more. Maybe some very early, first line-up Be Bop Deluxe ones next. Top of page Wednesday 23rd March 2011 -- 10:00 pm Back home from the final day of band rehearsals for the 'Legends' tv show. It's been an eventful five days. The first day, (last Saturday), was cursed with car breakdowns: Before I left home to drive to the rehearsal studio in Leeds on Saturday morning, I got a call from Adrian at Opium Arts to say that our drummer for the tv show, Gavin Griffiths, had suffered a broken car exhaust on his journey from South Wales to Yorkshire and would be late. As it was the first day of rehearsals and the technical equipment required setting up and checking through, it seemed that this might not be a particularly serious set-back. The extra time for equipment wrangling could prove useful. Emiko was busy that morning putting on a traditional Japanese Kimono with all the trimmings in preparation for a fund raising event to help children suffering from the effects of the tragic Japanese earthquake and Tsunami. The event had been quickly put together by our local Japanese Family Association and Emi had volunteered to make traditional Japanese Tea for visitors. The event featured a Koto concert, Japanese martial arts and a 1,000 Crane Origami challenge amongst several other attractions. Earlier on Saturday morning, intrepid guitar Tech Andy Newlove arrived at Nelson Acres with a Transit van to pick up my guitars, processors, pedal boards, cable boxes, etc, etc, before setting off for the rehearsal studio. After Andy had left, I then loaded a few extra bits and bobs into my car, jumped into the driver's seat and turned the key in the ignition...only to be greeted by a stony, electrically cold silence. Nothing, zero, zilch. Not a 'vroom-vroom' to be heard. I rushed back into the house and told Emiko that I would have to borrow her car to get to rehearsals. Of course, she was just about to leave for the aforementioned charity event, so I drove her across town to the venue before doubling back on myself and heading out of the city in the direction of Leeds. At the rehearsal room, the band, minus Gavin, (and Theo, who would only be available to rehearse with us on the coming Tuesday,) were still setting up their gear. Andy was busy with my guitars and associated equipment, sorting through a maze of cables and pedals. Meanwhile, poor Gavin was suffering further setbacks in Monmouth where his car had been taken in an attempt to facilitate exhaust repairs. At the garage, an over-enthusiastic mechanic drove Gavin's car at a recklessly hasty lick onto the hydraulic ramp that would lift the car up so that its exhaust might be repaired. As a result, the car hit the ramp at such a speed that it ripped off what was left of the exhaust and severed the air-line that powered the up and down motion of the ramp. It seems the car was lifted up high on the ramp without too much of a problem, (other than further damage to the exhaust), but then, due to the severed air-line hose, the ramp wouldn't descend. To cut a long story short, Gavin eventually, (once they'd managed to get his car back on the ground), had to drive the long distance from Monmouth to Leeds with his exhaust tied up with string. He finally made it to the Leeds rehearsal room around 4pm. We were all acutely aware of how stressed out Gavin must have felt, particularly as this was his first day with the band, none of whom he had ever met or played with before. But he rose to the challenge with great style and, once his kit was set up and we got under way, it was as if he'd been playing with us for some considerable time. My own car problem continued: I decided that I'd have to attempt to get my own car started for the next day so I bought an expensive power pack from 'Halfords,' a piece of kit apparently capable of starting any car whose battery was failing. Unfortunately, when I got this 'jump-start' gizmo home, it turned out that it wasn't going to be an immediate solution to my problem...the power pack required a 36 hour charging-up period before it could be used. Once again, I had to borrow Emiko's car to get to Leeds. On my way home from rehearsals that day, Emi's car also developed a worrying problem: a high pitched, metallic screeching, grinding noise. It continued all the way home, a relentless, nerve shredding racket, extremely disconcerting. I did manage to get the car back safely but I couldn't risk using it again to get to and from rehearsals. Since then, every morning, I've used the jump-start machine to get my engine going, both here at home and at the rehearsal room in Leeds. A nuisance but it's got me there and back. Tomorrow, I need to source a new