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Electrical Language Be Bop Deluxe single - 5 May 1978 Singles Menu Future Past TRACKS: A) Electrical Language B) Surreal Estate ORIGINALLY: A) Edited version of the Drastic Plastic album cut. B) Lifted unchanged from the same album. NOTES: Electrical Language was the final Be Bop Deluxe single issued during the band's existence. The single was issued in a picture sleeve with Nelson sporting his Cocteau 'signature' sweater. Promo copies exist with the words "Demo Record, Not For Sale", and a large 'A' printed on the label. PAST RELEASES: Both tracks would be included on the Singles As and Bs compilation (1981) and "Electrical Language" would find its way onto the Bill Nelson's Be Bop Deluxe 7" EP included in the Permanent Flame box set (1982), and on the re-promoted stand-alone 12" EP on Cocteau in September 1983, with an extra track, "Jean Cocteau". CURRENT AVAILABILITY: The single is long deleted, but both tracks can be found on the Cherry Red/Esoteric Recordings reissue of Dr astic Plastic (2021 ) - both in physical form and as a digital download. Singles Menu Future Past

The Dreamer's Companion Volume Two retrospective collection - 13 January 2014 Collections Menu Future Past Bill Nelson Purchase this download TRACKS: 01) Superadventure (Sound On Sound) (Arcadian Salon) 02) Once More Around The Moon (Monitor Mix) (Dream Transmission Pavilion) 03) Never A Dull Day (For Les Paul) (Here Comes Mr Mercury) 04) Everything Changes With The Weather (Fantasmatron) 05) Neil Young (Captain Future's Psychotronic Circus) 06) Pilgrim (Gleaming Without Lights) 07) Mystery Vortex (Oberon Touchstone) (Clocks And Dials) 08) The Darcy Bussell Rubberwear Fantasia (Theatre Of Falling Leaves) 09) Clocks Wind Slow (Clocks And Dials) 10) Young Dreams Whirled Away (Silvertone Fountains) 11) Merry Are The Windblown Crows (Model Village) 12) Steam Radio Blues (Return To Jazz Of Lights) 13) The Sky, The Sea, The Moon And Me (Alchemical Adventures Of Sailor Bill) 14) Wonder Of The Moment (Luxury Lodge) ALBUM NOTES: The Dreamer's Companion is a three volume series of compilation albums designed to introduce both new and lapsed fans to Nelson's recordings from the 21st Century. These are significant in that they represent the point where Nelson embraced the notion of downloading as a way of generating additional interest in his music. Prior to their announcement in August 2013, there had been frequent mention by fans of the advantages that Nelson would see from going down the download route, but the artist consistently resisted doing so on the basis that he remained unconvinced that it would yield much in the way of sales. What seemed to change his opinion, or at least convince him to give it a go, was a Be Bop Deluxe Facebook page which clearly indicated that there are a significant number of fans who knew little of Nelson's work over the previous 30 years. Nelson therefore set about compiling three volumes in The Dreamer's Companion series that provided a detailed overview of his output since 2003. Even for fans who had rediscovered Nelson's music at some point in the period from 2003 to 2013, these offer some out of print material. And for the lapsed fans that knew nothing at all from this period, they offer them a chance to find out precisely what they have been missing. For those who aren't willing or able to spend £30 on a full set, each volume of The Dreamer's Companion is available at £10 each. The 42 tracks featured are taken from a total of 28 different albums, and provide a healthy mixture of vocal and instrumental pieces covering a range of styles and moods. CURRENT AVAILABILITY: Available for purchase as a digital download here in the Dreamsville Store . BILL'S THOUGHTS: "There's nothing difficult or tricky about any of my music, it's all very easy to listen to. I certainly don't aim at purely esoteric targets, I just make pop music with a twist. But, if you're feeling a bit nervous about buying some albums, it doesn't get less esoteric than Fancy Planets , Joy Through Amplification , and Songs of the Blossom Tree Optimists . Easy listening all! Or, to get a great overview of my 21st Century recordings, try downloading the digital three volume compilation set, The Dreamers Companion from Bandcamp. It acts as a really nice taster or 'grazing' menu. A bit of everything on there." Collections Menu Future Past

Hip Pocket Jukebox Free download mini-album Click image for cover Artwork Hip Pocket Jukebox: A Mini-Album Of Previously Unreleased Bill Nelson Apocrypha From The Private PCM F1 Archives. These tracks were recorded in the late 1980s and mixed down to a Sony PCM F1 stereo recorder. They are unmastered tracks in their raw state. The tracks were originally created as demos or 'sketches', the idea being that they would be, one day, developed further and eventually re-recorded, possibly with a band. This, unfortunately didn't happen so the demos have remained unheard until now. The Hip Pocket Jukebox CDr was a limited edition hand-made CDr, personally numbered and signed by Bill. It was given to all fans attending the University of Leeds "The Art School Ascended On Vapours Of Roses" event, Oct 2011. Less than 250 discs were created and today they are treasured artifacts. The unmastered tracks were burnt onto the CDr. Now you can download them here for free! Written, performed, recorded and produced by Bill Nelson. All rights Bill Nelson 2011.

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2013 William's Study (Diary Of A Hyperdreamer) October 2008 Jan Feb Aug Sep Wednesday 22nd October 2008 -- 9:00 pm Too much news and not enough time to write it up in any great detail. Nelsonica 08 is almost here and I'm way behind with my preparations, as is generally the case at this time of year...However on THIS particular occasion, I'm REALLY floundering, particularly in terms of the work I still need to complete for my part in the band's live performance. The physical and mental stress has felt much more acute than usual, so much so that I've actually been a hair's breadth away from cancelling that part of the event altogether. The extra pressure has been compounded by so many other problems...difficult to convey to anyone not actually sitting over my shoulder observing the day to day complexities and frustrations. Anyway, more of that later but, first, a resume of matters touched upon in my previous diary entry. And I'll try to keep this as brief as possible: Emiko came back from Tokyo on the 26th of September, (not the 25th as I'd erroneously noted in my previous entry). I was so pleased to have her home again...the two and a half weeks she was away were difficult for both of us, sometimes depressing. Emi's mother has undergone surgery to remove the malignant tumour from her intestine. It was a worrying time for the family. Nevertheless she seems to have come through that process remarkably well, especially for a woman in her 80's. She remained in hospital a few weeks after the operation, slowly recuperating, but was finally allowed home last weekend. We're hoping that she will continue to make progress and enjoy a complete recovery, 'though the matter is still, naturally, of some concern to Emiko and I. Whilst Emi was away, I tried to help the time pass more quickly by spending even longer hours in my studio than usual. I began work on a special audio-visual project for this year's Nelsonica convention. It combines music, spoken-word samples, abstract sound and video cut-ups. It is titled 'The Departure Of The 20th Century In A Hail Of Memory.' The piece took three weeks to complete, (due to my slow computer and long out-of-date software), but I think it will work well as an opening item for the event. The idea is to present the piece as soon as convention attendees have taken their seats, at the very start of the day. The images and soundtrack will create an atmosphere complimentary to the theme/title of Nelsonica 08, (ie: 'The Experimental Time Traveller's Ball'). The piece lasts for a fraction over 16 minutes and can be interpreted as a personal time-travel trip through various cultural moments gathered from of my own era, or as fragmented, cascading images of memory, a mind unspooling in a dream-encrusted, poetic twilight. Besides the above work, I spent a fair amount of time helping my mother with her ongoing struggle to secure an appropriate settlement from her late husband's estate. This has involved the further preparation of legal documents and various meetings with solicitors. My own part in all this has been to give time and support wherever and whenever she has needed it. Sadly, the situation remains unresolved and things have now progressed to the litigation stage. This is a highly unpleasant process for my mother but one which she has been forced into by others. I continue to be dismayed by the 'cold shoulder' she has been given and the whole sorry business is causing all of us who care for my mother a great deal of distress. In a decent world, it should be absolutely unneccesary for her to go to these absurd lengths. Although the next few weeks should see the arrival of the next phase in the proceedings, there still may be a long way to go before the matter is settled. My mind has been constantly divided by conflicting duties, forces pulling this way and that: My mother's inheritance problems, her psychological and emotional struggles as a result of her bereavement, her practical day to day re-adjustment to life as a widow, etc. Her increased dependency on me as an only son. Also, Emiko's concerns about her mother's health and general situation around that, Very worrying for Emi, especially being so far away across the world from her mum. Added to this is Emiko's job redundancy and the difficulties she's faced as a result, especially trying to find employment in the current economic climate. The psychological impact this has inflicted upon her, the loss of self-confidence these kind of situations bring, all conspire to darken the mood. Plus, she's had to endure my self-inflicted, punishing creative workload and the negative effect it seems to be having on my own health, both physical and mental. Self-inflicted, maybe...but unavoidable under the circumstances. Then there's the list of various things required for Nelsonica, a list which seems to become more and more demanding each year. Of course, I'm not, as the saying goes, getting any younger. It definitely feels as if my energy levels are depleting as time goes on. (Or maybe it just seems this way because I take on too much. Perhaps I don't know where to draw the line.) Anyway, I won't continue to list any more difficulties, other than to say that they have sometimes become so overwhelming that there have been moments of utter despair when I've wondered where all of this might be leading. Well, that's life. It's one thing to deal with it in theory, another in reality. On a more positive note, let me try to list what I've actually achieved , in creative and positive terms, during the last 12 months or so: 1: An interconnected series of three instrumental albums, each filled to the brim with new examples of my guitar music. ('Silvertone Fountains,' Illuminated At Dusk,' and 'Mazda Kaleidoscope'.) 2: A brand new vocal album, ('Golden Melodies Of Tomorrow'), that weaves together various colourful threads and styles into something that, I hope, comes across as a unique and personal musical statement. 