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A Certain Bridge single - 1981 Last Man In Europe Production/Contribution Menu Future Past TRACKS: A) A Certain Bridge B) TV Addict/Complications BILL: Producer of both tracks. NOTES: This was only the second record to be released on Nelson's Cocteau Records , the first being 'Do You Dream In Colour?' Production/Contribution Menu Future Past

Marvellous Realms Bill Nelson album - 13 January 2023 Albums Menu Future Past Purchase this CD Purchase this download TRACKS: 01) Nevernoon 02) Marvellous Realms 03) The Way Of The World 04) The Gold Beyond The Blue 05) The Weather Song 06) Signalling As We Go 07) Some Jiggery Pokery 08) Here On Earth 09) Whoops! I'm Going Back In Time 10) It's A Long Time Between Dreams 11) The Mystic 12) Imaginary Music 13) The Illuminator 14) Heaven Is A State Of Mind 15) A Thought In Passing 16) Your Magic Man In The Sky 17) Bonus Track: The Weather Song (Monitor Mix) ALBUM NOTES: Marvellous Realms is an album comprising a mixture of song based and instrumental material issued on the Sonoluxe label in a limited edition of 1000 copies. The bulk of the material was recorded between November 2021 and May 2022, initially being seen as a natural follow up to Mixed Up Kid . The first mention of the album, then called 'Man of Dreams', came in a Dreamsville Forum post on 18 December 2021. At this early stage Nelson had completed all but a couple of tracks for the proposed album, and in a follow up forum post, on 28 December 2021, went as far as saying that the album was "almost complete" promising a track listing soon. However, as with many of his projects, time would see those plans significantly change over the next six months or so. On 5 January 2022, in a further forum post Nelson revealed a list of thirteen songs destined for 'Man of Dreams', while also stating that the album title may change. Nelson decided that 'Man of Dreams' was too similar to his 1987 release Map of Dreams and suggested that two alternative titles, 'All the Fun of the Fair' or 'Signalling As We Go', were now being considered. From that initial list of tracks, just three would make it to the completed album... 'Some Jiggery Pokery', 'Signalling As We Go' and 'The Weather Song'. Further details emerged in a Dreamsville Forum post on 11 March 2022 in which Nelson announced that the 'Man of Dreams' album had developed into two separate projects, Marvellous Realms being the first album, and a second then called 'Here on Earth'. A total of 33 tracks were listed as being currently recorded and mixed for the project with no indication at that stage as to what tracks would feature where. Comparing this list with the final track running order reveals that a total of seven songs would make the final cut of Marvellous Realms . Further progress on the album was reported on 1 June 2022, when Nelson posted in the Dreamsville Journal that he had by then completed a total of 53 tracks from the new album projects, again without revealing what tracks would appear where. In fact, he had by then completed a total of 13 tracks that would eventually make up the Marvellous Realms album, the remaining three tracks - ' Heaven Is A State O f Mind' , ' A Thought I n Passing' and ' Your Magic Man I n T he Sky' , being completed in the intervening months. Marvellous Realms was mastered at Fairview Studios by John Spence week commencing 21 November 2022 with the artwork, prepared by Martin Bostock as usual, already underway. Pre-orders for Marvellous Realms were announced by Burning Shed on 2 December 2022, with a release date for both the physical CD and Bandcamp digital download on 13 January 2023. CURRENT AVAILABILITY: Available for purchase here in the Dreamsville Store . BILL'S THOUGHTS: "Marvellous Realms emerges from another intensive, almost perpetual, recording session. The studio is my favoured outlet for my creative endeavours (and perhaps has always been so), especially having now forsaken live performances due to various unwelcome health concerns . Creating music in my modest home studio is an absolute joy, never a chore. I'm constantly exploring an evolving and very personal universe of sounds, concepts, thoughts and whimsical imaginings. Dreaming whilst awake perhaps, ongoing real time fantasias, embracing both the past and the future with equal enthusiasm. From the latest batch of 80 or so new recordings comes this album, Marvellous Realms , a meditation on time and impermanence, wonder and mystery, magic and melancholy, all familiar themes to those who are attuned to my music, but with their own peculiar twist and distinctive flavour. So, sit back and enjoy the view, on the musical journey that never ends…" Albums Menu Future Past

Code album - 1987 Cabaret Voltaire Production/Contribution Menu Future Past BILL: Guitar on five songs: "Don't Argue", "Here To Go", "Trouble (Won't Stop)", "White Car" and "No One Here". Production/Contribution Menu Future Past

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2013 William's Study (Diary Of A Hyperdreamer) February 2007 Jan Apr May Jul Sep Oct Nov Dec Sunday 11th February 2007 -- 6:00 pm An entire month has passed since the previous diary entry. I've simply not felt able to write 'though there's been more than enough to write about. I just haven't had the energy or inclination to do so. An emotional low, as if dark clouds have been gathering and getting darker each day. I'll attempt an explanation of some kind but, I don't think it's wise to lift the lid too high on this latest Pandora's Box of tricks. I've already dwelt far too long on the mortal thoughts that it inevitably contains (and there's always the possibility that further introspection may conjure even darker skies). Nevertheless, I have to admit to feeling more melancholy than is probably healthy for me and it would be dishonest to pretend that things are otherwise. I've hesitated to call this feeling out and out depression, but maybe that's what it is, 'though I don't feel I have the right to allow myself such an excuse. The cause? Several possiblilities. Some that are understandable and some that are less so. Some external, some internal. Whatever the reason, the accumulative effect is the same. I seem to be caught in a negative space of my own making. Just before Christmas, my mother's husband George, (whom mum married several year's after my father died), was diagnosed with cancer. Coming so soon after the passing of my brother Ian last April, this has come as an additional family blow. George is in hospital at this moment, recovering from the major operation he underwent last week. His condition seems fragile, 'though we're hoping for improvement. George is in his '80's and we're all concerned about him, particularly my mother who is by nature a worrier. She frets and fusses about everything and no amount of sage advice can change that. Perhaps that's where my own nervous disposition stems from. I try not to think of myself as being overtly prone to such things but people who know me well always seem to come up with the cliche "you worry too much." I deny it, of course, but maybe they're not far off the mark. Anyway, I'm worried about George and worried about my mother who, as regular readers of this diary know, has herself been fighting a skin cancer problem for some years. (Thankfully, this has responded to treatment and, whilst there's still progress to be made, she is much better than she was a couple of years ago.) Unsurprisingly, this latest development has made her feel as if her world has been thrown even more off balance. I've tried to keep in touch with mum far more frequently than usual, calling her two or three times each day to offer whatever support I'm able. Currently laid low with a nasty cold bug though, I've been unable to go to the hospital with her. Unwise to risk passing on my germs as George is especially vulnerable at the moment. The last thing he and mum needs is to catch a virus from me. So I've tried to help from a distance, which is far from ideal but perhaps the wisest course for the moment. And whilst a cold virus is a minor complaint compared to what else is going on, it's been debilitating enough to add to the lowering of my own spirits and energies. In view of everything else though, I have no right to complain whatsoever. I've tried to get on with my work...and there's plenty of it to deal with as usual, all backed up and demanding immediate attention. As I've probably noted in these pages before, a lot of it feels more like duty than inclination. For instance, do I really want to deal with those ancient Be Bop Deluxe Decca audition tapes? I know that there are certain fans eager to hear these recordings but...I'm finding it harder than ever to get up the head of steam required to mix them. Not that I'd ever consider passing the job on to anyone else...I'm absolutely determined to do it myself, once the creative compass swings in the right direction. Right now though, it's pointing towards a far distant island of dreams, uncharted territory, not to harbours long since left behind. I'm by no means ungrateful for the commercial success that Be Bop Deluxe brought me back in the '70's...but sometimes, just sometimes, it feels more like an a millstone around my neck, rather than just one of several milestones on a long and ongoing musical journey. (Oh, poor, self-centred me!) But as I've so often noted in these pages, that sort of frustration goes with the 'job.' Even modest success tends to fix the public's conception of an artist at a particular point in time, like a butterfly pinned to a board, identified, dated and framed under glass. Over the years, I've fought hard against the kind of industry stereotyping that has, perhaps predictably but also lazily, branded me as 'ex-Be Bop Deluxe front man,' but, no matter how reluctant I've been to acknowledge that tag, it's proved a tough one to lose. Surely there's more to it than that? O.k, so to some people I probably DO sound unfairly dissmisive of my past, but...any ambivalence I express regarding my own musical history may simply be the result of an awareness of failure, of how much distance I still need to travel to find creative satisfaction. Even after all these years, I still feel as if I'm at the start of something, rather than at the conclusion of it. And, the older I get, the more acute is my sense that time spent re-visiting my musical past is time that could be spent searching for my musical future instead. Then again, it may simply be part of a desire to escape the limitations of labelling, a sheer cantankerousness in the face of anyone attempting to 'figure me out.' And yet...I DO go to some lengths in this diary to make myself understood, to offer a kind of clarification, to give some intimate indication of the various experiences that underpin the music. All part of the equation, I guess...and riddled with the usual personal contradictions. I don't pretend to understand why these issues should be so complex, but...in my defence, I do struggle, perhaps amusingly rather than heroically, with the implications of the complexities and contradictions that I find myself tangled up in. Weirdly, (and sometimes shockingly,) it's a struggle that is conducted as much in public as in private...the former via the pages of this diary and with every new piece of music I allow out of the studio. In any case, it's not just me, is it? Isn't everyone on the planet riddled with similar contradictions? It's the swiss cheese of existence. Even God is full of holes... Ask Richard Dawkins: wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Dawkins And he's a professor as well as an existential cheese maker. Why anyone should expect consistency from artists is laughable. Contradictions and uncertainties are an artist's lifeblood. All this endless pondering is part of the process, the fundamental fabric of the artist's curse. Being measured by mass appeal, (or more correctly, SALES revenue), rather than artistic merit, is an unavoidable fact of life in the wonderful world of the music business. Fairly obvious, but I never thought that 'business' was where I was headed when I picked up a guitar all those years ago. I was naive enough to think that I was setting sail for my aforementioned island of dreams. Guitar in one hand, telescope in the other. But it seems these are dreams that money can buy, hence the inevitable entry of 'business' to the arena. Dreams for sale, the fevered imaginings of creative minds piped into the consciousness of a dream-hungry public via the conduits of industry. It's a kind of science-fiction. Amazingly, I still eke a living from this stuff. I stand on street corners and whisper into the ears of passers-by. " Hey, kid, wanna hear my dreams?" I'm drifting...writing a book instead of a diary. Back to recent news: I've now completed the music for my collaboration with American comic-book artist Matt Howarth. The final two pieces of music were posted to him last week. 'The Last Of The Neon Cynics' is an ambitious tale of a tram-travelling, (yes, that TRAM not 'time'), space-cowboy with a talking guitar. I've worked on the music for the last two or three years, on and off, (mostly 'off' due to other work pressures), and poor Matt has displayed the patience of a saint whilst I've labouriously got my act together. (Or found time to deal with it.) The idea we have is that pictures, story and music will be available as a download, though details of exactly how we'll do this are still to be finalised. I've also completed some additional recordings for an instrumental album that currently bears the title 'Gleaming Without Lights.' As mentioned in previous diary entries, this album is centred around the almost 40 minute long soundtrack that I created for the 'Memory Codex' autobiographical video which was screened at last year's Nelsonica. The title of the piece is 'Dreamland Illuminated.' To make up the rest of the album I've recorded some new instrumentals that compliment the soundtrack. I've also decided the album's running order, which is as follows: 1: 'Gleaming Without Lights.' 2: 'North-East.' 3: 'Rialto.' 4: 'Billy Builds The World Of Tomorrow.' 5: 'Glittering Rails.' 6: 'Dreamland Illuminated.' 7: 'Pilgrim (Fantasia On A Distantly Remembered Hymn.)' The entire album is instrumental and electric guitar oriented, falling somewhere between the 'Dreamland To Starboard' and 'Neptune's Galaxy' album stylings. I've also added extra textural details to the 'Dreamland Illuminated' piece that were originally absent from the Memory Codex soundtrack recording. This isn't a 'major statement' album but an interesting side-project, a pleasant diversion which will only be manufactured in limited quantities. Next job up on my list of to-do items:- The aforementioned Decca audition tape mixes plus selection of some live Be Bop Deluxe bootleg recordings to be included on the 'Tomorrow The World' album. Also the Mitchell Froom remix project which I haven't yet found time to address. (But will do as soon as time is available.) One frustrating bit of business has been the repeated attempts to install some new effects in my Mackie D8B mixing desk. Technical mysterioso. Different operating systems, system conflicts, various software builds, and most of all a rather indifferent and sometimes confusing user back-up service have confounded expectations of performing a simple, straight-ahead installation. And this isn't exactly software installed in a computer but a dedicated hardware recording system. We may be nearer, (Paul and I), to success,as nearly all our available options have been exhausted. One more thing remains to be done, (in the next week or so), which, fingers crossed, may see the problem finally resolved. I love my Mackie recording system but...there are certain issues that the company needs to talk about with artists such as myself, not least because they've now stopped manufacturing the particular equipment I've come to rely on so much and seem to have left those of us who use it to flounder with a less than clear, (or working), website. Another rapidly looming task: Preparation for my live concert at Leeds University School Of Music on the 28th of April. I'd originally hoped to have created an autobiographical video/film titled 'Ghosts Etched On Glass' to screen before my performance. Unfortunately, events have overtaken me and I don't have enough time available to begin work on this particular visual piece. For one thing, I need to gain permission to browse through the Yorkshire Film Archives as well as applying to search for suitable photographs at Wakefield City Museum's archives if I'm to gather the period footage and still images needed to add to my own family photographs and 8mm cine material. (There's also the matter of obtaining legal and financial clearance for the officially archived footage that I might want to incorporate in my film.) Then there's the script writing and recording of my own voice narration for the story, plus the assembly of appropriate music. And all this before I can actually sit down and concentrate on the painstaking process of editing all this diverse material into something resembling a cohesive documentary film. There's simply not enough time available to do all this before 28th of April, especially as I have a list of other pressing things to complete . So...I'm unfortunately going to have to fall back on plan 'B.' Instead of 'Ghosts Etched On Glass' I'll screen the 'Memory Codex Volume One' video that I made for last year's Nelsonica convention. I may also show 'Personal Ghosts' from the 'Flashlight Dreams' DVD as it ties in with the generally autobiographical theme of the evening. If time allows, I'll try to create a video for 'North-East' (from 'Gleaming Without Lights'), using east coast footage I've personally shot during the last couple of years. I have some evocative Whitby sunsets that would work well with this, along with some Flamborough Head and Reighton Gap material. But lots to do, including sorting out a live performance set for the event. It will be all instrumental and, (as the performance constitutes part of a contemporary music festival), more in the area of contemplative, introspective, exploratory music than straight ahead rock. For like-minded souls only, I suppose. As some might say, an art event. I'm confused...Why the hell do I still try to explain and segregate this stuff? Am I SO conscious of the fact that some potential listener's need a guide book when I stray outside of the Be Bop Deluxe territory alluded to in the earlier part of this diary entry? The venue in the School Of Music is more suited to a carefully controlled sound system than anything like the heavy duty thunder of rock. It's a kind of converted church or chapel within the School Of Music building, the same venue I gave a brief performance in a couple of years ago as part of a guitar-oriented event put on there. So, it will be a narrowly focussed, possibly quite intense, listening experience. And tightly connected to the concept of inwardly oriented music. Not remotely Be Bop Deluxe for those who are expecting a set featuring songs and mainstream music. Ironically though, Be Bop Deluxe tracks such as 'Blimps' and 'Futurist Manifesto' gave ample warning of where certain aspects of the music was headed. Even all those years ago. Let me try to return to more personal issues:- I visited my brother Ian's grave again a couple of weeks ago. Only the second time since his headstone was erected and the first time since the turn of the year. Emi and I took flowers and placed them in the two vases that are an integral part of Ian's headstone. It was twilight, lighter than the occasion of our previous visit, just before Christmas when our car's headlights had been neccesary to see the gravestone. This time there was a soft electric blue sky stretching overhead, puncutated by pastel-smudged cream and orange clouds. In the near distance, Sandal Castle Hill was visible, a place that Ian, once upon a time, like myself, enjoyed visiting. Church bells echoed on the breeze and evening birdsong was audible. Just beyond the walls of the older part of the cemetary, across Sugar Lane, could be seen the lighting towers surrounding the grounds of Wakefield Trinity rugby football club, a location famously featured in Lindsay Anderson's film of David Storey's 'This Sporting Life' novel. I thought, once again, of the transcience and fragility of life and the distance I've covered, the overwhelming amount of change I've experienced, the losses and gains, the things I've sacrificed to expediency and progress. I thought about Ian's own life and the absence of his prescence amongst the lives of those of us who loved him. I looked at his headstone and the dates boldly carved in silver script on it: 23 April 1956 to 23 April 2006. Such dreadful symmetry, exactly fifty years from start to finish. Then, next to his name, a tied pair of musical notes cut into the grey Indian marble and, at the headstone's base, the inscription 'Tree Of Life' in Latin. I felt angry, then hurt, then suddenly and unexpectedly overcome. I held close to Emi for a little while, then took a deep breath and tried to gain a hold on my emotions. Should I relate this kind of thing in a public diary? I have my doubts about the wisdom of it. But there it is. So why do it? Do I believe that by doing so it may help me come to terms with it in some way? Or that it may be of some use to others who have experienced, or may in future experience, similar grief? The bottom line is, I don't really know. I don't know much of anything anymore. What little I know is this: The loss of my brother is still difficult for me to accept. I still expect him to drop in for a chat and a cuppa, (as he sometimes did when his work brought him within striking distance of our home.) I still imagine that the 'phone will ring and he'll be on the other end of the line with some dryly humourous tale to tell. I still expect that we'll find each other on a stage together, faking our way through the music we shared. I didn't spend nearly enough time with Ian since we attained our debatable 'adulthood'...but I wish I had, I really wish I had. And there you have it. Another reason why my spirits are less than positive. You see, I'm far from over it yet. One further negative outcome of all this introspection has been my decision to postpone the proposed American Nelsonica convention that a handful of dedicated and enterprising US fans were hoping to stage in the 'States later this year. I've come to this decision reluctantly but with a great deal of thought. I've been agonising over what I should do about this for several weeks now, (as close friends know). I've fretted about it, wrestled with it, lost sleep over it, turned it this way and that... but, until a couple of days ago, I couldn't face up to the reality of the situation. The reality being that I already have far too much on my plate this year,that I'm going through an inner crisis of some kind, that I have neither the will nor the strength needed to make such an event the success it deserves to be. For these and other reasons, I've come to the conclusion that it's just not the right time for me to engage wholeheartedly with the proposal. I finally got up the nerve to write to the American team's chief organiser and offer my apologies, explaining that I've basically got more to deal with than I can confidently handle, both in terms of work and personal issues. I explained that an American Nelsonica would be one responsibility too far, for this year, at least. Nevertheless, I've suggested to the US team that I'm willing to keep the option open for next year but right here and now, it's something I sadly don't have the strength to cope with. Thankfully, despite my concerns, the team members have all responded to this disappointing news with kindness and unqualified support, letting me off the hook with generous grace. They're thoughtful, perceptive and understanding of my current situation. Such a relief... I still, unsurprisingly, feel terribly guilty about not being able to commit to the project as I know that quite a few people were looking forward to it becoming a reality, but they've generously told me, in typically positive American fashion, 'not to beat myself up about it.' Well, I'll try to ignore the bruises already inflicted but I can't help but feel bad about declining, even though an American convention was, at this stage, still a possibility, rather than a certainty. There were still some essential details to finalise before a green light could be given, although the team were very optimistic that it would soon become a more than feasible proposition.Perhaps waiting for a better opportunity to stage such an event might, in the long run, prove practical, allowing further planning and more programme content to be added. It could prove to be to everyone's advantage. Or am I just trying to justify my inability to commit? Unfortunately, for me it's a complex issue. Nevertheless, I'm grateful that some of the stress I've felt has been lifted from my shoulders. It will give me a better chance of dealing with the other tasks in front of me. Of course, there's still a UK Nelsonica to consider...At the moment, we've yet to settle the various issues linked to staging the English convention. We haven't properly begun to look at venue options either. It may be that last year's Hilton venue in York is used again, (provided we can get the hotel to provide a much larger number of seats than last year), but we would still like to investigate possible alternatives before making a final choice. Of course, this means putting time aside for Jon Wallinger and myself to draw up a list of venue possibilities and then make appointments for the two of us to visit them to inspect their facilities. Then comes the team meetings where various details are discussed and fine tuning takes place. A lot of thought goes into these annual conventions, perhaps more than is apparent to the casual observer. Jon and I still plan to concentrate on York and it's environs as we feel it offers a reasonably practical location for travel from around the UK. York is situated more or less in the centre of the country and is on the main north-south rail route as well as being connected to major motoways. It's certainly far more user, (and family), friendly than the North Ferriby location that we booked in previous years. Also, being 'local', York is practical in terms of the movement to and fro of my equipment and so on, which allows more time for preparation, sound checks, etc. Anyway, at the time of writing these words, there's nothing definite decided about the UK convention. It may well end up being a last minute thing...but, as it's intended to be here, on the 'doorstep' so to speak, it shouldn't be too much of a problem. I'm sure that the team will work their usual magic. But first we need to secure a venue and a date, then I need to give it a conceptual title, (last year's was 'Arcadian Salon'), before we make any official announcement. Then, of course, comes the little matter of programme content, visual design, live performance set, special presentations, limited edition cd and the rest. (Last year's convention saw me preparing my personal input over a three month period. A lot of work for a one-off event.) Besides the above, there are still hopes of tackling some of the other projects on the wish-list that I made in an earlier diary entry. The main one, for me at least, is the writing and recording of a new vocal album. This will occupy the greatest amount of my time, once the process gets underway. But decks must be cleared first. Then inspiration found. Fitting some kind of domestic life into this work schedule doesn't get any easier. I generally try to reserve the weekends for spending quality time with Emiko but, I often find myself stealing an hour or three to answer website forum questions and to generally connect with the Dreamsville community. And, as I've noted before, even this diary takes up a fair amount of time, once I sit down to write it. (Especially this entry, for some reason.) Despite the above, I HAVE had one or two brief opportunities to escape the studio this last month. I recently spent a couple of days with my old friend John Leckie who came up to visit me before heading over to Sheffield to meet up with a young band he's been hired to produce. John stayed overnight at Maison Nelson and, during dinner at a local Italian restaurant, we had tremendous fun discussing music, past, present and future. John has become a highly respected and famous producer since those distant days when we first worked together as a production team. His work covers a lot of ground, from XTC, Simple Minds, Magazine, The Stone Roses, Kula Shaker, to Cast, Muse, Radiohead and all time legends such as Doctor John and Los Lobos. A great portfolio that started with Be Bop Deluxe's 'Sunburst Finish' album. John's success is very much deserved and I'm so pleased to see that his talent has been so widely recognised. Whenever we meet up, it's as if there's not been a gap in our conversation. John had lots of interesting stories to tell me about his experiences with various 'artistes' he's worked with...some of them highly amusing and possibly scandalous. I'll not divulge these confidences here, (or anywhere,) but just say that rock music doesn't seem to have become any more sophisticated or adult since the days when John and I sat next to each other at the mixing desk in Abbey Road studios. Quite the opposite, in fact. John brought lots of old photographs he'd taken of me during the Be Bop Deluxe recording sessions at various studios we worked in together. He'd digitised them and put them on his laptop as a slide show, complete with music. Most of them I'd not seen before. It was unavoidably nostalgic looking through them but at the same time it did, weirdly, feel as if it were only yesterday rather than thirty years or so ago. Only the music felt like it was made in another era and by a different person. John also, generously, brought me a very generous gift: a vintage Japanese Railway Station Announcer's microphone, (and in pristine working order too). The microphone has a predicatably nasal, high-mid frequency dominated tone but will work perfectly as a special vocal effect on the right piece of music. I'm looking forward to using it, perhaps on the proposed new vocal album. Emi and I managed to get to Whitby for a Sunday trip. Lunch at the 'White Horse And Griffin,' (not up to its usual standard this time for some reason,), then a browse around the old town, followed by a walk out to the edge of the harbour to sniff the ocean, the nearby smokehouse with it's kipper aroma coming and going on the evening breeze. After that, across the old harbour bridge for a drink at a relatively new place, a cafe bar called 'The Moon And Sixpence' which we were both impressed by. It has great views across the harbour towards the church on the cliffs. We resolved to try the food there on our next visit. It was my son Elliot's birthday last week. He's now 26. I can't quite grasp that fact, especially as he's the youngest of my three children. He requested a Chet Atkins DVD and album for his birthday so I sorted them out for him. He's been wanting to give himself a new challenge by getting to grips with music and techniques that fall outside of his usual rock music style, so has been learning some Django Reinhardt pieces. He thought Chet Atkins might provide another angle too. I'm pleased to see him taking such a broad interest in the wider potential of his instrument. So many young guitarists seem to think that music doesn't exist outside the boundaries of the latest skinny jean fad. But, come to think of it, Elliot isn't exactly a 'young' guitarist anymore. Not by today's infantile standards anyway. Emi and I recently went to see him and his sister Elle play with the latest incarnation of their Honeytone Cody band in the basement bar at the City Screen cinema, in the centre of town. I was impressed. Their new drummer is absolutely terrific and the bass player, whilst the youngest member of the band, is talented and imaginative. Elle's vocals and Elliot's guitar playing just gets better and better.They sounded like real stars and completely outshone the other two bands on the bill, including the headline act. Such power and authority. They could easily stand proud alongside any well-known band and aquit themselves with honours. I just hope that, this time, they hold this line up together and get the break needed to bring their music to the wider audience that it deserves. And, no, I'm not saying this because I'm their father, but because they're just so damn good. Really. Valentine's day coming up this week. I've managed to book a restaurant to take Emi out for the evening. Being a florist, she's always extremely busy around this time, especially on the 14th when she works late. The only table I could get at the restaurant of my choice was for 8:15 pm so, all being well, Emi will have finished work by that time and we can have a romantic dinner together. Even though we've been a couple for 14 years now, (since 1993), we're still very much devoted to each other and enjoy each other's company tremendously. True love. In that respect, I'm a lucky guy. Have been playing my Campbell Nelsonic Transitone guitar which is featured on some tracks from the 'Gleaming Without Lights' sessions. I'm particularly fond of the sound of the neck pickup, a Seymour Duncan Jazz humbucker. It really suits the cleaner tonalities I've favoured of late. Dean Campbell is building a special Campbell Caledonian model for me at the moment. I need to get back to him with a pickguard design idea. When I find time to design it, that is. This guitar will have three P90's, a Bigsby vibrato and a powder blue paint job. Guitars still thrill me, even after all this time. As readers of this diary may have noticed. Whilst on the subject of guitars, the long awaited issue of the Japanese 'Player' magazine featuring an interview with myself plus photographs of my guitar collection has finally been published. (Since the article was put together, there have been some further additions to the collection so, whilst relatively comprehensive, it's not completely up to date.) Four copies of the magazine arrived by mail from Tokyo. It's a big article. The guitars look good, though I'm not so keen on the photo's of myself that they've used. Don't misunderstand, technically, they're excellent, but it's just that they seem to have chosen rather unflattering shots. But, these days, there's probably no possibility of obtaining a 'flattering' photograph of me whatsoever. I'm beyond the reach of such a thing. It's beyond the laws of physics. And I used to be such a pretty boy too. Weather is cold but none of the snow that has troubled London and the south. Some signs of spring in the garden already though too early, I suspect. Nature not what it used to be, or should be. A weird winter. The latest scientific information on the subject of climate change/global warming reads like the stuff of nightmares, like a science-fiction disaster movie. And still world leaders dance around the topic. Some of them pick up on it but as if it were a fashion trend, to be worn but not completely understood. What sort of planet are our grandchildren going to have to deal with when they hit old age? No wonder so many of us feel down these days. The news is always bad. Books: Bedtime reading only, (as usual), but the personally signed Les Paul autobiography that was given to me as a gift at Nelsonica 07 is proving to be a delight. A hero. How I wish I could shake his hand and add my appreciation to all the thousands of other grateful people he has inspired through the years. Music: mostly working and therefore listening, to my own but, in an odd moment or two, I've enjoyed listening to some swing era stuff and also Ella Fitzgerald. I've felt the need for a kind of patinated elegance, copper-plated 78's rather than shiny gold discs or silver CDs. Sex under sophisticated wraps, silk gowns, nylon stockings and patent red leather stilletos. Oh, well. This could be one of the longest diary entries I've ever written. I could, amazingly, add more but won't. Time to deal with other things. Top of page

