Search Results

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2013 William's Study (Diary Of A Hyperdreamer) October 2009 Jan Jul Aug Sep Nov Dec Monday 5th October 2009 -- 12:00 pm Have just been speaking on the 'phone with Emi who is still in Japan. She's been away for 10 days now and there's still no indication of when she'll be coming home. Today is her 61st birthday. It's the first time since we've been a couple that we've not been able to go out for a meal together to celebrate it. Before she left England, I gave her two birthday gifts. The main one, (a watch), she opened there and then. The second birthday gift was packed unopened in her suitcase, to take with her to Japan, with strict instructions from me not to unwrap it until today. It's a very nice gold and turquoise blue dress ring with a silver dragonfly set on top of the stone. She's now opened it and says that she loves it and that it fits fine. But we're missing each other terribly and the days just seem to drag and drag. Emi's back problem is still bothering her so she's visited a Tokyo physiotherapist for treatment and has booked another appointment for next week. Her mother seems to be a little better than she was on Emi's previous visit. I'm told that she is eating and communicating more than before and gives the impression of being a little more positive in her outlook. But, despite her mother's slight improvement, the general picture out there remains vague. It's a trait of Japanese culture that nothing is as clearly or directly expressed as it would be here in England. There's lots of hinting and reading between the lines but getting a straight answer is hard work. I'm still amazed that anything gets done in Japan at all, so diffused and foggy are the decision-making proceedures. Nothing is ever hit 'head-on.' I know that many western people living or working there find this facet of Japanese culture difficult to understand and often frustrating. Life here without Emi became even more stressful last week. On Thursday, I returned home from town around 6 pm to be greeted by the sight of Django, (my cat,) in the garden, waving his tail around in a very odd, agitated manner. I sensed something was amiss and as I walked towards him saw that there was something wrong with the end of his tail. It was at a strange angle and when I looked closer could see that the end section of the tail was almost cut right through. I tried not to panic but, in a state of shock, immediately 'phoned the nearby vetinary surgeon where our two cats are registered. The lady who answered the 'phone said they were just about to close but that I should call their emergency number. This connected me with a different vetinary practice which, from what the voice on the other end of the telephone told me, was in the process of 'taking over' our usual vet's business. I was instructed to take Django to a different surgery which was somewhere over the other side of town. I put Django into his transport box,which is always a struggle as he hates going in it, (and to the vets), and set off in the car. When I arrived somewhere in the general vicinity of the new vet's surgery, I parked the car and carried Django in his box along the street towards where I thought the surgery was located. My sense of panic increased when, after walking some distance, I couldn't see anything remotely to do with a vet. Maybe I'd gone in the wrong direction. I turned around and walked several hundred yards along the main road in the opposite direction with Django becoming more and more stressed inside his box. And still I couldn't find the place. I tried calling the vet's number on my mobile phone but got only an answering machine. Eventually, I asked someone passing by if they knew where the vet's surgery was and they pointed me back in the opposite direction, where I'd just come from, but said that it was quite a way further along the road than I'd originally presumed. By this time, I was as stressed as Django, my heart pounding like a drum. After an about face and further walking I eventually arrived, breathless, at the surgery which was located in an imposing Victorian town house, quite some distance from where I'd parked the car. I was instructed by the receptionist to wait in a high-ceilinged, brightly lit room until the vet arrived. When he did arrive, he very carefully examined Django's tail, indicating the protruding bone and informed me that it was almost completely severed and could not be stitched together. The only solution was to amputate the latter part of the tail. This would involve Django staying at the surgery overnight prior to an operation to remove the damaged part of the tail the following morning. Meanwhile, the vet gave Django two injections, one a pain-killing solution and the other an antibiotic to try and stop the wound from becoming infected. I explained how I'd come home to find Django in the garden with the injury and couldn't think what might have caused it. The vet said that it appeared as if someone had deliberately slammed a door on his tail, almost severing it completely. Now, Django and Tink both spend a lot of time outside. There are fields beyond our garden although we're flanked on both sides by neighbours. That afternoon, when I'd gone into town, Django and Tink were outside in the garden, lazily enjoying the autumn sunshine. Django was perfectly fine with no signs of injury. This was around 3:30 in the afternoon. Our cats have always been o.k. when I've needed to go out. They'll happily terrorise the local rodent population for a few hours and usually come home when they hear us return, or sometimes a little later when they become hungry. They're both quite independent creatures yet, at the same time, a delightfully domesticated and inseparable part of our family. Both cats are very affectionate and bring a great deal of joy and warmth into our lives and, as readers of this diary know, Django and I have a particularly magical relationship. But I'm at a loss as to exactly what or who caused this injury to Django's tail. I've been deeply upset by it and wish I knew what the cause was. Anyway, I had to leave Django with the vet and I drove back home alone, feeling shocked and concerned. I'd earlier been given an invitation to have dinner with some good friends who live just down the lane, but in the end I had to call them to apologise and explain that I was in no fit emotional state to be anything other than the most miserable of guests. That night, I couldn't sleep, worrying about Django's condition and being angry at the thought that someone may have deliberately done this to him. The next morning, I called the vets to ask how things were but they said that Django hadn't had his operation yet but would be having a general anaesthetic soon, prior to the amputation. Around 11:45 am I received a telephone call from the surgery to say that he had now undergone surgery and that I could collect him around 2:30 pm. I drove to the vets, this time knowing exactly where it was, and informed the receptionist who I was and that I'd come to collect my cat. I paid the £250 bill for the operation and was directed to a waiting area at the rear of the building where, after a few minutes, a lady nurse appeared with Django in his box. As soon as he heard my voice, he called out to me. The nurse gave me some medication called 'Metacam' and instructed me to administer this to Django orally, every day, via a kind of needle-less syringe. I was also told that he must not be allowed to lick his tail and was given a transparent plastic, cone-shaped collar which I would have to fasten to his neck if he showed any signs of doing so. I was also told that he was not to be allowed outside the house for at least ten days. Now, all of the above conditions are guaranteed to be a form of torture for poor Django. In fact, almost as soon as I got him home, he began his cleaning/grooming routine, something he likes to do at least a couple of times per day. And, of course, his tail is always part of this proceedure. Now though, because of the amputation, his tail is a sorry sight...a couple of inches shorter than before and shaved of fur. The shortened tip of the tail bears sutures and looks sore. As I expected, Django attempted to lick his wound which meant there was no option but to fix the cone-like restrictive collar to his neck. The result was most upsetting, Django desperately trying to get the cone off by banging it into doors and furniture, walking backwards as if to walk away from it, pawing at it and finally sitting stock-still with a kind of catatonic stare, gazing at the wall as if in deep shock. It was heartbreaking to watch, or at least it was for me. I'm terribly sensitive to the plight of animals and empathise with their struggles...far too emotional I suppose. I'd make a terrible vet...I'm afraid I'd be shedding tears at the first sign of an animal in distress. Pathetic, really, but that's how I've always been. After the cone collar had been on for a while, Django finally sat by the front door, crying to be allowed outside. As mentioned above, I'd been strictly told that he must remain in doors for at least ten days, so I had to refuse to let him out. He looked up at me like I was some kind of monster. Well, that was Friday and the situation continues in similar fashion. Django can't get to his food bowl with the collar on so I have to remove it at certain points in the day when he shows signs of wanting to eat something. It's then a struggle to get it back on afterwards, (and another bout of stress for both of us). On Saturday, I slipped out to the supermarket to get some much needed litter-tray material, (he normally goes outside to do his 'business' but that's out of the question for quite a while). When I got back, he'd somehow managed to get a front leg jammed into the cone of his protective collar and was limping around the house in some discomfort. I freed his leg and tried to adjust the collar a fraction tighter to prevent it happening again. But even so, he sneaked off into some dark corner of the house and, three times now, miraculously managed to get the collar off completely. Consequently, I need to know exactly where he is at all times so that I can guard against him getting to his amputated tail and causing more damage to it. Night times are difficult too as he's always enjoyed being 'out on the tiles' (or rather, out in the fields). Not being allowed to leave the house makes this impossible. Instead I've attempted to have him sleep on the bed with me where I can, hopefully, keep a weary eye on him. He sleeps for a while, curled up in the curve of my arm, but then wakes up and, perturbed by the cone, goes on a bender from room to room, trying to get it off. The last couple of nights I've managed but a few hours sleep, and these only at intervals throughout the whole night. I'm feeling exhausted and frustrated by it all, especially as Emiko is not here to help me deal with it. I'm confined to the house along with Django, frightened to leave him on his own for long. Both of us suffering from cabin fever. Tomorrow morning, I have an appointment to take Django back to the vet for a post-op examination. Inevitably too, the ordeal of the cat travel box once more. This unfortunate and untimely episode has brought my work, (and just about everything else, including visiting my mother), to a halt as my life now seems to centre around Django's well-being and the struggle to keep his tail from further damage. But he is a rather special cat, and worth the effort. As I've mentioned before in the diary, it seems to have been one thing after another these last few years. Nothing for it but to just keep going, I suppose....So that is what I will do. ***** The images attached to this diary entry are:- 1: Bill's Gus G1 midi guitar and his live processing equipment. 2: Just a few of the Nelsonica 09 guitars, backstage in Harrogate. 3: Poorly Django. 4: Django with post-op tail. 5: An early 1980's photo of Bill signing autographs. 6: A recent snapshot of Bill's studio. Top of page

Rooms With Brittle Views Bill Nelson single - 13 February 1981 Singles Menu Future Past TRACKS: A) Rooms With Brittle Views B) Dada Guitare ORIGINALLY: A & B) were both non-album tracks NOTES: Rooms with Brittle Views is a one-off single released by Les Disques du Crepescule. This single was initially released as a Belgian import, issued in 2 different picture sleeves. The single was a popular seller on import, and effectively became a UK 7" when the exact same record was included in the Permanent Flame box set of 7" singles in 1982. A slightly different edit of the A side was included in the limited edition double 7" single of Youth of Nation on Fire later in 1981. PAST RELEASES: A) and B) were included on The Two Fold Aspect of Everything comp (out of print). CURRENT AVAILABILITY: A) Available on the remastered Quit Dreaming and Get on the Beam CD (Mercury, 2005). B) Available on the various artist compilation: Auteur Labels: Les Disques Du Crépuscule (LTM, 2008). BILL'S THOUGHTS: "The Rooms With Brittle Views single and the track on the From Brussels With Love cassette were only ever intended as one-offs. There wasn't an ongoing deal with the label. The tracks were recorded at home, (not in Belgium), on the eight track machine I had back then." "The way it came about was that I was invited to contribute a track to a limited edition cassette titled From Brussels With Love , issued by 'Les Disques Du Crepescule', a Belgian post-punk art label. Other artists approached and included on the cassette were Michael Nyman, Brian Eno, Gavin Bryars and Harold Budd, (amongst others). I believe that Harold heard my music for the first time on this cassette...a piece titled "The Shadow Garden ", (very much in the same musical area as my Sounding the Ritual Echo album from the early 1980s.)" Singles Menu Future Past