3: An exceptionally tightly packed Nelsonica limited edition album, ('Clocks And Dials'), that gathers together 38 diverse tracks across two CD's, all presented beautifully in digi-pak format. 4: A musical soundtrack for a documentary film titled 'American Stamps.' (And for which I've managed to secure a 'world premiere screening' at this year's Nelsonica.) 5: Another feature packed Nelsonica convention. 6: A solo set for Nelsonica that I've assembled and re-assembled at least three times before arriving at a concept I've titled 'Clouds, Dreams And Rain: The Melancholy Romance Of Guitars.' 7: The assembly of a band to perform as a separate item at Nelsonica. Band title? 'The Gentlemen Rocketeers.' Line up:- Bass: Dave Sturt. Flute, Sax: Theo Travis. Drums: Dave Cook. Second Guitar: Dave Standeven. Keyboards: Steve Cook. Keyboards: Jon Wallinger. Man up front with a guitar but with not a clue what's actually going on: Yours truly. 8: A continued, regular interface with my audience via this website diary and the Dreamsville on-line forum. Easy to underestimate how much time goes into this activity. More than people realise, I suspect. 9: The creation of a song to donate to 'Sara's Hope Foundation' as an exclusive download. Following in the footsteps of last year's 'Six Strings For Sara' instrumental track, this time it's a vocal piece, 'A Million Whistling Milkmen.' 10: A design for a limited edition Nelsonica watch. 11: I've finally managed to make some drawings and paintings for this year's Nelsonica auction...but not nearly as many as previous years. (The time just wasn't available.) However, the ones I HAVE made are interesting and this year's 'workbox' cover is especially nice, I think, being executed in paint, rather than coloured pencils. I still need to add something further to its contents though. Must remember to do this. And there are more achievements but I don't have time to list them all...lots done but more still to do... The main worry for me at this moment in time is that I haven't found an opportunity to start work on learning the material designated for the band set. Or, for that matter, to re-familiarise myself with the solo set music. Here's the track list, running order for my solo set at Nelsonica:- 1: 'BLUE AMORINI.' 2: 'BEYOND THESE CLOUDS THE SWEETEST DREAM.' 3: 'IF I WERE THE PILOT OF YOUR PERFECT CLOUD.' 4: 'GOLDEN DREAM OF CIRCUS HORSES.' 5: 'THE RAINDROP COLLECTOR.' 6: 'NIGHT SONG OF THE LAST TRAM.' 7: 'THE GIRL ON THE FAIRGROUND WALTZER.' 8: 'ONLY A DREAM BUT NEVERTHELESS.' 9: 'BEATNIKS FROM OUTER SPACE (I was a junior spaceman.)' 10: 'A DREAM FOR IAN.' 11: 'FOR STUART.' This doesn't look like an hour 15 mins worth of music but some of those pieces are quite long. And demanding. I had prepared three new instrumental tracks for the set too but there wasn't enough room for them. I didn't want to change the flow of the above set list to accomodate them, just for the sake of them being new. So maybe another day. But here's the bottom line: I know NOTHING and rehearsals start next Monday for 3 days. Day 1 is me on my own, trying to figure out my complex pedal board/processor rig, (which I only ever use live, never at home due to lack of space). And then I must try to run through my one hour 15 minute solo set and try to become confident enough to play it in front of an audience. The following two days are devoted exclusively to the band, to see if we can bolt together enough tunes to make up a performance. (Two days! Jeez!) Untested territory this as we have a new line-up. And this is where I REALLY haven't a clue. As mentioned above, I'm not prepared in the least for any of this. Just totally out of the loop. And the reason? Well, had I only the band thing to worry about, perhaps it would be o.k. But just take a look back over all those other things I've been dealing with and you'll see my problem. The short answer is: Too many things going on at once. Tomorrow I have to take three guitars for set-ups/repairs, on Friday I have to travel to Fairview near Hull to master my backing tracks. On Saturday I have to disconnect various items from my studio, pack all the equipment I need for Nelsonica and drag it downstairs. (There's a LOT of it!) On Sunday the equipment is being collected from here and will be delivered to the rehearsal room in Leeds on Monday morning. From then on, it's rehearsals for three days as itemised above. Then a clothes dry-cleaning/preparation day, (and, I hope, a haircut), followed by last minute bits and pieces. How I'll fit my personal learning time into any of this is a mystery. I just hope the band will forgive me when I stand there scratching my head and wondering what the next chord is. I've never been so ill-prepared and I absolutely hate it. It's not my style. I hope the Nelsonica audience will forgive me too, when I appear a shaking, nervous wreck on stage on the day itself. This diary entry, of course, helps matters not a bit. It's taken up far too much time already, even though it contains a third of the information I intended it to carry. So, I'm going to close here and see what I can achieve in the time available to me before I go to bed. So... the next entry will be AFTER Nelsonica, (provided my sanity is still intact!) Wish me luck and if you're going to the convention, please be gentle with me! ***** Images with this diary are:- 1: Bill and Emi circa 1983/4. 2: Tinkerbell The Cat in Bill 'n' Emi's garden. 3: A photo of Bill's Nelsonica 08 artworks 4: A closer look at the Nelsonica 08 artworks. Top of page

Take Me to the Girl single - 1985 The Associates Production/Contribution Menu Future Past BILL: Guitar on the A-side. BILL'S THOUGHTS: "I remember sitting in the recording studio with Billy and he sang the vocal lines to me, (which hadn't been recorded yet,) without a microphone, over the backing tracks so that I could get a feel for where the guitar might lay. We got on really well and he was enthusiastic and charming and, of course, an absolutely wonderful singer." NOTES: An essay by Mike Nelson (no relation): 1982 – 83 had seen a run of hit singles for The Associates. 'Sulk' had been judged Album of the Year in the music press' judgements of 1982 and … the band had promptly self-destructed as its first major US tour approached. Though it was still fairly straightforward for remarkable frontman Billy MacKenzie to acquire a major label recording contract with which to continue his musical career, the challenge was that of creating an album to follow the complex and unique 'Sulk'. By the beginning of 1985, The Associates 'brand' was in big trouble. The 'Perhaps' album had been recorded in full at least twice, had overrun all cost limits and had gone on to provide disappointing sales. The smooth, funky pop of "Those First Impressions" and "Waiting For The Loveboat" simply didn’t work for the pop-buying public, but, as ever for a commercial artist, that didn't mean that main Associate Billy MacKenzie knew what 'Perhaps' should instead have been. If you don't know what's wrong, what do you do to put it right? Meanwhile, whenever there were no financial and record label pressures, MacKenzie always preferred to be bold and experimental. Given a now-shaky relationship with the Warners label, where could this fit in to what might happen next? Billy was still performing live and including adventurous unreleased songs such as "This Flame" and "Obsession Magnificent" in his live sets. He had certainly not simply 'sold out' for commercial success. In June '85, MacKenzie recorded four demos in Edinburgh. Versions of two of these songs would eventually become tracks on 1990's 'Wild and Lonely', the first album he would release under his own name. Another song, "You Never Thought (That You'd Be The One)" seems to have vanished without trace. The fourth was "Take Me To The Girl", and this song, "an upbeat dance track with a loungey Euro-flavoured melody" (as MacKenzie's biographer Tom Doyle describes it) was selected as a possible single, probably to stand alone to remind the British public that The Associates were still out there. In London, in July or August, the single was recorded at Morgan Studios. Sitting at the recording desk for the sessions was Peter Robinson – known to UK chartwatchers as producer of the immensely successful but MOR-as-can be 'Breakfast In America' by Supertramp, and more recently producer of Rush's more challenging 'Grace Under Pressure'. The guitarist for "Take Me To The Girl" was none other than Bill Nelson, personally asked to take part by MacKenzie. Bill recounts: "It's certainly me on the funky, guitar rhythm parts and any e-bow stuff. I just remember Billy singing me the vocal over the backing tracks of some songs. His voice was really strong. " The only definite products of the sessions were four different versions of "Take Me To The Girl": a 7" single version, and extended 12" version, an instrumental and a slowed and stripped-down piano-led alternative entitled "The Girl That Took Me". Bill is to be heard most clearly on the 12" version (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThT0sLihs00 ) and the instrumental (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=te7OwbrXH9s ). The production on both of these and the 7" version now seems so obviously too smooth and syrupy, and there are indications that within weeks, MacKenzie felt uncomfortable about both it and its wood-nymphs-in-the-castle-ruins video. Notably, the only touch of sparky energy and humour audible and visible across the entire single release was a cameo appearance by one of Billy's whippets in the video. But the song is melodic, catchy and lushly romantic. What a pity it missed any chart success whatsoever. Bill Nelson said recently: “In my opinion, the production really dates the recordings in a big way, even more than my own recordings at that time. Billy's voice should have had far less reverb, been more solidly 'up-front' to show its strengths. But, it was the '80s, the era of Yuppies and power-lunches.” Of interest to Bill Nelson aficionados is the question of what else was recorded in those sessions. The only other B-side included across the 7" and 12" singles is "Perhaps Perhaps", an alternative take (produced by Heaven 17' s Martyn Ware) from the sessions for the 'Perhaps' album, but only weeks later MacKenzie was recording a Radio 1 session including "Take Me To The Girl", "Give", "Obsession Magnificent", and his first broadcast attempt at Blondie's "Heart of Glass". A Bill Nelson newsletter from Autumn '85 says that Bill "played on a couple of tracks from the new Associates album and indeed plays a short guitar part on the new single", and Bill more recently stated that he "played on a couple of tracks, maybe more". And Bill remembers being sung to by Billy, using backing tracks for "some songs so that [Bill] could get a handle on how they would end up". The question really is what other songs were these and where are the recordings to be found? It is likely that one, two or three more Associates songs (almost certainly unreleased ones) include the guitar skills and artistry of Mr Nelson. Any clues, dear readers? After a few Autumn gigs, Billy MacKenzie travelled to Europe for much of 1986 and half of 1987. Out of these adventures came collaborations with some bold, creative musicians from Switzerland, Germany and Austria, and his working relationship with Yello was particularly productive. His next album, however, 'The Glamour Chase', was a whole new kind of disaster – completed for release in 1989 but shelved until 2002. The next proper release was instead the 'solo' album, 'Wild And Lonely' in 1990. Tracking what happened to the Bill Nelson 1985 collaboration is fairly difficult, but Bill had a sad postscript to add to the story: "Later, in the '90s, and not long before Billy sadly committed suicide, he called me up wanting to collaborate with me on songwriting and playing. He had no studio budget but, at that time, I had no proper home studio set-up either, (living in a rented apartment after my divorce,) so had to explain that it was extremely difficult for me to provide him with the right recording facilities. We left it at that, but not so long after, he was gone. A great talent who should have been served, and advised, better." Billy Mackenzie died on January 22nd, 1997. Production/Contribution Menu Future Past