Issue 2 Issue 3 Issue 1 - May 2005 BILL NELSON UNVEILS NEW WEBSITE! For some time now, Bill Nelson has dreamed of creating a website which could serve not only as a research center for fans of his creative work but also as an expression of his personal life and interests. Now, with the launch of the first phase of 'Dreamsville, The Official, Global, Bill Nelson Website', that dream finally begins to materialise. Dreamsville is a digital hamlet that will eventually house all manner of delights, a domain that will allow its citizens a direct insight into Bill's life and work along with the multitude of things that have inspired it. The site appears in a fairly rudimentary form at this moment but will gradually be expanded as time allows. Bill's priority will always be his music and so the development of Dreamsville will, quite naturally, have to fit around this core activity. Eventually, however, Dreamsville will provide a complete and unique resource with a personal touch and attention to detail that can only be found in an artist originated and run site. Like any new town, Dreamsville comes loaded with hopes and aspirations, manifestos and ambitions. Its success, however, will largely depend upon its citizens and visitors. In this respect, each individual fan's enthusiasm and input is welcomed. The town's growth and future life depends very much upon the support of all those who consider themselves to be connoisseurs of Bill Nelson's complex body of work. To help create a sense of community, 'The Dreamsville Inn' has been specially constructed as a means of communication for all loyal Nelsonians, world wide. It is hoped that this pleasant and traditionally 'English' location will provide a hospitable meeting place for considered and intelligent conversation. This very newspaper, 'The Dreamsville Rocket', will be issued as and when news arrives of activities that may interest you. All issues will be archived at 'The Newspaper Office' so that a permanent reference can be built up. You will be able to subscribe to 'The Dreamsville Rocket' for free and thereby be informed of the publication of the latest issue. Those who have followed Bill Nelson's diary over the years will be able to continue with this by regularly checking in the 'study' area of 'Villa Nelsonia' which is accessible from the town plan on the Dreamsville home page. The ongoing 'Diary Of A Hyperdreamer' will be posted there as each entry is created. There will be other areas within the villa for Bill's personal musings too, although these will appear a little later as the site develops. So, there you have it... Welcome to Dreamsville and The Dreamsville Rocket. NEWS JUST IN... Bill Nelson is planning a U.K. tour for October and November of this year. It will be a solo tour which will explore a new direction for Bill. As well as the more familiar use of instrumental material, Bill is intending to create several vocal pieces which can be performed live as a soloist, without the need for a band. These new songs will be designed to sit alongside his instrumental work in a harmonious fashion and will place Bill's live work in an entirely fresh context. Bill's previous solo outings have been exclusively instrumental, (except for a performance of 'Wonder Of The Moment' at 'The City Varieties' in Leeds in the Autumn of 2003), so this project is something of an adventure. Bill will also compose some new instrumentals and put together sections of video to fit. The tour's ultimate concept is currently under wraps but further developments and venues will be announced here when appropriate. A band-based tour, a further development of last year's venture, is being considered for 2006. This too would incorporate a new concept and presentation whilst still touching on some familiar music. ROSEWOOD: On its way! Bill Nelson's latest recording project, a two volume set called 'ROSEWOOD, Ornaments And Graces For Acoustic Guitar' is about to be manufactured. It is hoped to make 'ROSEWOOD VOLUME ONE' available sometime in May. 'ROSEWOOD VOLUME TWO' will be released a little further into the summer. This project concentrates on acoustic guitar instrumentals but is more than just the usual 'unplugged' confections served up as rustic fodder for suburban hillbillys these days. It is a direct linear development from the 'Dreamland To Starboard' album and sets Bill's acoustic guitar in an ambient soundscape that suggests a jazz and contemporary classical context as well as a broader neo-roots music vibe. The track listing for the two albums is given here:- 'ROSEWOOD' VOLUME ONE- 1. Blues For Orpheus 2. Escondido Oleander 3. Lumia 4. Filament 5. Lacuna 6. Cascade. (Improvisation For Three Harp Guitars) 7. She Swings Skirt 8. Mexico City Dream. (For Gil Evans) 9. Ventura 10. The Girl In The Park In The Rain 11. Apollonian Tremolo 12. Giant Hawaiian Showboat 13. Cremona 14. The Land Of Lost Time 15. Sleepless In The Ticking Dark 'ROSEWOOD' VOLUME TWO- 1. 'Tinderbox' 2. 'Aliumesque' 3. 'Little Cantina' 4. 'Rolling Home, (Yorkshire Raga No.1)' 5. 'Sunbeam' 6. 'Bramble' 7. 'William Is Wearing The Cardigan Of Light' 8. 'The Autumn Tram, (Yorkshire Raga No. 2)' 9. 'Hi Lo La' 10. 'Rising Sap' 11. 'Blue Cloud' 12. 'See-Through Nightie' 13. 'Ordinary Storm, Waiting For Rain' 14. 'The Light Is Kinder In This Corner Of Corona' 15. 'Your Whole Life Dreaming NELSONICA The Beat Goes On It is hoped to organise an official Nelsonica fan convention this year. Plans are currently being discussed and a new venue is being investigated. The timing of the convention is dependent upon the eventual Autumn solo tour schedule but it is hoped that Nelsonica can be accommodated. Various new proposals have been put forward to develop the convention and provide fans with an opportunity to share a day out with Bill. Live performance will be included in this event, along with other special items of interest. Keep your eye on 'The Dreamsville Rocket' for the latest developments. BILL NELSON LAUNCHES NEW RECORD LABEL Rosewood' is a limited edition release on Bill's own 'SONOLUXE' label and will be exclusively available from 'THE DREAMSVILLE DEPARTMENT STORE' or from official merchandising stalls at Bill Nelson's live concerts. HAROLD BUDD. A SPECIAL TRIBUTE CONCERT Bill Nelson will be featured in a very special, not to be missed concert for his long-time friend Harold Budd, being staged in Brighton on the 21st of May, 2005 as part of the Brighton Arts Festival. The concert will include performances by Jah Wobble, Robin Guthrie, John Foxx, Theo Travis, Steve Cobby and Steve Jansen, (as well as Bill) plus other special guests still to be confirmed. Check out the Brighton Festival website for further details. This concert can never be repeated and is not to be missed! ROSEWOOD, Ornaments And Graces For Acoustic Guitar, Volume One Bill's personal view of the album's development and its place within his work:- "I'd considered making an acoustic guitar based album for some time... but an instrumental one that would comfortably sit alongside such projects as 'The Romance Of Sustain,' 'Plaything' and 'Dreamland To Starboard.' I also wanted to avoid the obvious 'unplugged' approach. You know the kind of thing I mean, that faintly commercial, middle class, faux-folksy, nouveau-puritanical, rootsy methodism, with its slyly manipulative suggestion of a kind of 'backwoods/backwards' naivety... the easy seduction of an unsophisticated, barefoot girl outside a log cabin with her Ma and Pa away in town to buy feed for the chickens. Or maybe the rustic lure of big beards and banjos, overalls, oil stains and tobacco, the romantic refuge of city boys stricken by an identity crisis. Not that I haven't consciously employed such notions of whimsy within my own music in the past. And I've certainly purchased and enjoyed my own fair share of those kind of albums, authentic or otherwise. So, I'm not coming down heavy on the Hollywood Hillbilly Hordes here. What I'm trying to say is that I wanted to bring something else to this project, other than its essential declaration of woody 'acoustic-ness.' In one sense 'Rosewood' is a reversal of older confabulations, (look it up, it doesn't exist), that easy thrill of taking technology and applying primitivist attitudes to it... old hat now, (and for some time too). Not that approach, definitely not, but a slightly different one. From these hesitant attempts to rationalise my methods, you might surmise that Rosewood was deliberately set aside, conceptualised, cut, dried and prepared, before I even tuned my guitar. As if the hatching of a concept was the alpha and omega of the thing. This wasn't quite the case. I may often begin in such a manner but the music inevitably demands its own violent deviation from such restrictions. It inevitably throws a curve ball. Of course, I always have the option to adhere to the original narrow remit or ignore it completely. I could profitably pursue the clear-cut track of the super-disciplined, minimalist aesthete, or actually have fun and play around with whatever the void throws up. Some would view the latter as a lazy approach but they'd be wrong. It's tougher dealing with the freedom to run anywhere at all in a field, rather than to walk down some pre-ordained white line. The more options available, the harder the task. It can go either way or otherwise. And 'otherwise' is often the best. Just the sheer sensuousness of playing and hearing it play back provides all the joy that I need or would wish to convey... Just because it's there for me and it's mere existence appears beautiful and an accidental miracle of sorts. But... aren't all miracles accidental, God being dead, (other than in the fevered imaginations of the devout?) Despite my half-hearted resistance, I've more than often found that 'going with the flow' leads to far more vital and potent results than pursuing the established art magazine, bourgeois affectations so beloved of the chattering classes... slick, over controlled hang-overs from English '80's Thatcherism. Such restrictive attitudes, to me, are nothing more than cliched expressions of fashion as fascism, (and so on ad nauseum). Music for anal-retentives? Well, suburban coffee table, dinner-party aesthetics are generally guaranteed to bring out the rebel in me. And the boorish, anarchist iconoclast. But then, I'm bound to be biased, aren't I? Anyway... back to the act of ART and all its absolutely irrelevant, transcendent perversions, the stuff we love and adore: Each time I begin an act of music making, I'm presented with a multitude of options. So many different angles and approaches and obsessions, all competing for my time and energy. Another cliche, perhaps, but: The artist's lot isn't so much to create, as to choose. He is adrift in a whirlpool of possibilities. It is a fierce place. 'Choose' is perhaps a misleading term in this instance. To cast the dice, is probably more apt. I am, on the one hand, just a simple guitar player with only one song to sing. On the other, I'm a reasonably well read, thoughtful, self-injurious, open-minded, poetically motivated, conceptually aware artist with selfishly personal, troubled and complex ideas to explore, (or 'issues to resolve,' to put it in pop-psychoanylitical terms). Or, on the other hand, (Oh, yes, I have three, you know), I'm simply in love with the sound of music, the physical feel of a guitar and the crackle and fizz and superficial beauty of my own gossamer thoughts and dreams. The latter, most probably. Or perhaps all of the above. Delete according to taste. With 'Rosewood' I wanted to take a basic, 'primitive' acoustic guitar and deal with it as if it was an electric instrument. This isn't to say that Rosewood is an experimental work. That old Jean Cocteau thing of 'taking a line for a walk' doesn't necessarily denote a dive into uncharted waters... Music's well-mapped oceans are pretty much over-fished anyway. The notion of 'newness' is as much a conservative concept as 'traditionalism.' An establishment perpetuated myth. Pop-Radicalism is rarely new, only like shifting sand, formed by tides of time and place and commerce, rather than absolute cultural need. Often nothing more than the kind of metaphysical lies touted by snake-oil salesmen, hoping to seduce their customers with the heady perfume of miracles and danger. A pirated, fake Chanel, mixed from sour and stale ingredients, masked with vanilla. It wasn't always so... Despite all this nebulous talk of here and there, now and then, Rosewood may be perceived by some to be fundamentally, deliciously retrogressive. Also, pretty, attractive, charming, mellow... . The plink, plonk, twang of nostagia. I cheerfully admit it has much to do with memory and nostalgia... but it remembers a past that never actually existed. The whole thing is a figment of imagination, a chimera, a fantasy projected in Disneyesque pastels. It may appear odd and alien to those few who encountered a head-scratching moment as a result of some of the acoustic interludes on my earlier albums, or to those who still hanker after amped-up '70's guitar heroisms. It may certainly appear odd to those who are a little too young, old, or insular to have explored the kitsch technicolour fringes of retroland, the lush meadows of English pastoralism, the smokey blue neon of '50's soho jazz clubs, the whirr and gleam of Post-Victorian fairy's wings, the rattle, bang and zoom of tin-can rocketships, the fairground colours of canal narrow-boats, the white hot hiss of steam trains, the warm, glowing golden static of Mullard valves in old radios, the Orson Welles-blessed zither's of Eastern Europe, the eternal attraction of a box of Lakeland coloured pencils alongside crisp, blank, white sheets of paper, the inevitable melancholy of impeding old age and autumn, the remembrance of youth and its follies, the tiny diamonds in snow, just after falling, the stars that shine through windows at night after love and sex, the church bells that drift over meadows and frame the first cuckoo of spring, the winding stream that sings and ripples and dazzles a bumblebee's eyes in summer, the bluebells that swoon beneath trees and perfume my dreams, the clouds that shift, change and form the faces of family ghosts in an August blue sky, the sound of my fingers on the strings of an acoustic guitar, the hum of a broken effects unit... All this, is my Rosewood and more. And Rosewood, in case you hadn't spotted it, is also the name of the most typical wood used in the construction of the fretboards of acoustic guitars. As above, so below. It's all surface and as deep as a wishing well." BILL NELSON. APRIL 2005 'Sonoluxe' is the latest name in a long line of Bill Nelson originated and owned record labels. It continues Bill's commitment to operating independently of the mainstream music industry, a tradition that Bill began in the very early 1970's with his 'Smile Records' label. 'Sonoluxe' will provide a quality service for those people who appreciate intelligent, stylish music, music that has no need of the narrow categorisation that so sadly limits contemporary listening habits. Each 'Sonoluxe' release will be a little work of art in itself, designed to give years of enjoyment. The label's first release will be the long-awaited 'ROSEWOOD' project. CARLSBRO TO MANUFACTURE A LIMITED EDITION, BILL NELSON DESIGNED AMPLIFIER! Due to unexpected demand, Carlsbro amplification are to manufacture a highly limited edition version of the amplifier and speaker cabinet personally designed by Bill Nelson and used by him on last year's 30th anniversary tour. Each unit will carry a specially engraved and numbered plate featuring Bill's signature. Once the initial small quantity have been made, no further units will be built. It is destined to be a rare and valuable collector's item. More news of this exclusive project as it develops. TWO NEW DIARY ENTRIES Bill has written two new diary entries, exclusive to Dreamsville. In the first, dated 21st of April 2005, Bill writes about the Dreamsvillelaunch, his10th wedding anniversary and his new plans for an autumn tour, as well as musings on the general election and the joys of a waxed mustache. In the second entry, dated 28th April 2005, Bill writes about ill health, the first cuckoo of spring, the mastering of Rosewood, Buddhist art, property development and the website launch delay. Diary of a Hyperdreamer is open for you to read on the desk of Bill's study in Villa Nelsonica. ROSEWOOD - Jon Wallinger gives his personal view For the last couple of weeks, I have had the pleasure of being in possession of a pre-mastered copy of Bill Nelson's latest instrumental CD 'Rosewood - Volume One'. When I say, "I've had the pleasure", that is exactly what it has been. This latest recording flows on wonderfully from 'Romance Of Sustain' and 'Dreamland To Starboard'. But whilst those albums were centred around electric guitars, the melody maker on Rosewood is the acoustic guitar. Headbangers may be disappointed, because at no stage during Rosewood do you get to shake your curly locks, but if you want my advice, play it after a hard day at work, lie back, put your feet up, close your eyes and let the gentle, haunting sounds massage your mind to a state of tranquillity so often forgotten about in today's world. But it's not just the guitar that sets the scene, there are layers of sounds, very minimal, but what there are fits so well... touches of ethnic percussion in places, bells and wind-chimes. Guitars in reverse appear a couple of times just to remind you who the recording artist is. It is quite a task to pick out individual song titles for special mentions. When listening to this CD, the tracks seem to merge to become a complete recording. You may have read that Bill spent quite some time working on the track selection and running order, the effort was well worth it, creating a complete journey rather than individual trips. There is just one track that I don't think fits particularly well among the others - I won't tell you which one, I'll let you make your own minds up... it will probably end up being everybody else's favourite! So if you enjoyed 'Romance' and 'Dreamland' then I predict that you are going to feel the same about the dreamy, ambient world of Rosewood. Roll on Volume Two... Jon Wallinger