Acquitted By Mirrors - Issue Fifteen - Published early 1990 Back to Top

Thursday 16th June 2005 -- Mid Evening. Damaged my left hand last week, mainly middle finger, by accidentally hitting the bannister on the stairs whilst rolling up my shirt sleeves. Yes, I know, a dumb thing to do but, as pathetic as it sounds, it hurt like hell. The blow pushed the finger inwards, against the joints and tendon. It's been painful, swollen and red and I couldn't play guitar for a few days. Difficult to grip things and to drive without discomfort too. Finally on the mend but still a little tenderness. I seem to be either much more clumsy in my late middle age or simply more accident prone than of yore. Two envelopes from Harold arrived in the post last week, one containing photographs of the desert house within which he composed the 'Bride In The Trees'/'Widow In The Trees' pieces that we duetted on at the Brighton concert. The other envelope contained a letter with Harold's thoughts on his 'retirement', his reflections on the concert itself, and more general chit-chat. Harold's letters are always a joy to read and I consider myself fortunate to receive them. Whilst on the subject of communications, I received a long and generous email from artist Russell Mills recently. Good to hear from him. I'm going to try to contribute a few 'off cuts' of music to a sound assembly project he's working on. Lots of interesting people involved in it. Hopefully, I can donate some prima materia to the communal sonic soup. Also recieved an email from Kate, (St. John), and spoke with her on the 'phone. As I've mentioned before in this diary, I'm very fond of Kate, she's one of those rare people who I can relax around and talk openly about anything. I hope to ask her and Theo Travis to join me for parts of my London concert this coming November, if I can come up with some music worthy of the two of them. Actually, the writing of new music is not going too well right now, and not just because of my hand injury. After I returned from Brighton the other week, I listened back to the unfinished tracks I'd been working on prior to Harold's concert and suddenly decided to abandon them. They just didn't tweak my nipples. Not a writer's block, just a barking up of the wrong tree. You'd think that, after completing the Rosewood project, I'd be full of confidence and optimism... but I'm not. All I can hear is its flaws. Perhaps I need to lose my current 'weight of the world' worries, rid myself of the various doubts and fears that have been bothering me, just let things flow more. I've often given this same advice to friends who have hit a similar sort of creative obstacle but, typically, I find it hard, if not impossible, to deal with myself. I just seem to be overburdened with self-doubt and existential angst at the moment. Or is that my regular condition? Anyway... I've consigned the unfinished pieces to the, 're-consider several months hence' bin. I've now started on an entirely new piece, a vocal one, for both the tour and the tour album. I've completed a couple of mixes of it but... not sure if it's right yet. So, still more tweaking to be done and then a backing track mix of the song to be made for the shows. The song is called 'AND THEN THE RAIN', yet another melancholic rain song, the sort that seem to have become a regular part of my musical vocabulary. This particular one could be said, (by some), to be a 'classic' Bill Nelson romantic rock/pop tune. (Is there such a thing?) There's nothing stylistically new about it but it certainly fits into a certain melodic niche that a lot of people tell me they like. Not that I composed it with that specific result in mind. Like everything else that happens to me, it just happened. More worryingly, I'm pretty much ambivalent about it right now. I'll see how it stands up after I've forgotten about it. Let it settle. Because my digital recording system allows me extra control, further options, I tend to spend far more time recording each piece than I did with the old analogue tape system I used for so many years. An inclination to fiddle about presents itself. And then, because I spend longer working on each piece, I become bored, indifferent or immune to it. There's a lot to be said for working quickly with limited means. It certainly speeds the process and stops the rot setting in. Not that I'd really go back to the old technology, even though I do, ultimately, prefer the warmth of tape. The major creative problem I'm having at the moment is caused by the pressure to come up with lyrics. Perhaps it's because I'm not in a vocal-oriented state of mind right now. My passions are pulling me more towards the instrumental end of the spectrum. In fact, not just the instrumental end of the spectrum but the very abstract end of it. The bit that verges almost on silence. Nevertheless, I've been pursuaded to present some vocal songs, (as well as instrumentals), at the autumn concerts so I have to come up with something worthwhile. Maybe, I'm panicking unduly, but panicking I definitely am. What I really need is a holiday or at least a healthy break away from all of this. (How often have I said that?) I don't seem to have stopped for the last few years now, a constant chasing of my own tail. Is it so surprising that I'm feeling exhausted? My own fault, of course, no-one to blame but me. But... Because of the amount of work I've produced over the years, people often think it comes easy, that it's stress free and constantly on tap. If only that were the case. The reason I've produced so much stuff isn't because it's easy, it's because I work very hard at it and with a passion, to the point where I regularly endanger my physical health and mental well-being. Sounds dramatic, I know, but it often feels like I'm emptying my life and soul into these things. I love doing this work, but it's much more of a struggle than people might realise. Adrian at Opium asked if I could suggest four tracks from my catalogue that could be given to the agent to play to promotors to give them some idea of what my solo concerts are like. I certainly can do this, if it helps, but I'm pretty amazed that, after the extremely well attended 'Romance Of Sustain' solo tour I presented in 2003 and last year's sell out solo+band tour, that it's neccesary for me to 'audition' for promotors in this way. Or am I presuming too much? I'm not exactly expecting two weeks at the Albert Hall, after all. Maybe these people are too worried about losing money to really make any, too concerned with certainty to take chances. It's almost boringly predictable, safe bets all round. As my father used to say: ' jobs for the boys.' How unexciting, how banal. Unfortunately, such attitudes don't sit comfortably with my own. It's way too sleepy slow for me. Still, musn't grumble. I'm just as effective and happy in my little studio as out on the stage, probably more so. If the tour happens, it happens, if it doesn't, I've certainly got plenty of other things to get on with. My CD burner still not fixed. My fault for not unwiring it from the studio set up and hauling it over to Leeds to get it repaired. Must do this soon. Must also do same with my Line 6 Vetta combo which is still sporting a broken volume control. Domestic repairs needed all over the house, too...not just my studio equipment. Serious repairs. Trouble is, I get terribly distracted by the ongoing creative stuff. It grabs me by the throat and won't let me think about anything else until it's had its wicked way with me. And not just that but administrative stuff too, little niggly things that take up time and make the things I really want to do more pressurised than they need be. Life at this end of 'the business' is far tougher than when I used to play the commercial game. God knows if it's art or not but, whatever it is, it's bloody hard going sometimes. One area of progress: A new keyboard is on order, a Yamaha Motif ES 88. To replace my busted Emulator E4 K workstation. I should try to sell the latter, even though some of the keys need replacing. I've used it for the last ten years or so, some great sounds in it plus it operates as a sampler. It would be a fine instrument for someone who was prepared to get the keys fixed. Nevertheless, I'm looking forward to getting the new keyboard in the hope that some unfamiliar sounds will spark fresh creative ideas. Car troubles this last week. Both Emi's car and mine have been in the repair shop for work to get the vehicles through their MOT's. An expensive business. Cars are generally a nightmare, especially old, high mileage ones like ours. Four-wheeled money vampires. A nice series started on tv last Sunday, about the English landscape and how it has influenced artists throughout history. Beautifully photographed and uplifting. Of course, Yorkshire figured highly in the first episode. God's own county, as they say. I never tire of having that glorious landscape on my doorstep. I consider myself blessed to live amongst it. It's not all glorious landscapes though. Royal Ascot horse races are being held in York this week. A Royal pain in the arse, I call it. (Arsecot?) It disrupts the roads around here dramatically. An entire week of being stuck in traffic on some routes. (And when I say 'traffic' I mean mostly those flashy, 'look how much cash I've got' sort of cars, the type I gave up for lost 20 years or more ago.) Still, I've been able to giggle at all the drunken, flimsily clad women tottering around town on their high heels with their spotty boobs hanging out. Bolly dollys a-go-go. Cheap as chips and twice as greasy. Pink and purple and yellow and green...and that's just their faces. You can tell I love 'em though. Flirty tarts dancing to dated disco music around their tacky pink handbags at after race parties all over town. Pissed as arseholes. Absolutely! Desperate! The men are as just bad too, puffed up like red faced baboons in grey morning suits and top hats. Makes the place look untidy. It's hilarious to see the fuss being made about the event locally. Shove the Queen (and the few other Royals that bothered to show up) into the equation and everyone starts strutting around as if they're suddenly in on something of earth shattering importance.. 'It's The Queen, you know... Yes, my dear, here in our town, on our doorstep...' (Actually, she's staying in our village, just a short walk from our house, so shove that down your majestic pipe and flush it. Of course, me and ol' Charlie were down the local boozer the other night, riffing about Abba. We're the same age, don't cha know...) What this event has proved is that most people are so transparently desperate for celebrity that any slight brush or association with it will be gobbled up greedily. Endless lines of local traders clambering over each other to genuflect in front of the old boiler. Sad really, if it wasn't such a comedy. Still, keeps 'em in idle chit-chat if nothing else. Maybe I'm cynical and jaded, the 'been there, done that' attitude. I shouldn't begrudge them their little stab at self-aggrandisment. God knows life's dull enough for most folks around these parts. Let 'em enjoy their brush with 'royalty' whilst it lasts. Mind you, the weather has been less than cheerful for the event most of the week. Certainly dampened the silly hats down a bit. Then again, it's made those exquisitely flimsy dresses even more amusing. Wish I'd have had my camera handy to show you what I mean. What's the word you're looking for to describe me? Incorrigible? Rude? Disrespectful? Scandalous? Anarchic? Jealous? (Gimmie a break!) Probably something much stronger if you're a saddo royal limo chaser. If nothing else, this event has provided me with a useful stage on which to act out my grumpy old man scenario. Royalty and advocates of blood sports...ripe for scorn in my book. Still, the betting shops and bookies will be happy. Plenty of pseudo-posh dosh being squandered, despite the current local opinion that the event has been something of a failure. Not enough people bothered to show up apparently. A case of Southern snobbishness and indifference meets Northern greed and shiftyness. Hotels and other local businesses were hoping to be run off their feet, dreaming of train-loads of cash flowing in from the migrating Southerners. Local prices went up with local expectations. Trouble is, the buggers stayed home in droves, (thankfully). Well, it's crowded enough 'round here at this time of year without mock-toffs and posh totty adding to it. Obviously, I've never been one for frequenting the old betting shop... can't afford it of course, being a tortured artist and all that. And probably wouldn't if I could. My Dad used to like the 'gee gees 'though. But personally, those high voices and beards never appealed to me. Actually, Dad used to occasionally win some money on the horses. Even though he was far from being a wealthy man and couldn't place large stakes. But he had a certain way with 'accumulators', the winnings from one race being immediately placed as a bet on the next, and so on. A sort of a 'system', he claimed. He was pretty good at it. Won enough to pay for our family's entire holiday in Blackpool once. The bookie behind the Pleasure Beach banned him from placing bets there ever again, told him not to come back. Dad cleaned him out, it seemed. Oh, how we laughed. It was extra sticks of Blackpool rock all round. My Dad liked soccer too but that never appealed to me either. I do know the name of one football player though... Stanley Matthews. Little guy with big shorts and Brylcreemed hair from what I recall. A 1950's schoolboy hero for some. Actually, (and obviously), I'm playing the fool a bit here... I did actually go to a soccer match once. My Dad took me to a game in Blackpool, when we were on holiday there, (but not the time when he got banned from the bookies). He hoped I'd be enthused by a real live soccer match but I was bored rigid. Much preferred going to the Tower Circus or listening to Reginald Dixon play the mighty Wurlitzer in The Tower Ballroom. Or go for a spin on a promenade childrens ride called 'Fairyland'. My mother says I really liked that one. Sounds about right. I was, so I'm told, a sensitive kid and according to my school chums something of an odd-bod. And there's me thinking that it was everyone else that was strange. Times change but maybe not so much. Watched Fellini's delightful and shouty 'Amacord' on DVD the other night. Music by Nino Rota. Great name that, 'Nino Rota'. I really like Fellini's colour sense and the way that his camera moves against the wonderfully choreographed crowd scenes. 'Juliet Of The Spirits' is one of my Fellini faves. And 'Eight And A Half' of course. Great opening scene in that one. Lets go fly a kite but dreamy-weird. I'm reading 'In The Half Light' by Anthony Lawrence. The author is a poet and this is his first novel and it's a cracking one. The entire book is imbuded with the quality of poetry, a flowing, beautiful, compulsive read. I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys intelligent, unusual, imaginative and elegantly written prose. This is a book that doesn't treat its reader like an idiot. I was initially attracted to it by the cover image which is subtly haunting. These days, in my opinion, book graphic design has overtaken album sleeve design for inventiveness. Recently bought a 'moleskine' blank notebook and a graphite pencil from Salt's Mill. Had a late Sunday lunch there again last weekend. Emi and I love visiting the place. The combination of Hockney's work and the historic 'utopian model village' setting creates a very civilised atmosphere. The excellent book shop in the gallery previously had several copies of my 'Diary Of A Hyperdreamer' book on the shelves, but they've sold out now. (I know because some Japanese friends whom we took there recently wanted to buy copies but the assistant at Salt's Mill said they'd all gone.) Anyway, I intend to carry the moleskine notebook with me in my shoulder bag at all times, to use as a sketchbook. Always to hand should inspiration strike. Of course, I'll either forget I'm carrying it or I'll be too busy trying to create music for the autumn tour to get any sketching done, more's the pity. Must write to John Foxx soon. Harold and John and I should try to get together to record something. Despite Harold's retirement. I meant to contact John a week or two ago but seem to be constantly distracted by one thing or another. I really should make more of an effort to stay in touch with people. By 'people,' I mean those whose sensibilities would encourage me towards a less pessimistic outlook. Those who would inspire me to take a few more sunlit chances. Positive creatives who understand all this stuff. But, left to my own devices, I retreat into shadow, spitting and hissing to no effect at all, other than to alienate those who might otherwise share their time with me. Darkness and light, and not much of the latter. Something's up, but what? Depression again? Maybe... but as I said, it doesn't get any easier. Come on, William, you're raving. Buck up... just get on with it! Sound of helicopters passing overhead, ferrying the wealthy to and from their royal race meeting. There must have been thirty or more 'copters parked in a field near the race course at the start of the week, just opposite the allotments. Less now though. Some local farmer will probably be making a few extra bob by allowing them to land there. I've seen the pound signs in so many people's eyes these last few weeks, the sudden lust for personal glory. Can't say it's a surprise. Police everywhere too... What this nonsense is costing us locals is anyone's guess. Outrageous, probably. Never mind... Back to normality next week. The right wing nouveau-rich will be back in their kitsch little boxes where they clearly belong. What a relief! All that frilly, fluffy pink bad taste makes the place look untidy. Pip pip! Cheerio chums! Top of page William's Study (Diary Of A Hyperdreamer) June 2005 Feb Mar Apr May Jul Aug Sep Oct Dec 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2013

Nelsonian Navigator - Issue One - Published July 1995 Back to Top

Joy Through Amplification More Listening Notes Go to Album Listening Notes to accompany the album Joy Through Amplification by Bill Nelson 1: 'Ampex 1': The first of the 'Ampex' tracks. These are a series of abstract/ambient guitar instrumentals that act as interludes between the more rock-oriented vocal tracks. The idea is that these Ampex pieces function as 'palette cleansers' between the noisier tracks the album offers. They can also be listened to on their own as an album within an album. The title 'Ampex' comes from the name of an analogue tape manufacturer whose reels of recording tape I used back in the '80s prior to my home studio going digital. It also fits in with the word 'Amplification.' This first track has watery elements, all generated from processed guitar. Virtually all the Ampex tracks are purely guitar generated sounds, though they are often twisted and processed beyond recognition. This one stills the mind before the following 'rock' track kicks in. 2: 'Sex Magic': This song begins with a deliberately coy instrumental reference to 'Panic In The World,' an old Be Bop Deluxe song. This is to trick the listener into thinking that the rock songs on the album might be a return to the '70s era rock music I made back then. But, as the song develops, it moves away from that into something more contemporary and 'pop.' The title 'Sex Magic' can be interpreted in various ways. It could be a reference to occult sexual practices designed to bring about a change of consciousness and/or a tangible fulfillment of one's desire in the physical world. (As written about by occultist-magicians such as Crowley, Spare and Grant,) or it could be about the 'magic' that happens when a loving couple joyfully abandon themselves to each other without fear or inhibition. 3: 'Ampex 2': Sheets of guitar fed through extended reverbs and shimmering modulations. Volume pedal swells on the top lines. Impressionistic and minimal. 4: 'Vortexion Dream': This song's title was inspired by a company called 'Vortexion' who made tape recorders, amplifiers and other electrical gizmos in the '50s and '60s. It is also partly inspired by Buckminster Fuller's similar sounding 'Dymaxion' car which he designed in 1933, (though I have an instrumental up my sleeve which will use the 'Dymaxion' name when it eventually is released.) The lyrics to 'Vortexion Dream' refer to 'weird science everywhere' and 'my bright electrola'...The song hints at a kind of steampunk science-fiction. Is it a utopia or a dystopia? (Spot the sly reference in the lyrics to another album of mine...) Distorted, heavy metal type riff. Knife-edge guitar fills, an octave talk-box style solo-break, double speed motifs.The song ends on an ambient coda that leads us into the next track. 5: 'Ampex 3': An ethereal reverse loop drift with a gentle sub-bass throb ending in guitar chimes and static. 6: 'The Conjurer's Companion': This is an energetic metallic riff-driven track with an almost cartoon-like, tongue-in-cheek guitar shredding intro. Lyrics tell of the conjurer's companion who, "takes off her magic dress, winks and waves and vanishes...a trick of light, I guess..." References to 'swirling ectoplasm' and 'every blessed thing' being 'so damned fragile.' Melodic but raw guitar solo with thick modulation and wah-wah pedal manipulations. A fun track which gives vent to some noisy and fast guitar wrangling. 7: 'Ampex 4': Quite a pretty one this...chiming guitars, reverse whooshes, electrical noises, double and half-speed loops. 8: 'Orpheus Dreams Of Disneyland': I was thinking of the story of Orpheus decending into the underworld and wondered what it would be like if this underworld was instead a kind of ethereal, dark Disneyland. What would Orpheus encounter there? The lyrics are enigmatic enough to leave the answer to the listener. The song features a heavy riff and hard electronic percussion throughout but features a fairground-like middle section with hints of seaside Wurlitzers. 9: 'Ampex 5': Suggests some sort of strange whirling machine, a supernatural carousel perhaps. 10: 'Imps In The Undergrowth': An enigmatic lyric hinting at some sort of invisible occult presence behind the visible world, a song for magicians? Big guitars in layers. 11: 'Ampex 6': Weird clockwork, a child's toy from another world. It has doors and windows from which tiny smiling creatures emerge and return on invisible springs. 12: 'Arco Volta': The title came first. It suggests electrical energy, lightning, a Tesla effect. High energy drums and guitars and a lyric about 'how sweet we were when birds of youth' and 'holy fools.' Short and punchy. 13: 'Ampex 7': A surreal steamboat puffs into an other-dimensional harbour, playing a crazy tune on its whistles as men and women in tall hats wave welcoming flags. 14: 'Fire Gods Of The National Machine': An almost flamenco-style opening. Lyrics about 'ghosts in the gallery' and 'magic priests will come in waves.' From a ballad style first verse the song erupts into a heavy, distorted guitar chord progression. A drifting, dreamy middle section shifts the scene. A variety of guitar tones and textures including some sick-sounding wah-wah effects. 15: 'Ampex 8': A Martian cowboy rides a robot horse across an alien landscape into a two sun sunset. 16: 'To What Strange Place Will This Transport You?': Big drums, big guitars, an orchestra, harmony vocals, echoes and modulations. The title says it all... 17: 'Ampex 9': Imagine an ancient town at night. In the town square stands a gothic clock tower with ornate doors, high up, as if they were the doors of a giant cuckoo-clock. Suddenly the doors open, beams of dazzling light shoot out from all sides of the tower but instead of a cuckoo, a figure resembling Duane Eddy emerges on a mechanical platform, his guitar chiming the hours in place of bells. 18: 'Heaven Holds A Grand Parade': Another mysterious, enigmatic lyric. It hints at a dream-like circus parade whose participants may or may not be phantoms and angels. One of the lyrics says 'this radio is now on fire... no-one receiving, there's no one in this room at all.' Is it a song about ghosts, a parallel universe, the after-life? Trumpets add a carnival atmosphere. Guitars climb and spiral like sonic helicopters. 19: 'Ampex 10': A strange laboratory in a dark forest. A man made of machine parts operates levers and observes glowing dials. Sparks arc around the room. Outside, a horse without a rider gallops by, vanishing deep into the forest. 20: 'Weather Blows Wild Inside My Head': A spooky intro, an almost vocal wah-wah guitar, lyrics that suggest Elvis' ghost dancing in a haunted ballroom on the other side of time. It's a blues from another planet, a song about the mysterious workings of the creative imagination, about obsession and possession. 21: 'Ampex 11': A delightful garden filled with summer flowers through which a miniature railway rattles carrying imps, elves and other denizens from the land of faerie. An old man dressed in clothes from the 1920s places a rose in his buttonhole and smiles. 22: 'Why Does It Do That?': Frantic tin-can drums, heavily processed guitars, metallic riffs, an apocalyptic vibe. Lyric: 'It was as if the clocks had all gone wrong and time was topsy-turvy...' One of the heaviest sounding tracks on the album. 23: 'Ampex 12': A tropical island paradise. A steel guitar plays, gleaming like a chrome snake. Seven beautiful girls dance on the beach, dressed only in sunshine and smiles. But all is not as it should be...the sea is purple and the sky is green. 24: 'These Tall Blue Days Are Lark Amazed': A mid-tempo, semi-ballad. Twangy surf guitars exchange phrases with Chinese sounding guitars. This one is a love song with a strong vocal melody and backing vocals that reference a certain early Beatles song. Ends with a dusting of needle static. 25: 'Ampex Xtra': This is the first of two bonus tracks. The John Barry Seven jamming with The Tornadoes in a space station on the outer reaches of the galaxy. 26: 'Monsters From Heaven. (Flowers And Rain.)': This is the second bonus track. It's built around a strange, looped, distorted blues guitar riff. The loop has a slightly asymmetrical metre. Over this an amplified blues harmonica improvises in a style reminiscent of Captain Beefheart. A slide guitar adds to the swampy, but alien, blues feel. A wah-wah guitar solo adds further tension. No drums on this track. The vocal is treated to sound as if it's coming over a telephone line or from the speaker of an old radio. The lyric says: "This dwelling is humming, with monsters from heaven...thunder and lightning, creatures of flame..." More Listening Notes Go to Album

Third Eye album - 1983 Monsoon Production/Contribution Menu Future Past BILL: E-Bow and Electric Guitar on "Wings of the Dawn" and "Tomorrow Never Knows". Also bass on "Tomorrow Never Knows". Production/Contribution Menu Future Past

Free Downloads Discography Menu Please enjoy these gifts from Bill Click on the cover to access the download Brave Flag/Mondo Bravado Released August 2022 Ukrainian appeal charity single The Lockdown Song (It's All Downhill From Here) Released November 2020 Variation On The Theme Of A White Christmas Released December 2017 The Rumbler/Perfidia 2017 Released October 2017 Loom Released December 2015 For track and album info - Click here Silent Night Released December 2012 Think And You'll Miss It/Beat Street Released December 2012 Hip Pocket Jukebox Released December 2011 For track and album info - Click here Frost-O-Matic Released December 2010 Soluna Oriana Released June 2010 The Jingler Released December 2009 I Hear Electricity/Kiss You Slow Released December 2008 Dreamsville Poetry Experiment Released December 2007