Theatre of Falling Leaves Bill Nelson album - 19 September 2009 Albums Menu Future Past Purchase this download TRACKS: 01) Thoughts Travel (For Miles) 02) You Here Now In William's World 03) The Darcey Bussell Rubberwear Fantasia 04) Tiny Mice Are Dancing In The Cottage Of Her Dreams 05) Planet Of Sleeping Buddhas 06) Pagoda Dreamhouse 07) Tumbletown 08) Dance, Mighty Robot, Dance! 09) Superserene 10) Theatre Of Falling Leaves 11) Sparkle And Spin 12) Space Ace Gets His Girl 13) Django Dreams Of Twinkleland 14) From Here To Far Orion ALBUM NOTES: Theatre of Falling Leaves is an instrumental album issued on the Sonoluxe label in a single print run of 1000 copies. Recording of the album commenced in January 2009, and was assembled alongside material that would form two other contrasting albums, Fancy Planets and Here Comes Mr Mercury . Initially the project was given the working title of Haiku Sound Box , and was conceived as a minimalist, ambient keyboard-based album, while the projects competing alongside it for material were contrastingly stylised . However, the direction the keyboard based material took resulted in the Haiku Sound Box title being set aside for another potential future work. Nelson re-thought his plans for the keyboard-based material, initially re-naming it Sparkle and Spin in the process. A couple of months into the project Nelson very nearly changed his mind and considered mixing the Sparkle and Spin material with other material then allocated to an album with working title Sway and Swoon (eventually released as Fancy Planets ). Ultimately though, he reverted back to his original intentions, naming the album of keyboard-based material Theatre of Falling Leaves . The album title and track listing were confirmed on 15 May 2009, and the album was made available to purchase on pre-release at Nelsonica '09 before going on general sale through SOS three days later. Theatre Of Falling Leaves sold out in July 2020. CURRENT AVAILABILITY: Available for purchase as a digital download here in the Dreamsville Store . IF YOU LIKED THIS ALBUM, YOU'LL PROBABLY ENJOY: Mazda Kaleidoscope , Non-Stop Mystery Action , Signals From Realms of Light , And We Fell Into A Dream , Gleaming Without Lights , Dream Transmission Pavilion , Illuminated at Dusk , Albion Dream Vortex BILL'S THOUGHTS: "A keyboard-based instrumental album with just a hint of lap-steel guitar on a couple of tracks. The predominant tonality centres on synths and treated piano. The pieces recorded so far shift through various changes within their individual length but there's plenty of melodic content and beats that drift in and out of the frame. There's even a cute and ironic disco track with a retro feel to it." _____ "Style/sound-wise, it's in a similar ball-park to the recent guitar or vocal albums but without the vocals or guitar (although there is a little ambient lap-steel guitar on some pieces). I have used some of the Motif's retro-sounding mono-synth patches though. Not used these much on previous recordings as they sound so 80's and sometimes cheesy, but I thought the more lush, rich textures of this album might stand a touch of Cheddar here and there to add a little nostalgic contrast. "This isn't meant to be a 'radical departure' album or even my next 'major' statement, it's simply a pleasant diversion designed as an easy listening collection of keyboard instrumentals. A nice 'utility' album to enjoy with tea and biscuits." _____ " Autumn, and its falling leaves, have long been a symbol of the impermanence of life for me. But also, paradoxically, a symbol of the possibility of renewal and regeneration, the cycle of life that eventually comes around in Spring. Autumn holds a poetic resonance for me, its colours, golden and brown, echo in some ways rust and the beautiful patina that comes with age and wisdom." _____ Thoughts Travel (for Miles): "It's a deliberate double meaning: Thoughts travel for miles, in the literal sense, and Thoughts Travel (For Miles), ie: dedicated to Miles Davis. After I'd recorded the track, I realised there was a touch of 'Bitches Brew' influence in the piece, particularly with regard to the electric piano parts." FAN THOUGHTS: mark smith: "I love this album! I play it all the time, on country drives late at night in my car...in fact, I had to remove it because I was not wanting to come home late at night till I heard it from start to finish. It's getting out of hand for sure...I play it at all hours now, often just entranced by those beautiful melodies and the feel of the whole concept that Bill has so successfully achieved. I even left a boring BBQ to get back to it the other day...geez it's gotta be love! Many times I just grin to myself and am dazzled by Mr Nelson's playful soundscapes that always seem to continually morph back and forth. I use this disk as an example to remind jaded friends that this is what made music such a vital form in our lives. Please Bill, if you do read this, please take us on another walk in autumn with you again. It really does take you to a time and a place - and how many CDs can do that these days? Thank you very much for this work of art Mr Nelson." Peter: "I have always appreciated Bill's abilities and sensibilities when it comes to instrumentation other than the guitar. This is one reason that I have really enjoyed Theatre of Falling Leaves , as it is not so dependent on the guitar, and features sophisticated, interesting and beautiful compositions, and Bill's skill at arranging music. Stunning, though not surprising -- hell, Bill manages to add whirls and buzzes and chimes (yes, chimes!) in such a way that you just think "Ah, that is exactly the right little nuance at that moment"...well, the guy can just make music! Such a wonderful ability to create rich textures and melodies that evolve and surprise...I love this album. As Bill continues to grow as a musician and songwriter, each stage gets more interesting and satisfying." tomasso: "Let me add to the praise for Theatre. I like the way in which Bill experiments with more recent electronica sounds and rhythms, but still manages to make the result sound distinctly his own." steve lyles: "I find Theatre of Falling Leaves quite brilliant...a different tangent...at times quite Aphex Twin meets Kraftwerk-ish with those Jazzy Oriental overtones interspersed that are bloody lovely. More please..." Grey Lensman: "Much as I enjoy Bill's versatile guitar work, it's his ability to generate well-thought out and intelligent soundscapes that puts him out there in a class of his own. And this CD really does confirm that. Full of really interesting sound textures and patterns of sound that weave subtle melodies together in a most delightful way. I love the mood and overall ambience of this long-player. A nice contrast to The Dream Transmission Pavilion . Bill once again demonstrates his "Leonardo Da Vinci" abilities - a true musical Renaissance man!" james warner: "For some, Bill Nelson's guitar playing is everything, but this album proves there is so much more to his talents. A collection of keyboard instrumentals which ranges from classical piano to dance electronica and many delightfully quirky places in between." Serge Ruel: "It's Magnifique! It is utterly unified and intertwined. The integrating of the piano and its associated/generated sounds and vice versa is AGAIN Magnifique. Bill, really, keep on keeping on!!!" Returningman: "It is a very refreshing vibrant album full of gentle and clever touches that really hit the spot. Any track that includes Miles as a reference point always gets my attention and "Thoughts Travel (For Miles)" delivers. Love the bass groove on this. The whole album is a delight and touches many areas and styles that I have not (as yet) associated with Bill. This one has moved straight into my Top Ten Nelsonic album charts with a rocket. A mini masterpiece." thunk: "From Here to Far Orion": "is a beautiful ending to a really magical album, chock full with tunes & textures, twists & turns..." Analog: "All I can say is that this is a must have. One of Mr. Nelson's absolute best... Very satisfying and also very cohesive and picturesque in the mental landscape it conjures up." BobK: "It is quite brilliant and I am, frankly, knocked out by it. As for style, it is a keyboard based, though the percussion tracks and 'sounds' are equally important to the feel and structure. The tracks are fascinating throughout with many twists and turns with changes, sometimes subtle, sometimes radical throughout the track. The album sounds very new, very fresh, very different with many new electric sounds throughout, and a few (knowing?) nods to the past. I can hear keyboard sounds that hark back to Intimacy and Chance Encounters and some nice marimba that harks back to Love That Whirls . I really can't do justice in a few words, but there are so many gorgeous melodies and interesting things going on throughout, it is one helluva listening experience. (So listen on headphones!!). Not sure about buying this? (you fool!), then listen to the samples. They give a hint of how good this is." Albums Menu Future Past