Joy Through Amplification Bill Nelson album - 9 July 2012 Albums Menu Future Past Purchase this download TRACKS: 01) Ampex One 02) Sex Magic 03) Ampex Two 04) Vortexion Dream 05) Ampex Three 06) The Conjurer's Companion (Every Blessed Thing Is So Damned Fragile) 07) Ampex Four 08) Orpheus Dreams Of Disneyland 09) Ampex Five 10) Imps In The Undergrowth 11) Ampex Six 12) Arco Volta 13) Ampex Seven 14) Fire Gods Of The National Machine 15) Ampex Eight 16) To What Strange Place Will This Transport You? 17) Ampex Nine 18) Heaven Holds A Grand Parade 19) Ampex Ten 20) Weather Blows Wild Inside My Head 21) Ampex Eleven 22) Why Does It Do That? 23) Ampex Twelve 24) These Tall Blue Days (Are Lark Amazed) 25) Ampex Xtra 26) Monsters From Heaven (Flowers And Rain) ALBUM NOTES: Joy Through Amplification: The Ultra-Fuzzy World of Priapus Stratocaster is an album combining vocal and brief instrumental pieces, issued in a one off print run of 1000 copies on the Sonoluxe label. The main title for the album, Joy Through Amplification , was revealed on the Dreamsville forum in May 2011, and was intended for an album of songs written specifically for a five piece band (Combo Deluxe) that Nelson had hoped to form to undertake a UK tour in 2012. A small number of songs were completed by July 2011, but with a number of projects competing for time and material throughout a hectic year, Nelson struggled to make significant progress on the album for the remainder of 2011. Eventually the planned tour came to nothing, but Nelson retained the main title, and added an elaborate subtitle for an album that was somewhat different in content than initially intended. Most of the work on Joy Through Amplification was completed in the first six weeks of 2012, and it was during this period when the idea of alternating each song with one of the series of 'Ampex' instrumentals was formed. Nelson went on to describe the instrumental segments as "an album within an album", inviting fans to listen to these pieces in isolation from the full album. On the day the album was being mastered at Fairview Studios, Nelson decided to add an extra track, "Monsters from Heaven", which had originally been destined to appear on The Dreamshire Chronicles . The album's arrival was celebrated with its own launch party, staged on 9 July 2012. At this event, held at The Leeds Club (in Leeds), Nelson took part in a Q&A session in front of an audience of sixty paying guests, who each received a signed copy of the album and a signed limited edition art print on the night. Nelson's profile was aided by a few reviews of the album in the major publications. The album sold out on 14 October 2015. CURRENT AVAILABILITY: Available for purchase as a digital download here in the Dreamsville Store . BILL'S THOUGHTS: "Just to, er, arouse your curiosity, I'm currently working on a very peculiar instrumental album with the working title of The Mysterious Echo Chamber of Priapus Stratocaster . (I kid you not!) "This album contains a weird mix of long form and shorter pieces and features odd moments of wild, madman at the helm guitar solos, (ring modulated, overdriven and wah-wahed to Alpha Centuri and back), but set into unlikely frameworks. It may trigger thoughts of the worst excesses of rock guitar imaginable but, at the same time, it's fused seamlessly with music similar in feel to some of the tracks on the Non-Stop Mystery Action , Theatre of Falling Leaves , and Captain Future's Psychotronic Circus albums. A wry blend of the sophistiCAT sublime, (meow...) and the spandex ridiculous. (And probably some of my nastiest, semi-atonal rock guitar lunacy since "The Revenge of the Man in the Burning Ice Cream Van".) "Those of you with a taste for the genuinely perverse will, I trust, love it!" _____ "Have been working somewhat intensely on Joy Through Amplification : The Fuzzy World of Priapus Stratocaster. It's turning out to be a neo-psychedelic, techno-metal album, (much as predicted). Hard, abrasive yet melodic and ecstatic too...a densely rich mix of guitar/vocal ideas with everything pumped up to the max. Headbanging for people with a library ticket? Well...hard to describe it accurately...you'll just have to wait and see... "For those of you who have been hankering for something rougher and grittier...this one may well float your leaky boat." _____ "The album is, in some ways, a response to those who have wanted a rock album from me. I could have done a '70s style, Be Bop Deluxe sort of thing, but there's little fun for me in that as I covered those bases all those years ago...so I thought I'd do something even more rock than Be Bop, but push it out of shape a little whilst incorporating some of the stylised machismo elements that real rock bands take so seriously, (much to my amusement!). So there's some chugging, deliberately dumb and dirty riffs, squalling wah-wah guitars, semi-moronic drumming and even a touch of shredding." _____ "I'm also now experimenting with another approach to the album. I'm separating each main track or song with a series of brief, (all under two minutes), ambient-ish, minimalist guitar instrumentals or soundscapes, completely at odds with the main songs. I want these to function as 'palate cleansers', a glass of fresh water between the thickly sauced meats of the main dishes. I'm giving these little miniatures a group title: They will all be called 'AMPEX' but will carry a number. (So: 'Ampex One,' 'Ampex Two,' etc.). When I have enough 'Ampex' pieces I'll try to re-sequence the songs on the album with an 'Ampex' track between each, to break up the relentless textures of the album. It might just bring the project more into line with my own sensibilities. Or, of course, these 'Ampex' tracks might persuade me that they should have an album of their own. We'll see." _____ "These little quirky guitar gems between tracks are very promising. The guitar sounds are quite processed and often un-guitar like...some people would think they're keyboard sounds, but they're not. Just filtered, delayed, reversed and digitally re-pitched electric guitars. Short and sweet. A nice contrast to the main tracks on the album. (And a gentle challenge to the more rock-oriented types who might not normally give time to such things)." _____ "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'." _____ " 'Priapus Stratocaster' is, (in my feverish imagination), the ivy festooned god of loud guitars and woodland frolics...a close cousin of Pan, Bacchus and Hermes...round of belly, jovial in demeanour, cloven hoofed and upright of staff. Constantly in pusuit of the most ecstatic guitar solo and comely turn of ankle!" _____ "I've invented the persona of 'Priapus Stratocaster' for the album, Priapus being the Greek god responsible for the protection of fruit, gardens and male genitalia. He's usually depicted with a rather gargantuan erect phallus, chasing some diaphanous maiden or other. I thought it amusing to name a fictional, cartoon-like rock god after him. Adding 'Stratocaster' as his surname competed the joke as many rock guitarists weild Fender Stratocaster guitars in a crotch-humping, phallic manner. Factor in some virtual tight spandex pants, big hair and hysterical male posturing to complete the picture and there you have it: 'The Ultra Fuzzy World of Priapus Stratocaster'." _____ "Oh, and there's a sense of mickey-taking in the album's sub-title...I mean, 'Priapus Stratocaster?' C'mon, it's a jokey reference to 'cock rock,' is it not? The album is not quite as straightforward as it might at first seem...it's the work of a sly prankster. (Which is why one of the images is of a clown guitar)." _____ "I've never stopped making rock music, I've just expanded my musical base to include things on the fringe of it, and sometimes outside it entirely. And I've attempted to cross breed the form, to create interesting hybrids that might inspire the listener to listen beyond his or her 'comfort zone.' (And to get me to play outside of my comfort zone too)." _____ "Noisy as Hell and beautiful as Heaven!" _____ Bill's Listening Notes for the album: 'Joy Through Amplification' Listening Notes FAN THOUGHTS: John Spence: "Well now...what an enjoyable day with Bill. Downloading and mastering tracks for Joy Through Amplification . You people are in for a real treat. If you love guitars you'll love this. If you love songs you'll love this. I'll say no more. I have the best job in the world but days like today make it very, very special." _____ aquiresville: "It's a complex, intricate, adult guitar-bash-up, it's a swagger and a hip-shake with poetry to boot, it's a wild marathon with some lovely "breathers" thrown in (so we can recuperate, before diving in again). It IS Joy Through Amplification ." "JTA is, in my humble opinion, Bill's greatest postmillennial piece of work (so far...! We want MORE, Bill!)" "It's hard to ignore "Sex Magic" as one of the best on the album; Bill coaxes his guitar to soar and moan so freaking delightfully! Had this track a bit of crowd noise, a hardcore fan could close his eyes and hear it as a "lost" Be Bop Deluxe offering (as Bill alludes to in his notes, with the sonic DNA from "Panic")! "THIS is exactly what we want to hear, Bill. Bravo, Bill, and Thank You. More. Bring it on." GettingOnTheBeam: "The songs jump out at you, with maybe the highest energy level of a Bill cd in years. This is Bill's celebration of the instrument he loves, and a celebration of what he can do with it. And that celebration comes through loud and clear." "Unbelievable guitar work. This is why for me Bill is the best guitarist ever, and by far the best songwriting guitarist ever! (A lot of the technical guys aren't much for writing.)" "For me, JTA is the best release of Bill's career. I have not tired of it yet, and play tracks from it regularly. A high energy songwriting Masterpiece." seantere: "Utterly fantastic. Man! You can still rip the hell out of a guitar!" BobK: "The interlude pieces which commence the album and separate the songs: these are short quirky and fascinating.They serve in three separate ways. As individual soundscapes in their own right, the calm before the storm, and indeed the calm after the storm. This works extremely well. As for the songs. Wow. Enigmatic lyrics, sly references lyrically and musically to old classics. They are melodic, catchy, but frequently edgy. Well structured, but prone to going off on a tangent. Some lovely guitar tones here. A little edgier, a little angrier, but BN being BN it is always tasteful and melodic. This is a very special album that should be cranked up, (as indeed it was on Friday night!). It will appeal to those who hanker for rock songs, who love BN's guitar playing, his singing, his gift of melody and love a bit of quirky weirdness." Dar: "The alternating structure of Ampex - Rock - Ampex is unique and interesting, but this also quickly gets more interesting. I found the Ampexii (Ampexes or Ampexions?) acting like strange and wonderful dimensional portals, wormhole tunnels of sound and subtle music, transferring me from one Nelsonian realm to the next." "Congratulations on a genuine masterwork." Face In The Rain: "Imps in the Undergrowth": "wonderful grungy guitar! Had it on in the car yesterday - my teenage son was bobbing his head in approval!" Alan: "I'm really enjoying the album. Although, there seems to be a glitch in my CD, as it keeps returning to "Arco Volta"..." tom fritz: "The Conjurer's Companion": "a seriously rocking number, great drums pounding. Staggered rhythm guitars, jazzy lead fills, fantastic lyrics. Then comes one of Bill's great strengths: the magic outro. It's like a completely different tune when this happens. One of those "play that again" moments." MondoJohnny: "I've been listening to the album since I got it yesterday and I haven't made it through because I keep having to stop and replay songs!" "Bill can be very deep and artistic but he can also just rock your socks off! Sometimes he gives you a gummi bear and other times he give you a multi vitamin. They are both excellent in their own way." "I've been listening to this album, and wow! Bill's still got it. This album is rock but it's something more. I was thinking about what decade it sounded like...and my answer was...now? It sounds like right now! Not what's happening now, or what happened last week, but this very minute. I haven't heard another rock album that sounds like this one. Its really something special." swampboy: "Bill made a comment in one of his posts that this album "just barks". I have to disagree. It HOWLS!! I finally received my copy a few days ago, and it took a few listens to start absorbing it. It really is a pitbull of an album that grabs you by the ears and doesn't let go until the last note fades out. It rocks harder than anything else he's ever done, and commands your attention at every turn. Once again, Mr. Nelson manages to both surprise and satiate us once again." "After repeated listenings, I find that the ampexes remind me of rest periods between rounds in a boxing match. Bill bobs and weaves, jabs and punches with his guitar. At the end of each round, we're given a minute or two to recover before the next round. Bill wins with a TKO, and we're dazed, but happy." steviegray: "One thing I can say about Bill Nelson since he started releasing records, there is no genre to define him. His guitar playing is just incredible and he is one of those guitarists who you know he's playing, nobody can imitate and get away with it!" chymepeace: "Completely brilliant. Gets better with each listen. Simply stunning. Thanks Bill. How you keep it fresh and exciting is a mystery but I'm very glad you do." REG: "In a career featuring so many highlights, this album still manages to stand out, an absolute triumph." Albums Menu Future Past