Luxury Wonder Moments Bill Nelson album - 8 May 2017 Albums Menu Future Past Purchase this download TRACKS: 01) Blue Dawn 02) Cloudwater Canal 03) Parade Of The Inhabitants Of A Phantom Fairground 04) Spindrift 05) The Elegant Parabola 06) Axiomata 07) Rain Falls On Sleepytown 08) Sweethearts In Swimsuits 09) What Time Is This Space? 10) The Clouded Mirror 11) Like Clockwork 12) Astro-Astoria 13) The Gliding Club 14) The Grand Magician Brings A Blessing 15) And There I Am 16) We Hail The Wind Down Long Arcades 17) Another Luxury Wonder Moment 18) Snow Light ALBUM NOTES: Luxury Wonder Moments is an album of guitar instrumentals released on the Sonoluxe label in a limited print run of 500 copies. The album was first mentioned on the Dreamsville Forum on 6 November 2015. The album grew out of material left over from a vocal album called Amplified Dreams and Wild Surprises which was completed in November 2015, but which currently remains unreleased. In early November Nelson revealed a draft running order for Luxury Wonder Moments comprised of 11 tracks, including one track "Thought Bubbles" which didn’t make it to mastering stage (at least not for this project). By 16 November 2015 the track listing had expanded to 17 tracks, although Nelson was determined to add an extra track before considering the album complete. A few days after announcing this intention, Nelson was unable to make any further progress on the album when his mixing desk finally failed on him, requiring it to be dispatched off for much needed overdue repairs. This would prevent him from completing any further new work until the New Year. Meanwhile, in the run up to Christmas 2015, Nelson confessed that he hadn’t managed to record a new tune for his by now customary Christmas Video Card, and so lifted a track from the Luxury Wonder Moments album called "Snow Light" (which wasn’t on the running order revealed in November 2015). "Snow Light" and "The Christmas Gift" (from Simplex ) were set to various stills of his guitars. The album was mastered on 4 March 2016 at Fairview Studio, by which time Nelson confirmed he had added that 18th track. Artwork would however take over a year to complete, and although Nelson dropped a number of hints that the release of Luxury Wonder Moments was high on the list of unreleased albums, it would take 14 months from mastering to its eventual release. CURRENT AVAILABILITY: Available for purchase as a digital download here in the Dreamsville Store . BILL'S THOUGHTS: "Luxury Wonder Moments is, as the title suggests, a rich, lavish album of gleaming instrumentals with an array of sounds, guitars and keyboards. Containing 18 tracks in total, it offers a dreamy, immersive listening experience." FAN THOUGHTS: Palladium: "Really enjoying this extremely classy guitar album. Such a clear, "true", direct sound - a master at work, and one of those albums you'd expect to win awards, in a more reasonable universe. Anyone who loves, say, Silvertone Fountains or And We Fell Into A Dream , should purchase this immediately, if you haven't already." "I must say I find this album very accessible, with much that grabs you straight away, intriguing and lovely melodic detours and surprises, etc." Returningman: "This release is up there with Quiet Bells , And We Fell Into A Dream and Mazda Kaleidoscope , yup it's that damn good. "The first track harks back to "Raindrop Collector" (from And We Fell Into A Dream ) and continues with this mellow vibe throughout the whole album. Genius. Buy it now (if you have yet to take the plunge) dive in and savour the moments." Debtworker: "Really stunning tracks, red hot guitar work." "It reminded me very much of And We Fell Into A Dream - cannot say fairer than that! Beautiful music." JohnR: "I normally prefer Bill's vocal albums but Luxury Wonder Moments oozes class. An entire album where every track is as good as or better than the best of Illuminated At Dusk and Silvertone Fountains . Comsat Angel: "Received Luxury Wonder Moments and listened to it last night. I found it wonderfully peaceful with excellent subtle moments. I loved it just as much as Dr Dream and Kid Flip but for very different reasons." scooter59: "This is the second new release in a row that grabbed me right away and forced a complete listen on first play (rare anymore with so many distractions). "Can't wait for a second play today in the office. I always get one or two people that pop their heads in going, "Who is that?" MondoJohnny: "Got mine yesterday and listened on the way in this morning...and as of now I think that album is the only thing keeping me sane!" "Its got just that right balance of beauty and quirk if you ask me!" andygeorge: "Well, after all the very positive comments on LWM I thought, "hang on, what am I missing here?" I've been playing it again over the holiday weekend and yes, it has 'clicked'...big time! "The Gliding Club" is absolutely gorgeous! Bill at his glorious best, beautiful guitar soaring above the clouds!" Merikan1: "Heavenly. Another classic. Thanks Bill." Albums Menu Future Past

Silver Moon single - 1986 David Sylvian Production/Contribution Menu Future Past BILL: Guitar on the title track. Production/Contribution Menu Future Past

Rocket to the Moon Bill Nelson download single - 25 October 2009 Singles Menu Future Past Purchase this download TRACKS: 1) Rocket To The Moon NOTES: "Rocket to the Moon" is a track Bill composed and recorded exclusively for the Sara's Hope Foundation . The charity's aim was "to provide holiday breaks for children living with cancer, giving them smiles, hope, and precious memories". Fans could download the song in return for a modest donation to the charity. "Rocket to the Moon" was premiered at Nelsonica 09 on 19 September 2009, with a special live performance of the song within Nelson's live set. The release of the download was then timed to coincide with the foundation's annual charity ball on what would have been Sara Hoburn's 25th birthday. Ged (Sara's father): "A million thanks to Bill for his support - his warmth and loyalty has really touched our family." 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: "Harks back to the most chirpy and jolly poptastic days of my '70's career. Catchy as a catchy thing too!" Singles Menu Future Past

Maid in Heaven Be-Bop Deluxe single - 20 June 1975 Singles Menu Future Past TRACKS: A) Maid In Heaven B) Lights ORIGINALLY: "Maid in Heaven" was lifted directly off the Futurama album, whereas "Lights" was the same version of the non-album cut that had appeared as the 'B' side of the previous single. NOTES: Maid in Heaven was the fourth Be Bop Deluxe single issued during the band's existence. The single was issued in a generic record company sleeve. UK Promo copies exist with the words "Demo Record Not For Sale" and a large 'A' printed on the label. US Mono/Stereo promo copies were pressed to encourage airplay on both AM and FM radio. PAST RELEASES: Both tracks would be included on The Best of and the Rest of Be Bop Deluxe double album (1978), and the Singles As and Bs compilation (1981). "Lights" would appear on CD as a bonus track added to Drastic Plastic (1991). CURRENT AVAILABILITY: The single is long deleted, but both tracks can be found on the Cherry Red/Esoteric Recordings reissue of Futurama (2019) - both in physical form and as a digital download. Singles Menu Future Past

Chameleon Bill Nelson album - November 1986 Albums Menu Future Past Purchase this download TRACKS: 01) City One 02) Science And Sacrament 03) Machine Voodoo 04) Chameleon 05) Circular Tour 06) The Shape Of Things To Come 07) Astro Logic 08) Tropicus 09) O Vee 10) On The Beam 11) Mex-Arcana 12) Man Machine 13) Hip-No-Tize 14) New Dream Island 15) Blue Sky 16) To The Sea In Ships 17) Blonde And Built To Last 18) To A Child 19) Rosalia 20) Golden Shrine 21) Playback 22) Designer Dance 23) On The Beach 24) Like A Dream 25) Mitsukini ALBUM NOTES: Chameleon is an instrumental album of "library music", initially released on the Themes International Music label. On its release Chameleon was extremely difficult to obtain, as albums of library music (for use in production of TV and radio programmes) were always pressed in limited numbers and unavailable outside of their intended market. Precise information as to its release date is difficult to verify, but its existence was first mentioned in the fan club magazine Acquitted By Mirrors towards the end of 1986. PAST RELEASES: After years of being unavailable to all but the most avid collectors, Chameleon was re-issued in 2002 (Fabled Quixote). Note that the original vinyl release included spoken titles (not by the composer) at the beginning of each track which were omitted on the CD reissue. CURRENT AVAILABILITY: Available for purchase as a digital download here in the Dreamsville Store . BILL'S THOUGHTS: "Very simply recorded, slightly quirky, short pieces...a little bit whimsical and often quite jolly...not so serious as Simplex or Chance Encounters." _____ "You have to keep in mind that this was made as a Library Music album. Library music is created to be used as television or radio background music and will more often than not end up with a narrator speaking over the music...sometimes the music is chosen to lend a mood to a documentary film, so there will possibly be other sounds laid over the music by the TV studio technicians, as well as narration. For this reason, one of the rules of library music is that it should contain no prominent melodies or a strong lead instrument. It has to function as aural wallpaper, a background atmosphere rather than a dominant musical motif." FAN THOUGHTS: REG: "Vinyl copies of Chameleon are a REAL rarity. I was lucky enough to acquire my copy from a friend who worked for an advertising company. When the firm went bust he snaffled their copy of Chameleon for me. A couple of years ago I got Bill to sign the album and if I remember rightly he said at the time that he had never even seen a copy of the record, so it must be genuinely scarce." Peter: "It dates from that period when Bill was relying less on the "guitar and vocals" as the backbone of his work, leaning heavily towards keyboards, drum machines and samples. It is an interesting period, especially the later works, as Bill's compositions grew more elaborate and rich. One can hear Bill maturing as a composer, discovering and building the incredible range of musical tools that have made him such a truly unique and amazing artist. Lots of wonderful songs here...spanning ambient to "dance". Well worth any real fan's time -- over and over again!" Westdeep: "Ebay was primitive in those days but I was easily able to fill the gaps at a reasonable price all excepting a mint copy of the Chameleon LP which I still haven't told the wife about!" Albums Menu Future Past

