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

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

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

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

Disguise in Love album - 1978 John Cooper Clarke Production/Contribution Menu Future Past BILL: Guitar on three songs, "I Don't Want To Be Nice", "Readers Wives" and "Health Fanatic". Production/Contribution Menu Future Past

Sunday 24th July 2005 -- 11:45 pm A long gap between the previous diary entry and this. Far too long. Work demands have been overwhelmingly intense and I've had little time or energy for anything else. Perhaps this is not so unusual considering how many projects I seem to regularly juggle these days... .but I do seem to have bitten off more than I can chew this time. I've been constantly struggling against physical exhaustion and a kind of mental/spiritual malaise, every day being tinted and tainted with a combination of dread, self-loathing and panic. Just too many things dragging my concentration this way and that, a sense of hopelessness gradually overwhelming whatever optimism I've attempted to muster. I've felt as if my work has suffered as a result too, 'though this may be entirely subjective. Whatever, it still feels like too little energy spread too thin. The task taking up most of my time is the continuous writing and recording of my forthcoming album. For reasons not quite clear, many of the pieces of music have turned out to be long and complex. They are mostly heavily layered, orchestrally textured songs with intricate, fussy arrangements. Each song has taken several days to complete, not just in terms of the writing but also in terms of the actual performance and recording. Mixing the finished recordings has proved problematic too, as there is so much going on just beneath the surface of the music. Getting the correct balance between the myriad interwoven components is not exactly a quick and easy job... so many details to consider. I'm still toying with the idea of remixing a couple of songs, though I'll hardly have time for such a luxury if the finished package is to be ready for the autumn release schedule. There's all the artwork/packaging to consider too. If these songs were ever to be performed in a completely live context, (ie: no use of backing tracks), they would require a large group of very broad-minded and eclectic musicians in tandem with a small symphony orchestra to duplicate the recorded effect. As I originally intended to write intimate pieces that would only require three or four musicians to perform the songs live, it's a shock that what eventually came down my cantakerous muse's pipe ended up being so densely layered and epic sounding. I haven't a clue as to why this should be, it's just as mysterious to me as to anyone else. I'm subject to the surreal dictates of my own unconscious and am often as much a victim of its unpredictability, as well as a beneficiary. The songs' lyrical content has been problematic too, reflecting, perhaps, my troubled state of mind. They're not overtly angst-ridden, heart-on-sleeve, chest beaters, but they do seem to suggest a certain world-weariness and resignation. These are confusing, dualistic, personal songs whose shiny veneer maybe hides something deeper and darker. As I so often say these days, maybe it's just a result of my age and the weird times we live in. Not entirely a waste of time, however, as the abandoned tracks have helped direct me towards some of the other pieces that I feel are much more succesful. These 'keeper' tracks are now the spiritual core of the album, which has revealed, or given birth to, a concept of sorts. (Although it is not strictly a 'concept' album in the old school sense of the term.) But... I have to consider the amount of time this music is taking to formulate and complete itself. If I were to continue at the current rate of progress, all my other creative responsibilities would have to be dropped from my agenda. (Not a good idea.) Not sure that I like being gripped quite so viciously by a single piece of work... but this one seems to be a difficult beast to escape from. I have to admit, however, that there is a part of me that says, 'just dump everything else and spend the next six to eight months concentrating exclusively on the new album.' In fact, I was actually on the point of doing this, including cancelling/postponing the autumn tour, when Adrian, at Opium's office in London, suggested a more practical, pragmatic alternative. He pointed out that it wasn't absolutely neccesary for the album to be one of my extra long, 'filled to the brim with tracks' ones. In fact, Adrian said, it might work equally as well as a 'mini-album' or an ep. This would take some of the pressure off