The Practice of Everyday Life box set - 7 December 2011 Bill Nelson Collections Menu Future Past TRACKS: CD1 01) Photograph (A Beginning) (Northern Dream album, 1971) 02) Northern Dreamer (Northern Dream album, 1971) 03) See It Through (Northern Dream album, 1971) 04) Love's A Way (Northern Dream album, 1971) 05) Be Bop Deluxe - Teenage Archangel (non-album single, 1973) 06) Be Bop Deluxe - Jets At Dawn (Teenage Archangel single b-side, later re-recorded for Axe Victim album, 1974) 07) Be Bop Deluxe - Axe Victim (Decca audition version - Previously Unreleased, 1973) 08) Be Bop Deluxe - Adventures In A Yorkshire Landscape (Axe Victim album, 1974) 09) Be Bop Deluxe - Darkness L'Immoraliste (Axe Victim album, 1974) 10) Be Bop Deluxe - Night Creatures (Axe Victim album, 1974) 11) Be Bop Deluxe - Music In Dreamland (Futurama album, 1975) 12) Be Bop Deluxe - Maid In Heaven (Futurama album, 1975) 13) Be Bop Deluxe - Jean Cocteau (Futurama album, 1975) 14) Be Bop Deluxe - Sister Seagull (Futurama album, 1975) 15) Be Bop Deluxe - Between The Worlds (Futurama album, 1975) 16) Be Bop Deluxe - Swan Song (Futurama album, 1975) 17) Be Bop Deluxe - Crystal Gazing (Sunburst Finish album, 1976) 18) Be Bop Deluxe - Heavenly Homes (Sunburst Finish album, 1976) 19) Be Bop Deluxe - Ships In The Night (Sunburst Finish album, 1976) 20) Be Bop Deluxe - Crying To The Sky (Alternate Guitar Solo - Previously Unreleased) 21) Be Bop Deluxe - Sleep That Burns (Sunburst Finish album, 1976) CD2 01) Be Bop Deluxe - Modern Music (Modern Music album, 1976) 02) Be Bop Deluxe - Dancing In The Moonlight (All Alone) (Modern Music album, 1976) 03) Be Bop Deluxe - Honeymoon On Mars (Modern Music album, 1976) 04) Be Bop Deluxe - Lost In The Neon World (Modern Music album, 1976) 05) Be Bop Deluxe - Dance Of The Uncle Sam Humanoids (Modern Music album, 1976) 06) Be Bop Deluxe - Modern Music (Reprise) (Modern Music album, 1976) 07) Be Bop Deluxe - Kiss Of Light (Modern Music album, 1976) 08) Be Bop Deluxe - Forbidden Lovers (Modern Music album, 1976) 09) Be Bop Deluxe - Down On Terminal Street (Modern Music album, 1976) 10) Be Bop Deluxe - Life In The Air Age (Live! In The Air Age album, 1977) 11) Be Bop Deluxe - Piece of Mine (Live! In The Air Age album, 1977) 12) Be Bop Deluxe - Blimps ( The Best Of And The Rest Of compilation album, 1978) 13) Be Bop Deluxe - Futurist Manifesto ("Japan" single b-side in 1977) 14) Be Bop Deluxe - Lovers Are Mortal (The Best Of And The Rest Of Compilation album, 1978) 15) Be Bop Deluxe - Surreal Estate (Drastic Plastic album, 1978) 16) Be Bop Deluxe - Visions Of Endless Hope (Drastic Plastic album, 1978) 17) Be Bop Deluxe - Panic In The World (Juan Les Pins Mix/Remix) 18) Bill Nelson's Red Noise - Don't Touch Me (I'm Electric) (Sound-On-Sound album,1979) 19) Bill Nelson's Red Noise - Revolt Into Style (Sound-On-Sound album in 1979) 20) Bill Nelson's Red Noise - Furniture Music (Sound-On-Sound album in 1979) 21) Bill Nelson's Red Noise - Stay Young (Live) (Revolt Into Style 12" single) 22) Bill Nelson's Red Noise - Out Of Touch (Live) (Revolt Into Style 7 & 12" singles) 23) Do You Dream In Colour? ( Quit Dreaming And Get On The Beam album in 1981) CD3 01 ) Banal ( Quit Dreaming And Get On The Beam album in 1981) 02) Life Runs Out Like Sand (Quit Dreaming And Get On The Beam Album in 1981) 03) Living In My Limousine (Quit Dreaming And Get On The Beam album in 1981) 04) Mr. Magnetism Himself (Banal 7 & 12" singles) 05) Sleep (Sounding The Ritual Echo album, 1981) 06) Opium (Sounding The Ritual Echo album, 1981) 07) Near East (Sounding The Ritual Echo album, 1981) 08) The Funeral (Das Kabinett album, 1981) 09) The Sonambulist And The Children (Das Kabinett album, 1981) 10) The Dream Dance Of Jane And The Sonambulist (Das Kabinett album, 1981) 11) Beauty And The Beast (La Belle Et La Bete album, 1982) 12) The Enchanted Glove (La Belle Et La Bete album, 1982) 13) Eros Arriving (The Love That Whirls album in 1982) 14) Hope For The Heartbeat (The Love That Whirls album, 1982) 15) A Private View (The Love That Whirls album, 1982) 16) The October Man (The Love That Whirls album, 1982) 17) The Passion (Flaming Desire 7 & 12" singles) 18) Echo in Her Eyes (The Lamps of Oblivion) (The Love That Whirls album, 1982) 19) Glow World (Chimera mini-album, 1983) 20) The Real Adventure (Chimera mini-album, 1983) 21) Acceleration (Short Version) (Acceleration 12" single, 1984) 22) Happily Addicted To You (A Catalogue Of Obsessions album, part of the Trial By Intimacy set, 1985) 23) The Last Summer For Dancing (A Catalogue Of Obsessions album, part of the Trial By Intimacy set, 1985) 24) Les Amoureux ( Pavillions Of The Heart And Soul album, part of the Trial By Intimacy set, 1985) 25) Another Kiss For Your Slender Neck ( Pavillions Of The Heart And Soul album, Trial By Intimacy set, 1985) CD4 01) The Eternal Female ( Pavillions Of The Heart And Soul album, part of the Trial By Intimacy set, 1985) 02) Sleeplessness (Chamber Of Dreams album, part of the Trial By Intimacy set, 1985) 03) The Golden Bough (Chamber Of Dreams album, part of the Trial By Intimacy set, 1985) 04) Tomorrowland (The Threshold Of 1947) (Chamber Of Dreams album, Trial By Intimacy set, 1985) 05) Sacrament (The Summer Of God's Piano album, part of the Trial By Intimacy set, 1985) 06) Over Ocean (The Summer Of God's Piano album, part of the Trial By Intimacy set, 1985) 07) Perfido Incanto (The Summer Of God's Piano album, part of the Trial By Intimacy set, 1985) 08) City One (Chameleon album, 1986) 09) Blue Sky (Chameleon album, 1986) 10) To The Sea In Ships (Chameleon album, 1986) 11) Suvasini (Getting The Holy Ghost Across album, 1986) 12) Contemplation (Getting The Holy Ghost Across album, 1986) 13) Wildest Dreams (Getting The Holy Ghost Across album, 1986) 14) The Hidden Flame (Getting The Holy Ghost Across album, 1986) 15) Illusions Of You (Living For The Spangled Moment mini-album, 1986) 16) Orchestra Arcana - Search And Listen (Iconography album, 1986) 17) Orchestra Arcana - Right, Then Left (Iconography album, 1986) 18) Orchestra Arcana - Iconography (Iconography album, 1986) 19) Orchestra Arcana - Clock Conscious (Iconography album, 1986) 20) At The Gates Of The Singing Garden (Map Of Dreams album, 1987) 21) Water Of Life (Transfiguration) (Map Of Dreams album, 1987) 22) Spinning Creatures (Map Of Dreams album, 1987) 23) The Angel At The Western Window (Chance Encounters In The Garden Of Lights album, 1987) 24) Day Of Eternity (Chance Encounters In The Garden Of Lights album , 1987) 25) Night Tides (Chance Encounters In The Garden Of Lights album, 1987) 26) Finis Gloria Mundi (Chance Encounters In The Garden Of Lights album, 1987) CD5 01) Calling Heaven, Calling Heaven (Chance Encounters In The Garden Of Lights album , 1987) 02) Orchestra Arcana - Deva Dance (Optimism album, 1988) 03) Orchestra Arcana - Um, Ah Good Evening (UK CD of Optimism album, 1988) 04) Orchestra Arcana - Short Wave (UK CD of Optimism album, 1988) 05) Aqua Magica (Simplex album, 1990) 06) Heros De Lumiere (Simplex album, 1990) 07) Kiss Goodbye (Chimes And Rings album, part of the Demonstrations Of Affection set, 1989) 08) Dreams Of Yesterday (Chimes And Rings album, part of the Demonstrations Of Affection set, 1989) 09) Playing Jesus To Her Judas (Chimes And Rings album, part of the Demonstrations Of Affection set, 1989) 10) Still Waiting (Nudity album, part of the Demonstrations Of Affection set, 1989) 11) Feels Like Up To Me (Nudity album, part of the Demonstrations Of Affection set, 1989) 12) Only Love Can Tell (Nudity album, part of the Demonstrations Of Affection set, 1989) 13) Broken (Heartbreakland album, part of the Demonstrations Of Affection set, 1989) 14) Heartbreak Thru The Telephone (Heartbreakland album, part of the Demonstrations Of Affection set, 1989) 15) Love's Immortal Shining Angel (Heartbreakland album, part of the Demonstrations Of Affection set, 1989) 16) Man On Fire (Details album, part of the Demonstrations Of Affection set, 1989) 17) Aeroplane Wings (Details album, part of the Demonstrations Of Affection set, 1989) 18) Stay With Me (Details album, part of the Demonstrations Of Affection set, 1989) 19) A Luminous Kind Of Guy (Luminous album, 1991) 20) Is This Alchemy (Luminous album, 1991) 21) Wait For Tomorrow (Luminous album, 1991) 22) God Man Slain (Blue Moons & Laughing Guitars album, 1992) 23) Boat To Forever (Blue Moons & Laughing Guitars album, 1992) 24) The Invisible Man And The Unforgettable Girl (Blue Moons & Laughing Guitars album, 1992) 25) Dream Ships Set Sail (Blue Moons & Laughing Guitars album, 1992) 26) Crimsworth Part One (Excerpt) (Crimsworth album, 1995) CD6 01) Big Noise In Twang Town (Practically Wired album, 1995) 02) Pink Buddah Blues (Practically Wired album, 1995) 03) Her Presence In Flowers (Practically Wired album, 1995) 04) Big River (Buddha Head album, part of the My Secret Studio set, 1995) 05) The Big Illumination (Buddha Head album, part of the My Secret Studio set, 1995) 06) Buddah Head (Buddha Head album, part of the My Secret Studio set, 1995) 07) Begin To Burn (Electricity Made Us Angels album, part of the My Secret Studio set, 1995) 08) Heaven's Happy Hemisphere (Electricity Made Us Angels album, part of the My Secret Studio set, 1995) 09) It's All True (Deep Dream Decoder album, part of the My Secret Studio set, 1995) 10) Year 44 (The Birthday Song) (Deep Dream Decoder album, part of the My Secret Studio set, 1995) 11) Dreamnoise And Angel (Deep Dream Decoder album, part of the My Secret Studio set, 1995) 12) No Fool For You (Juke Box For Jet Boy album, part of the My Secret Studio set, 1995) 13) On A Train I Never Boarded (Juke Box For Jet Boy album, part of the My Secret Studio set, 1995) 14) Hold On To Your Heart (Juke Box For Jet Boy album, part of the My Secret Studio set, 1995) 15) Deeply Dazzled (After The Satellite Sings album, 1996) 16) Memory Babe (After The Satellite Sings album, 1996) 17) Zoom Sequence (After The Satellite Sings album, 1996) 18) Quarter Moons And Stars (Weird Critters album, part of the Confessions Of A Hyperdreamer set, 1997) 19) Candyland (Weird Critters album, part of the Confessions Of A Hyperdreamer set, 1997) 20) Sun At Six Windows (Magnificent Dream People album, part of the Confessions Of A Hyperdreamer set, 1997) 21) Queer Weather (Magnificent Dream People album, part of the Confessions Of A Hyperdreamer set, 1997) 22) The Girl I Never Forgot (Magnificent Dream People album, Confessions Of A Hyperdreamer set, 1997) CD7 01) Pointing at the Moon (Atom Shop album, 1998) 02) Dreamland Avenue (Whistling While the World Turns album, 2000) 03) Humming In The Void/Girl With The Thousand Watt Smile (Old Man Future Blows The Blues album, part of the Noise Candy set, 2002) 04) Big Yellow Moon (Stargazing With Ranger Bill album, part of the Noise Candy set, 2002) 05) Planet of Guitars (King Frankenstein album, part of the Noise Candy set, 2002) 06) Wonderful Weather In Woodgates Lane (Console album, part of the Noise Candy set, 2002) 07) The Ceremonial Arrival Of The Great Golden Cloud (The Alchemical Adventures Of Sailor Bill album, 2005) 08) Moments Catch Fire On The Crests Of Waves (The Alchemical Adventures Of Sailor Bill album, 2005) 09) Cascade (Improvisation For Three Harp Guitars) (Rosewood Volume One album, 2005) 10) Superserene (Theatre Of Falling Leaves album, 2009) 11) Young Dreams Whirled Away (Silvertone Fountains album, 2008) 12) Fearless Beauty ( Kisses And Cream) (Return To Jazz Of Lights album, 2006) 13) The Golden Days Of Radio (Compact Mix) (Fancy Planets album, 2009) 14) The Trace We Left When All Was Gone (Mazda Kaleidoscope album, 2008) 15) Once I Had A Time Machine (Golden Melodies Of Tomorrow album, 2008) 16) Music Spins My Globe (Picture Post album, 2010) 17) Moon Gold Palladium (Fables And Dreamsongs album, 2010) CD8 John Peel Session, 2nd June 1981 01) Rooms With Brittle Views 02) Stay Young 03) Sleep Cycle 04) Jazz David "Kid" Jenson Session, 13th Jan 1983 05) Dancing On A Knife's Edge 06) Time Tracking 07) Contemplation 08) Indiscretion NOTES: The Practice of Everyday Life is an 8-CD boxed set issued by Esoteric/Cherry Red through their specially created Cocteau Discs imprint. From Smile Records to Sonoluxe, this box set samples 45 different albums from Nelson's impressively vast and varied back catalogue. For the serious collectors among Nelson's fan base, there are a total of 8 previously unreleased tracks and 3 others that are appearing on CD for the first time. The Practice of Everyday Life was the first release on Cocteau Discs that prefaced a 22 album licensing deal which successfully managed to bring much of Nelson's back catalogue back in print. The 22 albums were intended for reissue over a seven year period, and at the time of writing (March 2016) 11 Nelson albums have been reissued including Getting the Holy Ghost Across , which was licensed under a separate deal with Sony. Therefore, a further 12 Nelson related titles can be expected over the next three years, with the prospect of Esoteric striking further deals with Universal for reissues of Red Noise and Be Bop Deluxe material. It has to be said that Esoteric have done a remarkable job with the reissue campaign, and no Bill Nelson fan, new or old, should be without a