Thursday 12th May 2005 -- Late Afternoon/Early Evening A huge sigh of relief: My 'Dreamsville' site is finally up and working and has received a very generous outpouring of appreciation from its visitors. The response has been even more positive than I could have hoped for and there are vibrant, lively conversations continually buzzing in the virtual saloons of 'Dreamsville Inn Forum '. A genuine community spirit permeates the place. Excellent! The next task is for me to install visuals and text into the other areas of the site. First priority is 'The Museum Of Memory'. I've already gathered a large number of exhibits together for this location, as I've mentioned in earlier diary entries. These items now need to be loaded into the 'Museum' itself. Next in line, after this, is 'The Academy Of Art' and 'The Guitar Arcade'. Other duties have forced this to be put on hold though. Next week will be taken up with preparations for Harold Budd's concert on the 21st. Before that, I have equipment to repair, prepare, pack away and so on. Then a lengthy trip from Yorkshire down to Brighton for rehearsals and the concert itself. At this point in time I still don't have an inkling about the pieces I'm to perform on. Harold is playing it very close to his chest although he has recently told me the titles of the pieces that he's prepared for us to play together. Other than that, though, no clues. Nevertheless, such a last minute approach may add an edge to things as I'll have to invent something on the spot. I have to admit that I'm flattered that Harold has confidence in me to pull whatever rabbits are required out of my hat. But at the same time, (and predictably, for readers familiar with the self-doubts that regularly fuel this diary), I have very little confidence in myself at all. But fear not... the muse will find a way. Said he, setting down his glass of Merlot and adopting an inane grin... Perhaps I really shouldn't get myself quite so worked up about it. After all, I dive in the deep end as a matter of course with my own compositions on a fairly regular basis. (Or am I just foolishly trying to reassure myself with that last comment?) Anyway, it will be what it will be. A long time ago, when Harold and I played in Portugal together, Harold said, "Don't worry Bill, it doesn't have to be the greatest thing that came down God's pipe". But on this special occasion, particularly as it is Harold's public finale, I really want it to be wonderful, not for me, but for Harold who deserves the absolute best I can muster. A shift of shadows, a different and far more mundane topic:- Woes of all kinds on the domestic front. So what's new? Well, here's something: Back in January, I bought a new bathroom suite from MFI. Yes, I know... if only I could afford not to shop there. Anyway, I obtained what I'd thought was a bargain in MFI's January sales. Lots of convincing chat from their salesman who assured me this was the chance of a lifetime, free taps, waste traps and fittings, a Hollywood film starlet of my choice thrown in to scrub my back, complimentary bubble bath, and so on and so forth. 'Lovely', I thought, imagining Sharon Stone's nipples giving me the Soapland treatment. I placed my order and gained brownie points with Emiko. ('Though not for the Sharon Stone fantasies.) Eventually, I arranged for them to fit the damn thing too, not just supply it. "We have qualified fitters, Mr. Nelson,, they can do any extra work you might require, such as tiling, Mr. Nelson... whatever your heart might desire, very good quality, Mr. Nelson... a comprehensive service tailored to your needs, etc, etc, blah, blah, blah...". Out came my credit card and my hard-earned cash electronically whizzed into MFI's bank account. I left the store, trying to ignore the horror stories that several people had told me about their own, or friend's, experiences with the company. "MFI? Oooh... (big intake of breath and shaking of head), "you don't want to go there!" Time passed as we waited for their fitter to set a date. More time passed, weeks, months, an eternity it seemed. I went into MFI's store and raised a quiet storm of complaint. My face turned black, red horns popped from my skull, lighting flashed in my immediate vicinity, my voice dropped a couple of octaves, the sky went dark and I noticed that they had to switch the store's lights on. The MFI assistant appeared indifferent to any of these ominous pyrotechnics, acting as if my frustration was something so commonplace as to be not worthy of anything more energetic than sneering disdain. Actually, I'm trying to paint a picture of myself as a strong and indigant customer here...the truth is I was really quite reasonable, calm and polite. Of course, I should have been much heavier with them. Nevertheless, the assistant eventually wandered off to contact the fitter.... "Wait here Mr. Nelson, just a moment, Sir...". 20 minutes or so later, the assistant returned to say that they'd spoken to their fitter who had apparently said: " Fitting on May 5th...definitely". The assistant confidently wrote on my MFI paperwork:- 'Delivery: 5th of May, fitting: 5th of May'. At long last, I thought. So, On the 4th of May, Emiko and I spent the entire day clearing the bathroom of all furniture, of piles of magazines, of dozens of bottles of cosmetics, colognes, fragile mirrors, framed pictures, vintage radio, etc, etc. We also cleared an area of access from the front door, up the stairs, through the bedroom to the en-suite bathroom. Then we scrubbed the bathroom from top to bottom....Everything ship-shape and ready to go. I put my various work projects on hold so as to be available for the following day's delivery and fitting of the bathroom suite. I'd also bought boxes of tiles for the fitter to fit around the bathroom walls. All of this work agreed with him several weeks previously. AND paid for in advance, as is MFI's rule. (Note: always read the small print, preferably with an electron microscope.) Meanwhile, Emiko dreamed of a new bath that didn't leave rust marks on her skin. I dreamed of getting lathered up in the welcoming vicinity of Sharon Stone's thighs. On the morning of the 5th, Emi and I are up really early, eager and ready for the arrival of both fitter and our new bathroom suite. A few hours later, Emi has gone to work and I'm still waiting. After a while, I start to worry so I call the fitter's number, as given to me by MFI. An answer machine answers. I leave a message. Three-quarters of an hour later, the fitter calls to say that MFI hadn't told him he was supposed to be fitting our bathroom that day. In fact he's doing another job. (I find this unbelievable as MFI had actually spoken with the fitter on the 'phone in my presence some weeks before. And it was he who gave MFI the date of the 5th.) I ask him when he can come to do the job and he says, "call me when the bathroom suite arrives". I say:- "it's arriving today, so are you coming over later to fit it?" He says, "can't do it until next Monday at the earliest, I've taken on other work". (This is Thursday.) In a state of shocked stupor, I put the 'phone down. I eventually recover my composure and call MFI who begin to make outrageous excuses. I demolish these firmly and methodically and ask them what they propose to do to remedy the problem. They eventually say, "well, why don't you just take delivery of the suite and we'll arrange another fitting date". I then explain to them, (as I've already explained on several occasions since ordering the damned thing), that we have absolutely no where to store a boxed bathroom suite with all its fittings, other than in the garden and there's no way I'm leaving it there. I suggest they postpone the delivery until they organise a new fitting date, perhaps Monday or Tuesday at the latest, as now suggested by their fitter. MFI say they'll call me back. Once again I sit by the 'phone, trying to grasp the banality of the situation. When they eventually do call back, they say that they can't stop the delivery as the truck driver doesn't have a 'phone and therefore isn't contactable. They suggest I wait for him to arrive with the suite, then tell him to go away, and take it back to the depot with him. By now, steam is coming out of my ears. I sit in the house all day, fuming and hoping the delivery truck will arrive soon. It doesn't arrive. At four thirty, I decide to go out into town as I have better things to do. When I get back, Emiko has returned home from her day working at the flower shop. She says that the delivery man actually telephoned her at the shop, saying he had a bathroom suite to deliver to our house, but no-one was in. (And this after MFI had told me that the guy didn't have a 'phone in his truck.) Emiko explained the situation and the delivery man laughed... "it happens all the time with MFI" he said. He then took the suite back to his depot. I then await MFI to inform me of a new fitting date. I'm hoping it will be either Monday or Tuesday, as was suggested by their fitter. I hear nothing, not a sausage. On Monday, I call MFI to see if they've sorted things out. They say, "No, but why don't you call the fitter directly?" I do so, wondering why I'm doing their job for them. All I get is the fitter's answering machine. I leave a message, explaining the urgency. No one calls me back. I call again, leave another message. This goes on for a while. By Wednesday, I've abandoned hope and call MFI to tell them that the fitter hasn't answered my calls and ask them to get it sorted out or I'll consider cancelling my order. They say they'll try to contact the fitter. Ten minutes later, they call back to say they've spoken with him and that he can't fit it for at least another three weeks as he's taken on other work. In a daze, I tell them I'll speak with my wife about it. Emi and I then talk through the problems we've had and decide that, although it makes life more difficult for us, we really don't want to give our custom to this company any more. It's simply not good enough. I call MFI back and once again explain that they've had my money since January, it is now almost the end of May, and I still don't have my bathroom suite and that enough is enough... I want a refund. The girl on the 'phone invisibly sniggers and says "Fine, come into the store and we'll arrange it". So today, I locate all my paperwork, receipts, etc and go into the garden to get into my car to drive to MFI to ask for a refund. And here comes domestic screw up number two:- As I swing behind the wheel, I look up to see that my windscreen is sporting a large hole with cracks radiating out from it, right across the entire screen. I get out of the car in disbelief and look at the damage. A real mess... not at all safe to drive. The cause? Our next door neighbour has been erecting a workshop the size of a small house at the bottom of our garden and the builders have, it seems, lobbed a brick or something extremly hard through my car's windscreen. Their last day today, too, apparently. A parting shot? How they did this, I have no idea. It couldn't have been something dropped from the building as my car wasn't underneath it, or the surrounding scaffolding. There was no sign of a brick or a missile either...(They must have removed it.) Whatever it was, it would need hurling away from the structure to hit my car's windscreen. My blood pressure went up along with my hackles but the builders had gone home. On tip-toe, I presume. I urgently had to get into town so I grabbed my things and set off to walk into the village where there is a bus stop. I then waited almost thirty minutes for a bus. By this time, I'd tried to apply my Buddha head to the situation. Stay calm, let go, be cool. The problem with this, of course, is that people often take advantage, thinking that placidity equals pushover. I really should show them the other side of the coin once in a while, but they wouldn't like it and neither would I. Just like many other good-natured folk who try to let go of their anger and frustration and put themselves in other's shoes, when the pressure eventually builds up to bursting, I really blow my top. All those pent-up feelings of exploitation and injustice erupt in a very forceful way. And then those same people who had me sussed as a wuss and who were happy to take advantage of that presumption, suddenly whine and complain that I'm a nasty and vindictive old so and so. Well, tough titty. Sometimes bad behaviour begets the same. Oh, the horror! There's even more bullshit going on around me right now but I'm damned if I'm going to get into it here in this diary. O.K... calm down, William. Don't over-dramatise it for the sake of your audience. Just call your insurance company and see if you can get them to send out a windscreen repairman. Or whatever it is you're supposed to do in these situations. Sometimes, although I'm the first to say money can't buy happiness, I think that if I could afford it, I'd put a certain distance, physically and spiritually, between me and these kind of things. The older I get, the less attractive they become. Man, I'd live on a little island in the middle of some warm stream, away from the herd, counting the buttercups in the meadows and listening to the skylarks sing. The rest of the world could get on with its manipulations and acquisitions without inflicting its shit on me. I'm a fuckin' misfit and shameless with it. Top of page Friday 13th May 2005 -- Postscript to entry dated 12th May Early Afternoon. Last night, the man in charge of the builders was summoned to look at my shattered windscreen. He says he already knew about it. (Well, there's a surprise.) He casually apologised and suggested I get it fixed on my car insurance. I said I'd need to see what the insurance policy covered in respect to that. He said he reckoned the replacement screen would be free but, if there was an excess charge to pay, he'd pay it. I called the insurance company this morning who put me on to Autoglass who told me there would be an excess charge of sixty pounds to pay. I had to pay for it there and then, on my credit card over the 'phone. Unfortunately, they say that they can't get to the house to repair it until late Monday afternoon, which means I can't use my car until Tuesday. (The car can't be moved until the new windscreen 'sets'.) Someone else just told me that I was stupid to do it via my insurance company at all as it will affect my no-claims bonus. I should simply have made arrangements to get the screen replaced directly and given the entire bill to the builder as it was his responsibility. Too late now, of course, as I've messed about on the 'phone all morning, trying to sort it out. Typical. Now I have to catch up with the chores I intended to do yesterday, pick up some dry cleaning, go to MFI and get a refund, pay some household bills, etc. I've had to borrow Emiko's car as a result of mine being out of action, which means I've had to take her to work and will need to pick her up later on when she finishes. Time consuming. On the MFI front, I heard this morning that my brother Ian had also recently bought a new bathroom suite from MFI. and it seems he's had very similar fitter problems, even though he lives in a different part of Yorkshire to me. I won't relate Ian's story here as it is just as complex and frustrating as mine. I'll just say that he too had heard similar stories from other people about poor quality service. It's nice to know we're not alone in this. An entirely different subject:- the latest issue of 'The Word' magazine carries a feature about important albums that have been underated or overlooked. In amongst them is Be Bop Deluxe's 'Axe Victim' album. Nice to see it being acknowledged in this way. The writer makes some interesting points 'though I have to say that the concept for the album was not quite as naive or innocent as he seems to think. The 'glam/Bowie' thing was done quite deliberately... but in a knowing, ironic, almost parodic fashion. Particularly as, at the time of the band's formation, we had no master plan to land a record contract or to become professional musicians. It was, in many ways, just a bit of fun, the concept emerging from my art student background and incorporating the Pop Art and Warholism that had informed my art-school years. Plus, the glam look turned the girls on, as I hoped it might! Oh, yes, David Bowie and Roxy Music were touchstones but they also were seen as a source of pastiche. Remove the whole thing one step further from the point they might have removed it from. Shine a different light into the hollow centre of pop music. At least from a more personal angle. In any case, by the time EM I Records had become interested in signing the band, I was already steering things away from the glam style, but it was EMI who pursuaded me to hang on to the look, (and that specific batch of material), a little longer as they felt that the band's original fan-base would expect that image and style on our first album. Actually, when 'Axe Victim' was released, I'd already written most of the material that would later emerge on 'Futurama'. But, perhaps I'm being overly fussy here... maybe I protest too much. Everyone has to start somewhere and, whilst I'm now somewhat squeamish about the early Be Bop material, I have to admit that it was bright and fun to play... and the dressing up thing was a bit of a lark, a foppish in-joke on one hand and a crowd pleaser on the other. It helped get us noticed so served its purpose. And I met some really sweet girls. It was of its time and its time was ripe. Time changes things and the music must change too... Sometimes on a daily basis, according to mood. This is the hardest thing for some people to deal with. Artists who move on and regularly challenge themselves inevitably have a tougher time of it than those who establish a popular product and simply stick with it. People like to be able to label or indentify things, whether it be the easy familiarity of an Elton John or, (and I admit I'm on controversial ground here), the equally predictable siginfiers of the so-called 'avant-garde'. It seems to me that things at either end of the spectrum have much more in common than they'd be prepared to admit. (These days, the avant garde is just as marketed and targeted a product as pop.) A bit of a hobby-horse of mine this subject, I know, but just stand back from it a student bed-sit's metre or two and you'll see what I mean. At the end of the day it's all disposable, ephemeral, fickle, fashion-shackled and tribally oriented. Music, for all its grand pretensions and aspirations, is ultimately a commodity. (Unless it never escapes from one's bedroom.) The minute it emerges into the world, it surrenders to the possibility of profit, either financially or in terms of perceived 'artistic' status. It gains weight, (like me), and begins to live a life of its own, out of control. Perhaps Harold, with his current vow to quit and to move on into a new phase of his life, has the guts to do what I fear the most... to leave it all behind, drop the weight and walk upright again. But despite my carping, cynical protestations, I'm hooked like a junky on the stuff. Sometimes, I resent this fact so much. Too pathetic and insecure to live without my regular sound fix. A weakness or a strength? Who knows... I can't tell any more. My next album will be called 'Brickie Victim' and will feature songs about breeze-blocks and blocked views. It could only happen to William. Top of page Sunday 29th May 2005 -- 9:30 am (All photos by Bill Nelson) An entire week has passed since Harold's concert in Brighton and only now have I found time to sit down and write an entry for my increasingly late diary. When I returned home, at midnight on the Sunday after the Brighton event, I found my inbox full of emails, mostly accumulated whilst I was away. I seem to have spent all of last week trying to catch up, plus dealing with other pressing problems, all requiring my slightly-out-of-focus attention... many of them of a domestic nature but most of them musical or creative Music is a lovely thing to dedicate one's life to but, in my neck of the woods, it's a 24 hour, seven days a week job. There's always something waiting for me to work on. Not that I'm complaining, you understand. I'm just moaning a little . I like to glamourise my passion, gild it with a little self-inflicted angst. Oh, how we artists suffer! So... here we go, my extremely nebulous and probably unreliable reflections regarding the Brighton concert: A long train journey from Yorkshire to get there on Wednesday, 18th of May. Emi and I have to drag our suitcases from London's Kings Cross Station, dodging traffic and pedestrians along busy London streets, until we reach the Thameslink Station. Then we struggle to carry our cases down flights of stairs to the platform to catch the Brighton train. (No escalator, no lift... only in England.) As usual, we've taken far more clothes than required but, as the weather seems so changable, we've packed items for any eventuality. How I regret it whilst struggling to get those heavy cases down the stairs. We're both getting far too old for this kind of thing. The Thameslink train to Brighton is packed solid with commuters, all looking absolutely pissed off with their lot, overloaded with stress and thwarted ambition. The train is uncomfortable, hot and stops at virtually every station en route. It feels like an eternity in hell before we finally arrive in Brighton, a genuine relief to get there after the tiring day's travel. We're met on the platform by a bright and breezy young lady called Amanda, who is acting as artist-coordinator for Harold's concert. Amanda's cheerful demeanour instills confidence as she whisks us off to our hotel. I've been feeling nervous about the event for days but Amanda's calm personality soothes things a little. Our hotel turns out to be 'The Old Ship', situated right on the sea front, halfway between Brighton's main pier and the old Victorian one that was fatally destroyed by fire and water not so long ago. This latter pier's rusting hulk, stark, ghostly and forlorn, is plainly visible to the right of 'The Old Ship's' main entrance. Sad that it has apparently deteriorated way beyond repair now. The surviving Brighton pier, to the left of the hotel, has a funfair at it's furthest end, complete with a traditional, inverted 'ice-cream cone' helter-skelter. Later, I will take some photographs of this, hoping for a possible album cover image for the future. Or at least one that I can use on the Dreamsville website. The sea-front promenade itself has traditional seaside cast-iron railings, painted in what I like to call 'corporation green and cream' Very similar to the one's found in Blackpool, but a little less art-deco, 'though from a similar period. A few scattered old public shelters along the prom too. Architectural whimsy... my kind of thing. I wonder if Brighton ever had trams, like Blackpool? Within minutes of checking in, Harold Budd calls my room and invites us down to the hotel's bar for a reunion drink. I haven't seen Harold since our ill-fated jaunt to Mexico, maybe over two years ago now. (Our scheduled concert in Mexico City was cancelled after we'd arrived there.) Whilst we didn't get to play in Mexico, Harold and Emiko and I spent a week hanging out in Mexico City's museums and galleries and cantinas, enjoying a pleasant time, despite the fact that 'Gulf War Round Two' had just erupted and was dominating the tv news to depressing effect. (Check out my 'Diary Of A Hyperdreamer Book' to read more about this period.) Since that time, we've each been back in our respective habitats, Harold in LA and the desert around Joshua Tree, Emi and I in our heavily insulated nest in Yorkshire, but we have stayed in regular contact via letters and emails, as always. Harold looks well, dapper and not a single day older than the last time I'd seen him. (How does he do that?) He remains one of my dearest friends and time spent with him is full of laughter and companionship, even if I fall speechless sometimes. The fact that he happens to be a musical and artistic treasure is simply an extra bonus... It's only when I hear him play that I feel absolutely awestruck. One minute, we're laughing at some stupid, inane reference to peas and carrots being served up to us in a pub in Selby over 12 years ago, the next I'm being elevated, uplifted and, yes, educated by the way that Harold touches the piano's keys and brings forth a chord of such exquisite shape and resonance that I could weep with envy. I hear it but don't understand it, nor would I want to... this is a mystery worth preserving. I never ask Harold how or why, I just let it sink in and settle. Somewhere down the line, the lesson that I've learned by this method makes itself known. This is part of the generosity in his art. Harold and Emi and I then decide to have dinner at the Hotel, rather than go out and brave the unreliable weather, which is by now looking windy and damp. The hotel restaurant isn't the best choice... it serves up a fairly dry and mediocre meal, but our happy conversation enlivens the table and the less than sparkling food becomes secondary to the enjoyment of each other's company. Much wine is consumed. Outside the hotel dining room window, a pedestrian crossing's light is sillhouetted against a background of dark sea and grey sky, first a little red electric man lights up, then a green one. The sea and sky broods as the green and red lights alternate. I make a mental note to take a photograph of this before we leave Brighton. Later, as Emi and I retire to our room for the night, we discover that it is crippled with noise: rattling sash windows that sound like distant cannon fire, a taxi-rank beneath the window that echoes to the mad shouts and incomprehensible songs of a seemingly endless chain of drunks, (this unholy racket continues well into the early hours). Then, the noise of a heavy street cleaning vehicle, followed by a garbage truck, followed by screaming, vicious seagulls as dawn breaks. After that, the regular early morning traffic, motorbikes, delivery trucks, police sirens. By 8am, I've managed no more than three hour's intermittent sleep. I get up to attend the first day of rehearsals, feeling terrible. I'm well past the age when I can rise above such things. I need a full eight hours to feel human. One of the problems is that I'm used to a quiet, country environment, backgrounded by gentle early morning birdsong and little else, save the occasional distant cuckoo or skylark. No chance of that here. I stagger about the hotel room, wondering how I'll cope with the rigours of rehearsals. I've not heard anything of the music Harold requires me to play. It's all unknown. The morning weather is windy and wet and so the ever efficient and cheerful Amanda whisks Harold, Emi and I off to the Brighton Dome in a taxi. Us old folks need a wee bit of molly-coddling. The first day of rehearsals is being held here in the Dome, an entirely acoustic rehearsal too, without either monitors or pa system. The Dome is a lovely venue, right next door to Brighton's famous Pavillion It's a long time since I've visited Brighton, way back in the 1970's actually, when Be Bop Deluxe played there a couple of times. The first of those Brighton Be Bop Deluxe concerts was a happy but poignant one for me. A girl, who I once fallen hopelessly in love with some time previously and who had, in both presence and absence, provided me with a muse-like inspiration, had moved from East Yorkshire to Brighton to attend university there. This girl was Lisa Rosenberg who, as long-time afficionados of my music will probably be aware, I'd fallen for in a big way during Be Bop Deluxe's earliest days, when the band first played at The Duke Of Cumberland pub in North Ferriby near Hull, around 1973. It was one of those trancendental affairs that change one's entire outlook... Lisa and I shared a sweet, but all too brief, romantic relationship that survived just12 months or so... I was married to my first wife, (Shirley), at that time, though the marriage was not a happy one. (All my fault really, too young to handle it, too wrapped up in music to pack it in and tow the line, too ambitious to be the nine-to-five husband that Shirley wanted. I'm neither ashamed nor proud of that time, it happened and I did my best, which wasn't particularly good enough.) Anyway, The Duke Of Cumberland gigs provided Lisa and I with an opportunity to be together, albeit fleetingly. (She lived near North Ferriby in the somewhat upper-class village of Kirkella.) In between Be Bop's three sets per gig we would moon and spoon and pour out our hearts to each other in the Duke's rear garden, or on a bench in Coronation Gardens by the village crossroads, or down by the side of the river Humber in North Ferriby, watching the boats drift by on the rising tide, listening to the brass bell on the sand bank warning buoy gently toll, this accompanied by the more distant bells of North Ferriby's church. The band usually had to come looking for me to drag me back on stage for the next set. I could have remained by her side, looking into her eyes all night, music forgotten. In between these monthly gigs at 'The Duke' we would write letters of longing to each other... Lisa sent hers to me at my place of work as our relationship might have been discovered if she'd sent them to my home. At that time I still had a day job with the West Riding County Council's supply department. For my sins, which were many but generally innocent, I was a Local Government Officer. I hated the job... but how easily we are diverted from our dreams. It seemed that this was all that was available to me. And in truth, it was. I doodled guitars and song lyrics on scrap paper whilst sitting at my desk in the office, much as I had when I was at school. The idea of making a living from music seemed way beyond my reach. But I lived for those few gigs the band could get back then. During that time, I wrote floodgates of songs about Lisa and our melancholy, ecstatic romance... 'Teenage Archangel', 'Axe Victim', and 'Love Is Swift Arrows' being the earliest. I was totally transformed by the depth of my feelings for her. Eventually, Lisa moved away from Hull to take up her law studies in Brighton and I wasn't to see her again until my first concert there, quite some time later. I can still recall the surprise and tender nervousness I felt when she came backstage to say hello to me once more, at the Brighton gig in the 'seventies. Be Bop's professional career had started to gain momentum and I had changed the line up from the original one that had played at 'The Duke'. I was thrilled, pleased, flattered, devastated, shaking like a leaf to see Lisa again. And proud of her too. I remember introducing her to Simon and Andy and Charlie, who, unlike the original band, hadn't been witness to our earlier, aching love affair. I was like: 'this is the girl who inspired me to write those songs... Now you know why!' The impression she'd made on my life had been profound. A year later, Be Bop Deluxe played in Brighton one more time and another member of the band's road crew told me that Lisa was in the audience again and that she had asked him if she could come backstage to say hello to me. But this time, my second wife Janice Monks was with me and Jan, who knew all about my old flame, said 'no way!' I can't really blame her for that as she knew exactly how besotted I was with Lisa. So I reluctantly asked the roadie to make an excuse, and not allow Lisa backstage, even though I desperately wanted to see her. I fretted about the situation for months afterwards... nay, years. I guess I've always been, (as must be obvious to those who have gone beneath the surface of my songs), an incurable romantic. Still am, by the way, and damn the consequences. The heart has its reasons. So, Brighton revisited, but now it's the 21st Century, 30 years later and Lisa's faint ghost glows soft in the ever darkening rooms of my memory. But still there, still there, never completely vanquished... First day of rehearsals with Harold:- Now I finally get to hear the two pieces he's prepared for us to play together. I was expecting akward keys for the guitar but the first piece apparently starts in E minor. A moment's relief. Then it shifts to something less comfortable, a key that denies me the safe harbour of open strings. Not beyond my reach though, with a little thought and telepathy. The second piece is in a slightly trickier, key... C-sharp or B-flat, can't recall which now. I jotted it down in a notebook, then forgot about it. Harold skims through each composition with me, he on piano, me on acoustic guitar. All quite naked and vulnerable. He steers me away from going over the pieces too many times. In fact we hardly go into them in any fine detail at all. And this is the first time I've heard them. I do, however, presume to understand his approach... Perhaps this is just Harold's strategy to keep an edge to my performance, to stop it from becoming too slick, too busy The less I know, the more careful, sparingly and thoughtfully I'll play. Scary for me but, obviously, Harold must feel confident that I can provide a spontaneous response to the music. I feel a nano-byte more confident than I did on the train journey down from Yorkshire... but only just. A pleasant meal at a Thai restaurant that evening, with Harold, Guy Morley, (the show's organiser), Amanda, visual artist Russell Mills, (who has designed the stage sets and lighting scheme for the concert), Steve Jansen, (gong and drums for the second half of the concert), and Theo Travis, (flute) I immediately feel comfortable around Theo who is unassuming and straightforward..but gifted. Russell too... he's a lovely chap whose humour belies his tremendous talent as a visual artist. I love being around people of this calibre, even if I do genereally feel as inferior as hell. Next day, after more sleeplessness, we rehearse again, this time with monitors and PA system. Robin Guthrie arrives from his base in France and sets up a lap-top processed guitar. Robin is a lovely guy too. Everyone's lovely. Harold decides I should play on the number he's performing with John Foxx as well as the two pieces Harold and I are doing together. He then adds one more, extra piece for John and I to play with him. So now I'm to take part in four numbers during the first half. Wow! I'm not complaining at all, in fact I'm thrilled and flattered... but I'm also terrified. Another meal with everyone that evening at a restaurant close by the Dome, right next door to a theatre that advertises, on a banner hung outside the theatre's foyer, a production called 'Julia Pastrana, The Ugliest Woman In The World'. The banner next to this one carries the qualifing message: 'Performed In Total Darkness...' I'd told Hal about these banners earlier in the day... I thought their message was hilarious. The idea that the central character was so physically awful to contemplate, so dangerously ugly that the show had to be performed in total darkness, seemed absurdly and surreally funny. More wine back at the Hotel. I'm flagging, finding it hard to concentrate. Another night of hotel room noise with only three hours sleep and then it's sound-check and band rehearsal time. A busy day as we have to work on the long group improvisation that will fill most of the second half of the concert. John Foxx, Harold and I run through the trio vignettes that we are to perform, but not my own duos with Harold. Harold says we don't need to do these, that we have them down fine. I, on the other hand, can't even remember what keys they're in. John sings some very lovely, semi-operatic, sort of gregorian chant style vocals, processed through various vocoder/harmoniser effects. I play some half-reversed guitar chimes under Harold's piano arpeggios, trying to stay out of the way of the top line as much as possible. It seems to work. John is a really nice guy too and I'm pleased to be part of his performance, minimal as my contribution to it is. Jah Wobble arrives from his gig in Paris. I've previously only met Jah once, in Leeds, when he'd involved Harold in his 'Solaris' band project. (This was a few years ago and Harold had invited me along to see the concert.) I didn't really have time to get the measure of him then. Now, I spot him in the 'rest lounge' area of the Brighton Dome where some of us are taking a refreshment break. He's just arrived from his Paris gig in time to run through our band improvisation piece. I go up and say hello and shake his hand. Within seconds I've decided I like him a lot. He has a good sense of humour and seems warm, genuine and down to earth. My kind of person. Harold, earlier in the day, has been rehearsing the string quartet pieces with The Balanescu Quartet who sound magnificent. The quartet's leader, Alex Balanescu, is to join us in our group improvisation. Another musician taking part in the improv section is an old friend of mine from 'up north', Steve Cobby, who will provide lap-top sounds. Steve, who arrives not long before Jah, is his usual, absolutely cheerful self, a valuable and positive force. It's good to see him again. We finally get to run through the group improvisation. Rough and not really ready but Harold seems fine with it all. Some technical problems:- noisy buzzes due to earth loops and lighting interference, but... the tech guys seem to sort it out. I've got Pete Harwood and Dave Standeven with me, not just to look after my gear, but to help out with the other player's equipment too, which they willingly do. Robin has been suffering some strange noises, clicks and pops through his own system. Perhaps part of the overall electrical oddness that envelops us and our equipment. Everyone lends a hand where needed. A supportive atmosphere. I ask Harold if we should run through our duo pieces one more time. He says we don't need to as we're cool. I swallow hard and hope that I'll be cool enough to come up with the right notes. The concert itself is a bit of a blur: I'm feeling the negative results of my lack of sleep and my nervousness has really kicked in. We all sit in the wings to watch the Balanescu Quartet perform Harold's string quartets. Absolutely beautiful... A crowning achievement, I think. Then Theo takes the stage with Harold and they play together, a lovely, poignant performance. Theo negotiating his parts with skill and insight. I reflect on the fact that it will be good to hear Harold's music in all these different contexts, with such a variety of textures... strings, wind instruments, guitars, voice, piano, keyboards, laptop, percussion, bass... The audience really seem to be appreciating it too. Their concentration is tangible. Then it's my turn... I walk onto the stage, Pete hands me my acoustic guitar and I perch on a stool next to Harold's piano, trying to remember how the pieces fit together. Harold glances across at me, we nod to each other and off we go... like a dream, my hands moving of their own accord, the audience fading away, the music spinning its spell around us, binding us together. Just like at the first days rehearsal, I feel exposed, naked to some degree, with just acoustic guitar and grand piano, and so much space in the music itself... nowhere to hide. But things seems to gel, the guitar and piano blend sounds good from where I'm sitting. There's a tenderness to some sections of the two pieces that feels sweet and fine. I'm enjoying it tremendously, despite my nerves. Harold looks like he's enjoying it too. I hope that he is. Then a switch to electric guitar, (my Gus 'Orphee' custom), as John Foxx joins us to sing beautifully, his voice transformed by harmonisers and vocoders. I take no chances, laying right back and allowing John space to do his thing. It all seems to work wonderfully. Then I'm off stage, relieved about the way that things have gone so far. Glad that I didn't keel over from lack of sleep... I go back to the seats in the wings to observe Harold's solo section, he alone at the piano. What a wonderful touch he has. I wrote to him earlier this week and said: '... your solo piano pieces, so perfectly judged and executed. That business about you having no pianistic technique is utter tosh. You have fabulous technique... I have only to hear you play a single note to realise that. Your touch doesn't so much 'make' the note as 'unveil' it. Your fingers point to the invisible and it appears, singing... ' After Harold's solo performance, the interval, a quick glass of wine to steady my nerves, then Part Two. This begins with Steve Jansen performing a five minute version of Harold's solo gong piece, 'Lirio'. Steve brings forth different tones and textures from the gong using mallets, varying the amount of of attack and playing different areas of the gong's surface... it's a deceptively tricky piece to make work, and Steve executes it brilliantly. Then Robin Guthrie takes over from Steve with an ambient, delayed, looped wash of chorused guitar chords, building the atmosphere for several minutes. He's then joined by Steve Cobby, who adds lap-top digital swoops, bleeps and phase shifts, gently distressing and punctuating the piece. Then Harold joins in on piano, then Theo on flute, then Alex on violin, then me on electric e-bow guitar, then Jah on bass guitar and Steve J. on drums, setting a rolling groove in 5/4 time, solid as a rock for everyone else to dance around. Various sound problems on stage though, it becomes increasingly difficult for me to pick out the other soloists. My eye proves more reliable than my ear for this task. I can see Alex energetically bowing his violin so I lay right back, stopping completely in some places, resisting the urge to push harder, doing my best to not impose my personal will on this thing. Let it roll Jah and Steve's groove is relentless, urgent, appropriate. An anchor for us all. Then, a high pitched microphonic squeal emerges from somewhere, feedback but not of the guitar variety. Definitely caused by a microphone. Someone will kill it soon, I think. They don't and it goes on, and on, squealing like a stuck pig, a youth club pa system run amok. Why hasn't someone located the cause and muted or adjusted the microphone? Harold seems to be indifferent to it. He sits, not playing, just digging the groove and enjoying the accumulating chaos. By now, I'm absolutely detached from it all, can't find a way into the music or think of anything worthwhile to add, so I do very little, other than just be there, adrift in the sonic ether. Then, suddenly, it's all over, the big machine grinds to a hesitant halt, the microphone feedback continuing for a few seconds before being finally silenced. We all move forward to bow before the audience. A good feeling but also a sad one for most of us: It's Harold's final farewell to live performance. But what a fabulous way to end a beautiful career. Harold's contribution to contemporary music remains unique and irreplacable. I'm humbled and honoured to have contributed a tiny something to this. After the show, lots of socialising, wine, hugs and exchanges of emails. General happy drunkeness. I'm feeling dizzy with it all. Richard and Adrian from Opium are there, as is Permanent Flame webmaster Chuck Bird and long time fan Eric Tilley who have flown over from America just to see the concert. I'm given gifts by the pair of them: Toy rockets and an autographed photo of a U.S.astronaut who shares my name. Whatever fog I've been inhabiting these last few days becomes even foggier, but with sparks and flashes of electric colour, warm smiles and feelings of empathy. And all I've consumed is wine and music! Emi and I get to bed sometime after 4am. Up early on Sunday morning to catch the train to London. Before leaving, we grab breakfast and I grab some photo's of Brighton's seafront. That pedestrian crossing. Then a taxi to the station and a coffee on the platform before departing for London. Upon arrival in the big city, Emi goes down to Surrey to attend one of her Buddhist meetings, whilst I stagger on alone, like some hung-over, sleepless zombie, along the South Bank, weaving my weary way to the Thames Modern gallery where I treat myself to a solitary lunch and a video of Lotte Reiniger's 'The Adventures Of Prince Achmed'. An exquisite, 1926 animated feature film that I recall seeing on tv when I was a very young boy. Then an afternoon of obscure bookshops and window shopping before I meet Emi for dinner at Trader Vic's bar/restaurant in Park Lane, prior to catching the late train back to Yorkshire. We arrive home just before midnight... exhausted but happy. Since then, it's been a game of catch up. Tons of emails to deal with, some tweaks to the design of the Carlsbro Nelsonic Deluxe amp that is soon to go into production, website postings to attend to, this that and the other... including this diary entry. Busy as ever. None of it means much. All of it means everything. This is what I do, for what it's worth. Rosewood out now. Finished copies sounding and looking good. Not pop music but not beyond understanding. It's a heartfelt album, all the way. Well, that's one way of rationalising it. But does it need to be rationalised at all? Of course not. It's what it is. Nothing more to say about it than that. Other than an outpouring of joy. Now: New technical breaks and breakdowns in my studio. My stand-alone cd burner hardware has developed a fault and needs repairing. As a result, I'm currently unable to burn cds of my home mixes until it's fixed. When will this be? Knowing my form, someway down the line from here. Also, my Line 6 Vetta 2 combo amplifier returned from Brighton damaged... the master volume control broken off, a snapped spindle. (Probably happened in the van.) The amp will need to go back to Line 6 for a new volume pot, spindle and control knob fitting. These are distractions I could do without. I really need to be working on the new songs for my autumn tour, recording a new album to release at that time too. Plus I need to shoot new video footage to create a stage backdrop video. And design a tour programme, t-shirt etc. There's also several Dreamsville website things to deal with, more design work to complete for Carlsbro, the Nelsonica fan convention to try and pull together... No time to rest, as usual. Re Nelsonica: The venue I'd hoped to hire for this year's convention turned out to be horrendously expensive. I would have been looking at well over £8,000 plus to use the rooms I had in mind. It would have been a very nice venue, with comfortable facilities, but, it was way outside the budget. I'm now looking at an alternative venue and awaiting prices but... it may be that I have to rely on the old Duke Of Cumberland again this year... we'll see. If that proves the case, I'll research a better venue for next year's convention instead. That way I'll have more time to check out different options. With the workload I've had so far this year, plus the two Rosewood albums, the urgent need to build a new website, etc, etc, my convention plans have become somewhat last-minute. Hopefully, I can pull something together, even at this late stage. I'm still aiming at the end of October. Fingers crossed. Had an email from Matt Howarth, enquiring about the music for our Neon Cynic project. I've not sent him a CDr of the music I've created so far. I meant to and should have done this ages ago. I'll try to get something off to him this coming week. He's apparently finished all the visuals and has coloured the entire comicbook novel. The only thing that's needed now is my accompanying music. Here at home, (on the 'domestic' front...) these last three days, we've had two of Emi's friends from Japan visiting us. I've been driving them around the Yorkshire tourist spots. Howarth yesterday... (adventures in Bronte land), and today we're off to Whitby. The intention is to introduce them to 'The White Horse And Griffin' and its seafood delights... if I can drag myself away from this diary and actually get dressed, that is. Must hurry It's a bank holiday weekend and the roads will be a nightmare. Caravans, pensioners, 'recreational' vehicles, 'people carriers' full of screaming kids, whimpering dogs and snarling husbands. The usual highway of life. Luckily, I know some back roads and scenic routes. Top of page William's Study (Diary Of A Hyperdreamer) May 2005 Feb Mar Apr Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Dec 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2013