Wednesday 9th March 2005 -- 1:49 pm A quick diary entry today. Lots going on. Have now finished 16 pieces of music for my latest guitar instrumental album and I'm trying to settle on the correct running order. As I mentioned here before,12 tracks is my goal but it's good to have more to choose from. I'm hoping that, by my next diary entry, I'll have a final list to announce. (And an idea of when it will be available.) This task is occupying me almost full time but I think it will be well worth all the effort. Now, I have a special message to convey: Regular users of the Rooms With Brittle Views website will have noticed that it was no longer in existence today, due to webmaster Alan Myer's switching it off for good. Unfortunately, it seems that Alan no longer felt that he could spare the time and energy to operate the site and, sadly, has decided to close it down. Like many others, I want to express my thanks to Alan for his input over the last five years and for doing his best to maintain the site under sometimes difficult circumstances. I'd hoped that Alan might have felt like continuing his site alongside the forthcoming 'Dreamsville' one but it was not to be. Alan's day-to-day business has increasingly taken up more of his time of late and maintaining RWBV has become an obstacle. As I have said in earlier diary entries, I have no desire to add further pressures to Alan's situation and I wish him well and hope that he will find life somewhat easier without the time-consuming responsibility of running a BN fan site. Which brings me to the future... We are reasonably close to opening up the new Dreamsville website, which it now seems will have to function in a slightly different capacity to the one I originally planned. I'm looking at ways to develop the new site in a broader direction, providing some of the facilities to fans left by the closure of RWBV. By this, I mean more than just the production and distribution of my recordings, which was the original reason for starting Dreamsville. This will obviously be a little more time-consuming for me but, because of the help I've been generously offered by various people who have already contributed to RWBV's past existence, I think everyone will eventually be satisfied by our efforts. I'm now looking at setting up a discussion board to replace the loss of Northern Dreamer so that fans will continue to have a place to meet and talk. Eventually, this will be incorporated within the Dreamsville site. It will take the form of a 'pub' which, for the moment, is to be called 'The Dreamsville Arms'. This pub will be located within an area of the site known as 'The Pleasure Park' . The Pleasure Park will hold various buildings connected with general entertainment, including a 'box office' where live concert tickets and so on can be purchased on line. There will also be a facility to secure tickets to special fan events such as the annual fan convention which we're hoping to put in place as before, perhaps in an expanded form. More news of this as it develops. The Pleasure Park will also contain 'The Guitar Arcade', an essential building to visit for anyone with an interest in guitars and guitar playing. Dreamsville is a fictional town and it's various buildings will have different functions. There will be a 'Villa Nelsonia' where my diary entries will be found. Villa Nelsonia will also contain other odd musings. Then, there will be 'Dreamsville Town Hall' which will act as a central office for the site. Here is where the 'Mayor of Dreamsville' will reside. The Mayor will act as a public interface for fans and will work closely with myself on the development of Dreamsville itself. My good friend Jon Wallinger has kindly volunteered to fulfill this role and will become the official 'Mayor Of Dreamsville' the moment that the site goes on line. The Town Hall will also contain a guide to the site and regular messages from The Mayor and The Architect's Department about the ongoing development plans. In the Architect's Department, a team will work on the site's structure. Obviously, I will be overseeing this with the help of my long-time design collaborator David Graham and also with technical assistance from Paul Gilby and others. News will be handled by the newspaper office of 'The Dreamsville Rocket'. This will be a fairly regular news bulletin with the visual look of a newspaper. People will be able to subscribe to this for free and will be sent e-mails linking them to each new edition. It will contain visual treats as well as text. Copies of 'The Dreamsville Rocket' will be archived at the newspaper office in the town. Another building will be 'The Museum Of Memory' . This will hold my personal memorabilia and photographs from my private life. Much of the material contained here will not have been seen by the public before. 'The Academy Of Art' will contain examples of my visual work, 'The Music Salon' will document my musical career and 'The Dreamsville Department Store' will provide a facility for people to obtain my recordings, both old and new, plus other merchandise. 'The Post Office' will contain a guest book for visitors to Dreamsville to sign. 'The Transit Lounge' will be where links to other interesting sites can be found and 'Dreamsville University' will provide an unusual educational facility where all kinds of odd ideas will be gathered together. 'Sunny Bungalow' , a sweet looking 1930's style building, will contain photo's of my toy collection and other kitsch collectables. And so on and so forth... More things will be added to the town as time goes on, including a radio station and a cinema if the technical side of things works out. A LOT of work to get it up to full strength but all websites have to start somewhere and, with determination and patience (and some encouragement from the outside world), we should eventually end up with something quite special and unique. Until the first stage of the site goes on line, these diary pages will act as a news bulletin as well as a regular diary. As soon as facilities are in place for people to subscribe to the Dreamsville mailing list, I will let everyone know and we can start to populate Dreamsville with real citizens. Keep checking billnelson.com and this diary to stay in touch. More news as it happens. Now it's back to working on the new album. Its title, by the way is: 'ROSEWOOD... Ornaments And Graces For Acoustic Guitar'. It will be released on my own 'SONOLUXE' record label. A rough draft of the artwork already underway. Patience, dear reader and... Stay tuned! Top of page Friday 18th March 2005 -- 6:00 pm Rosewood now has a front cover. Dave Graham and I finally arrived at the best solution. It's appropriate, colourful and fun... It has fish on it! And electrical circuits! And a guitar! Now I have to make and choose images for the rest of the package. Went out and took more photographs of an old Hoyer archtop guitar of mine for this purpose but need to work with these in my computer before passing on to Dave for him to work his layout magic. I've now recorded 24 pieces of music to choose from for the album but haven't begun the final selection process. It's going to be difficult to boil them down to my intended 12 track running order. The one's that don't fit will be made available on this year's Nelsonica convention album, so nothing will be wasted. The basic form of my Dreamsville website is at the technical assembly stage and should be up and running in a week or two. It will be in a rudimentary form at first but I'll fill it with content over the next year or two. It will look great once it's properly 'stocked.' Whilst on the subject of websites, Jon Wallinger pointed me in the direction of a temporary Bill Nelson discussion board that someone has set up. He said I should check out a posting by Alan Myers on there, so I did. When I read them, Alan's comments came as a real disappointment to me as I've always been appreciative of Alan's website (and Mark and Chuck's too, for that matter), and have tried to offer what input and help I could over the years as well as be supportive of events Alan asked me to endorse. I know that Alan has had some difficult personal times of late and can only think that these have contributed to the underlying bitterness suggested by his posting. What a shame. I won't comment further other than to say that the only reason I've had to look at ways of putting a website of my own together was a direct result of Alan telling people, last year, that he was shutting down his site. And yes, as I once pointed out to some people who were getting far too unhealthily wrapped up in things, it is only a website and, in fairness to Permanent Flame, RWBV was neither the first or only Bill Nelson website on the planet, just the one that I was once pursuaded to contribute most towards. I had hoped that Alan might, once he'd come to terms with his personal life, seen fit to continue the site alongside Dreamsville, as a purely fan oriented site, which is what it was supposed to be when it began, but it seems that was simply naive of me. After all the previous co-operation between us, I'm extremely sorry that Alan has seen fit to make such negative comments in public. What's the point in that, other than to cause damage and distress to myself and my friends? But, needless to say, there's probably much more to this sad story than meets the eye. I'm personally upset but, from past experience, not at all surprised. So... perhaps it really was for the best, after all, despite my initial doubts. Life's way too short for these kind of intrigues, especially at my advanced age (and with the amount of work I've got to accomplish before I'm too old to accomplish it). In any case, people are intelligent enough to judge the real situation for themselves without me getting involved. But at least I know where I stand now. Move on, move away. Life's stressful enough. An e-mail from Harold this morning. He's sending me a brochure from an exhibition of English watercolours that he attended. Harold's Maytime Brighton concert coming up soon. I'm trying not to get too nervous about it at this stage. Hal is his usual laid back, 'when it happens, it happens' self. For all his protestations to the contrary, he's one of the most Buddha natured people I've ever met. Absolutely artistically ruthless but sweet as a nut with it. I envy him his balance. And his aesthetic gifts. Finished reading 'What Did I Do?' by Larry Rivers. I enjoyed it tremendously and ended up admiring the guy for his totally self-absorbed, passionate mission to squeeze as much out of life and art as possible and fuck himself senseless at every available opportunity. An irredeemable rogue who led a scandalous life driven by a fiery, burning intelligence. It really inspires one to cut the crap out of one's own life and make art with all the energy available. Ed Ruscha's book, (which I'm still reading), on the other hand, is cooler, more collected and, at times, as dull as dishwater. More greats gone to Valhalla: Phillip Lamantia, Arthur Miller, Hunter S. Thompson and Jimmy Smith (the latter the best organ grinder in the business). One of my planned but unnanounced live performances in May now cancelled due to venue unsuitability. So I won't announce it. Still one more up my sleeve though, besides the Harold spectacular. Now it's dinner time and then a mixing session. Next week... the Rosewood assembly begins in earnest. Top of page Wednesday 23rd March 2005 -- 9:00 am Signs of Spring on the increase and some sunshine, 'though yesterday was wet and grey. I ended up stuck in the house anyway as I suddenly found myself unable to send any e-mails. I usually deal with the first e-mails of the day immediately after breakfast and before taking my bath. Yesterday, however, I was still stuck in front of the computer at 4pm... and still in my dressing gown. The e-mail service provider I use had changed the way their system worked, now insisting on smtp authorisation. I followed the provider's website instructions to reset my e-mail settings but to no avail. My computer still wouldn't send any e-mails at all, various error messages flashing up on screen. It took me a long while and several phone calls to tech support teams to discover that the problem was with my e-mail browser software... .It basically didn't support smtp authorisation, being somewhat antiquated. Antiquated? Hell, it was only five years old! Software ages rapidly in computerland, it seems. I then had to find and download some new e-mail browser software and install it. This was accompanied by panics about whether I would lose my many thousands of stored e-mails from my older system. I eventually figured out how to make back up copies of these and installed the new software. It took only seconds to install, despite having taken almost one hour to download. Thank goodness everything worked once more and nothing was lost from my e-mail archives. I was surprised by how panicked I was by this escapade. A few years ago, before I had a computer, I poured scorn on those people who seemed unable to function out of arms reach of their PC's and Macs. I couldn't see the need for e-mails and the internet and even avoided the telephone unless it was absolutely neccesary. Now, I realise just how pathologically dependent I've become on the computer to communicate with the outside world. In some ways it's quite amazing, in other's it's sad. The truth is, I now have to give up a great deal of time to answering e-mails and dealing with computer-related activities, time that was once spent making music. My intention, yesterday, was to work on the final selection of tracks for the 'Rosewood' album. Unfortunately, this task was postponed whilst I dealt with the technical problems posed by my Mac. I'll try again today, after dealing with this diary entry. 'Rosewood' has now accumulated 27 possible tracks. As I've mentioned in these pages previously, I need to select around a dozen of these to go on the album proper, the rest being reserved for the Nelsonica Convention album. Choosing the 12 that will best work together will be difficult. The trick will be to only use tracks that work together towards a particular goal. There's some variety amongst the pieces but I think I need to make this album head off in one fixed direction, rather than become too diverse. It has elements of the 'Dreamland To Starboard' album in that it is quite 'interiorised' for want of a better word... 'Mellow' might suit it better, I don't really know. Until I start to get to grips with choosing and sequencing the running order, it's difficult to say exactly what the final effect will be. At this point in time, I'm feeling a bit clueless about it all. I recently remarked to Harold (Budd) that I approach music like a blind man with a stick. I should have qualified this further by saying, 'like a blind man with a stick approaching a dangerous highway'. I changed the titles of two or three pieces to better suit their mood. The list of possible track choices for 'Rosewood' is now made up of the following pieces: Filament Ventura Bramble Appolonian Tremolo Cascade (Improvisation For 3 Harp Guitars) Lumia See Through Nightie Lacuna William Is Wearing The Cardigan Of Light She Swings Skirt Aliumesque Tinderbox Cremona Mexico City Reflections (For Gil Evans) Little Cantina Giant Hawaiian Showboat Blues For Orpheus Autumn Tramcar (Yorkshire Raga No.2) The Girl In The Park In The Rain Blue Cloud Hi Lo La The Land Of Lost Time Swingo Collapso Rising Sap Pilgrim The Big Buick Rolling Home (Yorkshire Raga No.1) Somehow, I have to boil these down to twelve cohesive tracks for the album. I must make some progress with this today. In my last diary entry, I mentioned that one of my proposed May live performances had been cancelled due to venue unsuitability. I also mentioined that I had one more live concert up my sleeve. Well, as bad luck would have it, this also didn't work out. I had been asked to play at the Coventry Jazz Festival but the organisers seem to have changed their plan and I'm left clutching empty air. So... the only scheduled appearance for me at this point in time is at the tribute concert for Harold Budd being held as part of the Brighton Festival on the 21st of May. From three shows to one. Received a nice letter from Harold yesterday. Briefly discussing some concert performance plans but mainly talk of other things. Also got an e-mail from the Carlsbro Amplifier company. Seems that my custom, self-designed Carlsbro amp and speaker cabinet has generated a fair bit of interest and the company are proposing that they manufacture a limited edition run of the design, with my approval. Each amp would carry a metal plaque with my signature and a number to indicate its limited edition status. Apparently, quite a few people have asked if they could buy an identical amp to mine. I'm pleased it has captured some player's imaginations. Dave Graham has come up with Rosewood's CD 'on-body' label and it perfectly suits our front cover image. I still have to create the images for Dave to fit into the rest of the package and will try to make a start on this today. I could do it whilst listening to and assembling the draft running order. I'll need to book Fairview studios soon to master the album prior to manufacturing it. I'm praying that 'Rosewood' will be appreciated. Certainly, those who enjoyed my 'Dreamland To Starboard' album shouldn't find it too much of a challenge. After getting sore fingers and thumbs with the acoustic guitar at the heart of 'Rosewood', I'm itching to record some new electric guitar pieces, using a plectrum. I also ought to think about getting to grips with a new song-based vocal album. Right now, though, I'm not in a lyric-oriented mood. I'm sure that something will come to me sooner ot later... it usually does. I'm told that the launch of 'Dreamsville' is not too far away now. I'm in the hands of Adam, the technician who is building the mechanical side of the new site. I'm told he's on with the job and I'll have something to look at very soon. But, there's months and months of work ahead to get all the actual content I have in place on the site. Still, fans can watch it grow bit by bit. The idea is to get the essential stuff in place first, including the town's 'pub' (The Dreamsville Inn), where fans will be able to communicate and discuss to their heart's content over a 'virtual pint' of Dreamsville's best ale. I may even make a real bottle of 'Dreamsville Ale' available in the future, a limited brewing to be sold exclusively at Nelsonicas. I'll need to liase with a nice, small, local brewery to see how this could be manufactured and what the costs would be. Absolutely inessential, of course, but sort of fun in a surrealist way. There's no shortage of ideas for Dreamsville, just a limited amount of time available to put them into action. Ultimately, the music has to take pride of place. I've had a nice response from fans to my request for Red Noise era photos. I now have a few good ones to send off to Paul Sutton-Reeves for his 'Music In Dreamland' book. Music to be selected now, so... back to work. Top of page Tuesday 29th March 2005 -- 10:30 am Almost April. That time thing again. Life passing me by whilst I work myself into a state of stress. And for what? For what I hope will be a beautiful body of music. I complain, I endure, no matter what the turn of events. In an apparently meaningless world, music is the one illusion of meaningfulness that I cling to. My personal, proud folly. I've been struggling and struggling with the running order for my 'Rosewood' album. I'd hoped to keep the track count down to twelve tracks but couldn't slim it down beyond nineteen. (The total recorded now stands at 29 pieces of music.) Listening back to my choice of nineteen tracks in the correct sequence, I was struck by how rich the listening experience was. Perhaps too rich for some people. I worried that it might overwhelm the listener and be difficult to take in at one sitting, thereby diluting its impact. So... I eventually decided to split Rosewood into two separate albums. Not a double album set, but two individual volumes: 'Rosewood Volume One' and 'Rosewood Volume Two'. That way, I won't be frustrated by losing some of the music to lesser projects and the album's audience can access the music in two, much more easily digested, chunks. Having said that, the track count on Rosewood Volume one is still more than my original twelve track target. But at least it is fifteen tracks now and not nineteen. And, more importantly, it works a treat. I listened through to a draft CD-r assembly of it last night and I think it constitutes some of my finest work. It's intense, emotional, thoughtful and spontaneous and very musical, avoiding the fashionably glamourous lure of 'avant-guardism'. I guess you could say it's a mature work. Or as mature as my Peter Panic nature will allow. I think that the final track listing for Rosewood Volume One will be as follows: Blues For Orpheus Escondido Oleander Lumia Filament Lacuna Cascade (Improvisation For Three Harp Guitars) She Swings Skirt Mexico City Dream (For Gil Evans) Ventura The Girl In The Park In The Rain Apollonian Tremolo Giant Hawaiian Showboat Cremona The Land Of Lost Time Sleepless In The Ticking Dark I e-mailed Dave Graham the sleeve notes, credits and track listing last night so that he can lay them into our design package. The album artwork is virtually complete for volume one. It looks really strong and features a lot of my photography. A package as rich as the music it contains. The next task is to assemble a running order for volume two of the album. Dave is already making draft layouts and I need to sort out which remaining tracks fit where. I suspect though, that I'll record at least couple more pieces of music for this to balance out volume two's 'feel'. Rosewood, for all its acoustic implications, is a dense and complex piece of work. It has taken a real bite out of my being, one way or another. I've worked on Rosewood all through the Easter weekend (and for the last couple of months as well). Emi is off work for a week as the flower shop is closed whilst its owner goes on holiday to Egypt. Our lot is far less exotic. Emi gave the kitchen a spring clean yesterday whilst I stayed hunched over my mixing desk in my workroom. We've not been anywhere. Can't really afford to anyway. My output certainly overshadows what comes in. It's been a horrendously expensive few months... so many bills and unforseen domestic expenses. Poor Emi... I'm so lucky that she understands and tolerates my almost non-stop work ethic. I'll try to take her out somewhere today. Hundreds of Caravans lined up in the field opposite... At night, each one flickers with the cathode glow of its internal television set. These folks like to get away from it all but not too far from their soaps and game shows. Or from other people. I don't really understand the attraction of spending a weekend cheek by jowl with hundreds of other campers all boxed up together in a field. Maybe it's a social thing, rather than an escape. I'd prefer to be somewhere miles away from the herd. Of course, I'm an absolutely unrepentant social misfit anyway, so that's to be expected. More and more, these days, I look at the world outside my window with a mounting sense of semi-amused horror. I'm amazed by the shabby attitudes that seem to have become the norm in our society. What happened to the idealism, optimism and enlightened ideals of our 'swinging 'sixties?' Where did our liberated and liberal attitudes go? I suppose these once sweet dreams became nothing more than cheap, easily manipulated signifiers of an impossible utopia, fodder for advertising copywriters, unimaginative designers and middle aged, one-time mods, now sofa-landlocked on an endlessly nostalgic faraway domestic atoll. Poor sods. Maybe I'm one of 'em. Saw a rough draft of the Dreamsville site last week. Some things need a bit of a tweak. The trick is balancing graphic visual quality with practical download times. Something of a trade-off. The site is still in the hands of the technical chap and being knocked into digital shape, 'though the main visual components have been completed. I'm hoping we can launch the site fairly soon. But I've said that before. The consolation in all of this is that I don't want to just 'knock something up' for the sake of getting the site in place. It needs to be right. It will be, as I've also said before, an open-ended, ongoing project... something that will be developed slowly and carefully with attention to aesthetic detail. An extension of my musical and personal life, rather than a peripheral thing. I really need to escape from my room today... health suffering again, various aches and pains, twinges, numbnesses, a general feeling of being drained, exhausted even. I really ought to limit how much of myself I allow to be damaged by all this stuff. My own fault entirely of course. I can't even begin to address the problem. I'm hardly likely to change the habit of a lifetime at this stage of the game. If I really wanted to, if I genuinely felt more than just a romantic revulsion for this arty-farty lifestyle, I would. Throw it all away. It's obviously a tender trap I'm caught in and my wriggling is nothing more than a token defiance. Well... there you go. In the end, I submit to the painful deliciousness of it all. What a loser, what a lucky guy. Top of page William's Study (Diary Of A Hyperdreamer) March 2005 Feb Dec Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2013