copy of The Practice of Everyday Life . CURRENT AVAILABILITY: This boxed set is currently out of print, although still available as a download from major online retailers. BILL'S THOUGHTS: "For as long as I can remember, music has played a central part in my life. My father was a semi-professional saxophonist who was actually performing with his band the night I was born in December 1948. His musical tastes, mainly big band swing and jazz, provided the soundtrack to my infancy and childhood years, but, like so many of my generation, rock n' roll came along with it the romance of electric guitars and the magic multi-track recording. Music, tape machines and guitars opened the door to a wide-screen world, a world which I continue to explore to this day. My first album, Northern Dream , was released in 1971, (though recorded in 1970.) Now, exactly 40 years after the release of Northern Dream , comes this chronologically ordered, career-spanning compilation, The Practice Of Everyday Life . For me, those 40 years have flown by, every day propelled by the power of music. The tracks presented across the 8 discs of this compilation, whilst not presenting the entire picture, nevertheless provide the widest view of my recorded work ever released in one package. I'm grateful to Mark Powell of Esoteric Recordings, (who initiated the idea of this compilation), for his enthusiasm and dedication to the project. I hope that listeners will enjoy the colourful journey that The Practice Of Everyday Life documents." _____ "It's a Zen Buddhist phrase which implies that enlightenment can be found in everyday, ordinary activities, rather than in some exotic, mysterious discipline or other. But it is appropriate to the celebration of 40 years of my recording career on more than one level. First of all, my everyday life is filled with the act of creating music in one form or another. As you know, I've always treat this as a natural activity, it's simply what I do and what I am. The creative act itself is meditational and educational...Music is the mirror I hold up to myself to see what is reflected there. But there's also an ironic element: What feels to me like a normal, everyday activity could, to someone not engaged in such an occupation, seem quite unusual or exotic. In fact, not 'everyday' at all. This duality and irony is reflected in the box set's cover image. When you finally get to see it, you'll understand what I'm getting at. The set's title and the cover image are amusingly, (and surreally), at odds. It implies that 'everyday life', for me, is a very strange and dreamlike thing indeed! But the word 'practice' is meaningful too...I'm still practicing, or learning, both as a human being and as an artist. I haven't begun to close the gap between myself and 'the goal'. It's this sense of being a perpetual novice that drives me forward. It's why I'll always look to the next album for the answer to my personal questions...and why I'll never be in a position to say that the work is done." _____ "The package design is not a 'Real Men with Rayguns' project, but is by Esoteric/Cherry Red designer Phil Smee. However, two of the key images, (the front cover and the cover of the booklet contained within the package), use themed, theatrical, surreal photographs taken by ace lensman Martin Bostock based on a specially devised concept created and art-directed by myself." _____ "The cover photo for The Practice Of Everyday Life wasn't actually taken at a live performance in Leeds, but it was taken at the Leeds University Clothworkers Hall, where I have performed in the past. (It's part of the University's Faculty of Music.) The photo' session was arranged independently of any live performance. I wanted to contrast the album's title theme, (of 'everyday' life), with something as far from everyday as possible. I've used that rabbit head mask in my video work for a few years now and thought that it might make a surreal image for TPOEL's cover shot, especially when combined with the weird guitar I'm holding, (which is actually an old fairground ride prop that I bought at an antique fair). I also wanted to include a selection of my guitars in the shot, plus a piano as keyboards often feature in my music too. My 'everyday life' is filled with music making and the concept of the rabbit and the guitars was to suggest a constantly creative, virile, productive energy." FAN THOUGHTS: tunancheese: "It is this compilation that has expanded my horizons. My Lord, Pink Floyd has nothing on Mr. Nelson when it comes to reaching out to the heavens (real or imagined). I'm on my fifth go around with this set and light years behind what you on this website have already experienced. I found Sound On Sound & have already purchased The Joy of Amplification and ordered the vinyl version of Northern Dreams . I know I'm swimming in waters way over my head - but, I'm digging the hell out of it!! Thank you, Mr. Nelson. Wonderful stuff." Collections Menu Future Past

Bop to the Red Noise Be Bop Deluxe retrospective collection - August 1986 Collections Menu Future Past TRACKS: A1) Ships In The Night A2) Life In The Air Age A3) Maid In Heaven A4) Jean Cocteau A5) Third Floor Heaven A6) Rocket Cathedrals B1) No Trains To Heaven B2) Orphans Of Babylon B3) Modern Music B4) New Precision B5) Don't Touch Me (I'm Electric) B6) For Young Moderns NOTES: Bop to the Red Noise is a single album issued only on vinyl via the budget DOJO label. It offers the new listener quite a baffling mixture of Be Bop Deluxe and Red Noise material. The album covers the period between 1974-79 reasonably evenly, although Drastic Plastic gets one track, whereas Axe Victim gets three. Issued at a time when nearly everything issued by the band had been deleted (Sunburst Finish , on its third issue, was their only album in print), Bop to the Red Noise was soon deleted and quickly forgotten about. PAST RELEASES: All 12 tracks on this compilation album were taken from the five Be Bop Deluxe studio albums and the sole Red Noise album. See individual entries of those albums for full details. CURRENT AVAILABILITY: This compilation is now out of print. Collections Menu Future Past

All That I Remember More Listening Notes Go to Album Listening Notes to accompany the album All That I Remember by Bill Nelson As 'All That I Remember' is such a personal, autobiographical album, I've assembled this track by track guide to the stories behind each piece of music. I hope that these notes will add an extra dimension to the album and enrich the listeners appreciation of it. 1: ‘All That I Remember.’ This piece serves as a kind of 'overture' to the album. It sets a mood of gentle melancholy with solo guitar and brief orchestral interludes. It has a light, jazzy feel with the guitars working in (sometimes unusual,) harmony, suggesting Les Paul and other jazz guitarists who made an impact on my young life. Les Paul 2: ‘The View From Lantern Hill.’ Lantern Hill is situated in the coastal town of Ilfracombe in Devon where, in the 1950s, my parents, my brother Ian and myself spent a memorable holiday. It was quite a long drive to get there from Yorkshire. We stayed in a rented upstairs flat right on the harbour where on one side of the living room there were windows looking out onto the harbour itself, and on the other side were windows looking out to sea. My father had a Bolex wind-up cine camera and I can vividly remember him filming a large sailing boat tossing about on the waves from the ocean side window. Ilfracombe is also where the photograph on the cover of my 'Diary Of A Hyperdreamer Volume One' book was taken, (with Ian and myself and a steamship in the background.) Lantern Hill itself is surmounted by St Nicholas' Chapel, (built in the 1300's,) which doubles as a small and quaint lighthouse, hence the name 'Lantern Hill.' I have an old photograph of my brother Ian standing with Lantern Hill in the background which evokes sweet memories coupled with a degree of melancholy. This piece of music is a richly textured orchestral piece, a sort of tone poem, which conjures up that holiday. The track features moments of happy, skipping lightness and other moments where the swell of the sea rises dramatically as the old steamship sails proudly from the harbour trailing clouds of smoke from its funnels. Ian Nelson with Lantern Hill in the background. 1950s. 3: ‘Memory Time No 1: A Wakefield Adventure.’ This is the first of four 'Memory Time' pieces spread throughout the album. This one references my birthplace of Wakefield, where I also grew up. It was a rather different place back then, in some ways more pleasant if rather less modern that today's city. The piece combines electric guitar and orchestra, moving through a panorama of changing moods, each portraying aspects of the city, the Cathedral, the old 1950s bus station with its clock tower where members of 'The Teenagers', (a band I was in,) would meet to be picked up by the band's van to travel to that evening's gig. The grand Unity Hall is also evoked. (I remember seeing my father play there in his band when I was a very young boy.) Also Thornes Park is referenced where, in my infancy, my parents took me to hear brass bands perform. Later, in 1968, I staged Wakefield's first ever free rock concert with my band 'Global Village' on the park's bandstand. My four years at Wakefield Art School, in the earlier part of the 1960s, was a time of adventure and discovery. I created an avant-garde score for a college production of Ibsen's 'Peer Gynt,' using a 'prepared' guitar technique rather like John Cage's prepared piano, threading nails and washers and pieces of glass through the strings and striking them with mallets then recording this to a domestic tape machine and reversing the direction of the tape across the playback head. It was a magic time. A view of Wakefield Bus Station in the 1950s. 4: ‘The Wonderful Wurlitzer Of Blackpool Tower.’ Blackpool is a working-class holiday resort on the west coast of England, famous for its Tower and Pleasure Beach. My parents and I would holiday there quite often in the 1950s and into the early '60s. In fact, I went to Blackpool with my parents when I was only a few months old. The Tower contains a magnificent, gilded ballroom, built in 1894 and re-designed by the famous architect Frank Matcham in 1899. The ballroom has a wonderful Wurlitzer organ which is still in use today. In the 1950s it was played by Reginald Dixon who became a household name through his rendition of 'I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside,' a tune which became synonymous with the town itself. As a child, I would be carried between my two parents as they danced around the ballroom to the sound of the Wurlitzer, coloured lights playing around the waltzing couples on the dancefloor. The Tower also has a permanent indoor circus arena, again designed by Frank Matcham, where I went as a child. The circus, in those days, had lions and tigers and elephants as part of its presentation as well as acrobats and clowns. The circus ring features, (and still does, I believe,) a spectacular climax to each evening's entertainment when it fills up with water and fountains erupt from out of the blue as a water ballet takes place. Blackpool was also well known for its 1930s streamlined art-deco 'balloon' trams and seafront Illuminations, the latter which still exist though the former have sadly been replaced with less visually stylish modern versions. My music on this piece attempts to recreate the Tower Wurlitzer organ sound, quoting from 'I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside' as the orchestra sets up a bright fanfare to match the gilded ballroom's magnificence. A section also hints at the Tower Circus and its various feats of derring-do and clownish mayhem. Blackpool Tower Ballroom. Blackpool Tower Circus water finale, 1950s. Reginald Dixon at The Tower Ballroom Wurlitzer Organ. 