and allow me more time to prepare the video material for the tour and also to deal more comfortably with all the other projects I'm currently juggling. (Against the odds.) An obvious solution, staring me in the face I suppose, but one which I'd somehow stupidly missed... but a very good proposal nevertheless. BUT... even if I do decide that it will be a 'mini' album, (in terms of track count), it could still turn out to be 'full length' as most of the individual tracks are unusually long, so much so that the total listening time may add up to being the same as a 'normal' album. Adrian pointed out that it is probably already as long as Anthony and The Johnsons' recent album (which apparently clocks in at approximately 32 minutes or somewhere about that). But, regardless of these thoughts, I still want to push on, to see where the current thematic or conceptual thread leads me. Luckily, the idea of making it a 'mini-album' provides a much needed safety net... At least I now know that I can 'switch off' the project and deal with the rest of my workload when the time comes to do so. A little bit less pressure, though there's still plenty more to deal with. As an explanation for my sense of urgency and panic I'll list the current workload in this diary entry, in a moment or two, BUT before I do, here is the latest information about this 'album in progress' of mine:- The songs I've decided will be on the 'possible inclusions' list are as follows:- 'The Ceremonial Arrival Of The Great Golden Cloud.’ 'Dreams Run Wild On Ghost Train Tracks.’ 'And Then The Rain.' 'The Man Who Haunted Himself.' 'Tin Sings Bones.' 'Duraflame.' All these are vocal pieces. There are also two as yet unfinished and untitled instrumentals to add to this list... The list does not include everything that I've recently recorded, i.e.: abandoned tracks or tracks that have been completed but set aside for other possible projects (as they proved unsuitable for this one). The album is very much a work in progress at this stage, although it now has a reasonably fixed title. What is the title? Well, unless I radically re-think the album, it will be called 'The Alchemical Adventures Of Sailor Bill.' There are deeply personal reasons for this apparently surreal and light-hearted title, which I may explain at some point in the future. Needless to say, it springs from my usual internal pre-occupation with the absurdity and seriousness, beauty and ugliness of our human condition, and mine in particular. So... the cut-off point with this album will be entirely dictated by the deadlines and demands of my other work... Whether 'mini' or otherwise, there WILL be a new album, depite the pressures. And here, by way of example, is the list of the work I'm attempting, as promised above:- 1. Prepare autumn tour set, including the making, choosing, mastering and assembly of performance backing tracks, both old and new. 2. Design tour advertising material, flyers, t-shirts, posters, etc, for above. 3. Shoot and edit new video material to use as back projection on the autumn tour. (An extremely time consuming job, this one.) 4. Prepare various items and performance events for Nelsonica 05 , (to be held in October), including design and preparation of all visual material, tickets, limited edition screen print poster, etc. 5. Create a Nelsonica 05 convention cd, including the selection and mastering of appropriate musical material, and suitable visual content, sleeve design, etc. 6. Create an exclusive music track for Sound On Sound's magazine's 20th anniversary issue. 7. Give a talk to music college students in September. 8. Prepare tracks, both old and new, for the early August guitar Festival performance in Lewes. (And boy, am I behind schedule with this one!) 9. Choose and assemble an appropriate selection of music onto cdr to send to Ronald Nameth with regard to a possible collaboration on the Ginsberg 'Howl For Now' event documentary film. 10. Contribute an article/written Q+A for a book being written about the above event. 11. Transfer to Mackie removable media hard drive and then mix the very early Be Bop Deluxe Decca audition tapes for possible release in autumn. 12. Design packaging for above. 13. Help to oversee the release of major label back catalogue. (Mercury and EMI.) 14. Select appropriate equipment for upcoming live shows, unwire from my studio and repair where required. Then pack and haul downstairs in preparation for transportation to venues. 15. Schedule a full day's rehearsal for autumn tour and ensure that everything is in place that needs to be. 16. Allocate sufficient time at home to allow a personal rehearsal schedule for the tour material so that the main reheasal is freed up to concentrate on technical/equipment/sound mixing matters, rather than musical ones. 17. Complete the writing and recording and mixing of the new album. 