battery, or find out if the alternator is at fault. BUT, alongside these mechanical problems, health has become an issue. Emiko has been suffering from a nasty flu' virus and I've been desperately trying not to catch it. Miraculously, with the aid of various herbal potions, anti-bacterial sprays, vitamins and so on, I've managed to steer clear of it, despite it keeping Emi bed-ridden for a few days and leaving her with a terrible cough for a week and a half. You can imagine the paranoia I felt with the tv show rehearsals looming, (not to mention the show itself). Anyway, I thought I was going to be ok. Then, a couple of days into rehearsal it became apparent that Steve Cook, (keyboards), was not as chipper as usual. He looked poorly and it turned out that he'd caught some nasty bug or other and wasn't feeling at all well. Lo and behold, damn and blast, if I didn't wake up a day or two later with a sore throat, runny nose, feeling clammy and weak, and little physical energy. So, I'm now trying to fight this thing, doing not too bad during the day when my mind is occupied with rehearsal details, but going downhill later, (in the evening), and waking up feeling like I might not be able to utter anything beyond a hoarse whisper. I've had to adapt some vocal melody lines to accommodate my virus stricken voice, singing lower or part-speaking some lines, but I've managed better than expected. How things will develop is hard to say...I might get worse, I might get better. Impossible to know for sure. All I can report here is that I'm not feeling great at the moment and that my energy levels are down, and a cough now seems to be developing. Nevertheless, being part of the post-war generation, raised on the golden age of Hollywood musicals, I'm trying to follow the tradition of 'The Show Must Go On.' Even though, at 9-15 pm on Wednesday 23rd of March, I'm feeling utterly crap. But rehearsals are concluded. The guys in the band have been brilliant, I couldn't wish for a more dedicated group of musicians. As always, there are still a few rough edges, (mostly mine), that could easily be smoothed out by a series of regular live performances, (a luxury we don't have, I'm afraid). So, what will be will have to be. I just hope that we will have a sympathetic audience and suitable technical resources to make the best of our modest performance this coming Saturday. And, despite all else, I pray I'll find a source energy (and less of a cold and cough), to deliver something approaching the dream of excellence that I always seem to wake up from with a sense of disappointment these days. But maybe I demand too much of these situations... It's now all down to Saturday...and the two days prior to that. Scary stuff... Top of page

Secret Ceremony Scala (featuring Bill Nelson & Daryl Runswick) single - May 1987 Singles Menu Future Past TRACKS: A) Secret Ceremony (Theme From Brond) B) Wiping A Tear From The All Seeing Eye ORIGINALLY: Both songs were non-album tracks. NOTES: Secret Ceremony is a 12" single issued by Cocteau Records featuring (at the time) exclusive material released under the name "Scala". Scala was a one off collaboration between Nelson and Daryl Runswick, a classically trained composer and arranger. The single was also available on 5" CD single (the first Bill Nelson related CD single to be issued). In the US the coupling appeared as a 3" CD single. A UK 7" promo with the B on both sides exists, but is one of the most difficult Bill Nelson records to find. The songs came from another Channel 4 commission, this time for the theme tune to a series called Brond which helped launch the career of John Hannah. PAST RELEASES: Both songs were included on the Duplex compilation album (Cocteau, 1989), and the B-side was added as a bonus track to the US CD edition of Cocteau Signature Tunes (Enigma, 1989). CURRENT AVAILABILITY: Neither track is currently in print. BILL'S THOUGHTS: "The 'libretto' for those Brond soundtrack pieces was taken from the latin text of Dante's 'Inferno' and arranged for voices by Darryl Runswick who collaborated with me on the material." Singles Menu Future Past

Acquitted By Mirrors - Issue Twelve - Published July 1985 Back to Top

Still Looking For Heaven On Earth album - 1987 Crazy House Production/Contribution Menu Future Past BILL: Guitar on three songs: "Burning Rain", "Feel the Fire" and "Shake (Sell Your Soul)". Production/Contribution Menu Future Past

Losing You single - 1980 Stranger Than Fiction Production/Contribution Menu Future Past BILL: Producer Production/Contribution Menu Future Past