The Alchemical Adventures Of Sailor Bill Bill Nelson And His Lighthouse Signal Mechanism Orchestra album - 6 November 2005 Albums Menu Future Past Purchase this download TRACKS: 01) The Lighthouse Keeper's Waltz 02) The Ceremonial Arrival Of The Great Golden Cloud 03) Here Comes The Sea 04) Dream Of Imperial Steam 05) Sailor Blue 06) Ship Of Summer, All Lights Blazing 07) Illuminated Promenade 08) The Ocean, The Night And The Big, Big Wheel 09) A Boat Named St. Christopher 10) Moments Catch Fire On The Crests Of Waves 11) The Sky, The Sea, The Moon And Me 12) My Ship Is Lost To Semaphore ALBUM NOTES: The Alchemical Adventures of Sailor Bill is a mainly vocal album issued on the Sonoluxe label in a single print run of 1000 copies. It was first made available on the opening night of Nelson's UK tour on 6 November 2005, which went under the banner of Popular Music From Other Planets . The remaining stock was then sold through SOS. The album represented something of a departure for Nelson as it was a concept album centered around his childhood memories of time spent near the coastland of North East England. The album went out of print in October 2007 and in 2013 tentative plans were announced on the Dreamsville Forum for a physical reissue as 2CD set with the companion album Neptune's Galaxy , but alas nothing came of this. CURRENT AVAILABILITY: Available for purchase as a digital download here in the Dreamsville Store . BILL'S THOUGHTS: "It wasn't conceived as a 'concept' album, at least in the usually perceived sense. It is, as the subtitle reveals, a 'suite of songs' dealing with a central theme. But many albums of mine either start with, or eventually develop, a 'concept'. This doesn't have to be some grand operatic thing, just a shining thread on which to string the musical beads. This album started with me feeling my way forward a bit at a time, like a blind man with a cane. I'd originally intended doing a very simple, stripped down set of songs that might easily be reproduced live but, somewhere along the line, the coastal, oceanic thing emerged and hijacked my original intentions. Before I knew it 'The Lighthouse Signal Mechanism Orchestra' had entered the frame, and it became clear what the muse was demanding of me. The instrumental interludes...were designed to both 'bridge' and further elaborate the various songs. The album is meant to be taken as a single, constantly unfolding piece of music. It contains a strong sense of place, of landscape and seascape, of characters and visual impressions. A kind of Ealing Studios film rendered as song." _____ "On a personal level, the album preserves these memories in sound and lyric as a meditation on loss and longing. On a more general level, it's an impressionistic album of seascapes and landscapes and the beautiful nature of our English coastline." _____ "One of my favourite tracks, "The Ceremonial Arrival of the Great Golden Cloud" works on several levels: 'The Great Golden Cloud' could actually be the name of a big sailing ship, its arrival in harbour after a trip to exotic lands being celebrated by those on dry land. It could also be a literal cloud, turned golden by the setting summer sun, watched by my boyhood self whilst standing on the east coast cliffs with my late father. The song makes a clear reference to my father who, 'loved the sea'. He and I used to walk on the empty beach together at dawn and explore the cliff tops at Reighton Gap and Witherensea. I recall he and I watching wild waves hit the harbour at Ilfracombe in Devon too. That song has many personal resonances." _____ "Re: 'The Lighthouse Keeper's Waltz' - it is intended to act as an 'overture' to the Sailor Bill album, setting the atmosphere and visual mood for the songs that follow. The lighthouse keeper is a romantic character for me, living in harmony with the elemental forces of the sea and providing a light for sailors to steer by. There are obvious metaphysical symbolisms involved here. The circular and spiral nature of the lighthouse evokes a kind of oceanic carousel. The coda section of the piece is meant to conjure up the idea of mermaids or sea-sirens singing on the rocks beneath the lighthouse, trying to lure the sailors to their doom. The textures, melodies and instrumentation of the piece are deliberately chosen to paint exactly that picture. It's one of my favourite compositions, not only on that album but generally, because it felt, when I'd finished it, as if I'd painted an epic picture of the scene as I'd originally imagined it." _____ "I invested a lot of time and thought in the project and I think this shows in the multi-faceted nature of the finished result. Its structures, textures and economical use of language were carefully chosen to convey both interior and exterior states of experience. It's filled with personal metaphor and symbolism and deals with innocence, experience and memory. It attempts to address the poetic nature of life and our longing for spiritual transcendence , but without spelling it out in those terms. I wanted it to have more than one level of meaning but also a 'secret key' that, once discovered and turned, would open the whole thing up like a treasure trove. "Ultimately, it's an album about the process of inner development, the possibility of transcendence mirrored by our interpretation of the world as it impacts on us in moments of wonder and lucidity. It's my attempt to read the mystery of my own life through the interpretation of memory and imagination. Conceptually ambitious? Perhaps so, and perhaps an unattainable goal. But it provided me with a personal revelation, simply by approaching it from that angle. I discovered a lot about myself in the process of making the album. In that sense, it really was a voyage of discovery and adventure, beyond the island of my past." _____ "If someone asked me to define my true self, the 'inner man', with just three albums, I'd point them to Sailor Bill , Rosewood Volume One , and Dreamland to Starboard with Sailor Bill occupying the number 1 slot. Of course, with such a large body of work to my name, there are quite a few other essential 'signifier' albums I could add to the essentials list, but, those three are the ones I'd save from the fire first. In some ways, they'd be the most suitable albums from which my soul and personality could be accurately reconstructed after I'm gone from this earth. I think of them as a kind of 'hologram' of the 'real me', the creative essence of myself." _____ " Sailor Bill is the classic, the timeless one, the BIG statement and the one you should give your undivided attention to. THIS is the one I passionately want you to hear above all others!" _____ "Give Sailor Bill' s musical ship of dreams time to reach your harbour...it's an epic, extended song-suite, rather than a collection of disconnected songs. It's almost operatic in its scope, a kind of concept album where each track makes up just one facet of the overall picture. I spent several months creating the album and it really requires proper listening to appreciate all the detail that went into it. But give it time and patience and it should unfurl its sails and carry you off to a coastal dreamland. Enjoy!!" FAN THOUGHTS: John Izzard: "More than lives up to the descriptions and promises Bill had made about this recording. Bill's albums always ooze artistry, creative energy and intelligence, but this album is simply on fire! I'm amazed that a musician with so many albums behind him, can produce something as beautifully fulfilling and desperately passionate as this. Incidentally, it is dedicated to Bill's late Father, his Mother and the memories of childhood seaside holidays. To the unconverted, if you want to see/hear a player at the very top of his game, you're not 25 years too late - IT'S NOW!" Martin Bostock: "Living, and indeed having grown up in a seaside town, the songs for me conjured up personal childhood memories of Tram rides, sandcastles and rain soaked-windswept trips through Blackpool Illuminations. Indeed, after we had listened to the CD and stepped out into the cool October evening air, I had that same excited feeling I would get when, as a boy, my Grandparents would take me to the 'Lighthouse Toy store' and would return home clutching some new piece of treasure. The Alchemical Adventures of Sailor Bill is a treasure chest, with each piece therein a finely polished & many faceted gem. Destined to become one of those must have Bill Nelson classics." jetboy: "Everything about this album is BIG...Sweeping Orchestras that would work well as soundtrack music, haunting melodies, seagulls, wind, distant Wurlitzers, somewhere a 60's beat combo plays on the end of a pier...it's a very romantic album, each track an epic. I've never heard anything like it before, and it's going to go down as a classic Bill Nelson album." Peter: "What a jewel. As always, Mr. Nelson reaches and connects...interesting, multi-layered, dynamic, emotional, evocative, imaginative and challenging, yet familiar, another lovely musical adventure for us all to take." "To this day it blows me away...rich, complex, elegant and full of passion. A rewarding stew of nostalgia, genuine emotion and the brilliant musical explorations I expect from Bill. And the guitar...what can I say? "A Boat Named St. Christopher" is so achingly beautiful I want it to last forever. 'Moments Catch Fire"? C'mon...that one is so gorgeous!" wonder toy: "WOW! What an outstanding album. Bill, you sound the best in every way I can imagine, your voice sounds amazing, your guitar playing is better than ever (which is saying a lot). EVERYTHING! The keyboard parts, arrangements, lyrics. I could go on and on. You have raised the bar once again as I suspect you will very soon again too." Steve Whitaker: ' The Alchemical Adventures ...are 'musical paintings' of the landscape of place and memory, and they do draw you in. In objective terms, there's nothing striking or startling about the topography of the North East Yorkshire coast (I must have visited 200 times in my life), but the process of assimilation acquired over donkey's years of familiarity leaves a mutable, absolutely personal, mental imprint. Alchemical Adventures are an aesthetic exploration of these imprints, and it's a testament to Bill's genius that he can take you to Whitby or Robin Hood's bay, or some ghostly historical resonance of same, in the 'stationary, supine' journey of your bathtub." BobK: "This album, although hinted at on previous recordings, is different stylistically to previous albums. Mainly sweeping Orchestral arrangements. The music has emotional depth and resonance . Frankly, it rather affected me. I think it is clear that it is a very personal album. The album has 12 'tracks'. Though it must be said that so many melodies appear, disappear and reappear within them that it seems an insult to refer to them as 'tracks'. I think this is one of those collections that demand the listener listen to it as an entirety rather than dipping 'in and out'. The tracks flow and blend into a rather intense listening experience. The album is full of glorious melodies and moving lyrics. Beautifully played, beautifully sung. The arrangements are cleverly arranged, complex and transport the listener through a full range of emotions. The words that come to mind are: Epic, majestic, emotional and melancholy. In addition it made me smile. It seems unfair to pick 'standout' tracks. I will simply say that ' The Sky, The Sea, The Moon And Me' is a truly affecting piece of music that brought a tear to my eye. I feel this will be remembered not simply as a hugely enjoyable album but as a key album in a glorious career. Yep, I kinda like it. Thanks Sailor Bill." Honeymoon on Mars: "Put quite simply, Sailor Bill is a masterpiece which produces such a reservoir of emotion it takes the breath away. I found it more accessible than many of his other works, and although I am a guitarist, I did not rue the lack of that instrument in any way." Parsongs: "Well, just when you think Mr. Nelson can't get any more diverse, he gives us The Alchemical Adventures of Sailor Bill . I can't put into words how deep and rich these compositions are. Bill has a natural gift for orchestration, I really think he needs a good publisher for his music (yes, notes on page), and a contract for a good film score. I'm really impressed by this new direction." Swan: "I've got a theory about why Bill (and some of his fans) may consider it to be one of his finest works: It's about the sea, powerful, dangerous, mysterious, atmospheric and calming. It's about genuine emotional attachments that we can all relate too. Bill's vocals fit the music perfectly and are at their strongest in recent years. The songs stand alone as does the piece as a whole. "Those of you that don't have it in your collection should commit heinous crimes in order to obtain it!!" Sue: "I could listen to all this music back to back, day in and day out and never be bored. And every time you listen, you hear something you didn't hear the last time, there is just layer upon layer of deliciousness waiting to be unpeeled. Every song tells a story and every story holds a memory. And there is nothing more precious than that." machman767: "I was fortunate to hear it at Nelsonica, the track "The Ceremonial Arrival of the Great Golden Cloud" had a lump in my throat both then and now as I type. It must rate as one of the most powerful tracks Bill has ever created. Unbelievable." Tourist in Wonderland: "I think the guitar solo on "Moments' is as close to perfection as is possible within a song, to these ears anyway, it makes me want to hear/experience it again and again...and that's no mean feat...goosebumps..." Kalamazoo Kid: "Ship of Summer": "The tightest distillation on the album of the simultaneously tragic and salvific power of memories. Lyrically, the song is the most direct statement of loss on the album, and the most direct expression of renewal and ecstasy. It also establishes an explicit metaphor for the dynamic interplay of past, present, and future. ("Ships come sailing..."). If anything on the album is the thematic summation, I'd say it's "Ship of Summer"." alec: "My first experience listening to The Alchemical Adventures was one of simultaneously watching a film in muted colours and an overwhelming sense of nostalgia for people, places and things both known and unknown. That first listening experience was so overwhelming in fact that I'd had to hide from the CD for a couple of months, and then certain tracks kept calling me...Just as ocean waves draw one towards the ocean...I believe the first track to call me back was "Sailor Blue' and then it was "Moments Catch Fire on the Crest of Waves." It's now a favourite of mine." Wasp In Aspic: "I would say that The Alchemical Adventures of Sailor Bill is one of the key works of Bill's career... Sailor Bill is one of those albums that is much more than the sum of its parts. It's an holistic experience. As always with Bill, modern; yet a journey through time to the English seaside of the fifties and sixties and you can almost taste the candyfloss. A rosy glow of a multi-faceted nostalgia trip. The closing instrumental, "My Ship is Lost to Semaphore" not only perfectly evokes the picture of a compass-deprived ship drifting and lost to eternity on a fog-cloaked sea, but also captures the feeling of loss of youth and naivety and carefree times." steve lyles: " Alchemical Adventures is an apt title. The "blending" and mutation of sounds and textures is hypnotic and an amazing endorphin rush. The music is epic, surreal and at the same time very intimate - arm tingling stuff. I just love the mix of Bill's vocals and the orchestral washes - I must admit it has taken several listens to 'unlock' the magic - I had to remove my Rosewood , Satellite Songs and Custom Deluxe filters which were almost permanently attached after the last few months. There are some of the most magnificent musical moments I have ever heard in this music - I actually get the vision of flying over the scenes Bill creates with the music and lyrics. I am and always have been in absolute awe of Bill's ability to create such Beautiful music...Many thanks Bill for such a wonderful creation." andylama: "Although it is radically different from any other of Bill's albums, it is quite easily one of his best, ever. Instant classic material, IMO. Bill's singing is very strong here, as is the songwriting and orchestration. I particularly love the self-harmony bits. Very nice. A must-have for any self-respecting BN fan. Thanks Bill; you continue to move me--25 years and going strong." Ged: "When Sailor Bill began it was magical and each piece brought back childhood memories, hidden surprises and a wonderful voyage on the high seas of Nelsonica . The orchestrations are epic and grand and it is a wonderfully theatrical and atmospheric piece of work, as always there is a twist and listening to each track brought many a smile to my face. Sailor Bill is a very personal album and I can honestly say that in my opinion it is one of Bill's finest pieces of work to date." "I only hope Sailor Bill receives the recognition it deserves - anyone who hasn't heard it, I'd definitely recommend buying a copy - in my opinion it is one of Bill's finest pieces of work." Albums Menu Future Past

Live Archive Pl ectronica A celebration of Bill Nelson at 70 - Saturday 1st December 2018 - To celebrate his 70th birthday, Bill put together his 'Plectronica' live show. The event was held at one of Bill's favourite Yorkshire venues, the Clothworker's Centenary Hall at the University of Leeds. Unbelievably, tickets to this show sold out in just 5 hours. Catching the organisers and fans completely by surprise, unfortunately it meant that a great many fans were left disappointed as they were unable to secure tickets due to strict 'Fire Regulation' maximum numbers. To enable more fans to enjoy the show, Bill decided to offer a live streaming service of the event, this was new territory for both Bill and the organising team, but it seemed to work extremely well. The show consisted of a live solo set by Bill, who was joined on stage for three numbers by his 'Orchestra Futura' band, featuring Theo Travis (Flutes & Saxes) and Dave Sturt (Bass), plus Bill's special 'Mystery Guest', none other than Harold Budd, who had flown over from America for the event. Set List:- 1: 'Gloria Mundae' 2: 'I Always Knew You Would Find Me' 3: 'Forevertron' 4: 'The Eye Of Heaven Shines' 5: 'Beyond Yonder' 6: 'Luxeodeon' 7: 'Blue Amorini' 8: 'Golden Dream Of Circus Horses' (With Theo Travis) 9: 'The Institute Of Enchantment' (Department One) (With Orchestra Futura & Harold Budd) 10: 'The Institute Of Enchantment' (Department Two) (With Orchestra Futura & Harold Budd) 11: 'The Antiquarian Futurist' (With Orchestra Futura & Harold Budd) 12: 'A Dream For Ian' 13: 'Beatniks From Outer Space' 14: 'Beyond These Clouds, The Sweetest Dream' 15: Encore Bill Nelson was a patron of the charity Sara's Hope Foundation. For this event, Eastwood donated one of their guitars, which Bill decorated. The guitar was raffled off, raising a great amount for the charity and it meant that a very lucky ticket-buyer took this fantastic guitar home with them. After the live set, Bill took a short break and then returned to the stage for an interview conducted by event organiser Ian Haydock, covering Bill's recording career. Ian included reading out tributes from Bill's musician pals including Harold Budd, John Foxx, Laraaji, Kate St John... Read all the tributes here. Bill was also given a nice surprise...the news that for his 70th birthday present, his fans had clubbed together to buy him a limited edition guitar, a Backlund 'Super-100', which was due for production and would arrive in January 2019. A cardboard cut-out of the guitar was presented to Bill at the end of the interview. PICTURE GALLERY If you have any pictures of the event that you would like to share - please get in touch! MARTIN BOSTOCK PICTURES FAN PICTURES BILL'S THOUGHTS: "The audience were, quite simply, wonderful. From the moment I walked on, right through to 'goodnight,' they were extremely warm and very enthusiastic. I couldn't have wished for a kinder crowd and their appreciation went some way to calming my usual nervousness." "This year was extra special as I was joined by 'Orchestra Futura' for three improvised pieces. And to put the icing on the cake, the trio of Theo Travis, Dave Sturt and myself were joined by very special guest Harold Budd on piano. Harold is one of my oldest and dearest friends and it was a joy to be on stage with him again, (the last time being his 'farewell' concert in Brighton, quite a few years ago.) Harold had flown over from his home in California to attend the concert, initially just to see my performance but generously agreed to sit in with us without any rehearsal." "Another huge surprise came when it was revealed that a number of fans had got together to fund the purchase of a very special 'Super-100' guitar for me...it seems some very generous fans have solved the problem by purchasing one for me. It will be delivered sometime in January, (once built,) and I'm very much looking forward to playing it. I may even have to set up another performance next year to show the instrument off..." FAN THOUGHTS: The Mad Scouser: Let's get the easy bit out of the way first--Bill was bloody brilliant. I know you're always hypercritical of your own performances Mr N, but from where I sat you were faultless. Too much good stuff to pick out individual tracks, but your collaborations with Dave Sturt and Theo Travis always leave me jaw agape in astonishment at the sheer musicality you manage to produce in each other. There is surely no greater pleasure in life than watching three ridiculously talented musicians combine so well....unless you are one of those three musicians, of course? andygeorge: After missing last years shindig, I was really looking forward to this one and boy, it exceeded my expectations. Bill's health issues didn't seem to hamper his ability to put on a terrific performance, attacking each number with gusto and leaving us all mesmerised with his unique style and class as he showcased his guitars with each number. The Q and A section was expertly handled by Ian Haydock, who is brilliant at these Nelsonica events, along with the rest of the team and Bill comprehensively covered a lot of his history...a lot we all knew, but some new revelations that I haven't heard before... As someone has said already, it was a great moment when Bill's lovely mum came out and received a very loud round of applause! Bill's reaction was priceless when he was handed a cardboard cut out of the Buckland Super..."Am I really going to get a real one?" he asked, genuinely surprised! Chimera Man: Another fabulous event and a big thanks to everyone involved in setting it up and helping Bill make it a success. I was genuinely shocked that Harold Budd was the special guest and I am even more convinced that "Orchestra Futura" should create and release an album. I was really gripped by the Q&A - I thought Ian did a superb job of posing the questions and did well to focus on some key landmarks within Bill's career. The story about Bill's Dad buying him his first "proper" guitar plus the move from focusing on guitars to synths and back again and the GTHGA recordings were of particular interest. Most touching were the comments read out from fellow artists. Great to hear the heartfelt comments from all, especially those from Iain Denby, John Foxx and Cabaret Voltaire. Tremendous to see old friends again and so many who had travelled from across the pond. The amount of American (and possibly Canadian) accents I heard in the crowd was very impressive. Chris N: A truly splendid evening in a great setting. Bill played with passion and verve throughout. What more could you want? Except for about 3 more hours! EERO: I am so thrilled that I was finally able to make one of these events after years of pining away looking at photos of all the fun and scrambling to order the special cds before they were sold out. Bill was spectacular, it has been nearly 40 years since I last heard him in New York, but as Gloria Mundae began, and the soaring notes of the ebow engulfed us in their luxurious velvety swoon, I teared up. It was profoundly emotional. Thanks to so many for making me feel welcome. I hope there will be more events in the future and that I may have the opportunity to tell the great man to his face how much his music and his conviction have meant to me through the years. Peter: I'd like to add my thanks to all. It was a wonderful day and evening. The performance was sublime, as always. Like Eric and others, I was tearing up at times. So special. And there are almost no words to express how amazing it is to be in the company of so many incredible, friendly, kind, generous and fun people. From Bill and Emiko, to Dave and Theo, to Ian and the entire team, to every single fan who was there...everyone was fantastic. I hated for the day to end.