18. Decide track running order, book Fairview to master the final album and design packaging art for it. 19. Attend and possibly contribute towards the performance of Ginsberg's 'Howl' poem, annniversary reading. 20. Begin a possible collaboration with John Foxx. 21. Ditto with J. F. and Harold Budd. 22. Ditto with Cipher. (Theo Travis and Dave Sturt.) 23. Try to get back on track with my collaboration with American comic book artist Matt Howarth. 24. Open up further areas of the Dreamsville site, including the long promised 'Museum Of Memory' feature, the 'Academy Of Art' and the 'Guitar Arcade.' But, as I've already said, the priority for me at the moment is to constantly work on the new album. (11 am to 11 pm, with a 45 minute dinner break, every day, with a couple of guilty Sundays off to give Emiko some kind of life other than sitting downstairs watching tv whilst I furrow my brow in the studio.) So... this is the kind of life I lead right now:- obsessive, unhealthy, anti-social, grumpy, angst-ridden, insecure, depressive, stressful, etc. (Oh, poor, poor me, so many guitars to play!) But also, dreamlike, magical, creatively fulfilling, educational, enlightening and priveleged too. Yes... it's that special. I'm just one of those common or garden, pathetic but fabulously lucky tortured artists that you read about in tacky romantic novels... AND I've got the dysfunctional lifestyle, psychological quirks and expanding waistline to prove it. And now on to other, more serious matters:- Terrorist attacks on London. What can I or anyone else say ? The horror, disgust and revulsion that we all feel about these events requires no explanatory comment from me. Nevertheless, I'll say this, if only to release a little of the pressure in my own angry heart:- That people commit such acts of depravity in the name of religion, (whatever religion), is a sickening measure of the ignorance, stupidity, gullibility and downright self-centred, ugly righteousness of those who think of themselves as 'agents of god'. ('God' is, increasingly it seems, a convenient concept for abdicating individual responsibilty for vile criminal acts.) The indoctrinated dupes who carry out these cruel, pathetic and ultimately ineffectual attacks are deluded lost souls, terminally infatuated with the ecstasy of self-immolation, death and glory, holy-martyrdom and all the other banal, historically tested, psychologically potent appeals to the dangerous idiot within us all. These young fools bought the tired old lie of a righteous martyr's paradise... and couldn't see past the illusions weaved by their hate-filled puppet masters. What a tragic world we live in. As always, the innocent suffer the most. And don't get me started on the political issues. There's ignorance on all sides. Enough disgust from me? More than you need... let's move on. Despite my relentless work schedule, I have conspired to take a couple of Sundays off. A visit to Castle Howard and visits to the East and North Yorkshire coast, Reighton Sands, Whitby, Spurn Point. The latter two locations allowed me a chance to paddle like a kid in the ocean, to savour the waves and breath some fresh air, ('though I wish I had more time to do it properly and without guilt). I justified the time away from my studio by taking along my camera and camcorder to capture images that might prove useful for the tour's video projection, or for this very website. Some of those photo's scattered amongst this diary entry... a couple of seaside days to share with you. My trip to Reighton Sands, or 'Reighton Gap' as it was known to my family in the 'fifties, was only the second time I've been there since I was a child. (My earlier diary entries reference this.) On this latest visit, Emi and I ventured down the steep incline, cut into the cliffs, to the beach. It was the first time I'd walked on these sands since I was a very young boy. Nothing much had changed, apart from some coastal erosion, but the view of Flamborough Head from Reighton Sands was just as striking as I remembered, the beach just as sparsely populated. The crumbling ruins of the concrete World War 2 bunkers, almost exactly as they were in the early 'fifties when my family stayed at a bungalow in Reighton Gap, still stand, braving the North Sea winds and guarding the little pools in which I once, all those years ago, sailed my cream and red painted, battery powered, toy boat, 'St. Christopher.' I wrote 'Hello, Sailor Bill' in the sand with my walking cane and Emi took a photo. Emi and I then stood, trousers rolled up, at the edge of the sea, up to our calves in the incoming tide, which was cold and sharp and clear. We'd done the same thing at Spurn Point the previous