New Northern Dream Bill Nelson album - 29 October 2016 Albums Menu Future Past Purchase this download TRACKS: 01) Photograph: A New Beginning 02) Indigo Trees Hold Back The Stars 03) Consolation Street 04) Time Stops Here 05) The Trip 06) November Fires (My Northern Dream) 07) Between The Seasons 08) The Lamp Of Invisible Light 09) New Northern Dreamer 10) Daydreaming 11) The Pond Yacht 12) In A World Of Strange Design 13) Miracles To Happen 14) The Legendary Spaceman Blues 15) A Month Without A Moon (Jupiter In Saggitarius) 16) A Northern Man 17) Hymn Of The Old Albion Co-Operative Society ALBUM NOTES: New Northern Dream is an album of vocal and instrumental pieces issued on the Sonoluxe label in a limited edition of 600 copies. The album was the fourth to appear in Nelson's Super Listener Series and was presented in a jewel cased sleeve. New Northern Dream was first announced on the Dreamsville forum on 9 February 2016, nearly 9 months ahead of release. At that stage Nelson had completed just one track, but had formed the idea to make an album that represented "a portrait of vanished Yorkshire". The album was not a remake of Nelson's 1971 debut Northern Dream , but did contain a few musical references to that 1971 debut, including new versions of "Photograph" and "Northern Dreamer". The final track listing for the album was confirmed on 5 May 2016 - the same day that Nelson announced tentative plans for a launch party (provisionally to be held on 3 September 2016). Those plans were firmed up on 10 July 2016, with a revised event date of 29 October 2016, at the by now familiar surroundings of the Clothworkers Hall at Leeds University. Over 200 attendees were rewarded with an autographed copy of the New Northern Dream CD, a live performance (Nelson's first such outing for just over 3 years), and the customary play back of the album (with track by track commentary provided by Nelson himself). The event sold out within days of going on sale. Of the initial pressing of 500 copies, the remaining 288 copies of the album went on general sale Tuesday, November 1st, selling out in less than four hours. In fact, demand so rapidly outstripped supply, that a second pressing of 100 copies was rushed to honour outstanding orders. Once these were fulfilled, the remaining 63 copies went on sale on November 15th (which also sold out within a matter of hours). Inbetween pressings, it was reported that a copy on eBay sold for a staggering £455! CURRENT AVAILABILITY: Available for purchase as a digital download here in the Dreamsville Store . BILL'S THOUGHTS: " New Northern Dream is a sequel to Northern Dream , the album I recorded in 1970 and released independently in 1971. It brings a new perspective to the album's concept with totally new songs but also some direct references to material on the original album. It's a fusion of my early '70s style with my more current sounds. The album has an 8-page booklet with some photographs by Martin Bostock reproducing some of the original album's settings." _____ "I've been turning this idea over in my mind for quite some time now, wondering whether I might record an album with the title New Northern Dream . The idea would come full circle, as it were, to create a mainly acoustic vocal album that had certain connections with my first ever solo album Northern Dream , but without slavishly emulating that particular album. It would be a 'New' Northern Dream ...perhaps with a similar scenario to the original, but seen through the lens of a time-camera, bringing the sounds and songwriting sensibilities into the present, and with brand new songs written in a more contemporary style. The main connection would be concerned with acoustic foundations, (though with more avant-garde overtones), bringing electronica and some discreet orchestral textures to bear on certain songs. Subject matter might still resonate with 'Old Yorkshire' though, evoking memories of when the county had a less obvious modernist appeal...a portrait of a vanished Yorkshire perhaps." _____ "Sonically, it owes nothing to the earlier recording at all, it's much more lush and richly textured than the original album...the sound is light years away from that...technology has moved on so much since then. In terms of sound, it's very much like my other current albums rather than anything from the past. "The connection with Northern Dream is difficult to explain, it's more of a spirit or feeling than anything directly tangible. But there's a little quote from 'Everyone's Hero' for 8 bars in the middle of 'Consolation Street', a humorous aside, a little nod and a wink to those who own the original album." _____ "There was obviously a certain amount of thought about how to make a connection with the original album without trying