I Hear Electricity/Kiss You Slow Free download single Click image for cover Artwork Special FREE download single - Released Dec 2008. A-Side: I HEAR ELECTRICITY (The Panic In The World Universal Chord Shifter With Apache Overtones). From the album 'Fancy Planets' B-Side: KISS YOU SLOW From the album 'The Dream Transmission Pavilion' Written, performed, recorded and produced by Bill Nelson. All rights Bill Nelson 2008.

(It's Not Me) Talking single - 1981 A Flock of Seagulls Production/Contribution Menu Future Past BILL: Producer Production/Contribution Menu Future Past

Sex-Psyche-Etc Bill Nelson ep - 29 June 1985 Singles Menu Future Past TRACKS: A) Sex, Psyche, Etcetera B1) Several Famous Orchestras B2) Who He Is ORIGINALLY: The three tracks on this release were non-album tracks at the time, but the A-side was eventually included on the album Iconography (1986). NOTES: Sex, Psyche, Etc is a 12" single issued on Cocteau Records, and was the first release to use the "Orchestra Arcana" moniker. Being under contract with CBS/Portrait, Nelson was prevented from releasing material on Cocteau, and so devised this pseudonym to get around the issue. The first appearance of the track "Sex, Psyche, Etcetera" was actually on a cover-mount cassette that came with Electronic Soundmaker and Music Maker magazine (Issue 7) in April 1985, before appearing a one month later on the 12" single, and then on the Iconography album in 1986. PAST RELEASES: Iconography was reissued on CD (Enigma, 1989) with no bonus cuts, but the two b-sides were included on the 2CD collection of all the Orchestra Arcana material on The Hermetic Jukebox (Fabled Quixote, 2003). CURRENT AVAILABILITY: Currently out of print, but a ll 3 tracks from the 12" will be made available when Iconography receives its Bandcamp digital release. Singles Menu Future Past