weekend, (where I'd photographed the patterns made by fishermen's tractors in the sand on the Humber river side of the estuary peninsula). I love this entire stretch of coastline, its variety, its history, and never tire of it. My late father loved it too, as I've probably mentioned before... in fact, he loved the ocean and the coast generally, wherever we roamed as a family back in those simpler times. I still vividly recall standing next to him on cliff tops on the east coast, or on harbour walls in Ilfracoombe in Devon, watching the storm tossed waves. The wilder the seas, the more my father enjoyed observing them. He could be a difficult, sometimes angry and occasionally volatile, violent man, but also generous, kind, thoughtful and soulful. Certainly contradictory. Those moments standing beside him, in awe of the waves, stay stronger in my memory than his darker moods. One of my latest songs directly references my father's love of the sea. In fact, it starts with a simple statement: 'my father loved the sea, summertime, wintertime, anytime... My father longed to be, a sailor on the sea...' It sounds much better in the context of the whole song. (The song is called:- 'The Ceremonial Arrival Of The Great Golden Cloud.') It's over eight minutes long. Weather cool verging on cold today, cloudy and no sun. The recent warm weather vanished for a time, or so it seems. But it's been frustrating to have to stay in my hot, airless studio whilst the sunshine has been transforming the surrounding landscape into an archytypal English pastoral summer scene these last few weeks. It will soon be harvest time though, fields of barley have turned from green to gold already. Leaves turning before we know it too, I suspect. The seasons change so rapidly. I continue to make music and must optimistically return to the work, pushing on regardless. Minutes, hours, days, weeks, months. Time passes and life sings. All photographs by Bill Nelson. Top of page William's Study (Diary Of A Hyperdreamer) July 2005 Feb Mar Apr May Jun Aug Sep Oct Dec 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2013

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

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

Model Village Bill Nelson album - 1 October 2011 Albums Menu Future Past Purchase this download TRACKS: 01) Morning's Herald 02) Dance Of The Orchard Angels 03) The Curate's Cassock Is Troubled By The Breeze 04) Cross Country 05) Pamela And The Pony Club 06) Windmill Interlude 07) Thicket And Loam 08) The Fabulous Foals Of Faraway Farm 09) Thunder Blooms In The Heat Bruised Sky 10) The Wind In The Wood 11) Merry Are The Wind Blown Crows 12) The Tree That Dreamed Of Violas 13) Twilight And The River 14) The Village Dreams Beneath The Stars ALBUM NOTES: Model Village is an instrumental album released on the Sonoluxe label issued in a single print run of 1000 copies. The album represents a significant departure from Nelson's past instrumental work in that it employs a vast array of synthesised orchestral instruments conceived as a film score for an imagined movie. The album concept was first announced on the Dreamsville forum in August 2010 and initially was planned as an album mixing vocal and instrumental pieces. Among the songs written with this in mind were "The Blossom Tree Optimists" and "Gathered at the Gloaming" (later renamed "Gathered in at Gloaming"), both of which were transferred to the Songs of The Blossom Tree Optimists album. Model Village was the first release that Nelson designated as part of his 'Special Listener Series', which indicated it to be a more challenging prospect. The series has so far run to 4 albums with every prospect of this continuing. Pre-release copies of the album were first made available at the The Art School Ascended on Vapours of Roses event held at Leeds University along with Signals From Realms of Light on the 1st of October, 2011, before going on general release through S.O.S. just 3 days later. Model Village sold out in November 2019. CURRENT AVAILABILITY: Available for purchase as a digital download here in the Dreamsville Store . BILL'S THOUGHTS: "It's a pastoral 'sound painting' which attempts to materialise the romantic, poetic, English village of my dreams...a kind of 'Bill Nelson Brigadoon' I suppose. Every time you play the album, the village appears from the mists, unspoiled, sun drenched, and summer-sweet. It's an album which (I hope) works on several levels at once." _____ "Imagine an idealised, dreamily romanticised (but charmingly surreal) country village somewhere around the earlier part of the 20th century...maybe it's not far from the coast, surrounded by rolling hills, sun-kissed meadows, orchards and windmills...but inhabited by a smilingly perverse vicar and an eccentric pub