to reproduce its sound and style (and innocence). That would be totally impossible without rendering it as a pastiche and would ultimately not be respectful to the original album. "We have to accept that the album was a product of its time and of the place I inhabited back then, both physically and internally in my own head. And, naturally, I don't live there any more, how could I? Are we exactly the same as we were 46 years ago? Have we not grown and changed and matured? If we're trapped in the past, we're not living life to the fullest. We can't go back, only forward. The past is, as they say, a foreign country. "Music isn't easy to manipulate in a strictly scientific way, at least not the way I do it. It can only be expressed as a result of the immediate moment, the actual moment it's created, with all the various forces that influence it at that particular point in time. It's a diary entry, an ongoing journal, a record of where we are now, which in turn becomes a record of where we were then. "That's the beauty of it. It's not something we can force or demand, it emerges according to our circumstances which, naturally enough, are in a constant state of flux. In the case of this album, I had to reconcile the way I think now about music, combined with the recording equipment I possess, and my current production values, with this vague notion I had about wanting to reflect my very first solo album, made 46 years ago. "Finding an inroad to this hasn't been easy. I've no real idea whether I've succeeded or not. On the surface it sounds very much like one of my more current recordings. How else could it be? But I think there are some conceptual tags that make it connect to the first Northern Dream . I don't quite know how to articulate these in this explanation...it's all kind of nebulous and vague, but it's there, nonetheless. Whilst it's very much a 'modern' Bill Nelson album, it somehow links to the very first Bill Nelson album of all those long years ago. Don't come to it with any heavy expectations, though...just let it be itself." _____ "It has an intentional '70s vibe but with a few twists. (I never play anything completely 'straight', do I?!)" _____ Bill's Listening Notes for the album: 'New Northern Dream' Listening Notes FAN THOUGHTS: Chimera Man: "It is a cracker. One of the most "immediate" albums I'd say since Joy Through Amplification . Full of great melodies, pop hooks, ebow, and a mix of styles too." "I'm enjoying the whole NND album in its entirety, but "The Lamp of Invisible Light" should be a massive hit single. Confident, fulsome, melodic. Right 'on the money'." BobK: "Quite brilliant. Catchy, lyrically moving, great tunes. Love the acoustic guitar and flute sounds. Looks back but looks forward too. As always, listen on headphones!" Merikan1: "This one should appeal to both those that like BBD as well as those that like Bill's pop/rock albums. I played it twice today. Love it." Angie: "This is an absolute gem. A nod to the past but a different album. I don't know how you keep doing it, but you've done it again. Your music has kept me company for over 40 years, through the highs and the lows of my life, enhancing every moment. Thank you x" P. Cozi: "I just can't get you out of my head. Humming, whistling "singing" both at work and home, it can't just be me can it. "Photograph" a new beginning revitalised and just as refreshing some 40 years later. The whole album is just sublime. Another masterpiece..." John Fisher: "Abandon any preconceived ideas, all who enter here... You might imagine that an album which finds Bill in a sentimental mood might be more reflective and quiet. Maybe more pastoral...Yet nothing could be further from the truth. It's funny, despite the fact that Bill has released over 100 albums stretching across four and a half decades, I don't think of him as a singer-songwriter per-se. When I think 'singer-songwriter', I think monochromatic and repetitive - boring. Whereas to me, Bill's music defies categorization. Fans are used to Bill releasing albums back to back that each explore different styles, sometimes with very little in common. But with New Northern Dream I hear a master singer-songwriter at the height of his powers. The electric and acoustic guitars intertwine in bittersweet harmony, as we are treated to one powerful, melodic ballad after another." Reg: "I really feel that this time Bill has hit the nail on the head and achieved the aims that he related when presenting the preview of the album. A great balance between looking back and looking forwards. The musical references to the original Northern Dream fit seamlessly into what I personally feel is his