Acquitted By Mirrors - Issue Nine - Published April 1984 Back to Top

Songs For Ghosts More Listening Notes Go to Album Listening Notes to accompany the album... These notes are as they were presented by Bill at the CD launch party and as such, do not include ALL of the album tracks and are not in the sequence that they appear on the album. Songs For Ghosts by Bill Nelson General introduction: You may wonder why I chose to call this double album, 'Songs For Ghosts.' Ghosts, it seems to me, materialise, flicker and fade, changing shape, adapting to different forms and perceptions, never quite fixed, foggy and vague and yet, somehow hovering on the edge of reality, of solidity. These songs were created in a mood not far distant from such nebulous ideas. Recorded almost at the very instant that they occurred to me, and with virtually no polishing, they are what they are, a fusion of several styles, pop but not pop, rock but not rock, noise and silence, a musical equivalent of the overlapping dialogue in an Orson Welles movie. The original intention was to make the album sound like a whisper from another world, but that world turned out to be somewhat noisy, almost chaotic, but it did have its moments of quiet. Inevitably, concepts start out one way and end up another. Some albums are impossible to steer, they simply take their creator along for the ride, a kind of mystery tour. And that, in essence, is what happened with 'Songs For Ghosts.' I'm not much wiser as to what the album means. This is an attempt to explain something about the selection of tracks you're about to hear, but I can't guarantee that my comments will enlighten you much more than your own interpretation. But that's all part of the game... Having recorded so many albums throughout my career, you could be forgiven for thinking that I've said all that is possible for me to say. But the truth is, I feel as if I haven't yet got to the core of what I need to say, to the essential essence of my thoughts about life and the world we inhabit. Whether that means anything to anyone else is possibly of little interest, but it's what I hang on to. Music is, in a sense, my life raft and a process of discovery. So, here we go… I've chosen to begin this selection with what are actually the first three tracks on Disc 1. This first track is titled 'A Thousand, Thousand Ghosts.' It's an instrumental piece featuring piano, guitar, e-bow and sampled voices and quietly sets the scene. The next track is quite a contrast from the previous. Its title is 'Ever The Dreamer' and it takes the form of a rock ballad with big drums, a wall of electric and acoustic guitars, a gritty Hammond organ and cello/string breaks. The lyrics conclude "There are no simple answers to this complicated process, there are no simple answers to this complicated life..." Next up is a track with the title, 'Beyond The Sun.' It's a melancholy, reflective song featuring filtered electro-percussion, echoing guitars and Indian flavoured strings. The lyrics contain the words, "There's a silence in the meadow, there's a silence in the trees, there's a whisper in the morning that brings me to my knees..." And: "Everyone wants to live, no one wants to die, everyone wants to give, everyone tries to fly..." As I mentioned, those first three tracks are the first three pieces on Disc 1, which, incidentally, is titled 'The Curious King Of Dreams.' The next piece I've chosen for you to hear comes from Disc 2. Disc 2 has the title 'Tower Of Jewels' and this track from that disc is titled 'Travelling In Mind.' Now, whilst the title might suggest someone thinking about making a journey, its meaning is more concerned with travelling in one's imagination, a mind trip rather than a physical one. It's a mid-tempo rocker with a psychedelic blues guitar riff under the verses, but changes to a more pop-oriented feel on the choruses with a string orchestra entering on the bridge. The lyrics state: "Time is a loop my friend and I can't see the start or end of it..." The next track, also from Disc 2, is titled 'Music From Another Star.' This is a slow tempo ballad with an orchestral introduction but develops with guitars, a synthetic choir and a touch of synth and classical Harp. The lyric mentions, "The raising of a red guitar," which is a reference to my early guitar heroes, 'The Shadows'. Way back in the early 1960s, they would raise their red Fender Stratocasters skyward on certain sections of their instrumentals to add a visual element. Now we come to a track titled 'The Almost Invisible Man,' taken from Disc 1. I'm not sure whether this refers to an invisibility serum that didn't quite work or to the fact that I don't have a publicity agent to keep my work more visible in the rock magazines! However… It's a minor key romp with a change to a major key in the choruses. Lots of guitar, of course, but touches of old-school arpeggiated synth evoking the old Casio synth sounds I used in the 1980s. This next track also comes from Disc 1, it's a poppy little thing titled 'Zodiac.' The Zodiac in question isn't anything to do with astrology but is a reference to the dark blue Ford Zodiac that my father owned in the 1960s and which he was good enough to let me drive, once I'd passed my driving test. I used to wash the car and polish its chrome for him every Sunday afternoon, always with its radio on so I could listen to John Peel's programme. The song has a sort of African 'Hi-Life' rhythm pattern and a couple of heavy guitar breaks. The lyrics state: "Here on Earth is where it's at, driving my father's Zodiac, I'm on the road like Kerouac, holding true to the old straight track." Back to Disc 2 now for a song titled 'Illumination' with the subtitle '(Fascination In Blue).' Lots of guitar again, an abstract middle section and the lyric, "Photographic memory, figures caught in flash..." Industrial quantities of reverb on this one, enough to sink a battleship! It has a looped coda with reversed guitars. The next track also comes from Disc 2 and is an instrumental titled 'The Future Life.' It features sampled 'found' voices and a range of electric guitar tones and some sweet synth touches. The coda contains an amusing phrase which I'll leave for you to spot! A return to Disc 1 now for one of my personal favourites from the album. Titled 'Astrophysical,' it's a jazzy vocal track with electronic percussion, clean guitar chords with unusual progressions, synths and upright acoustic bass. Semi-abstract in its form, the vocals have something of an 'Annie Ross' inflection, (for those of you who know about jazz vocalists,) but with twists and turns of my own. It's not jazz in the strictest sense, of course, but definitely sits more in the jazz than rock camp. Some nicely strange noises at the end. Still on Disc 1, here's a track titled 'Move Through This World.' A poppy number with a message of hope, advocating an easy, smooth and as non-confrontational a passage through life as possible. It includes the lyric, "Do no harm, leave no trace, move through this world with quiet grace..." A nice string section bridge in the middle. Another from Disc 1. This one is titled 'Heaven Lights It's Lamps.' In some ways it's a grand ballad with psychedelic overtones, particularly in the coda which features free-wheeling guitars and improvised changes. It evokes a memory I have of standing on a hill above a town at night. The town has its street lamps lit, the houses below exude a warm yellow glow that speaks of home and security, whilst far above, in the cold night sky, stars twinkle and gleam, as if heaven has lamps to illuminate our lives on Earth. The next track comes from Disc 2. It's title is 'Tower Of Jewels.' The lyric states: "We live in a tower of jewels, no fools are we." In some ways the tower of jewels refers to the Buddhist notion of a 'jewel' teaching, a shining, guiding light. But perhaps we don't realise it in a conscious sense, and become distracted. Ultimately though, as the lyrics suggest, all is well as our own spiritual bodies are the 'tower of jewels' refered to in the song. Layers of guitar and orchestral textures, and, for those with ears to hear, echoes of a Be Bop Deluxe riff here and there. The last track from this brief selection now. The double album contains 28 tracks and we're only halfway through that number, so there are lots more songs for you to discover and hopefully enjoy when you have the time to expolore the full range of the album. But, for now, I've selected an instrumental to close. It comes from Disc 2 and is titled 'His Astral Form.' It features 'found voices' and a lot of electric guitar. There is much, much more for you to hear from 'Songs For Ghosts,' but for now, I hope this selection has aroused your interest. Songs For Ghosts, released October 2017 as a limited edition pressing of 650 CDs. More Listening Notes Go to Album

At The BBC 1974 - 1978 box set - 30 September 2013 Be Bop Deluxe Collections Menu Future Past TRACKS: CD1 John Peel Session, May 1974 01) Third Floor Heaven 02) Adventures In A Yorkshire Landscape 03) Mill Street Junction 04) 15th Of July John Peel Session, March 1975 05) Maid In Heaven 06) Stage Whispers 07) Sister Seagull 08) Lights In Concert, January 1976 09) Life In The Air Age 10) Sister Seagull 11) Ships In The Night 12) Maid In Heaven 13) Third Floor Heaven 14) Blazing Apostles CD2 In Concert, October 1976 01) Maid In Heaven 02) Bring Back The Spark 03) Kiss Of Light 04) Adventures In A Yorkshire Landscape 05) Fair Exchange 06) Ships In The Night 07) Twilight Capers 08) Modern Music (Medley) 09) Blazing Apostles CD3 John Peel Session, January 1977 01) Mill Street Junction 02) Adventures In A Yorkshire Landscape 03) Still Shining In Concert, January 1978 04) New Precision 05) Superenigmatix 06) Possession 07) Dangerous Stranger 08) Islands Of The Dead 09) Panic In The World 10) Lovers Are Mortal 11) Love In Flames 12) Blazing Apostles John Peel Session, January 1978 13) Superenigmatix 14) Panic In The World 15) Possession 16) Love In Flames DVD Old Grey Whistle Test, July 1975 01) Maid In Heaven 02) Sister Seagull Old Grey Whistle Test, January 1976 03) Fair Exchange 04) Ships In The Night Old Grey Whistle Test, November 1976 05) Forbidden Lovers 06) Down On Terminal Street Sight And Sound In Concert, February 1978 07) New Precision 08) Superenigmatix 09) Possession 10) Dangerous Stranger 11) Islands Of The Dead 12) Lovers Are Mortal 13) Panic In The World NOTES: A 3CD + DVD box set which very nicely brings together most of the band's BBC recordings for the John Peel show, In Concert, and The Old Grey Whistle Test. The set comes with a nicely illustrated if short booklet with sleeve notes from Nelson and recording information for each session or show. Be Bop Deluxe's BBC output had appeared on a number of previous releases (see Past Releases below), but this was the most comprehensive collection that had appeared officially, and is unlikely to be surpassed or supplemented in future. Notable inclusions on this set are the previously unreleased John Peel Session from January 1977; the two previously unreleased tracks from the January 1978 John Peel Session; the three previously unreleased tracks from the Sight and Sound In Concert recording from February 1978 (including two tracks that were never broadcast); and the thirteen tracks from the OGWT /Sight and Sound performances from 1975, 1976 and 1978, twelve of which were previously unreleased. There are also five tracks that prior to the appearance of this box set were only available as digital downloads. The only confirmed omissions (using Ken Garner's In Session Tonight book as reference) are the band's 1973 session for John Peel, which is assumed to be lost, and another John Peel Session from 1976 that was included on the Tramcar to Tomorrow CD in 1998. PAST RELEASES: More than 50% of the material presented in this box set had appeared on previous releases on either CD or as digital downloads, but much of this was long out of print by the time At the BBC 1974-1978 was released. The majority of the In Concert/Sight and Sound material had already appeared up to three times: on the Radioland CD (from 1994), its remastered equivalent Tremulous Antennae CD (from 2002), and the two In Concert downloads (from 2010), thus making these past releases completely redundant. Of the John Peel Session material, all but five tracks had appeared either on the Tramcar to Tomorrow CD issued in 1998, or the John Peel Session download (from 2010), but the former contains exclusive material in the form of the 1976 Peel Session omitted from this box set. CURRENT AVAILABILITY: Currently out of print, but the included material may appear as part of Cherry Red's re-issue program. Collections Menu Future Past

Stranger Things Have Happened single - 1985 Yukihiro Takahashi Production/Contribution Menu Future Past NOTES: B1) Yukihiro Takahashi - "Bounds of Reason, Bounds of Love". Bill: Guitar, Bass, Keyboard, Vocals and Co-writer. B2) Bill Nelson - "Metaphysical Jerks", including Mick Karn on bass. Production/Contribution Menu Future Past

Discography Menu Compilation Appearances (containing tracks that were exclusive upon their release) The following compilations do not link to full entries yet...They will soon. Fairview @ 50 2017 CD/DVD set Sound On Sound Magazine: 20th Anniversary Bonus Disc 2005 DVD Voiceprint: Sampler 2002 2002 album Echoes Living Room Concerts: Volume 2 1996 album All Saints Calling 1994 album The Mellotron Album - Rime Of The Ancient Sampler 1993 album Heaven And Hell: Volume 2 - A Tribute To The Velvet Underground 1991 album Cocteau Signature Tunes 1986 album From Brussels With Love 1980 album Discography Menu

Transcorder retrospective 2CD collection - 18 December 2020 Bill Nelson Collections Menu Future Past Purchase this download DISC ONE TRACKS: 01) Sleepcycle (from Cocteau Club EP#1, 1982) 02) Konny Buys A Kodak (from Cocteau Club EP#1, 1982) 03) When The Birds Return (from Cocteau Club EP#1, 1982) 04) The Beat That Can't Go Wrong Today (from Cocteau Club EP#1, 1982) 05) King Of The Cowboys (from Cocteau Club EP#2, 1982) 06) Shadowland (from Cocteau Club EP#2 , 1982) 07) Carnival (from Cocteau Club EP#2 , 1982) 08) Spring (from Cocteau Club EP#2 , 1982) 09) Dancing On A Knife's Edge (from Cocteau Club EP#3 , 1983) 10) Indiscretion (from Cocteau Club EP#3 , 1983 ) 11) Contemplation (from Cocteau Club EP#3 , 1983 ) 12) The World And His Wife (from Cocteau Club EP#4 , 1983 ) 13) Dream Car Romantics (In Death's Garage Antics) (from Cocteau Club EP#4 , 1983 ) 14) Dancing Music (from Cocteau Club EP#4 , 1983 ) 15) Hard Facts From The Fiction Department (from Cocteau Club EP#5 , 1984 ) 16) Daily Bells (from Cocteau Club EP#5 , 1984 ) 17) Rhythm Unit (from Cocteau Club EP#5 , 1984 ) 18) Junc-Sculpture (from Cocteau Club EP#5 , 1984 ) DISC TWO TRACKS: 01) The Strangest Things, The Strangest Times (from Cocteau Club EP#6 , 1984 ) 02) Phantom Gardens (from Cocteau Club EP#6 , 1984 ) 03) French Promenade (from Cocteau Club EP#6 , 1984 ) 04) Golden Mile (from Cocteau Club EP#6 , 1984 ) 05) West-Deep (from Cocteau Club EP#6 , 1984 ) 06) Threnodia (from Cocteau Club EP#6 , 1984 ) 07) A Dream Fulfilled (from Cocteau Club EP#7 , 1986 ) 08) Familiar Spirit (from Cocteau Club EP#7 , 1986 ) 09) Palais Des Marine (from Cocteau Club EP#7 , 1986 ) 10) Letter To Jacques Maritain (from Cocteau Club EP#7 , 1986 ) 11) Villefranche Interior (from Cocteau Club EP#7 , 1986 ) Bonus Tracks 12) Tony Goes To Tokyo (And Rides The Bullet Train) (credited to Revox Cadets, Cocteau 7” B-side, 1981) 13) Highway 2000 ( credited to Revox Cadets, from Cocteau Signature Tunes LP, 1986) 14) Dancing In The Wind (from Touch And Glow, 7" B-side, 1982) 15) Get Out Of That Hole (from Life in Your Hands, 12” single, 1989) 16) My Dream Demon (from Life in Your Hands , 12” single, 1989) 17) Try (previously unreleased) 18) The Jitters (previously unreleased) 19) Roto-Scope (previously unreleased) 20) Marine Drive (previously unreleased) 21) Dark Horse (previously unreleased) ALBUM NOTES: Transcorder is a 39 track 2CD compilation album of songs and instrumentals issued on the Sonoluxe label in a limited edition of 1000 copies. The album was compiled by Jon Wallinger and brings together all 29 tracks issued through the Cocteau Club on the series of exclusive fan club EPs which were originally released between 1982 and 1986. Full details of these EPs can be found in the Singles section of the Discography . In addition, Transcorder contains a number of singles-only tracks, one past compilation exclusive recording and five previously unreleased tracks recorded in 1984/5 from the so-called “PCM-F1 Tapes”. 19 of the 34 previously released tracks contained on Transcorder are appearing on CD for the first time as well as being back in print for the first time since their initial release back in the 1980s. 7 of the 15 tracks that have previously appeared on CD have been out of print since 1989 with 4 of the 8 tracks currently in print only being available as downloads. The material presented on Transcorder stems from a number of sources including some tracks from master tapes with others taken from the copies of the original vinyl releases. Eddie McSheffrey, Martin Bostock and John Spence have worked alongside Jon Wallinger on the provision and selection of the best sources available and John Spence has ensured that any limitations of the source material have been addressed through his skilled use of computer software. The album was mastered at Fairview Studios by John Spence in early November 2020 with artwork created by Martin Bostock working with images taken from the Acquitted By Mirrors club magazines. Pre-orders for Transcorder were announced by Burning Shed on 17th November 2020. Transcorder sold out in June 2022. CURRENT AVAILABILITY: Available to purchase as a digital download here in the Dreamsville Store . PAST RELEASES: DISC ONE Tracks 2 and 3 were later included on the The Two Fold Aspect of Everything (Cocteau, 1985 (2LP) and Cocteau, 1986 (CD)) and the 2CD US reissue of the same album, all three sources being long out of print. Track 4 was later included both on the US 2CD edition of The Two Fold Aspect of Everything (Enigma, 1989) and the US CD version of The Love That Whirls (Enigma, 1989) both sources being long out of print. Tracks 9, 10 and 11 were later included on the 'bonus disc' of The Practice of Everyday Life (2011). Although out of print in physical form, this box set is available as a digital download via major online retailers. Track 12 was released on the 1989 Enigma US CD release of Quit Dreaming And Get On The Beam. Track 15 was later included on the 7" and 12" releases of the Acceleration single and The Two Fold Aspect of Everything compilation (Cocteau, 1985 (2LP) and Cocteau, 1986 (CD), all of which are out of print) and also appeared as a bonus track on the 2005 remastered CD issue of Chimera , which is out of print in physical form but available as a download. Track 16 was later included on the US 2CD version of The Two Fold Aspect of Everything compilation (Enigma 1989, out of print). DISC TWO Track 1 was later included on The Strangest Things CD compilation (Enigma, 1989, out of print). Tracks 2, 5, 6 and 11 were later included on Chance Encounters in the Garden of Lights album (Cocteau, 1987) which was reissued in 2017 and is available for purchase in the Dreamsville Store . Track 13 was previously exclusive to the Cocteau Records sampler album Signature Tunes (Cocteau, 1986, out of print). Track 14 was later available separately on Touch and Glow EP (Cocteau, 1983) and later again included on The Strangest Things CD compilation (Enigma, 1989, out of print). Collections Menu Future Past

Soluna Oriana Mick Karn appeal download track Click image for cover Artwork FREE download track - Released June 2010. SOLUNA ORIANA Currently unavailable on any album Ambient instrumental feauring e-bow guitar improvisation. This track is dedicated to the Mick Karn appeal. Written, performed, recorded and produced by Bill Nelson. All rights Bill Nelson 2010.