1950s. 5: ‘Spacefleet: (The Golden Days Of Dan Dare.)’ The stylistic mood shifts as retro-electronics usher in this track which evokes the science-fiction hero 'Dan Dare, Pilot Of The Future' from the 1950s weekly children's comic, 'The Eagle.' Dan was written and drawn by the artist Frank Hampson who is widely considered to be a genius in the field of comic-book illustration. I was an avid reader of 'The Eagle' and followed Dan's adventures every week with great enthusiasm. 'Spacefleet' was the name given to the organisation which represented Earth in space and Dan was a Colonel in it, piloting wonderfully retro looking rocketships around the solar system. His Spacefleet uniform looked more like that of a World War 2 Spitfire pilot than the super high-tech outfits of current sci-fi movies, and his mannerisms were equally rooted in British 'stiff-upper lip-ism' and old-school jovial banter. Dan's arch enemy was the Mekon, a little green alien with a huge brain who floated around on a kind of sky-scooter. The drawings that Frank Hampson made to depict the alien worlds was imaginative and filled with small details. As a young boy I would pour over these details, noting every technological invention with amazement. The stories were of epic proportion, lasting several weeks before concluding and their ingenuity, twists and turns were worthy of any modern sci-fi movie. The synths that open this track are a kitsch evocation of the mysteries of space before the piece opens out into a widescreen orchestral panorama with electric guitars, suggesting the heroics of Dan and his pals amongst the planets. Dan Dare 'pop-up' book from the 1950s. 6: ‘Memory Time No 2: The Rock n’ Roll Years.’ I shouldn’t underestimate the impact that rock n' roll music had on my early life. It, along with earlier swing band music, laid the foundations for the music I make today. This piece is a poem in sound to those late '50s and early '60s records, tunes that fired me up and made me want to play the guitar. In this piece you will hear lots of different references to that golden age of rock n' roll... The track opens with a nod to Duane Eddy, (my first ever guitar hero,) with a quote from his '40 Miles Of Bad Road.' It then shifts gear into a rhythm guitar that contains echoes of both Buddy Holly and Eddie Cochran. The lead guitar sound enters and brings in hints of Duane Eddy and Hank Marvin but also some of the slightly more 'outré' guitar instrumentals of the day such as those by 'The Fireballs', 'Peter Jay And The Jaywalkers', 'The String Alongs', 'The Spotnicks' and many others. The Farfisa organ sound brings to mind 'Johnny And The Hurricanes' and 'The Tornadoes', (whose hit 'Telstar' is briefly quoted at the end of the track, along with a line from Duane Eddy's 'Because They're Young' which was the first single I ever owned.) It's a fun track! In the UK in the '50s and early '60s, electric guitars came mostly from Europe or England. American guitars were thin on the ground due to import restrictions. My first electric guitar was an Antoria, made in Japan, which my father bought me for Christmas. I was thrilled to get it, (even though I dreamt of owning a red Fender Stratocaster like Hank Marvin's.) Later on he bought me my iconic Gibson 345, a big step up from the Antoria and a very expensive purchase for him. From a humble schoolboy band, through various local pub and club bands, to psychedelia, blues and rock, and on to Be Bop Deluxe and way beyond...it's been an amazing trip. Duane Eddy. The Tornadoes. The Spotnicks. 7: ‘Christmastide.’ A drum roll and swelling strings usher in this seasonal orchestral piece which recreates some of the gentle magic of childhood Christmases and those long-ago, snow blessed days that seemed to be commonplace back in the 1950s. Christmas Day mornings were always filled with the miracle of the living room floor being filled with glittering gifts. My brother Ian and I would be in a state of great excitement as we knelt in our dressing gowns to discover what Father Christmas had left us: Train sets, Dinky Toys, Meccano outfits, Model kits, Ray Guns, Board Games, Toy Soldiers, Forts and Adventure Annuals. (The swash-buckling heroes of some of those annuals are referenced in the more epic sections of this track,) but also Christmas Carols and the sound of tinkling baubles under shining lights hanging on the Christmas Tree. All this, along with the colourful paper trimmings and balloons that festooned the house, bring back the warm wonder and sweet innocence of childhood. 8: ‘Strolling With My Father.’ My Dad was much older than my Mum and I wish I hadn't lost him when I was relatively young. (He passed away in 1977.) I'm now, (arguably,) more mature and would have liked to ask him about his life and deeper thoughts, had he still been here to chat with. But youth takes things and people for granted, only to regret it later when they are gone and it's sadly become too late... As a boy, I enjoyed a relationship with my father that was a happy one, despite his occasional bouts of bad temper. My childhood years are full of pleasant memories of times when he and I would bond in different situations, walking or helping him to fix the family car. He was a musician, a saxophonist, and his love of big-band swing brought music into my life. He also had enough faith in me as an amateur guitarist to buy me my Gibson 345 guitar when I was still only in my teens, a very expensive purchase. That guitar has become well known to fans of my music over the years. My parents bought a holiday chalet at Withernsea in the early 1960s where we would spend most weekends during the summer months. Dad and I would go off to nearby Hull and explore the second-hand junk shops in search of old radio parts which Dad needed for his electronics hobby. (His home workshop was akin to a mad scientist's laboratory.) We would usually, on these jaunts to Hull, call in at a well-stocked model shop where he would buy me a model aeroplane issued by the Revell or Monogram company, or an American custom car or hot rod kit issued by AMT, which I would patiently assemble back at the chalet in Withernsea. Dad and I would also get up quite early and go beachcombing, looking for unusual shells and bits of driftwood. It's these times, whether walking in search of electronic gizmos in dusty junk shops, or breathing the clear, fresh air of a stroll on the beach, that I've tried to capture in this piece. It has a light, jaunty, jazzy feel, with electric guitar being the dominant component, a slightly cheeky, buoyant mood which contains something of the curiosity and humour my father possessed. Dad and I in Bridlington, 1950s Dad playing his Grafton Acrylic Alto Sax 9: ‘Scale Model. (Assembly Required.)' As mentioned in the previous note, building model kits was a great passion of mine as a boy. My first model kit was a speedboat, bought from British Home Stores in Wakefield for me by my mother. I got glue all over it, in all the wrong places, but it was a start. I soon progressed to model aircraft, World War 2 planes such as Spitfires and Lancaster bombers, and a strange vertical take-off airliner called a Fairey Rotodyne. Also American planes such as B52's and Superfortresses. Later, I became passionately interested in the American custom car and hot-rod scene and built many kits produced by the AMT, Revell and Monogram companies who offered models of these exotic cars. My bedroom became filled with these completed kits, aeroplanes hanging from the ceiling on fishing wire, model cars filling every horizontal space and shelf. There was a rather expensive model kit I dreamt of building...an American hot-rod Model-T Ford in a very large scale, produced by the American Monogram company. It came in a beautiful red colour with cream bucket seats and heavily chromed engine parts. One Christmas, I was thrilled to be given it as a special gift from my parents and couldn't wait to assemble it. It took quite a while to build the kit up from its component parts, but it looked great when completed and I proudly gave it pride of place in my collection. The music on this track reflects something of the logical process of assembling each part of a model kit, bit by bit. It also touches on the sound of that era's guitars and pop music structures. An upbeat piece filled with the joys of assembling a scale model. A 1960s Monogram 'Big-T' hot rod kit fully assembled. A rare Airfix model kit of a Fairey Rotodyne vertical take-off aeroplane. 10: ‘Reighton Sands.’ When I was quite young, (before I had long trousers,) my parents took holidays at Reighton Gap on the East Coast of Yorkshire, at an old wooden bungalow owned by good friends of theirs, Herman and Ada Ackroyd. The bungalow was a wooden clad affair with a sun lounge at the front. It had a wonderful 'between the wars' feel about it and had probably existed since the 1920s. It was situated on the cliff top, above a steep ravine which led down to the sea and the clean, wide beach that lay at the bottom. We spent many a happy hour or two on that beach, building sandcastles and paddling in the more shallow waves. The beach had a few old concrete blockhouses at that time, military gun posts from World War 2 that had long since been abandoned. Covered with seaweed and barnacles, they provided exciting adventures for a young boy's imaginary game play with his his toy boats. At the bungalow, the only entertainment on an evening was a game of dominoes, noughts and crosses or solitaire. I don't recall the place having electricity, only gas light. Nevertheless, it seemed an idyllic location with fresh air in abundance and the beautiful sound of the waves as you drifted off to sleep at bedtime. In more recent years I've re-visited Reighton Gap. The Ackroyd's bungalow is sadly long gone, as are the Ackroyd's themselves, but the area is really not all that much different, in essence, from what it was, in the '50s, (though it's filled with static caravans now.) The old ravine still cuts its way through the cliff down to the sea, and the beach is as wide and beautiful as ever. The music of this piece tries to evoke those long-ago times on Reighton Beach when my family and I would be temporarily freed from the worries and concerns of our home life. It does this through the drifting echoes of guitars and seagull's cries, the sounds that lulled me to sleep back then. Me and little Ian at the bungalow at Reighton Gap, 1950s. Me sitting outside the bungalow at Reighton Gap, 1950s. Mum, Nan, Aunty Sal and myself outside the bungalow at Reighton Gap. 11: ‘Memory Time No 3: Eagle, Beezer, Topper, Beano.’ In the '50s and '60s, my father worked as manager of a shop in Hunslet, Leeds, called R. Broughton And Son. It was situated in Waterloo Road. Dad was the shop's manager. At that time, Mr. Broughton junior, whose first name was Harry, had taken over the business from his father. Harry enjoyed going 'out and about' to visit customers, installing their radios and televisions. As a result, Harry Broughton entrusted the day to day management of the shop to my father, Walter Nelson and Dad would travel from Wakefield each day to manage the shop in Hunslet. On Saturdays, my mother and I would get the bus from Wakefield to Leeds and have lunch in the basement canteen of Lewis's department store on The Headrow. After shopping we would then catch a tram to Hunslet and Waterloo Road to meet my father when he finished work at Broughton's. Alongside radios and televisions, Broughtons also sold Dinky Toys, Hornby Trains, Meccano and Tri-Ang toys. I was always allowed to choose a Dinky Toy to take home with me. In fact, Dad would usually bring me one home every week, even when Mum and I hadn't been to Leeds on some Saturdays. Of course, at Christmas, I was treated to various toys from Broughton's, including Hornby train sets and Meccano sets. My first two-wheeler bike came from there too. But my father, every Friday night, would bring me a selection of weekly comics, Dandy, Beano, Beezer, Topper, Eagle, Radio Fun, Lion, Wizard, Hotspur, etc, which he bought from a little Hunslet newsagent's shop, located at the Swan Junction end of Waterloo Road. Getting these comics was a great gift for me because Dad didn't buy just one or two comics but a huge pile of them. I can remember the smell of the paper they were printed on, the smell of the ink and the anticipation I had when opening them to read their contents. Some contained adventure stories, focused mainly on words with the occasional illustration, stories about World War 2 heroes with titles like 'I Flew With Braddock.' Others had more of a strip cartoon approach with funny tales of oddball characters in silly situations. And some, like 'The Eagle', had amazing cutaway drawings of ships and aircraft showing their inner structures and workings. And, of course, 'The Eagle' carried those epic stories of Dan Dare and his chums. There was also a great space-themed weekly comic called 'Rocket' which carried nothing but sci-fi and fantasy stories. Edited by WW2 flying ace Douglas Bader, it didn't stay in publication for very long and copies are incredibly hard to find today, but I loved this one just as much as my Eagle comics. To be honest, I loved them all. Comic annuals were also a feature of my boyhood. All the major weekly comics published a special annual at Christmas time, the perfect gift for many children in the 1950s. The Eagle annuals were a special treat as they contained a Dan Dare story which was quite different from the ones in the weekly comic. The Beano annual carried fantasy stories of 'Jimmy And His Magic Patch' (a boy who had a cloth patch sewed on his short trousers that could magically whisk him back in time,) and 'Jack Flash, The Flying Boy From Mercury' who had small ankle wings and could zoom around the sky helping his Earth schoolboy chums catch crooks and rescue people from all kinds of perils. (I had a particular affinity with Jack Flash as I had dreamt of being able to fly since first hearing about Peter Pan.) Then there was General Jumbo, a boy who had an entire army of toy soldiers which could be controlled from a radio unit attached to his wrist. And the 'Tin Fish' was a strip about a boy who had a mechanical swordfish in which he could ride beneath and above the waves. So, this piece is a paean to those weekly British comics with their epic, heroic adventures, tales of wonder and imagination, their funny characters and situations. It features an orchestra and electric guitars, the latter with a variety of textures. The No1 issue of 'Rocket' comic. 'Jack Flash' from an old Beano annual of the '50s. 12: ‘When Boys Dream Of Guitars.’ It's pretty clear to me now, that, somehow I was destined, (or doomed,) to fall in love with the electric guitar. This came about by a strange process of fate. My younger brother Ian had been given a cheap toy guitar for Christmas, which he was probably too young to fully appreciate at the time. I managed to pick out the 'Third Man Theme' on it, and my father's ears pricked up. He had unsuccessfully tried to teach me to play the saxophone when I was just eight years old, but it hadn't taken and he'd given up on the idea of me becoming a musician. But he realised there was something going on with me with that little toy guitar. So, he bought me a slightly bigger toy guitar, an 'Elvis Presley' Selcol guitar, made of plastic with a picture of Elvis on the headstock. He taught me three or four ukulele chords on this toy guitar, (which only had four strings,) and saw the beginnings of a chance for me to become a musician like himself. Later, he bought me my first proper guitar, an acoustic archtop 'Zenith' model by Ivor Mairantz, which, to this day, I wish I still had. I'd heard Duane Eddy's 'Because They're Young' single and the small flame of guitar became a fierce blast. I progressed from the Zenith acoustic to an 'Antoria' solid body guitar and from there to my beloved Gibson 345, all of which were gifts from my father. Dad could be extremely critical of my musical abilities but, my mother tells me that, in private, he was very proud of me and didn't want me to get a 'big head' from too much praise. She also says that Dad thought I had an affinity with jazz from early on. Well, this track pulls together various facets of my guitar playing from that time and this...and, if nothing else, is a reasonable excuse to set the strings in motion! Clean and overdriven tones abound, wilder approaches, and more melodic ones too. Building to a nice climax and a reflective coda. A Selcol 'Elvis Presley' toy guitar, exactly the same as the one I had. This is exactly the same model of Antoria guitar I had, with the one difference in that mine sported 3 pickups instead of two. In all other respects it is identical. A 'Zenith' archtop acoustic guitar (like my own first 'proper' guitar.) It carried a certificate inside which was signed by Ivor Mairantz, a well know guitarist in the 1940s and '50s, who endorsed the instrument. 13: ‘The Ilfracombe Steamer.’ As with the track 'Lantern Hill', this track is inspired from the holiday in Ilfracombe that my family enjoyed in the 1950s. It focusses specifically on the old steamboat that plied its way around the coast at that time. Sounds of the sea and seagulls, the rattle and throb of the engine's pistons and the grandeur of the sea. All wrapped up with orchestra and guitars, bringing a romantic vibe to play with French horns and strings. E-bow taking the lead in places, chiming guitars taking the tune out. Bill and Ian Nelson in Ilfracombe in the 1950s. 14: ‘Memory Time No 4: A Dansette Fantasy.’ A Dansette record player was the dream of most youngsters in the late 1950s, as it was of mine. When I got my own record player and the permission to play the records I wanted to hear in the privacy of my own bedroom, it was like a door opening into another world. This is a one of those tracks which attempts to evoke the guitar records of my past, (and future,) with various twists and turns. It has a quote from 'Tuxedo Junction' as a coda, a tune which has resonances, from Glenn Miller to Chet Atkins, for me. I had many of Chet Atkins' albums as a teenager, he was one of my favourite guitarists and his music crossed many boundaries, always beautifully and immaculately played. I can't begin to approach the technical excellence that Chet displayed in everything he recorded but the spirit of his playing definitely infected my own. Another early guitar hero of mine was Scotty Moore, who was Elvis Presley's original lead guitarist. He took Chet's fingerstyle technique and applied it to rock n' roll in stunning fashion. Chet Atkins 'Workshop' album. Scotty Moore. A Dansette record player. 15: ‘Heading For Home In A Hillman Minx.’ In the 1950s, my father bought a second-hand Hillman Mix saloon car in black, its number was MUM 333, (which would be a sought after private plate today.) It was only the second car our family had owned, the first being a pre-war Jowett. I was with Dad when he went to buy the Hillman from a second-hand car dealer near the Hunslet and Sturton area of Leeds. The dealer's location was in Pontefract Road and I can remember driving there in the Jowett and Dad doing a part-exchange for the Hillman. The Hillman seemed a very modern car compared to the 1936 Jowett, (the Hillman was actually an early 1950s model, '51 or possibly '53,) but the old Jowett had served us well, despite its age. I remember us trying to get to Whitby in it and it breaking down on the North Yorkshire Moors. A passing AA patrolman, riding the motorcycle and sidecar combinations that were standard AA fare in those days, stopped to assist us. Dad joined the AA there and then and we were soon on our way again. The Hillman often took us to Reighton Gap, to the bungalow owned by my parent's friends. I have a few photographs of the family posing by the car, taken at Reighton. Dad was very fond of that car and had fitted it with various accessories. The music I've written for this track suggests the proudness my father felt about the car as we trundled along the country roads from Reighton Gap back to our home in Wakefield after a holiday at the bungalow. It features a big orchestral arrangement with electric guitars and a brass band in full flow. A 1936 Jowett like the one owned by my family. My younger brother Ian and myself with the Hillman Minx at Reighton Gap. (1950s.) Dad poses proudly in the Hillman Minx at the rear of the Reighton Gap bungalow. (1950s.) 16: ‘As If It Were A Moment Ago.’ And so we come to the conclusion of the album with a sweet and lyrical guitar-based instrumental featuring a panoramic string orchestra. The memories of my past, as a boy within the bosom of my family, really do seem like only a moment ago and yet, this year, as I hit my 68th birthday, those days are truly at a distance. So, yes, this piece portrays something of a yearning for a gentler, more innocent time but also resigns itself to the fact that those days are now far behind me, only misty memories and faded photographs remain. There is much that has been left out of this album, my time at Art School, the games we played as children, Dad building our first tv set in the back garden outhouse, riding my first two-wheeler bike around Eastmoor Estate, boyhood crushes on slightly older girls, a whole raft of things to inspire further musical portraiture. I have, of course, used other autobiographical themes as the starting point for individual songs and instrumentals on several other albums, but they've mostly been scattered here and there, rather than making up a cohesive whole. The potential definitely exists for an 'All That I Remember Volume Two.' Perhaps, one day, I might locate all the various tracks that deal with my personal memories and gather them together in a compilation, adding in this album plus a 'All I Remember Volume 2' to make up an epic box set, a life captured in sound. Whether such a time-consuming task becomes possible remains to be seen. But for now, I hope you have enjoyed this little glimpse of my younger days, captured in music. Bill Nelson...July 2016. My Mother on Reighton Sands, 1950s. My schoolboy band, 'The Cosmonauts.' More Listening Notes Go to Album