strongest collection of work for quite some time without overpowering it with a sense of nostalgia or whimsy. "The album has a more 'rock' feel than I was anticipating and despite Bill's often proclaimed aim to avoid the tropes of mainstream rock elements in his music I actually think they work to his advantage here." andygeorge: "I've been listening to NND since the launch last week and it's just simply wonderful! "Where other artists falter and stumble as they get older, Bill just continues to go from strength to strength...this is a work of art that, for me, captures the essence and innocence of Northern life from a bygone age....and I'm a Londoner! "If you were expecting a Northern Dream part 2, then think again...this is an album that absolutely stands tall in its own right. Bill's guitar work is exquisite as usual and the prominance given to the acoustic guitars just add something special, a nod to ND I suppose. "Buy it now! (maybe not, sold out!), beg, borrow or steal or download it when available, you will be blown away!... Thanks Bill!" Novemberman: "It's a lot harder than I expected. I assumed it would have been a more electro-folk album to align with the original, something like Songs of the Blossom Tree Optimists . Most of the songs are more rock orientated than anything else with a couple of ambient instrumentals thrown in for good measure. A couple of nods to the original, but as Bill has stated, this is quite a different beast. "Highlights for me are "Indigo Trees", a beautiful ambient style guitar piece, "New Northern Dreamer", but my favourite is "A Month Without A Moon" - superb song capturing the anthemic feel of "Another Day Another Ray Of Hope", "Boat To Forever", "God Man Slain" and the like." james warner: "While this album revisits the themes of looking back to Bill's youth, it has a more pop oriented feel than previous retrospective albums. Indeed, some of the tracks wouldn't sound out of place on mainstream radio, but still have that distinctive Bill Nelson sound." Debtworker: "Hi Bill, For me listening to your music is like preaching to the converted - but NND is really the most cohesive cd that, in my humble opinion, you have produced in many years. All the songs are stunning and original, but NND is so textured, so considered, original and beautiful that it has had me listening to it about 4 times in a row today - it is that enjoyable!!! I think this is the best series of songs that you have done for ages, no offense meant, and really show that you are at the top of your game. It is a great pleasure to own this cd and to have the joy of hearing it again and again...gush, gush...but it's all meant. Well done Bill! New Northern Dream is stunning and beautiful." neill_burgess: "It's definitely "accessible" (horrible word, but you know what I mean) and while it is coherent I'd stick my neck out and say it's one of Bill's more stylistically varied albums. Yes, Bill's hallmark multi-layered electric guitar pieces and extended codas feature frequently, but other tracks make welcome use of acoustic guitar as rhythm or lead instrument. Two tracks in particular, "Indigo Trees Hold Back the Stars" and "The Pond Yacht" bring back memories of the wonderful Rosewood albums, though now the acoustic guitar work is complemented by clean electric playing. While there are no out-and-out rockers, there are several poppy numbers such as "Consolation Street", "In a World of Strange Design" and "Miracles to Happen"; wistful ballads such as "Between the Seasons" and "Daydreaming", and a great slow blues number "The Legendary Spaceman Blues", all featuring strong electric guitar work (and sparingly effective use of e-bow). "Lyrically, there's a strong element of nostalgia, though not for the flares and Afghans of the 70's that some might have hoped for (or feared!) – the references are to earlier times: steam trains and gas lights, the shops and toys and bonfire parties of Bill's childhood. The present and future are not forgotten though, with "The Trip" and "Miracles to Happen" waking us from our reverie to remind us that even now, "life is such a blast" and we can and should still be "dreaming of tomorrow"." BigManRestless: "On my first listen now and my first impression is simply wow! It just amazes me after so many albums Bill that you can still maintain such quality. I'm having to revise my all time favourite Bill top 50 again! But which ones to go on..."Consolation Street"? "The Trip"? "Time Stops Here"? "November Fires (My New Northern Dream)"? I might just have to make it a top 75..." Albums Menu Future Past