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

The Way Out Is The Way In album - 1995 Audio Active and Laraaji Production/Contribution Menu Future Past BILL: Guitar on one track: "Music & Cosmic (Feel Yourself)" Production/Contribution Menu Future Past

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

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

Neptune's Galaxy Bill Nelson album - 11 July 2006 Albums Menu Future Past Purchase this download TRACKS: 01) My Ship Reclines On Clouds Of Sail 02) She Signals From Across The Bay 03) All Alone In A Boat Of His Own 04) Coastal Starlight 05) Ship In A Bottle Blues (The Modern Mariner) ALBUM NOTES: Neptune's Galaxy is an instrumental album issued on the Sonoluxe label in a single print run of 500 copies. The album was created as a companion album to The Alchemical Adventures of Sailor Bill . All five tracks are lengthy pieces that feature electric piano and guitar set to a background of suitably sourced sound effects. The album sold out in October 2006 - less than 4 months after being released. CURRENT AVAILABILITY: Available for purchase as a digital download here in the Dreamsville Store . IF YOU LIKED THIS ALBUM, YOU'LL PROBABLY ENJOY: The Alchemical Adventures of Sailor Bill , Gleaming Without Lights , Quiet Bells , And We Fell Into A Dream , Mazda Kaleidoscope , Dreamland to Starboard , Crimsworth , Rosewood One , Rosewood Two BILL'S THOUGHTS: "Neptune is a great album to listen to whilst picnicking on the cliff tops on a warm summer day, the lighthouse to your left, the harbour below, white sails of little yachts bobbing out at sea, seagulls soaring in a blue sky overhead, and your best girlie by your side. I'm hoping to release Neptune towards the end of June, whilst the summer still sings." _____ "I am VERY satisfied with Neptune's Galaxy , but in a different way to the Sailor Bill album. Neptune's Galaxy is much more low key and ambient. It's not trying to be a bold new statement, but is an exploration of an area of music I've visited before, (Ie: Dreamland , Crimsworth , Rosewood ), but it stretches and extends those moods via an oceanic soundscape. Parts of it reference the kind of work I've done with my pal Harold Budd too, in fact some of it is directly inspired by the concert I took part in with Harold about a year ago in Brighton. "You might say that Neptune's Galaxy is more abstract, contemplative, an 'art' piece, an impressionist painting, if you like, whilst Sailor Bill is cinematic, linear, figurative, biographical. They compliment each other by being connected to the coastal theme whilst being rather different in execution. "I guess the most similar piece in terms of atmosphere on Sailor Bill would be the final track, "My Ship is Lost to Semaphore". This track serves as a bridge or portal to the alternative world of Neptune's Galaxy . For now, enjoy Neptune's Galaxy whilst the sun shines and the waves lap the shore." _____ "As the tracks on the actual album are very long, it's impossible to give more than a wee taste of the album's mood via a short sample. The tracks develop at a very relaxed pace, they don't rush through their changes, but they do unfold and develop quite dramatically as you listen to them. It is an easy album to absorb in many ways as it's all melodic, pastel coloured and quite gentle. But it IS an album to listen to properly if you're to enjoy the subtle way each track blossoms out from its initial premise. It takes its time and asks you to do the same. The more time you spend with it, the more it will reveal." _____ "For me, I can't just keep turning out exactly the same style of music over and over...I'd get so bored with it, so I keep moving the atoms around, keep things in motion as much as possible. I like to challenge myself, as much as the listener. But it's all from the same true source, my imagination, heart and soul. And it all means something and that 'something' will never be too difficult to grasp." _____ "Didn't I tell you that I was about to release my hyper-thrash-metal album, 'Satan Wants Your Daughter's Flip-Flops And Will Leave Marks On Your Floor If They Don't Fit'? Every copy comes with a free one-million-watt home public address system so that your neighbours can join in the fun. But if you really want to make them scratch their heads, Neptune's Galaxy will provide a more controversial and subversive listening experience. Especially if you start bringing mermaids home to frolic in the bath with you whilst you play the album full blast on your wind-up gramophone." _____ "Glad you like the merladies on the cover. Took me ages to catch them and days afterwards to mend my nets." FAN THOUGHTS: Johnny Jazz: "Words fail me...it's beautiful." "I love the fact that I've listened to NG half a dozen times since Saturday, each time it felt as though I were listening to a different album. There is so much going on, new motifs to discover, so many different ways to listen to it as well." neill_burgess: "First impressions are very, very positive indeed. In fact, I'd go so far as to say it is absolutely gorgeous. At times, ambient yes, but often so much more, with wonderful guitarwork (most reminiscent of Dreamland to Starboard ) and skittering percussive beats and bleeps of a level I've not yet heard on any of Bill's albums. On top of that, it strikes me that this could be the best produced/mixed of any of Bill's albums, the whole sonic landscape clearly defined in a way that is itself a sheer pleasure." Parsongs: "Bill tells us about his previous life as a sailor, and then paints a musical picture about what he sees. It's a beautiful view from any coast." Sue: "After the opening ceremony and official listen-in, this relaxing and enchanting CD is certainly more delicious than strawberries and ice-cream, sweeter than honey, more magical than a childhood Christmas, has more aaahhhh!! than a Cadbury's eclair, and is smoother than the smoothest of silks. A real delight." Twilightcapers: "Don't know about anyone else, but I absolutely love this album. It's probably one of my most played CDs since it came out. There are moments of pure magic on there when I forget it's Bill Nelson manipulating the instruments and I just get lost in the ambience. Along with Sailor Bill , my two favourite BN releases, and they are not guitar based works either! Hard to pin down exactly why I like them so much - they're just so different from everything else." Pathdude: "I think it is fantabulous. I wish it was twice as long. That style of Bill's is transcendent (in my mind)." BenTucker: "One of the things I find with Bill's albums from, say, after 2000 or so, is their inexhaustibility of appeal - you can go back to them again & again. Neptune's Galaxy seems to have a vast amount of "musical information", whilst at the same time being the ultimate 'chill-out' album (not a term I particularly like, but you know what I mean)." "Particularly struck with the first track - you feel as if you're floating listening to it (while simultaneously being dazzled). This is how "ambient music" should be: colourful and blissful. Absolutely essential listening - you really should buy it if you haven't already." machman767: "On the subject of the first track, Bill has made much of the cd being perfect summer listening material. The first time I played it, however, it brought back emotions of walking on a cliff top in late autumn, with a faint sea mist hanging around. Even in the middle of a belting heatwave it still conjures up the image. I've got to say there ain't much music around these days that manages to create ANY emotions!" mvande2: "One of the most beautiful pieces of music I've heard ever is the first 2 1/2 minutes of "She Signals From Across the Bay". My eyes involuntarily close and I melt." thunk: "I tend to see this kind of music as 'expressionistic', while other ambient albums may rely more on the hypnotic effect of 'tones' & 'repetition' to seduce in an alternate way ('impressionistic?) - that's just 'one' take on this interesting & challenging form of music, and it can be SO much more rewarding than a collection of more structured songwriting from which an 'instant' appeal must somehow reach further..." "Bill's music is 'most-rewarding' it seems in the long-term, and as with Neptune's Galaxy , its depth & beauty will emerge as we all give it more 'plays' and allow it a natural place in our Nelsonic heart..." Angeltide: "I hope this doesn't sound too pretentious (ie wanky) but if you have had a go at making a bit of music yourself, you begin to get some idea of the level of inspiration, hard work and determination that goes into creating a serious 'noodle' like this. I've only listened a couple of times, as I like to savour these things properly, but my impression is that the album never stands still and is constantly introducing new sounds, ideas, mood shifts, references elsewhere and stylistic nods of the head to influences big and small. And all with apparently minimal effort and fuss." "It's just absolutely beautiful. If you haven't ordered it do so. I said before that Sailor Bill had a curiously relaxing feel from the moment it starts and this one is even more so. Can't praise it highly enough." Albums Menu Future Past