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2013 William's Study (Diary Of A Hyperdreamer) December 2010 Jan May Jun Sep Nov Wednesday 1st December 2010 -- 4:00 pm Heavy snow and freezing cold weather these last few days, the coldest November on record apparently. We've hardly ventured out due to extremely poor driving conditions. Our narrow country lane escapes the attention of the council's snow ploughs or gritting trucks, and driving Emiko's small hatchback along it from our home to the main road has proved hazardous. Had to get to the village post office late on Monday afternoon and even turning the car around in the back garden was tricky. Snow almost up to axle depth and a ten minute scraping frenzy to get all the frozen white stuff off the car's windows. This sort of weather looks set to continue. Today, (Wednesday), we've had a continuous blizzard since early morning. Only now, at 1:35pm as I write, has the sky cleared a little and the snow stopped, but not for long, I expect. It must be costing us a small fortune to keep the heating on in the house and the freezing cold at bay. I need to find someone to come and sweep the chimney, and mend our damaged wood burning stove so that we can back up the central heating with something a little hotter and slightly less expensive. The sore throat that threatened to turn into a cold last weekend has finally morphed into the real deal. I was awake much of last night feeling miserable...runny nose and sneezing. Feeling tired and weak today. Hoping it is just a cold and won't turn into flu or some nasty virus or other. The main topic of this diary entry is, inevitably, this year's Nelsonica fan convention and its successful completion last weekend. A relief to be able to slow down a little these next few days. After a week of intense rehearsals and various other last minute scrambles and panics to get everything in place, Nelsonica 10 opened in a blaze of technicolour and stereo sound. From the reaction of attendees on the Dreamsville Forum, it seems that everyone had a wonderful time. For me, as always, the event brings with it a certain amount of trepidation. It's impossible for me to just kick back and enjoy it as I'm always concerned that there will be enough content to keep people entertained, and also that the live concert sections will be the best we can offer under the circumstances. (A large events room in a hotel isn't always the ideal location in which to perform highly amplified music!) Nevertheless...this year, we presented the biggest and most ambitious Nelsonica ever. Because 2010 marked the 10th anniversary of the convention, I'd decided that Nelsonica should be a little bit 'grander' than usual, hence the decision to hold it over two days instead of one and to include three concert performances, (solo, trio and 7-piece band), instead of just my usual solo set. But, as always when coming up with ideas several months before an event, turning them into some sort of reality is quite another thing. It's very easy to underestimate just how much work might be involved. And it turned out that there was a LOT of hard work involved with this one! Most people are probably unaware of the finer points of putting Nelsonica together. The routine usually goes like this: Early in the year, I play around with various Nelsonica concepts to try and come up with a theme and title for the year's event. This process could go on for several days or a few weeks, depending on how quickly I arrive at a conclusion. Sometimes, even if I think I've got it right, it's best to wait and let it 'settle' to see if it really sticks or suddenly feels inappropriate and vapourises. Once the concept and title is decided I begin to search through various archives for possible visual images that might be adapted to the theme. In this year's case, the source material was found by my 'Real Men With Rayguns' partner, David Graham who searched the internet for suitable visual starting points. These are then adapted, altered and tweaked, text added and so on. Dave and I pass the images back and forth and I'll comment, add or suggest things where necessary. It's a quite unpredictable process, sometimes it comes together immediately, sometimes we have to chip away at it more slowly. This year's visuals were, I think, relatively straightforward as the title was a little less ambiguous than some other Nelsonicas. Sometimes, interpreting the title requires lateral thinking, coming at it from odd angles. (A Day Trip To Wah-Wah Galaxy' being one example. 'Secret Club For Members Only' and 'The Experimental Time Travellers Ball' being others.) Happily, this years 'Circus' theme gave us a very direct reference point so the process wasn't too laboured and we were soon discussing a stream of circus-related images that captured the slightly 'eccentric' feel that I hoped the title would suggest. Dave and I work together on our computers via the internet so it's perhaps a little more time-consuming to get to the finishing line than if we were sitting together at a desk in a design studio...but, whatever the method, the results speak for themselves and we've developed a terrific working relationship. Dave is always open to making changes and understands my approach to visuals very sympathetically. Fairly early in the year, a meeting of the Nelsonica team and myself is arranged to work out a rough outline of what the event might include. This year, of course, I proposed the band concert plus Orchestra Futura trio and solo concerts and an expanded two day time scale. The special limited edition DVD, as well as the usual Nelsonica cd, were also part of the plan, as was the exhibition of some of my guitar collection and the inclusion of live-on-stage interviews. Then various tasks are allocated to team members. The live musical performances obviously are my main responsibility and I have to decide the content of these. Also, I have to create the Nelsonica album and original artwork for the auction, etc. Dave continues to provide visual counterpoint as the year progresses, adding flyers to the website and adapting our core designs to things such as posters and wall panels that will be used on the day. These are beautifully printed for us by team member Ian C and always look absolutely stunning when put in place at the event. The Nelsonica album then has to be written, recorded, mastered, designed and manufactured. The writing and recording can occupy a great deal of time, depending whether I'm happy with the material or not. Sometimes a good enough piece will emerge but it won't feel right in context with the other pieces...so it gets set aside and I begin again from scratch. Eventually, the convention album begins to take shape and Dave and I work together on the packaging design. Sometimes, the basic art for the album is in place before the album itself is completed. Often, the Nelsonica album simply 'mops up' any leftover tracks from the previous year's recordings, pieces that didn't quite fit on other album projects. But this year, the convention album was shaped around the event itself and therefore took longer to put together. (And, of course, before Nelsonica, I'd put together, and released, the 'Modern Moods For Mighty Atoms' album which did contain both 'left-over' material AND specially written material.) Also, as has now become traditional, a second, more 'major' album is created for simultaneous release alongside the Nelsonica one. This year it is the 'Fables And Dreamsongs' album. Again, the whole process of writing, recording, mastering, designing and manufacturing has to be gone through before we arrive at the end result. Sending off the finished master discs to the factory for manufacturing is overseen by Paul who acts as co-ordinator when it comes time to put the final album packages into physical production. Paul also took care of the pressing of this year's special DVD, (titled 'Picture House'), once I'd decided on its content and worked on the design with Dave. The key to the DVD artwork was a projector image which I'd adapted a few years back for possible use in my online diary or as a Dreamsville flyer. It had lain dormant but, whilst searching for a starting point, I'd found it again and it shouted out to be used. I filtered the colour of the image, tricked in a beam of projection light and sent it over to Dave who then began to work on the 'framing' of the image and the fonts for the text. I then had to write appropriate sleeve notes and go through the video pieces themselves to find images that I could turn into still frames for the 'filmstrips' that appear as part of the package's artwork. Paul then created a DVD menu page and wrote the digital codes for accessing the individual pieces on the master disk. We then checked that this worked before committing the finalised master DVD to the pressing plant for manufacture. Whilst all of the above listed activities were going on, I simultaneously adjusted and polished volume one of my autobiography. This actually meant that I had to completely re-write several sections of it to make proper use of more recently discovered information, a quite complex, time-consuming task. I also searched through extensive family archives to choose and caption over 80 photographs to include in the finished book. The job of getting the book's digital files ready for the printer was undertaken by Martin Bostock. Martin and I liaised over a few final details regarding text styles, size and costs and print quality, etc. Then the printing process itself began. Eventually, a batch of 500 was delivered to Martin but, upon opening the boxes, it was discovered that all the books were 'warped.' Martin complained to the printers who initially tried to escape responsibility by claiming it was nothing to do with them. Eventually though, they agreed to reprint the book. After a week or so, a second batch of books arrived...with exactly the same problem as the first batch. Completely unacceptable. We then decided to try a different printing company. The first company was asked to take back all the warped copies. According to the second print company, the problem lay in the poor quality paper that the first company had used for the book's cover. They assured us they could do a better job. We were now getting extremely close to the convention deadline and there was a distinct possibility that the books might not be ready in time. Luckily, the new printing company was on the ball and the books did arrive just in time for Nelsonica and, thank goodness, were printed and manufactured to a much higher standard. But it was touch and go for a while, not to mention costly and time consuming. The musical preparations for the live performance had been taking shape. I'd chosen material for all three sets and spent several weeks creating new backing tracks for my solo set and the Orchestra Futura set. These tracks were eventually mastered over at Fairview with John Spence but, at the last minute, I abandoned most of them and substituted other tracks along with four brand new, totally improvised trio pieces. Yes, a fair amount of time was spent recording new backing tracks but, although many of them were ultimately abandoned, they definitely will not be wasted. I fully intend to use them on an album of instrumentals next year. The band set also went through a couple of revisions, as did my solo set but Nelsonica Ten eventually ended up with approx thirty three individual pieces of live music across the three performance sets. A lot of music to master over a relatively short rehearsal time. (5 days in total but maybe four in real time as equipment had to be transported to the rehearsal space, and set up, then dismantled and moved from rehearsal room to venue.) Choosing the right material is never an instant thing...it's a drawn-out, involved process. I need to consider such things as the flow of key signatures from one piece to the next, tempo pacing, changes of atmosphere and so on. Also, (most importantly), the technical practicality of each piece is of prime concern, particularly when choosing the vocal numbers. The pacing of songs with regard to my voice requires that I take on board the physical need to warm up my voice a little at a time. My vocal range has changed through the years and I sometimes struggle with the earlier songs which were written when I was a young man in my twenties. My current 'mature' vocal range is far more suited to recent recordings, rather than than those long-ago 'boyish' vocals of the 1970's. Still...despite all these concerns and time-consuming attention to detail, the event itself was very well received by those who attended it. The musicians who graciously worked with me did the music proud and I'm very grateful for their help and the care that they brought to the task. The Orchestra Futura set was, for me, sublime. I love the idea of having no fixed map or template. We simply launched ourselves off a cliff into an indeterminate sky and went wherever the breeze carried us. Trust, faith, belief, letting go...whatever you want to call it. This is what, for me, Orchestra Futura has at its core. Simply 'being' is its 'reason for being.' The 'Gentleman Rocketeers' set, by comparison, was built on less mysterious foundations: rock 'n' pop and leather trousers! Simply get into the role and play the part. Loud guitar music and a couple of romantic ballads. During the set, I glanced round at Steve and Jon on their respective keyboards and saw that all was good! Nick Dew, (Be Bop's original drummer), who graciously consented to occupy the Gentleman Rocketeer's drum chair, is a lovely man who has always accepted my musical restlessness and, thankfully, never harboured any resentment when I had to re-shape the original Be Bop Deluxe line-up to comply with EMI Records' pressure after the first album, back in the '70s. Anyway, we had a ball! Weather on Day One of the convention became atrocious by the end of the evening. Emiko and I had a difficult time driving home on Friday night. At one point, I imagined us having to abandon the car and being forced to walk the last few miles through the blizzard. Luckily, we made it home without any mishap, though my nerves were somewhat frayed. Day Two was more physically tiring. In fact I felt weary even before I arrived at the venue. (And somewhat late due to weather and traffic conditions.) However, there were moments during my solo set when I was genuinely comfortable with the music and, I think, managed to pull a few white rabbits out of my battered old top hat. I'd chosen some of my own favourite solo pieces and enjoyed playing them for the Nelsonica attendees. The non-musical aspects of the convention were very well received too. The live-on-stage-interviews with John Leckie, Nick Dew and myself seemed to entertain and amuse the audience wonderfully. Even the almost three-hour meet n' greet, where I attempt to autograph various items, went reasonably smoothly apart from a surreal moment when I noticed blood dripping onto the table I was using to sign autographs. At the final rehearsal I'd accidentally hit myself in the mouth with the edge of my Fender Stratocaster as I was slipping its strap over my head. On Friday morning, I noticed in the mirror that a blood-blister had formed on my upper lip. During Saturday's meet n' greet session, I must have caught the blister with my hand and burst it, hence the sudden flow of blood. I had to apologise to the people waiting in the queue and dash off to apply tissues and cold water until the bleeding stopped, then resume my place at the signing table. People must have wondered what on earth was going on. As always, many fans generously brought along little gifts for me, and sometimes not so little ones! I soon had a couple of carrier bags crammed with goodies. This aspect of the meet 'n' greet session certainly eases me through the three hours it usually takes to share a few words with everyone! At the end of the day, I gave my closing speech, thanking all those members of the team who had given so generously of their time and talents. Then, to my great surprise (and pleasure,) I was presented with a very special gift from a number of American fans, some of whom were in attendance and some who were not able to be there. The gift? An absolutely fantastic robot, constructed from a guitar amp, a vintage radio and various other bits n' pieces. I'm still overwhelmed by this most fabulous and imaginative act of generosity. Such a thoughtful, kind gesture. Pictures of 'Victor,' (as I've titled him, due to his head being an RCA Victor radio,) accompany this diary. Those kind American fans can be assured that he will always be treasured by myself. And he seems quite at home in our snow-bound house! I'd like to mention the names of the people who collaborated to have Victor brought into being for me: Dar Shelton, Dave Fordyce, Dean Campbell, Dennis a.k.a.Wonder Toy, Gary In Merryland, Michael Cardwell, Perry Weissberg, Peter Coulombe, Phil Watkins, Radium Girl, Robert Galisa, Robert (Robbot) Schaad, Stephen Weis (Chromiumlad,) and Walt Richmond. Thanks are due to Jon Wallinger too who conspired with the above to get Victor over to the UK from the 'States. A plaque on Victor's back says: 'Dear Bill, this bot is an emissary from the New World: an automaton built especially for you to remind you of all your friends in faraway places.' Fantastic! After the presentation of the robot, I was given another lovely gift from the team members...a huge framed panel containing all ten Nelsonica album discs above a big photograph of the entire Nelsonica team with Emiko and myself sitting at the centre. All the team have signed this piece for me and it's a wonderful souvenir of ten years of the event. I was deeply touched by this gift and, once again, will treasure it. I must also mention Andy Newlove who stood in for my usual guitar tech Pete Harwood who wasn't available. Andy took on this complicated job at short notice and acquitted himself, (and thereby myself,) magnificently. I have a mind-numbingly complex guitar processing system but Andy figured everything out just fine. Also, I owe my thanks to the skills of Ian Thorpe and John Spence who, between them, guided the sounds from the stage to the audience's ears by the magic of the mixing desk. Sonic Wizards! Also nice to see Mike Robinson of Eastwood Guitars who had kindly donated a guitar for the star prize draw. I'd decorated this with a 'Sailor Bill' theme...made it into a kind of art object. It was won by long-time fan Derek Walklate and I was very pleased for him! Another special thank you is due to Stuart Gray, Nelsonica's star auctioneer, who every year entertains the audience with a highly amusing routine. He seems to be as talented a stand-up comedian as he is an auctioneer! (Though, sadly, I usually miss most of his performance due to being locked into the long meet n' greet session.) Nelsonica also supports the 'Sara's Hope Foundation' charity and this year the auction raised just over £1,000 for that cause. (I've also recorded a new song for the Foundation which will soon be available to download in return for a donation to this very worthwhile charity.) There were so many other people behind the scenes, all of them contributing to the fabulous two days that made up Nelsonica 10. There's a great team spirit about the whole thing, no egos, no grandstanding, just a broad commitment to putting on a great show for everyone who attends. But...Whether I can summon up the energy to continue with this annual event is, at this current point in time, not exactly certain. I do need to take some sort of break, ('though this is looking less likely as the days roll by). One way or another, I hope to continue to keep up the pace. As always, we'll see... All for now though. My cold is definitely worsening since I began to write this diary entry...and the snow is still falling. Looks like we'll be holed up here at home for a few more days yet. Time for some mulled wine, I think. ***** The photographs accompanying this diary entry are as follows:- 1 and 2: Views from Bill's home's windows showing the surrounding snowy landscape. 3, 4, 5 and 6: Victor The Robot enjoying the snow outside his new home. Top of page Tuesday 7th December 2010 -- 9:00 pm Just a brief entry. The weather continues to be extremely cold. The snow that fell during the early part of last week has hardly shifted...just become frozen and hard. Our garden resembles an ice-age swamp. Beneath the snow are frozen pools of water from weeks ago, water than never seems to drain during the winter months. An unyieldingly deep layer of snow on top of this means that we can't move the car forward to turn it around to get out...so we are forced to reverse out of the drive onto the lane, which itself is like polished glass at the moment. The refuse collection truck didn't turn up last week and so household waste is piling up. We have managed an occasional postal delivery but the postman treads very gingerly down the path to our door. Although the main roads into town have been cleared, (sort of), many of the pavements in the town centre are dangerously icy and it is essential to take care whilst shopping. Having said that, I've hardly been out of the house this week due to being ill with the virus mentioned in my previous diary entry. Today, though, cabin fever got the better of me and, despite feeling cold, weak and miserable, I accompanied Emiko into town where we had lunch at The Guy Fawkes Inn. Emi has a floral workshop at the Flower Guild this evening so we're skipping dinner and will just have a late, light supper when she returns. Today is an anniversary. My father passed away on the 7th of December 1976, (which was also a Tuesday). I was touring America at the time and was trapped in a snow-bound New York when the sad news that he was fading fast was relayed to me. I cancelled the remaining tour dates and caught the first available flight back to the UK, but Dad died before I even boarded the 'plane. The flight home was terrible, so many dark thoughts going through my head. Dad's funeral was at the crematorium in Wakefield. There's a little shed-like room built onto the side of the crematorium that houses a book of Biblical proportions in which the names of the deceased are inscribed on pages bearing the appropriate date. On the 7th of December, every year, the book is open at my Dad's name, where it was originally inscribed, 34 years ago this year. My mother and I have often gone to the crematorium on December 7th to look at his name in the book and to leave a few flowers and a message in one of the tin vases that are affixed to the outer wall of the building. But, with the weather being so bad and my concern not to pass my cold virus on to my mother, we thought it best to give it a miss this year. Mum says it's not as if we don't think of him often. When I spoke with her on the 'phone this morning, she said she'd been looking at a photograph of him and remembering those long-ago days when life seemed more sweet. My father was a complex but wonderful man. He would sometimes scare the hell out of me but could also be the kindest, most generous person. And, after 34 years, I still miss him. Those readers of this diary who have obtained a copy of my book 'Painted From Memory: Volume One: Evocation Of A Radiant Childhood,' will know how important he was to me, and how fond of him I remain. And, always at this time of year, my childhood memories of magical Christmas Eve's and Mornings are inextricably tied up with my father's care and love. What conversations I would have with him now, if only he was still around. I've done very little since the conclusion of Nelsonica. Not out of any great desire to relax but simply because I've not had the energy due to being ill. There are two new albums awaiting further work, ('Model Village' and 'Lampdownlowland'), but I can't imagine I'll make much headway with those until New Year, what with Christmas and all. I guess one of the pressing tasks will be to think about the content of the 6 CD career retrospective compilation for Cherry Red Records' 'Esoteric' label. That will be a major project which will require a lot of focus and care. Our Christmas Tree is now up and lit. As are some of our indoor decorations and lights. The old place is looking quite festive already but I've yet to buy Christmas cards, let alone write and send them. This task seems to become more involved each year. I've already received at least three or four cards from friends though. I've been thinking about this year's fan convention and realised that there were more ladies present than ever before, (despite two regular female fans not being able to attend). I find the presence of women amongst the convention's attendees encouraging. The male-hormone-centric guitar hero thing needs to be balanced by a lighter, feminine component. It's been pointed out to me that my music isn't totally dependent on the guitar-slinger image that was once the main marketing focus for record companies. There's also the singer/songwriter aspect and the stylistic/visual element to consider. Truth is, I've always tried to balance the Yin and Yang in my work. Sensuality and delicacy are as important as power and energy. There's no dividing line, just a seamless flow, a constantly evolving play of polarities. In the early days of Be Bop Deluxe, there was a deliberate attempt to play around with gender stereotypes: partly to confuse, (or outrage), those whom I thought of as being conservative 'straights,' or partly to explore the theatrical possibilities of being in a band, or partly because, at that time, androgyny wasn't quite the commercial product it was destined to become. The glam bandwagon hadn't completely been hauled centre-stage so I could regard dressing up in my wife's clothes as a surreal, hip and fashionable act. Maybe it was the zeitgeist, the spirit of the times. There was definitely something in the air, something that many creative antennas picked up on and tried to articulate. I guess, being young and impressionable, I hadn't quite thrown off the influence of the sexy 'sixties, (ie: Jimi Hendrix's coy, guitar as cosmic phallus sexuality), or the mock 'n' roll pantomime decadence of David Bowie, etc. Oh, and I mustn't underestimate the discovery that by throwing a cloak of ambiguity around one's sexuality, (no matter how tongue-in-cheek), a kid from a Yorkshire council-house estate could morph into some kind of fantasy babe-magnet. Ok, I played it for laughs to some degree, but, well enough to conjure up some sort of rock n' roll romance in a life that was, in real terms, humdrum and wilting behind a local-government officer's desk. A genuine need to escape, as much as a predilection to escapisim, was the subliminal engine that drove my dreams. I was, remember, not so long out of art school and had absorbed all the then fashionable art-school trends, everything from Symbolist painting to Pop Art, Hockney, Fluxus, Warhol and beyond. And a ton of other stuff I've absorbed but long forgotten. It turned out that I was not entirely alone in being seduced by a plethora of exciting and, seemingly revolutionary new art movements, both high and low: A great number of influential (and now 'household name' status) rock musicians shook their booty at the shimmering, near-legendary Art School Balls that were once held across Great Britain in the mid 'sixties. Oh, my...you who were not there missed a wonderous thing! Of course, all of this is increasingly forgotten now, and hardly acknowledged at all by the current crop of young pop n' rockers...But, without all the energy, chaos, turmoil, uncertainty, optimism, exploration, deviance, faith, hope and disparity we post-war baby-boomers manifested, everything that we now call 'now' would be radically different. Check out the high street fashions when you venture out next...look at graphic design, advertising, listen to 'indie' bands, etc, etc. You'll hear the echoes, see the ripples, from a glimmering stone that was long ago thrown into our British cultural pond. Some of it resounds loudly and remains powerful...but most of it just serves to underline the lack of real imagination, the shallow puddle of post-post-modernist pop culture that bleats so ineffectually from the polite confines of our living rooms. Now, of course, the pose is everything. Always was, but once, for some reason, found itself blessed with special, extra features. The dream was anchored in oceanic depths. Well, that's me done for today. I'd stated that this would be brief. A short diary entry only in so much as it is written quickly...A flow of thought without locks and dams. ***** The images accompanying this diary entry are as follows:- 1: Bill and his father in Bridlington in the 1950's. 2: Bill's father and mother in the 1940's. 3: Bill's father with his saxophone, late 1940's. 4 and 5: Victor the robot takes charge in Bill's studio. Top of page