landlord, buxom farmers wives, rampant milk-maids, all with an appetite for quietly illicit but gentle sensuality, all this coupled with summer thunder, fruity orchards, golden harvests and gorgeous twilights that backdrop magic stars...Well, that's what I'm aiming at." _____ "I guess it's partly inspired by the books I read as a child, many of them beautifully illustrated with scenes of an idyllic, unspoiled, endless-summer England, books which my own mother owned when she was young. "Inspiration also comes from certain works by the English neo-romantic painters, artists such as John Minton and John Piper. (Peter Blake once told me that he'd studied under John Minton at art school). Plus some paintings by Stanley Spencer. "Other inspirations for Model Village come from various British between the wars films such as 'Painted Boats' and certain films by Powell and Pressburger, (especially 'A Canterbury Tale'). Even some of the old GPO Film Unit documentaries have helped inspire the mood. "But also, I guess, it's the memory of school holidays in the 1950's when the neighbourhood kids would go off to play in the nearby orchard and wheat fields, becoming our own version of ' The Famous Five' or 'Secret Seven'." _____ "This one has its own unique place in my 'canon'. It's an imagined soundtrack to an equally imaginary inter-war, rural life, English film documentary...Powell and Pressburger perhaps...'A Canterbury Tale' filtered through the prism of a childhood adventure annual, Enid Blyton on hallucinogenics, Humphrey Jennings with a cup of whimsical breakfast tea." FAN THOUGHTS: John Spence: "Indeed a unique and interesting piece of work from Bill. We mastered it at the same time as Fantasmatron and for me Model Village just kind of jumped out of the speakers. I don't know why...sometimes things just grab you like that. The beauty of great music I guess. Enjoy it." Andre: "THIS IS ONE VERY SPECIAL ALBUM! It is so evocative. I have never driven through the English countryside (unfortunately), however I can feel it. "Model Village is not a guitar album. All music is performed by the renowned Sunday Best Symphony Orchestra at The Palace of Strange Voltages in Yorkshire. "The music is superb, and yes the album IS a masterpiece and a treat to your ears. HIGHLY recommended by at least 99% of those who have heard it. Bill released it on the Sonolux Super Listeners Series as it is rather special. I dare say it is worth your money." felixt1: "I'm amazed at how much Bill achieves with his keyboard. Let's not forget that most of this is played in real time...It's just so....open in its scope. It's very hard to imagine the amount of work Bill has put into this, I mean it sounds like an orchestra, in the true sense!!! "There's a certain sense of playfulness that is very much a part of Bill's music in general that I feel is represented on this album. I get the feeling that in Model Village , there is mischievousness to be found. It is not a place that takes itself too seriously. "The imagery it evokes is plentiful, almost too much to grasp in one sitting, that is until you are more familiar with the twisty paths and hedgerows within the Village and the adjoining fields. "Bill's musicianship and sense of melody are fully on display here, incredible when you consider his prime instrument (at least, as far as the casual listener is concerned) is not to be heard on this album at all!" JMH: "This is such a "must have" offering...I am at a loss for words... There is much that is satisfyingly familiar, comfortable etc, yet... I believe the Artist has also created something amazingly New with this record. I am dazzled by the beauty, nostalgia and light that is elicited by this album. Not to mention the stunningly deep and beautiful tracks: "Thicket and Loam" and "The Fabulous Foals of Faraway Farm." Sue: "I love this album...it's like a sleepy, dreamy Sunday afternoon on a warm summer day, totally relaxing and so easy to listen to." BobK: "As a lover of English pastoral music, (Vaughan Williams, Elgar, Delius, Holst - yes, he was English!), must say I find Model Village rather fascinating. As always, listen on headphones to enjoy the subtleties!" paul.smith: "It reminds me of Eric Ravillious' wonderful countryside illustrations from half way through last century and that feeling of timeless flight in childhood that we all mourn and lament." MG: "Windmill Interlude" - "is a beautiful piece... It creates images for me of couples on bicycles riding down country lanes with picnic baskets (in glorious monochromatic 1950's cinematic style)." martin jordan: "I need help - I can't stop listening to Model Village . Biggest problem is there is only one way to listen to it - from start to finish every time. Having myself left the Leeds/Wakefield city life 3 years ago and now living in a midlands village in the National Forest, I find Bill's new CD a fantastic soundtrack to village life. So many of the sounds and feelings are felt on an daily basis when taking the dog out for a walk." zebrapolish: "The one I was sure wouldn't click with, but now have to have a daily dose of. "I LOVE IT. Lush, beautiful, outstanding. I can really visualise the village and its inhabitants, and the artwork sets it off brilliantly." Albums Menu Future Past