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

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

William's Study (Diary Of A Hyperdreamer) April 2006 Monday 10th April 2006 -- 10:10 am Once again, an extremely long gap between diary entries. Perhaps they will appear more frequently in future however, as new software has been installed on the Dreamsville site that will allow me to upload my diary direct to the server, rather than having to ask tech-support people to do it for me, as has been the case until now. I've felt quite guilty of troubling others to post my diaries, 'though that hasn't been the only reason for their infrequency. Distracted by music making the main cause, as usual. So, what has been happening here in the weeks since I last wrote? More of what usually happens, I suppose. Intense work in my modest studio, as always, along with various mild domestic dramas. I'll record the musical progress first. My proposed production job for Slava's new band 'Jupiter,' (formerly 'Nautilus Pompilius'), has, unfortunately, been cancelled. Or at least postponed for the indefinite future. Disappointing, for both them and me. The band couldn't raise sufficient funding from their record company to travel to Britain from Russia for the recordings but are hoping to seek additional funding from other sources. They hope to come here later in the year to record the entire album with me. Having experienced the music business first hand for over thirty years, I'm not holding my breath. If it happens, I'll be very pleased, but that 'if ' is a big one. I've finally completed 'Neptune's Galaxy,' the instrumental album that I've created as a companion to my 'Alchemical Adventures Of Sailor Bill' album of last year. It contains just five tracks but they are long ones and the album clocks in at a total of just over 75 minutes worth of music. Some might describe the album as 'ambient' 'though the music commands more attention than that categorisation would normally suggest. Three of the five tracks feature electric guitar and beats, one is an electric piano improvisation and the other features electronic keyboards and some subtle orchestra textures.The nautical themes are carried over from the Sailor Bill project but, of course, without lyrics. The track listing is as follows:- 1. 'My Ship Reclines On Clouds Of Sail.' 2. 'She Signals From Across The Bay.' 3. 'All Alone In A Boat Of His Own.' 4. 'Coastal Starlight.' 5. 'Ship In A Bottle Blues, (The Modern Mariner.)' The entire album is very relaxing, gentle and meditative, occupying a sonic landscape, (or should that be seascape?) somewhere between 'Dreamland To Starboard', 'Crimsworth' and my Harold Budd collaborations. Listening to the Sailor Bill album and then immediately afterwards to 'Neptune's Galaxy' is a satisfying experience, the final track of Sailor Bill providing a perfect bridge to the first track of 'Neptune's Galaxy.' Although David Graham and myself are currently creating packaging artwork for the album, I've yet to master the tracks in preparation for manufacturing, so a release date has yet to be fixed. I'm hoping to make this album available as soon as possible though. I've also attempted to make a start on the mixing of the Be Bop Deluxe Decca audition tapes. I've had these transferred to a Mackie external hard-drive so that I can work on the four songs here in my home studio. Unfortunately, technical problems have thwarted this for the time being. My HDR 24/96 hard disc recorder is an early model and the transfers were made using a newer version of the software. Basically, my machine can't read the files. My friend Paul Gilby has been helping me to get to the bottom of the problem which we eventually discovered hinges on the conflict of operating systems. Updating the OS has nor been as straightforward as hoped though. The HDR 24/96's floppy drive appears not to be working. (Required to load the latest operating system.) I also need a new e-prom fitting to cope with the larger external drive on which the Be Bop audition tapes have been transferred, so the saga is ongoing. It's been a frustrating and time-consuming piece of detective work. Hopefully, I should be able to access the files in a week or two when time will allow me to have the machine out of commission for a couple of days whilst the technical repairs are done. Meanwhile, I've been recording more new material, six songs for what started life as a limited edition 'mini'-album. It may yet turn out to be a full-length album.The direction is jazz inspired. I've often featured jazz stylings on some of my albums but, as Paul pointed out to me, I've never actually made an album given over to that particular style.This set me thinking. Anyway, I've now completed six songs for the project and there is still enough inspiration left over to write more. At one point, I wasn't sure how long I could sustain that particular mood but, at the moment, the ideas continue to flow. The six songs completed so far provide just over thirty minutes worth of music. If I can come up with another four songs I'll have a complete album. The songs are: 'Windswept;' 'Take It Off And Thrill Me;' 'October Sky;' 'The Girl In The Galaxy Dress;' 'Always You;' and 'The Song My Silver Planet Sings.' All six titles are vocal based compositions and I'm particularly fond of 'Windswept' which has a jazz blues mood somewhere between the worlds of Billie Holiday and Chet Baker. (But still 'me' somehow. How could it be anyone else?) 'Always You' has a touch of Bobby Darin on Mars about it. Or a Vegas showtune from a parralel universe. Could this be the closest thing I've done to an easy-listening lounge album? Well...not quite, but close. The overall performance of these tracks is a little looser than the performances on 'Sailor Bill' but that is appropriate to the style. These are 'feel' pieces with improvised solos. They are not strictly jazz, of course, but just 'jazzy' or 'jazz inspired.' (Emiko described them as 'techno-jazz' but I'm not sure about that either!) As usual, I'm too close to the music to know what the hell it is. It's probably a curious side-project rather than a major statement. Other's may feel differently when they hear it. I will confess that there's some slick guitar playing on it though, if you like that kind of thing. Working title for the mini-album is 'Return To Jazz Of Lights.' It may be a keeper. I'm working through some visual concepts for the packaging at the moment, before sending images to David Graham for him to lay out and add typography. The path I'm pursuing is based around some old 1960's snapshots of Emiko. I've been going through her family album. She was a stunningly beautiful teenager and I couldn't have imagined myself landing a catch like her back then if we'd ever had the good fortune to meet. (Which would have been impossible anyway, bearing in mind the distance between Tokyo and Wakefield and my reliance on the bus at that time in my life!) One photograph I've selected for use is very odd. It could almost be a still frame from a dramatic moment in a movie. The young Emi is standing centre frame, gazing off to the the right and slightly up into the sky. She is surrounded by people, nearly all of whom have their back to the camera, looking over the edge of a railing, beyond which a white statue stands, its back also to the camera. Emi is dressed in a fashion that wouldn't look out of place on a young teenage girl of 2006, low slung skinny jeans, a tight fitting Japanese boy-scout shirt with embroidered badges, a large white bag. She looks, to use the well worn vernacular, 'cool.' The photograph's colours have faded over the years since it was taken, so I've scanned it and subjected it to a long sequence of colour, contrast and filter manipulation, giving it a vintage cinematic quality. It's an enigmatic picture, achieved without artifice. Whoever took the photo did it quickly and unthinkingly...the camera angle isn't straight but this adds to the tension. Only one person in the crowd is looking at the camera, a plumpish Japanese lady sat at a table in the middleground. She has an inane grin on her face. Its an intriguing photograph. Using it, (and the other's I've picked), is not an obvious choice for the style of music on the album, but then again, it twists the album concept in a slightly surreal, ironic way. As the songs are all love songs, using Emi as an iconic image is perfectly apt anyway. Guitars have loomed large in recent months. I may have mentioned on the Dreamsville site a while ago that Campbell American Guitars have been working towards a signature guitar for me. Dean Campbell has sent various drawings and ideas over for me to add my own input. I've sent drawings and suggestions back to Dean and a limited edition Bill Nelson signature model is not only on the drawing board but currently being developed in prototype form. It's all under wraps for now but all will be revealed when ready. Like all Campbell American guitars, it will be a hand made in the U.S.A. instrument. Meanwhile, I've been playing my green Precix model, (see photo above in this diary entry), and will soon be getting delivery of a blue vibrato-arm equipped Precix. These instruments play beautifully and respond senistively to the touch of the player. I'll also be appearing on the Campbell American stand at the London Guitar Show held at the Wembley Exhibition Centre on the 6th of May. Not to perform but just to 'meet and greet' fans and fellow guitarists. A very early version of my signature guitar may be ready to display, although we're aiming for a more developed version by June. Naturally, I'm extremely excited about having a signature model after all these years of playing. If all goes to plan, it should be something really special. But the guitar magic hasn't stopped there. I've long been a fan of unusual 1950's and '60's guitars. When I first became besotted by the instrument, at the end of the '50's it was almost impossible to see, in my local music shops, any of the expensive Gibsons and Fenders that our early guitar heroes played. Import restrictions on American goods meant that they were rare and definitely out of reach of the average player's pocket. In my home town of Wakefield, the local music shop, 'Webster's,' (later to become 'The Wakefield Music Centre'), only stocked British and European guitars. These were inexpensive instruments, often with unusual design ethics, lots of chrome and push buttons, bright colours, accordion factory plastic, retro-sci-fi creations that really looked 'electric.' Burns and Fenton Weill guitars were amongst the main British makes but there were also a variety of quirky models from continental makers such as Hagstrom, Hopf, Gallanti and Wandre. Japan was also starting to licence designs to, or build for, some of the European manufacturers and some Japanese instruments were often 're-badged' for the western marketplace. Of course, these weird and wonderful guitars didn't have the finesse of the more expensive American instruments but they did have a flashy visual appeal. These originally inexpensive guitars have now become collector's items and exchange hands for high prices, particularly the Wandre models which are rare and sought after. Generally though, these budget instruments didn't play too well and their appeal was mainly in the visual department. And even then, perhaps, only if you had a taste for the kitsch. I still harbour a fond enthusiasm for them, despite being able to play much more upmarket brands these days. But I do prefer to play my guitars, rather than just look at them. Enter Mike Robinson, a musician and collector of oddball vintage guitars who came up with the idea of manufacturing reproductions of some of the most sought after instruments. His plan was to make them look exactly like the original '50's and '60's rarities, but have them play and sound better. With this in mind, he started Eastwood Guitars, (based in Canada), and set up a manufacturing operation to re-issue some vintage 'thrift-store' brands using modern manufacturing techniques. The results are guaranteed to attract players such as myself who grew up with those kind of guitars during our teens. (And some younger players who have taken notice of the 'Airline' models favoured by The White Stripes and Calexico.) But, whilst nostalgia is one part of the Eastwood appeal, the sound and playability of the re-issues is something else. They are much more solidly made and player friendly than their original inspirations. I recently got myself an Eastwood reproduction of a Hopf 'Saturn 63' in black and chrome.The original late '60's/early '70's European instrument was quirky, a semi-hollow body with two cat's eye style sound-holes, both mounted, unusually, on the bass side of the body. Chrome metal strips were used to 'pipe' the guitar's edges and sound-holes and the resultant effect was retro sci-fi in keeping with the model's 'Saturn' name. The modern Eastwood reproduction re-creates the vibe wonderfully and the guitar has a very unique sonic character as well as being an unusual looker. So, my guitar dreams continue to inspire my imagination ...Fans who have attended my live concerts in recent years will have noticed that all the guitars I favour are somewhat out of the ordinairy, not a Les Paul model amongst them, (as much as I adore Les' playing). Maybe it's my art school background but a guitar's appearance is as important to me as its playability and an instrument's visual style will always be a major consideration in my choices. Nearly all the guitars I play reflect some special design ethic, whether modern or retro. My Gretsch guitars also sit in perfectly with that sensibility, as does my Gus 'Orphee' which pushes that approach into a 21st Century, midi-equipped, industrial design arena. What's truly wonderful for me though is that, after all these years of playing the instrument, I still get a thrill out of looking at my guitars and using them to make my music. I'm as in love with the instrument as I was when I got my first guitar at the age of 11 or 12. And I still can't read a note of music or espouse any musical theory. Despite all the recordings I've made, I've yet to understand how the music gets from 'in here' to 'out there'... I'm just thankful that it does. I've spent some time with my friend Jon Wallinger recently, tracking down a new venue for this year's Nelsonica fan convention. After exploring various alternatives, we've settled on the York Hilton Hotel. I think this will prove to be an excellent location for the event, certainly for those fans who travel from abroad to attend. York is a beautiful, historic city with lots to offer its visitors. Hopefully, some fans will bring their families and make a weekend of it. There's even a York version of the London Eye big wheel being constructed. Should be open soon, certainly in time for Nelsonica 06. Along with the historic Viking and Roman sites, York has the National Railway Museum, the Yorkshire Air Museum, two more general museums, river trips, the gothic Minster, a good art gallery, plenty of interesting shops, old pubs, modern cafe-bars and restaurants, almost all within an area that can easily be accessed on foot. Convention attendees can stay in the venue itself at preferred rates which we will negotiate with The Hilton Hotel so the whole package is much more attractive than ever. And easier to get to than North Ferriby. The next step is to create the content for the convention. There are some new ideas that I'd like to introduce, including a presentation aimed at the guitarists amongst the fans. I think that, if all goes to plan, this year's Nelsonica will be even more special than previous ones. Jon and the team are really professional in their attitude to organising the convention and put a lot of thought and effort into making it a special day. It's impossible not to respond positively to such dedication and enthusiasm. Another project that I'm about to immerse myself in is the mixing of some old live Be Bop Deluxe tracks to be included in a box set that EMI Records are planning to issue later this year. The box will collect together everything the band recorded, every official album and some out-takes and alternative mixes, plus a few unreleased live tracks. I will be going into Fairview studios soon to take care of the mixing of the latter. On the domestic front, the usual stresses and strains. Far too many bills piling up on the kitchen table and repairs needed for the house. Cars have been up to their tricks too, both Emiko's and mine requiring new exhausts and tyres. Mine is rapidly going rusty, but a re-spray would probably cost more than the car is worth. Perhaps the weather will improve soon and I can get the pushbike out of the shed. My son Elliot has joined the car set, having passed his driving test recently. He's got himself an old VW Golf and came to pick me up to take me into town the other week. It seems like only yesterday I was helping him to learn how to ride a little two wheel bike. I can remember the day that I took his stabilisers off and ran behind him, holding on to his saddle. I let go and off he went, perfectly balanced. When he turned around and realised that I wasn't holding him upright, the look on his face was priceless. He was just a little kid then...That thing of time evaporating so quickly. Life is so short. Well...having said that, I'll get back to the music making. Top of page Wednesday 26th April 2006 -- 9:30 am Perhaps I shouldn't be writing a diary entry right now. I certainly don't feel in the proper state of mind to do so but I desperately feel the need to write something down, if only to help me to work through some of my grief. I couldn't imagine, last week, that today I would be in such a state and for such an unforseen and unwelcome reason. On Sunday, 23rd of April, I was taking my usual morning bath when I heard the 'phone ring. I hadn't brought the cordless 'phone into the bathroom with me as Emi was at home. I thought it might be one of her Japanese friends calling, as often happens at weekends. But then I heard her rushing up the stairs and her footsteps coming along the corridor towards the bathroom. I realised that the call must be for me. She came into the bathroom with the cordless 'phone in her hand, holding it out to me. She was in tears and could hardly speak. With difficulty, through the tears, she said "It's your mum on the 'phone...it's bad news...Ian's died..." I felt as if the whole world had ground to a sudden, violent halt and then I began to shake and weep uncontrollably. I felt as if my guts were being wrenched from me. My mother was crying on the 'phone as she told me what had happened only a short time earlier that morning. She had telephoned my brother Ian sometime around 11 am to wish him a happy birthday. (Sunday the 23rd was his 50th.) Ian's wife Diane had answered and told my mother that Ian was still in bed, having a lie-in, but that he really ought to be getting up as they were going out soon. She asked my mother to hold the line whilst she called up the stairs to Ian to tell him that his mother was on the 'phone. There was no answer and when Diane went upstairs to wake him she found that Ian had passed away in his sleep. The shock has been terrible. Feelings of disbelief, denial, sudden realisation, sickness and bottomless black pits of emotional despair. A violent assault on the depths of our hearts and souls. And it keeps on hitting and hurting. I'm battered and exhausted by its brutality. I feel as if a precious and essential part of my life has been suddenly ripped out of me. And, of course, it has. Ian was my 'little' brother. I'd known him all his life and, despite those silly sibling rivalries that all brothers experience from time to time, loved him deeply and respected him far more than he probably ever realised. Far, far more than he realised...Oh, Ian, if only I could tell you. Even though Ian had survived a stroke, nine years ago when he was 41, I always expected him to outlive me, to always be there with his warm smile and dry sense of humour. Ian had become a physically big man, partly as a result of the diabetes he suffered from in recent years, but this largeness suggested solidity, a rock that would stand strong, despite the surrounding waves. He seemed indestructible. Perhaps he felt that he was too. I saw him last a few weeks ago on Mother's Day, in March. Emiko and I had driven over to my mother's house in Wakefield with a gift and some flowers for her. Not long after we'd arrived, Ian arrived too, to give mum his gifts. I think it was actually the first time I'd seen him since the start of the year. I'm always so intensely, stupidly busy with one project after the other that family relationships and friendships regularly suffer as a result. Ian too had been busy with his freelance career as a funding consultant for arts projects. Both of us had been feeling a lot of stress, under pressure, the usual outcome of trying to keep things together on an unpredictable financial income. But Ian seemed cheerful, he'd recently got himself a new car and proudly led me outside to show it to me where it was parked in the drive of my mother's house. We chatted and joked freely for a while, just the two of us. I asked him if he fancied coming along to this year's Nelsonica convention in October, to play his saxophone with me as part of my solo performance there. I also asked him if he would like to perform with me at a special concert being planned for next year as part of a contemporary music festival at Leeds University's school of music. He was happily enthusiastic and positive about being involved in both projects so I promised I'd keep him up to date with progress for each event. (I've always enjoyed the instrumental duo's we've had in the past, feeling much more comfortable in those situations with Ian alongside me than being up there on my own.) Eventually, Ian had to leave for a prior appointment and we waved him off from my mother's doorstep. I had no idea then that that would be the last time I'd ever see him. Remembering that day now, Emi has pointed out to me that Ian had seemed really pleased to see me, his face being lit up with one of his warm smiles when he saw that I was there. I'm so pleased to have that pointed out to me because I needed his love more than he realised. More than I realised. Last week, Emi was sorting out some clothes of mine and came across some that were like new but that I hadn't worn. She'd put them to one side to see if Ian might want them. When she told me this I thought that I should give him a call and see how he was. As so often happens, I became so wrapped up in trying to finish some recording work in time for a mastering session next week that this intention slipped from my consciousness. (And now, I've cancelled that same session. I have no appetite for music. Its joy has left me.) Time always warps when my mind is concentrated on work, as my family and friends and regular readers of this diary know. I look down towards the faders of the mixing desk and it's winter. When I look up, it's Spring. Or so it seems. Months pass like minutes. Life evaporates. How I wish I'd made that call last week. I can't begin to express the anguish I feel at not being able to call Ian now, at this very moment. I can hear the sound of his voice clearly in my head, the way he sounded on the telephone. My mother called a few minutes ago to tell me the results of the coroner's report: Ian died because of heart disease. A blood clot touched his heart and he was gone. Apparently, there would have been nothing anyone could have done to save him. It was inevitable. Had he been awake when it happened, it would have felled him in an instant. That it happened whilst he was sleeping is a comfort of sorts. What if he had been driving his car with his family on board...? A mercy that he wasn't. The last two days have brought us a kind of hell. Ian's wife Diane and Ian's three children must have been truly in the depths of it. My mother, who is not in the best of health herself, is suffering terribly from the loss. We all are. We want him back. The next few weeks will be hard too, particularly the funeral which is to be held on the 2nd of May. I have no immunity or resistance to grief. It comes in sudden waves and drowns me every time. All composure gone. I want to say something about him at the service but know that I wouldn't have the strength, that tears and sobs would be all that would escape me, words buried beneath fathomless anguish. But we will have to get through these next days as best we can, together. I'm sure that Ian would have poured scorn on any solemnity. He wasn't a particularly religious man, in fact, almost the opposite. He often took a cynical stance regarding my own 'spiritual' foraging over the years. I remember, one late lost summer back in the early '80's, when I lived in West Haddlesey, the two of us sitting atop a haystack in a field outside the village, discussing various philosophies as the warm harvest sun sank towards the horizon. I was heavily involved in Rosicrucianism and esoteric occultism at that time and had been enthusiastically propounding its theories and principles in the hope of firing up Ian's imagination. I could, as they say, 'talk the hind leg off a donkey' in those days, such was my passion for the subject. But Ian remained scornful and humourously cynical about the whole thing, as he was about ever other 'ism' I experimented with. He couldn't see the point of all that and was far more down to earth and pragmatic than I ever was. It may be that, in this respect, as in so many other things, he had a better grasp of reality than myself. He might have been my 'little' brother in years but he was strong and stubborn and independent too. And sharp and bright and witty. There was so much in him that I admired. I was, and always will be, proud of him. He was his own man and lived his life the way he wanted to live it, and damn the torpedoes. I have so many fond memories of Ian. I couldn't possibly recount them all now but here are a couple: Back in the late 'seventies or early 'eighties, I was visiting my mother in Wakefield when she was still living on Eastmoor Estate, where I grew up. Ian, I think, was living there too at this point in time but had gone into town. Suddenly the 'phone rang and my mother answered it. It was a local corner-shopkeeper who knew my mother. He was telephoning to say that Ian was in his shop, injured. I jumped into my car and drove the half mile to the shop and found Ian in a bad way. He had been on his way home to my mother's house and had walked through a subway en route. In the subway, a gang of youths were trying to mug an elderly lady and were shoving her around. Ian had stepped into the situation and tried to stop these thugs from continuing their actions, trying to reason with them, asking them to leave the lady alone. The gang violently turned on Ian and beat him up before running away, leaving him to stagger to the nearby shop where the lady explained to the shopkeeper what had happened. He recognised Ian and rang my mother. I rushed Ian off to the hospital to have his wounds attended. I then set off in my car to search for the bastards that had done this to him. I drove up and down every street on Ian's route but couldn't find them, which is probably just as well as they would have more than likely done damage to me too, had I challenged them. But I was so angry that they'd done this to my little brother, I just wanted to beat the shit out of them. But this incident was a measure of Ian's public spiritedness and bravery. Many people would have left the old lady to her fate and kept out of danger but Ian's compassion wouldn't allow him to walk on by. He had to try to stop what was happening. He had principles and the guts to do something about it. I have memories of Ian and I first recording music together, in the mid 'seventies with Be Bop Deluxe on the song 'Ships In The Night'. It was the first public recording of mine that he was involved with and it was at Abbey Road studios in London. He was really young and must have been intimidated and overwhelmed by the experience. He'd only just begun playing saxophone at that time, 'though he'd played clarinet for a while previously. I knew he was talented and capable and pushed him hard, as big brother's do. I was often too demanding of him, all throughout his musical life, knowing just how good he could be, given that push. I wanted him to excel, to be great, to be the best he could possibly be. My only consolation now is, if I was too hard on him, too exacting, I at least treat myself equally as hard, was just as critical of my own attempts. I thought that, together, we could change the world with our music. But I was stupid and naive too. I demanded too much from both of us. Ian was a great player without need of any pressure from me. Later on, he became a member of Red Noise, playing Sax, Clarinet and second keyboards in the band. Red Noise was also his introduction to life on the road and to television and radio appearances. In the 'eighties he contributed his gifted playing to several of my solo albums and songs. One of the most memorable was 'Do You Dream In Colour?' which featured Ian's incredibly catchy harmony saxophone hook, an important, essential component for the song's commercial appeal. It was one of the most perfectly appropriate parts he ever came up with, an absolutely classic line that everyone who ever heard the song remembers. It was a great pleasure, on the 2004 'Be Bop And Beyond,' 30 year celebration tour, for me to be able to perform that song live and have Ian in the band to reproduce the saxophone part perfectly. The song would be incomplete without it. How can I ever perform that song again without Ian standing next to me? Ian later became part of Fiat Lux, a band that I initially had produced and released on my own independent 'Cocteau Records' label. The band showed great commercial potential and the single that Cocteau Records released earned them media attention and landed the band a deal with a major label, only for them to later fall foul of incompetent and corrupt management. An old, far too familiar story. Poor Ian suffered from the financial fallout of that situation for several years afterwards. I was going through similar tribulations myself so we both experienced the corruption and callousness of the industry at first hand. Ian's experience soured his hopes of being a full-time musician and he decided to reserve his music for situations that were less likely to produce further unhappiness. He began playing with friends in local bands and occasionally taught music, teaching both privately and in college situations. Of the two of us, Ian was the one who had a formal, academic musical education. He began playing clarinet under the tuition of our late father, Walter Nelson and then had more formal lessons that resulted in him passing various examinations and gaining certificates of accomplishment. He eventually earned himself a place at Huddersfield College Of Music where he studied the subject academically. Ian was the real deal...not a dumb 'busker' like me who, to this day, still can't read a note of music. My father was so proud of the fact that Ian had done it the proper way. The ironic thing was that, whilst my formal education was in fine art and Ian's was in music, Ian eventually worked in the field of art, and I found myself with a career in music. Not what either of us had originally intended. Years ago, Ian took a temporary job at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. He worked in the on-site shop, selling Sculpture Park merchandise. The park's director was, and still is, Peter Murray, who had been my painting tutor at Wakefield School Of Art when I was a student there in the 1960's. Ian was eventually employed at the Sculpture Park full time and worked his way up to become part of the park's management team. It was a job he enjoyed tremendously and I was impressed by the way he handled it whenever I visited him at the park's office. I was so proud of his achievement with this. It was a job that I would have had neither the intelligence nor the social skills to do well. He was appparently in line for a directorship until his stroke put him out of commission, nine years ago. Eventually, he recovered from the stroke, only to discover that he had to deal with diabetes as well. Of course, all of those who loved him got sanctimonius about it and we gave him our glib advice, admonishing him if we felt that he wasn't strictly adhering to whatever health regime was appropriate to his condition. Ian, characteristically, didn't respond well to being prodded about these things. His life was his life and back seat drivers were not easily tolerated. To use a nautical metaphor, he was the captain of his own ship and he intended to sail it wherever HE wanted. Both of us were born stubborn so-and-so's but perhaps Ian had the upper hand on me in this department too. So...stubborn, yes, but he was never unforgivable. One of the things that people seemed to remember most about Ian was his warmth and the way he had of putting people at ease. There was something relaxed, open and easy going about him that made this possible. Again, I lack that quality, being too self-absorbed, nervous or intense, (or something), and was often surprised and amazed by the positive response he elicited from total strangers. He could make people feel they'd known him for years. And he did it without any artifice. It was 100% genuine empathy. One thing we had in common was a first marriage that didn't work out. I also had a second one that didn't but when Ian met Diane it felt as if he'd found his soul mate. I remember Ian and Diane's wedding day and the good vibes they gave off. And when Emiko and I had our wedding day, Ian and Diane were our witnesses. Diane has stuck with Ian through good times and difficult ones and she has a deep understanding of Ian's character and life. What she has endured these last two days is powerfully moving and impossible to fathom but she has shown kindness and bravery to all those in her circle and I know that Ian would be proud of her, and of his three children. Ian's eldest son, Julian, (from his first marriage), has been a pillar of strength to Diane, to my mother and to his step-brother Louis and step-sister Lucy. I've been so impressed by Julian's thoughtfulness, saneness and compassion. Ian's younger son Louis and daughter Lucy, (both from Ian's marriage to Diane), have shown tremendous dignity and self control too.They are a tribute to Ian and Diane's parenting skills. I'm proud to be an uncle to all three children 'though I ought to have been a much more present and regular one. I hope they realise just how much their father meant to me. During these last two days, I've been overwhelmed. I've been overwhelmed not only by what has actually happened, what also by the changes it has thrust upon so many people, overwhelmed by emotions that were far deeper and far stronger than I'd ever expected. At night, a little cinema of memory has opened up in my mind. I close my eyes and, there on the flickering screen are images of Ian and I as young children, anticipating Christmas...Me reading to Ian the story of 'Peter And Pam's Christmas' from a now long lost childhood book, huddled under an eiderdown together on a snowy Christmas Eve at our home at number 28 Conistone Crescent, Eastmoor Estate on the edge of Wakefield. We were electrified with excitement and anticipation, unable to sleep, eager for the morning and our presents from Santa. A dissolve...School holidays now. I've built plastic model aeroplanes from Airfix kits and hung them from the bedroom ceiling. Ian takes pot shots at them with his pop gun and decimates half a squadron. We run around the back garden in super-hero capes, Batman and Robin, Superman and Superboy, Dan Dare and Digby. Other kids, more inclined to army games, think that we are weird. We don't care what they think. The scene shifts and Ian and I are at the coast, or outside a caravan, or on the beach with a toy boat named St. Christopher, or on a clifftop flying a home-made kite together. There are images of us standing by our father's car... me with my arm around Ian, protecting him, my little brother. (He had curly blonde hair when he was small, cute as a button.) These images keep coming, flickering, changing, on through the years, our innocence gradually being left behind and with it the wonder and simplicity of childhood. Exhanged for something wilder and more dangerous: real life itself. And real life has taken Ian from us, as real life does. It takes us all eventually. What can we do? What's the point? Well...to live until we can live no more. But above all, to love and be loved in return. And I love my brother so much. I'll miss him terribly. Ian carried with him a part of my life, a shared childhood, memories of distant times. I think it's not overdramatic to say that a part of me has died with him. But, conversely, a part of him lives on with me. I want to recall more of our times together, to share them with readers of this diary, to let them know what a lovely person he was, to help them understand just why I'm so sad and heartbroken about losing him. For today though, perhaps this is enough, a beginning. So many warm tributes have appeared on the Dreamsville website forum for him. He would have been amazed by how much love he'd generated, how respected he was. You left too soon, Ian, too soon. ****** The photographs accompanying this diary entry show Ian alone on Lantern Hill in Ilfracoombe in Devon, myself and Ian on Ilfracoombe harbourside and Ian and I outside our parent's caravan at Skipsea, (with Dad's Austin Cambridge car). The photographs were taken around 1959/'60, I think. Top of page Jan May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2013