Brave Flag download single - 01 August 2022 Bill Nelson Singles Menu Future Past TRACKS: 01) Brave Flag 02) Mondo Bravado NOTES: This charity download single contains two guitar-based instrumental tracks. Upset by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Nelson wanted to try and help out in some small way by recording these tracks and offering them for download with the hope that those who download them would contribute to the Ukrainian humanitarian charities appeal. CURRENT AVAILABILITY: Available as a free digital download on this page, or in the Free Downloads section ... please make a donation if you like the tracks!!! BILL'S THOUGHTS: "I'm sure you will all be aware of the illegal and brutal invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces under the direction of Vladimir Putin. I've watched the situation unfold from its beginning with increasing horror. The Ukrainian people are suffering loss of life and homes due to the cruel onslaught of Russian missiles, shelling and bombing. There have also been gross atrocities and war crimes committed by Russian troops that will shock and disgust anyone with an ounce of decency. "I wanted to help, even if only in a small way, so have created a special single, the 'A Side' of which is titled 'Brave Flag' . The 'B Side' is titled 'Mondo Bravado' . Both tracks are instrumentals in the rock genre and feature epic guitars. The tracks come straight from my home studio and are in unmastered form. "I'm making the single available to fans for FREE as a digital download. All I ask in return is that everyone who downloads the free single should please donate a minimum of £5 to the Disasters Emergency Committee's Ukrainian humanitarian charities appeal. Every donation, no matter how small, will help to provide vital humanitarian relief for those in need in Ukraine. "Thank you for your generosity and compassion. Enjoy the single! " Singles Menu Future Past

I Hear Electricity Bill Nelson download single - 18 December 2008 Singles Menu Future Past TRACKS: 1) I Hear Electricity 2) Kiss You Slowly NOTES: "I Hear Electricity" and "Kiss You Slowly" were initially issued together as a free two track digital single. The single was announced by Nelson in a post on the Dreamsville forum dated 10 December 2008, at which point the 'A' side was listed as "I Hear Electricity (The Panic In The World Universal Chord Shifter With Apache Overtones)", although the lengthy sub-title would not be used on the official release. At the time they first appeared, both songs were exclusive tracks, but each would feature on Nelson albums issued the following year, with "I Hear Electricity" featuring on Fancy Planets , and "Kiss You Slowly" on the Nelsonica release The Dream Transmission Pavilion (with the slightly altered title of "Kiss You Slow"). CURRENT AVAILABILITY: Available as a free digital download on this page, or in the Free Downloads section . BILL'S THOUGHTS: "The single contains two brand new, recently recorded tracks, both featuring my vocals as well as guitars and other sounds. The 'A-side' has a rather long and strange title: "I Hear Electricity, (The Panic In The World Universal Chord Shifter With Apache Overtones)." "The 'B-side' is more modestly titled: "Kiss You Slow". The A-side is a surreal 'rocker' with typical twists and turns. It also contains an amusing musical 'in-joke'. At your Christmas party, this song is suitable for vertical dancing. The B-side is a moody, semi-ambient vocal ballad with a romantic lyric. After your Christmas party, this song is suitable for horizontal dancing. I think you'll enjoy it! And it's FREE! Merry Christmas, folks!" Singles Menu Future Past

Futurama Be Bop Deluxe album - May 1975 Albums Menu Future Past Purchase this box set Purchase this double CD TRACKS: 01) Stage Whispers 02) Love With The Madman 03) Maid In Heaven 04) Sister Seagull 05) Sound Track 06) Music In Dreamland 07) Jean Cocteau 08) Between The Worlds 09) Swan Song ALBUM NOTES: Futurama is the second album by Be Bop Deluxe, and was recorded at Rockfield Studios, Wales during January and February 1975. Futurama featured a different set of musicians than the debut album, now with Charlie Tumahai on bass and backing vocals, and Simon Fox on drums. Nelson provided keyboards in addition to his usual guitar and vocal duties. Andy Clark (keyboards) would effectively join the band immediately after recording Futurama , and this line up would remain solid throughout the band's future life span. The album appeared on vinyl and cassette, and was promoted by the release of the single Maid in Heaven , backed with the non-album track "Lights". Once again commercial success was elusive although the band's profile was certainly higher than the previous year. Futurama would be another album largely discovered in the period after the band experienced their commercial breakthrough in 1976. Vinyl copies were released in a single sleeve and the record was housed in an inner sleeve bearing lyrics to all songs. When reissued on CD in (Feb) 1991, EMI elected to enhance the album by adding 3 bonus tracks, although they represent a mixed bag in the context of this album and the reissue programme as a whole. The original (withdrawn) single "Between the Worlds" was certainly an appropriate inclusion, but this was less so with the live version of "Maid in Heaven" taken from Live! In the Air Age and "Speed of the Wind", which would have been more at home on Drastic Plastic , it being a left over from those sessions. If you no longer kept your vinyl copy of Futurama , and require song lyrics, then this CD edition satisfies that need, and the informative sleeve notes penned by Kevin Cann provide useful context. For some reason copies of this CD ran dry soon after release, making it unavailable for approximately 5 years. In 1997 the album re-appeared on CD (with Harvest label design) allowing those who missed out on the 1991 release to fill a significant gap in their collection. In April 2017 Cherry Red and E soteric R ecordings, who from 2011 to 2018, had done so much to raise the profile of Bill Nelson's solo recordings from the period 1980 to 2002, acquired the rights to release the Be Bop Deluxe and Red Noise material issued between 1973 and 1979. While this resulted in the deletion of existing physical editions, Cherry Red kept Futurama on catalogue from 1 June 2017 via the usual download sites such as Amazon and iTunes while an expanded edition was prepared for a 2019 physical release. On 31 May 2019 Futurama therefore became the second Be Bop Deluxe album to be issued as a Deluxe Edition comprising 3 CDs and 1 DVD as follows: a freshly remastered version of the original album plus 2 bonus tracks. a 2019 stereo remix of the full album and 2 bonus tracks alongside 2 previously unreleased studio tracks. an album of BBC recordings including 7 unreleased live tracks from May 1975. the original album plus 3 bonus tracks presented in a 5.1 mix and 2 filmed performances, the previously released OGWT footage from July 1975 and a super rare promo video for Maid in Heaven that was made in 1975 but never shown on TV. The album is presented in a triple fold out digi-pack and contains a 68 page booklet with an essay penned by Bill Nelson, reminiscing about the recording of the album at Rockfield Studios, postcards of publicity photographs from the period and a reproduction of an advertising poster issued to record shops. A 2CD edition of the album is also being released at the same time as the Deluxe Edition featuring Discs 1 and 2 which will also replace the standard download edition. The full track listing for the Deluxe Edition is: Disc: 1 01) Stage Whispers 02) Love With The Madman 03) Maid In Heaven 04) Sister Seagull 05) Sound Track 06) Music In Dreamland 07) Jean Cocteau 08) Between The Worlds 09) Swan Song 10) Between The Worlds (Single Version) 11) Lights Disc: 2 01) Stage Whispers (New Stereo Mix) 02) Love With The Madman (New Stereo Mix) 03) Maid In Heaven (New Stereo Mix) 04) Sister Seagull (New Stereo Mix) 05) Sound Track (New Stereo Mix) 06) Music In Dreamland (New Stereo Mix) 07) Jean Cocteau (New Stereo Mix) 08) Between The Worlds (New Stereo Mix) 09) Swan Song (New Stereo Mix) 10) Between The Worlds (Single Version) (New Stereo Mix) 11) Lights (New Stereo Mix) 12) Music In Dreamland (Phonogram Studios Version) 13) Between The Worlds (Alternate Single Version) Disc: 3 01) Stage Whispers (BBC Session March 1975) 02) Sister Seagull (BBC Session March 1975) 03) Maid in Heaven (BBC Session March 1975) 04) Lights (BBC Session March 1975) 05) Stage Whispers (BBC in Concert May 1975, Previously Unreleased) 06) Third Floor Heaven (BBC in Concert May 1975, Previously Unreleased) 07) Adventures in a Yorkshire Landscape (BBC in Concert May 1975 Previously unreleased) 08) Sister Seagull (BBC in Concert May 1975, Previously Unreleased) 09) Piece of Mine (BBC in Concert May 1975, Previously Unreleased) 10) Maid in Heaven (BBC in Concert May 1975, Previously Unreleased) 11) Axe Victim (BBC in Concert May 1975, Previously Unreleased) Disc: 4 01) Stage Whispers (5.1 Surround Mix) 02) Love With The Madman (5.1 Surround Mix) 03) Maid In Heaven (5.1 Surround Mix) 04) Sister Seagull (5.1 Surround Mix) 05) Sound Track (5.1 Surround Mix) 06) Music In Dreamland (5.1 Surround Mix) 07) Jean Cocteau (5.1 Surround Mix) 08) Between The Worlds (5.1 Surround Mix) 09) Swan Song (5.1 Surround Mix) 10) Between The Worlds (Single Version) (5.1 Surround Mix) 11) Lights (5.1 Surround Mix) 12) Music In Dreamland (Phonogram Studios Version) (5.1 Surround Mix) 13) Maid In Heaven (Old Grey Whistle Test) 14) Sister Seagull (Old Grey Whistle Test) 15) Maid In Heaven (Previously Unreleased Promo Video) PAST RELEASES: The original edition of Futurama was deleted sometime around 1979/80, but was reissued as a budget release in 1983 by EMI, as a double album combined with the band's debut album, Axe Victim . The 1991 CD edition was replaced in 1997 which ultimately went out of print with the transfer to rights to Cherry Red. CURRENT AVAILABILITY: The deluxe box set and the 2-CD set is available for purchase in the Dreamsville Store . BILL'S THOUGHTS: Bill Nelson compares Axe Victim to Futurama: " Axe Victim is a peculiar album, it hints at what was to come but really is just the sound of a band finding itself, an album of material which we'd almost abandoned. "That there was such a vast difference between that album and Futurama reveals a remarkable progression. Futurama was the first real Be Bop Deluxe album. Axe Victim is kind of a juvenile sophomore statement, a naive thing...nevertheless, there are hints at a more mature approach in some of Axe Victim' s songs. Unfortunately, "Jet Silver" and "Rocket Cathedrals" are not amongst them." _____ Bill Nelson comments on the 3-piece line up of Be Bop Deluxe: "The three piece Be Bop Deluxe actually toured in that form. I remember performing "Love With The Madman" live on stage whilst sitting at a Fender Rhodes electric piano. I'd written many of the Futurama songs on an old ex-chapel upright piano I had at my little terrace house at Anderson Street in Wakefield, rather than on guitar, so it eventually seemed sensible to add a keyboard player to the line-up. Andy was the only keyboard player who passed the audition, (although separating him from the hippie-style Afghan coat he wore and getting him into something a wee bit more stylish was not an easy task!" _____ Bill Nelson comments on internet pictures of his home at 27 Anderson Street, Wakefield: "It's interesting to see those interior pics after all these years...quite a few changes/modifications since I left there in the early '70s. The bathroom wasn't in the main part of the house back then, but in an extension behind the kitchen. Seems the bathroom's been relocated and is now in what was originally the second bedroom. In fact that's the room where the first line-up members of Be Bop Deluxe used to sit together to learn the songs I'd written for the band, before we worked on them in a 'proper' rehearsal space. "The wood wall panel thing surrounding the gas fire in the lounge wasn't there either...it's a more recent addition...(I remember drawing the cover for the Northern Dream album whilst kneeling on the floor in front of the fire in that room.) "The 'front room' once housed an old upright piano on which I wrote most of the songs for the Futurama album. "The bedroom is very much as it was when I slept in it...the window looks out onto Anderson Street and the perimeter lights of Wakefield Prison would cast their glow into that bedroom at night. It was around 43 years ago..." ALBUM REVIEWS: Review on Spill Magazine Review on Exclusive Magazine Review on Music Street Journal Review by LMNOP Review on Sea of Tranquility Review on ProgNaut FAN THOUGHTS: Rev. Keith A. Gordon: "Some of my personal Be-Bop favourites come from the band's 1975 sophomore album Futurama , with which Nelson took a decidedly left-hand turn towards progressive-rock territory. Evidently dissatisfied with the outcome of Axe Victim , Nelson fired everybody and got new musicians for Futurama , changing the band's sound immensely. While critics at the time questioned the prog-rock tendencies of Futurama , the album's best songs evince a sort of prototype pop-metal songwriting and performance that would influence the coming "New Wave of British Heavy Metal" bands. The larger-than-life "Maid In Heaven" offers up some of Nelson's most inspired guitar-play, the song's memorable riff and infectious melody matched by sing-a-long lyrics and the guitarist's great tone and energy. By contrast, "Sister Seagull" is a hauntingly beautiful performance with cascading instrumentation, judicious use of a melodic riff, and Nelson's high-flying solos. Performed beautifully here, the song's emotional lyrics are made all the more poignant by the powerful musical accompaniment, including the crying seagull guitar licks at the end." astrophobia: "My first BeBop Deluxe album (yes, album) was Futurama , but I cannot remember where I bought it. All I remember is that it was being played in the shop and I nearly pissed myself. Never in my life had I heard anything like it. I was hooked. To this day it is still my favourite BeBop album as every track exudes quality. I even ordered the sold out Axe Victim on the strength of that first listening." asterisk: "I then went over the B section and noticed there was indeed a Be Bop Deluxe card, with two copies of this oddly-illustrated Futurama album, both taped-up in plastic album bags. I then did the usual of comparing of both copies to make sure to grab the one in the best condition, and then walked back towards the counter. Then I stopped and went back to contemplate buying both but then came to my senses thinking why deprive anyone else of the opportunity I just experienced? So up to the counter with my new favourite album. "I asked the fellow 'what is this strange and wonderful thing?' He told me they were one of his favourite bands and that it had just come in with the shipment of new releases about an hour or so before. But I had to know - were they any other albums by this Be Bop Deluxe? He fumbled around beneath the counter and produced and even stranger looking album with an illustration of a guitar appearing to have been fashioned out of a human skull on its cover. How charming, I thought. But was it any good? He asked if I wanted to hear it and I declined, not wanting him to take off Futurama ." Harlequin: "A friend played me "Sound Track" from Futurama and it was like the first time I'd heard The Beatles. I bought that and every Be Bop record I could find. That led me to The Skids, The Lucy Show and XTC via the John Leckie connection." eddie: First Be Bop LP you bought, and the name of the shop?: "With me it was Futurama from 'Listen Records' in Glasgow, Renfield Street. "The night before my mate had managed to smuggle (I kid you not) a mobile disco into a house for some girl's birthday party, and he said have a listen to this, it was "Stage Whispers" cue all sorts of flashing lights and whatever. "I think we ruined the frigging party because we kept playing this track over and over again." polly: "When I brought Futurama home the very first thing she (Mum) said, was, "those boys all look clean and tidy". Praise indeed." Parsongs: "I really think Roy Thomas Baker did a good job on this one. It has a really "BIG" sound with a wide dynamic range. And I love Bill's piano playing on these tracks. I wonder if he played the piano at Abbey Road - was it a Bluthner or a Steinway? I think they might have had both..." loversaremortal: "Have loved Bills work since hearing Futurama way back when...and seeing BBD at the Liverpool Stadium in the 70's...I am catching up quickly on the great man's solo output...and I am VERY VERY Impressed...so ingenious and authentic and honest...qualities which shine through Bill's music." Albums Menu Future Past

Live Archive Pl ectronica A celebration of Bill Nelson at 70 Picture Gallery from fans and Dreamsville staff