Touch and Glow (reissue) Bill Nelson single - August 1983 Singles Menu Future Past TRACKS: A) Touch And Glow B1) Dancing In The Wind B2) Love Without Fear ORIGINALLY: All three songs were non-album tracks. NOTES: Touch and Glow is a 3 track single comprised of vocal pieces. Initially issued in November of 1982 as the only previously unreleased material in the Permanent Flame box set of 7" singles, the single was later reissued separately (August 1983), after the Mercury deal had lapsed. PAST RELEASES: A) and B2) were included on The Two Fold Aspect of Everything comp (out of print) B1) was included on The Strangest Things comp (out of print) CURRENT AVAILABILITY: Track B1 is available on the retrospective compilation album Transcorder (The Acquitted By Mirrors Recordings) . Singles Menu Future Past

Neptune's Galaxy Bill Nelson album - 11 July 2006 Albums Menu Future Past Purchase this download TRACKS: 01) My Ship Reclines On Clouds Of Sail 02) She Signals From Across The Bay 03) All Alone In A Boat Of His Own 04) Coastal Starlight 05) Ship In A Bottle Blues (The Modern Mariner) ALBUM NOTES: Neptune's Galaxy is an instrumental album issued on the Sonoluxe label in a single print run of 500 copies. The album was created as a companion album to The Alchemical Adventures of Sailor Bill . All five tracks are lengthy pieces that feature electric piano and guitar set to a background of suitably sourced sound effects. The album sold out in October 2006 - less than 4 months after being released. CURRENT AVAILABILITY: Available for purchase as a digital download here in the Dreamsville Store . BILL'S THOUGHTS: "Neptune is a great album to listen to whilst picnicking on the cliff tops on a warm summer day, the lighthouse to your left, the harbour below, white sails of little yachts bobbing out at sea, seagulls soaring in a blue sky overhead, and your best girlie by your side. I'm hoping to release Neptune towards the end of June, whilst the summer still sings." _____ "I am VERY satisfied with Neptune's Galaxy , but in a different way to the Sailor Bill album. Neptune's Galaxy is much more low key and ambient. It's not trying to be a bold new statement, but is an exploration of an area of music I've visited before, (Ie: Dreamland , Crimsworth , Rosewood ), but it stretches and extends those moods via an oceanic soundscape. Parts of it reference the kind of work I've done with my pal Harold Budd too, in fact some of it is directly inspired by the concert I took part in with Harold about a year ago in Brighton. "You might say that Neptune's Galaxy is more abstract, contemplative, an 'art' piece, an impressionist painting, if you like, whilst Sailor Bill is cinematic, linear, figurative, biographical. They compliment each other by being connected to the coastal theme whilst being rather different in execution. "I guess the most similar piece in terms of atmosphere on Sailor Bill would be the final track, "My Ship is Lost to Semaphore". This track serves as a bridge or portal to the alternative world of Neptune's Galaxy . For now, enjoy Neptune's Galaxy whilst the sun shines and the waves lap the shore." _____ "As the tracks on the actual album are very long, it's impossible to give more than a wee taste of the album's mood via a short sample. The tracks develop at a very relaxed pace, they don't rush through their changes, but they do unfold and develop quite dramatically as you listen to them. It is an easy album to absorb in many ways as it's all melodic, pastel coloured and quite gentle. But it IS an album to listen to properly if you're to enjoy the subtle way each track blossoms out from its initial premise. It takes its time and asks you to do the same. The more time you spend with it, the more it will reveal." _____ "For me, I can't just keep turning out exactly the same style of music over and over...I'd get so bored with it, so I keep moving the atoms around, keep things in motion as much as possible. I like to challenge myself, as much as the listener. But it's all from the same true source, my imagination, heart and soul. And it all means something and that 'something' will never be too difficult to grasp." _____ "Didn't I tell you that I was about to release my hyper-thrash-metal album, 'Satan Wants Your Daughter's Flip-Flops And Will Leave Marks On Your Floor If They Don't Fit'? Every copy comes with a free one-million-watt home public address system so that your neighbours can join in the fun. But if you really want to make them scratch their heads, Neptune's Galaxy will provide a more controversial and subversive listening experience. Especially if you start bringing mermaids home to frolic in the bath with you whilst you play the album full blast on your wind-up gramophone." _____ "Glad you