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

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

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

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

Blackwater single - 1991 Rain Tree Crow Production/Contribution Menu Future Past BILL: Guitar on A-side. Production/Contribution Menu Future Past

Cinema Menu Miscellaneous Videos Interviews, appearances & selected oddities The Making Of Futurama - May 2019 Bill Nelson chats with Cherry Red's Mark Powell, telling the story behind the making of Be Bop Deluxe's 1975 album 'Futurama'. The Making Of Sunburst Finish - Feb 2019 In this mini-documentary, Bill Nelson & producer John Leckie tell the story behind the making of Be Bop Deluxe's legendary 1976 album 'Sunburst Finish'. Fairview @ 50 - Bill Nelson Interview - 2017 An interview with Bill which was included in the compilation album 'Fairview @ 50' Bill shares fond memories of recording at Fairview, both as a solo artist and on various other projects throughout the years. His track 'Playbox' was included on the album. Bill Nelson: Blip album launch and solo concert - 2013 Bill Nelson Blip album launch and solo concert at the University of Leeds, June 2013. This is very much a 'fly on the wall' video edited from available footage. It features live excerpts from 'Gloria Mundae', 'I Always Knew You'd Find Me' and 'A Dream For Ian'. Bill Nelson - 40 Years Of Recordings - Interview by Mark Powell - 2011 This interview covers the entire career of Bill starting from the recording of his first album, 'Northern Dream;' in 1971 right through to his 8 CD retrospective box set 'The Practice Of Everyday Life' released in 2012. Bill Pesents Award to Duane Eddy - 2010 The MOJO Icon Award presented to Duane Eddy by Be-Bop Deluxe's Bill Nelson. Bill Nelson Interview - Nelsonica 07 - Part 1 Mike Robinson, President of Eastwood Guitars interviews Bill Nelson at Nelsonica 2007 - Part ONE. Recorded Oct 2007, YORK, United Kingdom. Bill Nelson Interview - Nelsonica 07 - Part 2 Mike Robinson, President of Eastwood Guitars interviews Bill Nelson at Nelsonica 2007 - Part TWO. Recorded Oct 2007, YORK, United Kingdom. Bill Nelson Interview - Nelsonica 07 - Part 3 Mike Robinson, President of Eastwood Guitars interviews Bill Nelson at Nelsonica 2007 - Part THREE. Recorded Oct 2007, YORK, United Kingdom. Bill Nelson Interview - Nelsonica 07 - Part 4 Mike Robinson, President of Eastwood Guitars interviews Bill Nelson at Nelsonica 2007 - Part FOUR. Recorded Oct 2007, YORK, United Kingdom. Bill Nelson Interview - Nelsonica 07 - Part 5 Mike Robinson, President of Eastwood Guitars interviews Bill Nelson at Nelsonica 2007 - Part FIVE. Recorded Oct 2007, YORK, United Kingdom. The Rhythm Sisters 'Infotainment' - 1991 Produced by Bill Nelson Bill Nelson Interview - 1985 A great interview broadcast on the Tyne Tees television show TX45. Bill Nelson Riverside Interview, BBC 2 - 1983 Mariella Frostrup interviews Bill Nelson for the music show Riverside. Including some great footage of Bill at work in the 'Echo Observatory'. Bill Nelson on 'Pop Quiz', BBC 1 - 09-04-1983 This popular TV show was hosted by Mike Read, featuring Bill as a team member with Steve Askew, under the captaincy of B.A Robertson. The second team consisted of Rick Wakeman and Stella Barker with captain David Grant. Cinema Menu

Dreamland To Starboard Bill Nelson album - 3 October 2004 Albums Menu Future Past Purchase this download TRACKS: 01) Girlfriend In Mini-Skirt 02) Creamy Clouds 03) Gondola 04) The Singing In The Air Above The Village Green 05) Lost To Tomorrow 06) I Am The Only Monster Here 07) Burnished 08) Tarnished 09) Radio Waves Lap Memory's Shore 10) Moments Flash Like Stars Between Them 11) Ghost Of Gilded Ruin 12) Circo Infantil 13) Standard Fireworks 14) All A Dream, After All 15) The Diving Bell 16) My Ever Gleaming Dreamertron 17) All's Well In Wonderland ALBUM NOTES: Dreamland to Starboard is an album of guitar instrumentals issued in a one off print run on the Universal Twang label. It is believed that 1000 copies were pressed. The album was one of three albums issued on the same day (initially available on the merchandise table on the Be Bop Deluxe and Beyond tour). Copies were then sold via S.O.S. Dreamland to Starboard sold out in January 2006. CURRENT AVAILABILITY: Available for purchase as a digital download here in the Dreamsville Store . BILL'S THOUGHTS: "Dreamland to Starboard is one of those albums that I'll always be able to stand by, to be eternally proud of, and one which, I predict, will rate high in my list of musical achievements. I think that it is a FAR more sophisticated recording than Romance of Sustain and, for me at least, fits perfectly into a guitar pantheon alongside Plaything and Rosewood Volume One . Add Practically Wired to these three and you have, perhaps, THE defining statement regarding my guitar instrumental work. A quartet of six-string dreams." _____ "There is a thread that runs from The Romance of Sustain right through, Plaything , Wah-Wah Galaxy , Dreamland to Starboard , Rosewood Vol 1 and Rosewood Volume 2 . It's the story of my instrumental guitar style in 21st Century terms. All these albums, along with some of the guitar instrumental tracks from Luxury Lodge and Astral Motel give you a complete picture of where my guitar dreams are these days." FAN THOUGHTS: BenTucker: "This album presses all my buttons. I regard it as a crime that it's not enjoyed by millions." "Dreamland to Starboard sounds, to me, almost crystalline, cerebral - but also has that romantic/emotional depth characteristic of Bill's music." Peter: "A fascinating album, this one. Rich with guitary goodness, dripping with invention and adventure. Not one of those albums with lots of layered production -- more stripped down and airy. Many songs don't even include percussion. "One major stand-out for me, personally, is "I Am the Only Monster Here," which struck me as what it would sound like if you could clone Bill, give the other Bill a guitar and then have the two Bill's face off in a jazz-style "guitar duel". The wonderful jazzy soloing is amazing. Another one I especially like is "Tarnished", which is just really lovely, as is the next track, "Radio Waves Lap Memory's Shore". So much to like here, Bill...love it." krieger: "Can't avoid listening Dreamland to Starboard without a smile on my face..." Sue: "Loved it, beautiful perfection in one album." Twilightcapers: "Dreamland is better than Romance or Custom Deluxe . As you say, deeper, more textural. Very trippy and dreamlike." Dar: "My Ever Gleaming Dreamatron": "The sort of thing you could go get lost in and never come back, finding yourself with no reasons to ever want to either." steve lyles: "I had Dreamland to Starboard playing at high volume and was struck (once again) by the absolute beauty of this recording, it is one of those rare pieces that flows and entwines the listener...a timeless quality." "My Ever Gleaming Dreamatron": "is pure brilliance...Dreamland to Starboard I have never found to be difficult listening...but Bill's work just seems to hit my G spot." "I often wonder how Bill Nelson can come up with so many beautiful pieces of music...and then go on to do even more." Albums Menu Future Past

Do You Dream in Colour? Bill Nelson single - 9 May 1980 Singles Menu Future Past TRACKS: A) Do You Dream In Colour? B1) Ideal Homes B2) Instantly Yours B3) Atom Man Loves Radium Girl ORIGINALLY: A) appeared to be a non-album track upon release, but eventually (nearly 12 months later) ended up on the Quit Dreaming and Get on the Beam album. B-sides) were all non-album tracks. NOTES: Do You Dream in Colour? was the first release to be promoted solely under Nelson's name since the Northern Dream album in 1971. This 7" single was the debut release on Nelson's own Cocteau Records, and sold well enough on release to achieve a respectable No. 52 on the UK singles chart. It helped to raise Bill's profile after Red Noise were dropped by EMI, and led to a new solo deal with Mercury. The single was promoted by a video that Nelson directed, made on a shoe string budget. Shot in a combination of colour and black and white, the video made imaginative use of mask, props (such as a rocking horse and various items of technology) with Nelson in bed seemingly connected to monitors being used to decipher his dreams. The exact same 7" single was later included in the Permanent Flame box set of five 7" singles in 1982. In 1989 a 7" pressing in a die cut Cocteau sleeve was released featuring exclusive edited versions of both "Do You Dream in Colour?" and "Life in Your Hands". It is believed that the edit in "Do You Dream in Colour?" (removing the line "Video Junkie Looking for a Fix") was done to encourage BBC Radio 1 to play the song. PAST RELEASES: A) was included on Quit Dreaming and Get on the Beam and on the What Now, What Next? compilation. All 3 b-sides were available on The Two Fold Aspect of Everything comp (available from Bandcamp). B2) was also available on The Strangest Things compilation (out of print). CURRENT AVAILABILITY: "Do You Dream in Colour?" is available on the remastered Quit Dreaming and Get on the Beam CD (Mercury, 2005). It is also available on The Practice of Everyday Life , which is out of print physically, but available as a digital download. All tracks are available on the remastered Quit Dreaming and Get on the Beam box set (Esoteric Recordings 2025). B1, B2 & B3 are available on the retrospective compilation album Transcorder (The Acquitted By Mirrors Recordings) . BILL'S THOUGHTS: "I started Cocteau Records in retaliation to the dropping of my recordings by EMI. "Do You Dream In Colour?" (which I secured from the EMI contract), was the first ever Cocteau Records release. It was prior to Phonogram's involvement." _____ "You have to remember that Red Noise was intended to be a 'flexible' project, rather than a fixed band with a fixed style or line-up. The whole purpose of moving on from Be Bop Deluxe was to escape being stereotyped and to avoid the limitations imposed by product and audience expectations. "In that respect, you might say that every album I've made since Be Bop has been a Red Noise album! So, yes, whilst many of the songs that were recorded immediately after the Sound-On-Sound album were somewhat different, they were, at that time, intended to be released under the 'Red Noise' umbrella. But, when the deal with EMI ended, I just thought, what the heck, just put it out under my own name." _____ "There was also a problem with the lyric 'video junkie looking for a fix' which the BBC interpreted, (quite wrongly), as being indicative of heroin addiction. It was merely about people who can't pull themselves away from their tv set, people whose lives exist only via an obsessive involvement with tv soap operas and suchlike. Anyway, the BBC refused to play the record with those lyrics and I seem to recall eventually having to make a mix with the offending line replaced by something else, purely for radio." _____ "Made the "Do You Dream in Colour?" video myself, way, way back in time. Filmed it on my super-8 home cine-camera in Haddlesey house which was then my home. My brother Ian is in the Monroe mask, me in the Superman and old man mask. My ex-wife Jan is the Pierrot on the rocking horse at the end. Lighting was done by borrowing a couple of old coal miner's pit lamps from a friend who worked as a mining engineer. I had no means of auto-synching the film to the soundtrack so the final edits were synched by hand, which took AGES. Nevertheless, it's a quirky, humorous and surreal piece of filmic art, is it not?" Singles Menu Future Past

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

The Dreamsville Poetry Experiment Free download track Click image for cover Artwork Special FREE download track - Released December 2007. THE DREAMSVILLE POETRY EXPERIMENT Currently unavailable on any album The Dreamsville Poetry Experiment was based on contributions to the Dreamsville Poetry Experiment. Bill asked participants to submit a line for a 'found' poem. The project created a 69 line surrealist poem for which Bill composed a unique 13 minute musical accompaniment/soundtrack. Lyrics by the 69 contributors...see lyric sheet for details. Written, performed, recorded and produced by Bill Nelson. All rights Bill Nelson 2007.

Kid Flip And The Golden Spacemen Bill Nelson album - 26 April 2017 Albums Menu Future Past Purchase this download TRACKS: 01) Kid Flip And The Golden Spacemen 02) Atoms Orbit Around The Sun 03) I'm Dancing 04) From Another World 05) The Golden Soul Of You 06) Science Fiction Times 07) Wonder Of The Age 08) Dark Is The Spark 09) The Void Beyond The Line 10) Old Haunts 11) Emptiness Sings (A Lonely Boy) 12) Monster Man 13) Shine Your Light 14) Paradise And Purgatory 15) Shining Through 16) Hello, Hello 17) Golden Spacemen Rock N' Roll ALBUM NOTES: Kid Flip and the Golden Spacemen is a vocal album issued as a digital download only on the Tremelo Boy Records label. Work on the album commenced in mid-November 2016 and was completed in a little over 2 weeks. Nelson first announced the track listing on Dreamsville on 12 March 2017, revealing it to be a 17 track, 71 minute collection. With the mastering session booked for a few days’ time, Nelson remixed and partly re-recorded his vocal for the title track. Mastering of the album took place on 14 March 2017 concurrently with The Awakening of Dr Dream , issued later that month. Kid Flip and the Golden Spacemen was released on April 26th, 2017. CURRENT AVAILABILITY: Available for purchase as a digital download here in the Dreamsville Store . BILL'S THOUGHTS: "I've got the creative bee in my bonnet at the moment and am now working on another new album. This one firmly in the rock and vocal camp for all you retrograde types out there. "I've no idea when this one will surface, as I've only just begun to work on it, and there's an absolute treasure trove of music, (of different kinds), already awaiting future release...but it's a fluid situation with albums being made available purely on a whim at the moment... "But, right now, I'm laying down tracks for this new rock/vocal album which seems to have a flavour of 'Be Bop Deluxe' about it. Tentative, and somewhat tongue-in-cheek, its title is Kid Flip And The Golden Spacemen (Tales Of An Imaginary Band)." _____ "Kid Flip is a fairly heavy, rock orientated, vocal album. Those of you who gravitate towards the more noisy rock albums, (particularly with vocals), will find Kid Flip particularly exciting." _____ "Kid Flip And The Golden Spacemen is actually about an imaginary rock band. (I guess a more contemporary version of "Jet Silver And The Dolls Of Venus" though musically nothing like that track...it's much more rock and less pop.) The lyrics go: "Kid Flip And The Golden Spacemen, playing blues in a bar in heaven...Kid Flip And The Golden Spacemen, turn their amps up to number eleven..." " _____ "My idea is to make it sound like an imaginary band, the 'Kid Flip And The Golden Spacemen' of the album's title. I'm picturing them playing in a big hall in some illusory world...I've produced many of the tracks to sound like a band playing live, captured with the raw edge and lo-fi qualities that often accompany live gigs. The tracks surge and pump, throb and punch as if you were hearing the music from the back of a concert hall. It sounds pretty exciting, if a bit raw and slightly punishing." FAN THOUGHTS: andygeorge: "Another little gem from Bill, highlighting his knack of 'knocking out', for want of a better phrase, instant pop.....lovely melodies here, both vocal and instrumental, from the very catchy opener "Kid Flip" to the closing track "Golden Spacemen Rock and Roll"...fantastic guitar! ...and the ones in between like "The Golden Soul of You", "Monster Man" and "I'm Dancing"...instant favourites!..." CoachMatt: "Science Fiction Times", "Dark is the Spark": "are pure gems! And the funk of "Monster Man"...o yes Bill...getting funky! "Shine Your Light" has a wonderful breezy feeling, telling us about the times we live in I believe. And "Golden Spacemen Rock N' Roll", ya gotta love the sentimental beauty this song rings out, and how Bill can undoubtedly make a guitar sing, rip, and explode with joy! I am totally enjoying the tunes through my short lunch period and looking forward to putting the headphones on!" BobK: "Blimey, I ferl like dancing! What a super fun album this is. I think i need to sit down, knees are hurting a bit....." Uncle Sam Humanoid: "I am really liking this one... Awesome album Bill, You're certainly on a roll sir!!!" December Man: "Nice to see (hear) this pop-rock manifestation of Bill(y) (the Kid) surface. First listen after downloading today and loving the vibrations of 6 heavenly strings in the skilled hands of one Mr Nelson!" major snagg: "I'm really enjoying Kid Flip . "Golden Spacemen Rock N' Roll" and "The Golden Soul of You" are firm favourites already." "How lucky we are to have so much great music as a soundtrack to our lives in these troubled times." Albums Menu Future Past

Nelsonian Navigator - Issue Two - Published December 1995 Back to Top

The Lockdown Song (It's All Downhill From Here) Free download single Click image for cover Artwork FREE download single covering some of the issues associated with the Coronavirus pandemic - Released November 2020. THE LOCKDOWN SONG (It's All Downhill From Here) Currently unavailable on any album Performed, recorded and produced by Bill Nelson. All rights Bill Nelson 2020.