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

Don't Argue single - 1987 Cabaret Voltaire Production/Contribution Menu Future Past BILL: Guitar Production/Contribution Menu Future Past

Secret Club for Members Only Bill Nelson album - 27 October 2007 Albums Menu Future Past Purchase this download TRACKS: 01) Blues For A Broken Time Machine 02) Symphony In Golden Stereo 03) Station Clock In Cloud Of Steam 04) All Hail The Happy Captain 05) Boyhood Shadows 06) I Remember Marvelman 07) Secret Club For Members Only 08) Venus Over Vegas 09) Superhappyeverafter 10) The Futurian 11) Ghost Show 12) Jet Pack Jive 13) That Was A Beautiful Dream, She Said 14) Men In Search Of The Milky Bosom 15) Astron 16) Hey, Bill Diddley! ALBUM NOTES: Secret Club for Members Only is an album mixing vocal and instrumental pieces issued exclusively for Nelsonica ‘07 on the Discs of Ancient Odeon label. Due to the previous convention CD selling out in 11 days, the decision was made to increase the print run of Secret Club to 1000 copies, although this was not declared in advance (maybe to protect interest in the convention). In a genuine attempt to stem the practice of selling the Nelsonica CDs for extortionate prices, the decision was also taken to officially offer copies of Secret Club at 'Buy It Now' prices on eBay over the Nelsonica weekend. This back-fired to a degree, and caused some criticism on the Dreamsville Forum, as it left fans unsure whether to trust the listing. For whatever reason, this approach was never repeated. As soon as Nelsonica was over, the remaining copies of Secret Club for Members Only were sold through SOS, and on 14 January 2011 an announcement was made that the album had completely sold out. CURRENT AVAILABILITY: Available for purchase as a digital download in the Dreamsville Store . IF YOU LIKED THIS ALBUM, YOU'LL PROBABLY ENJOY: Return to Jazz of Lights , Here Comes Mr Mercury , Arcadian Salon , Fantasmatron , Modern Moods For Mighty Atoms , Clocks & Dials , Astral Motel , Whims y BILL'S THOUGHTS: "I Remember Marvelman": "Weird and Beard are very much tongue in cheek...those who have the requisite background and are as old as me may have a knowing chuckle at the entire song. At least, that was my plan. The song refers to an English comic book hero from the '50's, 'Marvelman', whose everyday persona was a youngster called Mickey Moran. If Mickey shouted the word 'Kimota' a flash of power zapped down from the skies and transformed him into the mighty Marvelman. If you reverse the word 'Kimota' and change the 'k' to 'c' it spells 'Atomic'. (And Mickey's surname only needs a one letter change to transform it into 'Moron'. Don’t know if this is what the character's creator intended though!) The "weird" and "beard" refer to '50's beatniks, as perceived by the popular media of the time. The connection of that with Marvelman is an obscure but personally resonant one and I approached the song in a humorous, pop-art, nouveau-kitsch, bubble-pop spirit of surrealism style. It's meant to raise a smile and the Dali-esque eyebrow of absurdity. OK, so it's an art-student's song. As someone once said, "the art school ball goes on forever". And I'm just an old-school beardy-weirdy art student at heart!" _____ Bill's Listening Suggestion of the Day: "From my cabinet of musical erotica: "Men in Search of the Milky Bosom". (And let's face it gentlemen, old habits die hard...) This one comes from the Secret Club for Members Only album and takes a quiet, improvised, piano-led path over a mid-tempo trip-hoppy beat. For those of you into compiling compatible tracks, this would sit nicely alongside some of the piano-based pieces on the Theatre of Falling Leaves album. Music for a bedroom lit only by scented candles and shining eyes." FAN THOUGHTS: Peter: "My god, Bill...you are simply amazing. What it must be like to have that much unbelievably great music just flowing through your being...you are blessed, dude, blessed. As are we who are lucky enough to be listening. Pity the fools who are missing out on all this musical treasure." Sue: "I love the title track, it has a really different feel to it...dark, brooding and mysterious." Pathdude: “Jet Pack Jive”: “is the highlight of the album (although it’s crammed full of goodness).” emotionalhooligan: "JET PACK JIVE": "..............what a track. Proper old school Nelson." PhilK: "I think of all Bill's albums I have this one has the near perfect mix of vocal and instrumental tracks. Particular favourites for me are: "Station Clock in Cloud of Steam" (my current favourite Bill track, an absolutely beautiful instrumental, perfect for chilling to). "Symphony in Golden Stereo" "Boyhood Shadows" "The Futurian" "All Hail the Happy Captain" "Men in Search of the Milky Bosom" "Hey, Bill Diddley!" In fact I could list the whole album, what other artist has so much high quality material to be able to give an album of this brilliance away to his fans [at Nelsonica ], amazing." major snagg: "This is high class collection of material...songs and melodic instrumentals. This is a fabulous CD. I've just been rediscovering the hidden jems on it. "Symphony in Golden Stereo", "Ghost Show", etc. These are just two that I like, and how different they are from each other. The first is a lush optimistic 'ballad' (?) and the later, an exciting up tempo, 'Rocker'! This is why I continue to be a 'fan' of Bill Nelson." A Kinder Light: "Symphony in Golden Stereo": "is really hitting home...I don't know why I'm surprised after all of this time that you continue to exceed your own high standards, but I have to tell you that these last five years or so have been an absolutely stellar period for those of us that are enjoying it." Merikan1: "I think that this one is highly underrated. A classic Nelsonica CD encompassing many styles and moods." Kalamazoo Kid: "Academically, I can get from "Heavenly Homes" to "Men in Search of the Milky Bosom," but 30 years have gone by between those songs and in our lives. It's the fact that BN has happily discarded his past to pursue his present (and imagine a bunch of futures) that makes the story worth following. I've certainly enjoyed BN's nostalgia for the past, but only because it has been refracted through steadily older and more restless perspectives - and communicated through dramatically different aesthetic approaches. Change is the measure of life. Stasis is the measure of death. And Bill Nelson is alive and well at 60 - which puts him in a class nearly by himself, in any artistic genre at any time in history. 60 is the age of retirement, of coasting, of resting on dusty laurels, of reunion tours, and of being 35 years past your last startling piece of new work - or of being 35 years dead. All hail BN, delighting and pissing people off into his seventh decade." Timbaugh: "My copy of Secret Club arrived yesterday...in the last week I obtained five of Bill's CDs and am yet to be disappointed...Sell your wife and buy the lot..." Albums Menu Future Past

All Posts Search Log in / Sign up Bill Nelson Apr 2, 2023 5 min A LONG TIME COMING... 47 comments 47 88 likes. Post not marked as liked 88 Bill Nelson Jul 6, 2022 4 min BLOODY MOTHS... 48 comments 48 37 likes. Post not marked as liked 37 Bill Nelson Jun 1, 2022 6 min ANOTHER LATE DATE... 24 comments 24 52 likes. Post not marked as liked 52 Bill Nelson Jan 8, 2022 5 min IS IT 2022 ALREADY? 40 comments 40 52 likes. Post not marked as liked 52 Bill Nelson Jul 16, 2021 4 min IN THE STUDIO STILL... 10 comments 10 42 likes. Post not marked as liked 42 Bill Nelson Apr 23, 2021 3 min 15 YEARS AGO TODAY... 7 comments 7 50 likes. Post not marked as liked 50 Bill Nelson Apr 11, 2021 3 min ONE YEAR ON... 7 comments 7 32 likes. Post not marked as liked 32 Bill Nelson Mar 14, 2021 3 min MOTHER'S DAY... 19 comments 19 33 likes. Post not marked as liked 33 Bill Nelson Feb 19, 2021 4 min THE LOCKDOWN CLOCK... 11 comments 11 33 likes. Post not marked as liked 33 Bill Nelson Jan 14, 2021 4 min DAYS GO BY... 18 comments 18 54 likes. Post not marked as liked 54 Bill Nelson Dec 9, 2020 12 min FOR HAROLD... 27 comments 27 94 likes. Post not marked as liked 94 Bill Nelson Nov 2, 2020 9 min CATCHING UP... 22 comments 22 70 likes. Post not marked as liked 70 Bill Nelson Jul 5, 2020 5 min DUSTY ROOMS AND CLEAR MEMORIES... 10 comments 10 41 likes. Post not marked as liked 41 Bill Nelson Jun 30, 2020 7 min STRUGGLING BUT STILL DREAMING... 11 comments 11 33 likes. Post not marked as liked 33 Bill Nelson May 9, 2020 4 min A SUNBURST FINISH... 7 comments 7 35 likes. Post not marked as liked 35 Bill Nelson May 8, 2020 3 min ANOTHER BLUE DAY... 7 comments 7 27 likes. Post not marked as liked 27 Bill Nelson May 2, 2020 4 min THREE WEEKS ON... 13 comments 13 38 likes. Post not marked as liked 38 Bill Nelson Apr 23, 2020 8 min REMEMBERING... 51 comments 51 67 likes. Post not marked as liked 67 Bill Nelson Mar 31, 2020 5 min EYE OF THE BEHOLDER... 10 comments 10 22 likes. Post not marked as liked 22 Bill Nelson Mar 23, 2020 5 min VIRAL PLANET... 7 comments 7 37 likes. Post not marked as liked 37