like the merladies on the cover. Took me ages to catch them and days afterwards to mend my nets." FAN THOUGHTS: Johnny Jazz: "Words fail me...it's beautiful." "I love the fact that I've listened to NG half a dozen times since Saturday, each time it felt as though I were listening to a different album. There is so much going on, new motifs to discover, so many different ways to listen to it as well." neill_burgess: "First impressions are very, very positive indeed. In fact, I'd go so far as to say it is absolutely gorgeous. At times, ambient yes, but often so much more, with wonderful guitarwork (most reminiscent of Dreamland to Starboard ) and skittering percussive beats and bleeps of a level I've not yet heard on any of Bill's albums. On top of that, it strikes me that this could be the best produced/mixed of any of Bill's albums, the whole sonic landscape clearly defined in a way that is itself a sheer pleasure." Parsongs: "Bill tells us about his previous life as a sailor, and then paints a musical picture about what he sees. It's a beautiful view from any coast." Sue: "After the opening ceremony and official listen-in, this relaxing and enchanting CD is certainly more delicious than strawberries and ice-cream, sweeter than honey, more magical than a childhood Christmas, has more aaahhhh!! than a Cadbury's eclair, and is smoother than the smoothest of silks. A real delight." Twilightcapers: "Don't know about anyone else, but I absolutely love this album. It's probably one of my most played CDs since it came out. There are moments of pure magic on there when I forget it's Bill Nelson manipulating the instruments and I just get lost in the ambience. Along with Sailor Bill , my two favourite BN releases, and they are not guitar based works either! Hard to pin down exactly why I like them so much - they're just so different from everything else." Pathdude: "I think it is fantabulous. I wish it was twice as long. That style of Bill's is transcendent (in my mind)." BenTucker: "One of the things I find with Bill's albums from, say, after 2000 or so, is their inexhaustibility of appeal - you can go back to them again & again. Neptune's Galaxy seems to have a vast amount of "musical information", whilst at the same time being the ultimate 'chill-out' album (not a term I particularly like, but you know what I mean)." "Particularly struck with the first track - you feel as if you're floating listening to it (while simultaneously being dazzled). This is how "ambient music" should be: colourful and blissful. Absolutely essential listening - you really should buy it if you haven't already." machman767: "On the subject of the first track, Bill has made much of the cd being perfect summer listening material. The first time I played it, however, it brought back emotions of walking on a cliff top in late autumn, with a faint sea mist hanging around. Even in the middle of a belting heatwave it still conjures up the image. I've got to say there ain't much music around these days that manages to create ANY emotions!" mvande2: "One of the most beautiful pieces of music I've heard ever is the first 2 1/2 minutes of "She Signals From Across the Bay". My eyes involuntarily close and I melt." thunk: "I tend to see this kind of music as 'expressionistic', while other ambient albums may rely more on the hypnotic effect of 'tones' & 'repetition' to seduce in an alternate way ('impressionistic?) - that's just 'one' take on this interesting & challenging form of music, and it can be SO much more rewarding than a collection of more structured songwriting from which an 'instant' appeal must somehow reach further..." "Bill's music is 'most-rewarding' it seems in the long-term, and as with Neptune's Galaxy , its depth & beauty will emerge as we all give it more 'plays' and allow it a natural place in our Nelsonic heart..." Angeltide: "I hope this doesn't sound too pretentious (ie wanky) but if you have had a go at making a bit of music yourself, you begin to get some idea of the level of inspiration, hard work and determination that goes into creating a serious 'noodle' like this. I've only listened a couple of times, as I like to savour these things properly, but my impression is that the album never stands still and is constantly introducing new sounds, ideas, mood shifts, references elsewhere and stylistic nods of the head to influences big and small. And all with apparently minimal effort and fuss." "It's just absolutely beautiful. If you haven't ordered it do so. I said before that Sailor Bill had a curiously relaxing feel from the moment it starts and this one is even more so. Can't praise it highly enough." Albums Menu Future Past