The Two-Fold Aspect of Everything Bill Nelson retrospective 2LP collection - February 1985 Collections Menu Future Past Purchase this download TRACKS: Original UK 2 record set: Eaux D'Artifice A1) Acceleration (Remix) (Acceleration single, 1984) A2) White Sound (Living in My Limousine single, 1981) A3) Living In My Limousine (Remix) (Living in My Limousine single, 1981) A4) Flesh (Eros Arriving double single, 1982) A5) Eros Arriving (Single Version ) (Eros Arriving single, 1982) A6) Hope For The Heartbeat (Remix ) (U.S. promo single, 1982) A7) The Passion (Flaming Desire single, 1982) B1) Ideal Homes (Do You Dream In Colour? single, 1980) B2) Instantly Yours (Do You Dream In Colour? single, 1980) B3) Atom Man Loves Radium Girl (Do You Dream In Colour? single, 1980) B4) Mr. Magnetism Himself (Banal single, 1981) B5) The Burning Question (Flaming Desire 12" single, 1982) B6) Haunting In My Head (Eros Arriving single, 1982) B7) He And Sleep Were Brothers (Eros Arriving double single, 1982) Confessions Of A Four Track Mind C1) Connie Buys A Kodak (Sleepcycle club ep, 1982) C2) Be My Dynamo (Youth Of Nation On Fire single, 1981) C3) Touch And Glow (single from the Permanent Flame box set, 1982) C4) Love Without Fear (Touch And Glow single from the Permanent Flame box set, 1982) C5) Dada Guitare (Rooms With Brittle Views single, 1981) C6) Turn To Fiction (Banal 12" single, 1981) D1) Rooms With Brittle Views (non-album single, 1981) D2) Love In The Abstract (Living In My Limousine single, 1981) D3) Hard Facts From The Fiction Department (title track from a non-album club ep, 1984) D4) Hers Is A Lush Situation (Banal 12" single, 1981) D5) When The Birds Return (Sleepcycle club ep, 1982) D6) All My Wives Were Iron (Youth Of Nation On Fire 12" single, 1981) 1989 UK single CD: Same running order as above, but deleted the following: A1, A2, A3, A6. 1989 US 2CD set: Same track listing as the original vinyl release, except: A1 was replaced with "The Beat That Can't Go Wrong Today" (Sleepcycle club ep, 1982) , and D3 was replaced with "Daily Bells" ( Hard Facts From The Fiction Department club ep, 1984) NOTES: The Two-Fold Aspect of Everything was initially issued as a double album on vinyl on Cocteau Records (the first of just two releases in the Cocteau Collectors series). The double vinyl was condensed into a single CD for UK release, removing tracks that had been issued as bonus cuts on the CD versions of Quit Dreaming and Get on the Beam and The Love That Whirls (both 1986) and/or included on Duplex (1989) All editions of this compilation are out of print, but half of the original double album is available on the following reissues: Quit Dreaming (Mercury, 2005): contains A2, A3, B4, C2, D1, D2 and D6. The Love That Whirls (Mercury, 2005): contains A4, A6, A7, B6 and B7. Chimera (Mercury, 2005): contains D3. The Practice of Everyday Life (Esoteric, 2011): contains A7 and B4. Transcorder (Sonoluxe CD052): contains C1 and D3, CURRENT AVAILABILITY: The UK single CD version is available for purchase as a digital download here in the Dreamsville Store . Collections Menu Future Past

Discography Menu Retrospective Collections Clicking on a cover below will take you to a full page devoted to that album. Bill Nelson - Transcorder The Acquitted By Mirrors Recordings 2020 album Bill Nelson - Dreamy Screens Soundtracks From The Echo Observatory 2017 box set Be Bop Deluxe - Original Album Series 2014 box set Bill Nelson - The Dreamer's Companion Volume Two Songs Of The Bel-Air Rocketmen 2014 download album Bill Nelson - The Dreamer's Companion Volume Two In This I Reveal My Secret Identity 2014 download album Bill Nelson - The Dreamer's Companion Volume One How I Got My Secret Powers 2014 download album Be Bop Deluxe - At The BBC 1974-1978 2013 box set Be Bop Deluxe - Futurist Manifesto The Harvest Years 1974-1978 2012 box set Bill Nelson - The Practice Of Everyday Life 2011 box set Be Bop Deluxe - Postcards From The Future 2004 album Orchestra Arcana - The Hermetic Jukebox 2003 album Be Bop Deluxe - Tremulous Antenna 2002 album Bill Nelson - Electrotype The Holyground Recordings 1968-1972 2001 album Bill Nelson - What Now, What Next? The Cocteau Compendium 1980-1990 1998 album Be Bop Deluxe - Tramcar To Tomorrow 1998 album Be Bop Deluxe - Air Age Anthology 1997 album Be Bop Deluxe - Radioland BBC Radio 1 Live In Concert 1994 album Bill Nelson - The Strangest Things A Collection Of Recordings 1979-1989 1989 album Bill Nelson - Duplex The Best Of Bill Nelson 1989 album Be Bop Deluxe - Raiding The Divine Archive The Best Of Be Bop Deluxe 1987 album Be Bop Deluxe - Bop To The Red Noise 1986 album Bill Nelson - The Two-Fold Aspect Of Everything Demo tapes, minor arcana and artificial pop from the archives of Bill Nelson 1985 album Bill Nelson - Vistamax 19845 album Bill Nelson - Permanent Flame The Beginner's Guide To Bill Nelson 1982 singles box set Be Bop Deluxe - Singles As & Bs 1981 album Be Bop Deluxe - Best Of And The Rest Of Be Bop Deluxe 1978 album Discography Menu

Fantasmatron Bill Nelson album - 8 August 2011 Albums Menu Future Past Purchase this download TRACKS: 01) When God Was A Rabbit And Buddha Was A Mouse (Over The Moon Two) 02) The Captain's In The Wheelhouse (Fabled Quixote) 03) Everything Changes With The Weather 04) Fantasmatron 05) Melancholia Lagoons 06) Signal Destinations 07) Slinky Incantations 08) Kaleidoscopic Windows 09) Lights Shine When We Dream 10) Lampdownlowland 11) A Reliable Bicycle And A Map Of The Heart (Trip Two) 12) My Wild Atomic Wedding Day 13) The Thought That Counts 14) Art Is Long And Time Is Fleeting ALBUM NOTES: Fantasmatron is an album of vocal pieces released on the Sonoluxe label issued in a single print run of 1000 copies. The album was first mentioned by that name in a diary entry posted in April 2011, but in fact had slowly taken shape over the previous seven months, having begun life as Lamplowdownlowland . Progress on the album had to compete with other priorities including overseeing reissues (for Esoteric/Cherry Red and EMI) and preparing material for live performances included a projected tour in November that unfortunately never took place. The album sold out in July 2019. CURRENT AVAILABILITY: Available for purchase as a digital download here in the Dreamsville Store . BILL'S THOUGHTS: "The closest I can come in an attempt to describe the music it contains is 'neo-psychedelic' pop-rock with a subtle hint of twisty electronica. (One clue is in the album's title:- a combination of the words 'fantasy', 'phantasm' and 'electronic.') It's a melodic, 99.9% vocal based guitar and keyboard driven album with plenty of colourful textural details and semi-surreal twists and turns." _____ "Fantasmatron ? Ooooh, darling! Pop via strange antennea...Crystal Set music for sensual supermen, erotic noise for sexy sailors and sailorettes, big blue dreams for dig it now, kids, rough and tumble for the refined of mind. Be there with it, or forever be square!" "Lampdownlowland": "a rather emotive track for me too...It attempts to capture those moments of quiet melancholy sitting in front of a fire on a cold winter's night when our thoughts turn to matters of mortality and the poignant beauty and suffering of the human condition. Ghosts of the past, distant memories, a kind of universal garden of eden from which we have all been, too soon, expelled." FAN THOUGHTS: neill_burgess: "Just had my first listen to Fantasmatron , and I have to say I am blown away. This is the album I've wanted Bill to make for years (even if I could not have defined what I wanted before hearing it!). "While still recognisably a BN album, to my ears it goes somewhere new, combining some of the spikey instrumental pieces we've heard previously with matching, edgy vocals. In some ways, it could be seen as a successor to the similarly "experimental" vocal album Golden Melodies , but whereas that had pastoral instrumentation the music here is more avant-garde rock... So, from me it's definitely a big thumbs up from the first listen - well done Bill!" steve lyles: "I am absolutely blown away by Bill's new album. I love the atmospheres and "feel" of this music...I find myself getting huge emotional surges as I am listening....no drugs required - just me and the music and it's a chemical romance. The track "Signal Destinations" is so truly epic...it's like a 21st century hymn...as I have thought hundreds of time before with Bill Nelson's music...just how does it get better than this ?...and then it does...extraordinary..." BobK: "Must say, I am blown away as well. This well and truly hits the spot. "I suppose you could describe the album as a collection of melodic, almost trippy, tunes. The word 'ethereal' springs to mind. Has hints of Golden Melodies and Fables about it and a suitable amount of strangeness. There are so many beautiful melodies here and some great stuff going on behind the top line melody, (listen on headphones!). "What more can ya say? Bill sings wonderfully, some terrific guitar playing, beautifully produced and mastered and loads of jolly nice weird blippy noises. I love it!" alec: "I'm all about Fantasmatron lately. Can't get enough of it. Can't make up my mind what my favourite track from it is!" Holer: "Holy crap! This one caught me completely by surprise. It's nice going into a new BN record with absolutely no idea as to what to expect. Honestly, I thought it was going to be another trippy instrumental record, which would have been more than alright with me, but POW! So much more! "I enjoy all of Bill's releases at some level, but every few years, he releases an album that really makes a statement - Sailor Bill , Golden Melodies , the Mazda trilogy, Non-Stop Mystery Action , among others. I think Fantasmatron is one of those records. Another classic, and one of Bill's weirdest pop albums to date! Hey, that's a GOOD thing!" Chimera Man: "Everything Changes with the Weather": "is simply gorgeous and I can't stop playing it... I do love it when Bill hits us with a laid-back vibe (is that adjective still in use?!), a sumptuous melody line and a really rich sounding composition." JohnR: "My favourite albums from Bill's recent output change with time, but there is still one that stands out for me as the No. 1, and that is Fantasmatron . It's got everything, including my favourite spine-shivering track - "Everything Changes with the Weather". Andre: "Art is Long and Time is Fleeting": "and your voice is untouched by time. Your voice sounds as warn as it did 40 years ago!" "Fantasmatron , to me, has got to be easily the best Bill Nelson has put out." "It kills me, because something like "Everything Changes with the Weather" should be all over the radio. We live on one strange planet!" Serge Ruel: "What an absolutely superb fusion and development of your musical avenues. Wow, am I ever so glad to be around to hear this...a dream come true." Alan: "Once again, Bill takes us along on his musical journey through new regions in Nelsonic lands. Like so many of Bill's albums, this one has its own personality." "Definitely one of my favorites. If you don't have this one, do yourself a favor and buy it now." Returningman: "My own favourite (and choosing one is not an easy task) is the album I just keep returning to - Fantasmatron . In my eyes (and ears) it is Bill's most rounded and complete set of musical statements in many years." "Like a fine wine this album gains depth with age (and playtime). Worth digging out the headphones for this one as there is lots of stuff deep in the mix. "Most artists of a "certain age" recorded their best work many moons ago. Bill seems to be in a golden phase of his artistic career at present, and is releasing some absolute gems." novemberman: "Fantasmatron instantly hit me as exceptional. I didn't want it end!" Albums Menu Future Past

Nelsonian Navigator - Issue Five - Published March 1997 Back to Top

Brave Flag Ukrainian download single Click image for cover Artwork Download single in support of the Ukrainian humanitarian charities appeal - Released October 2017. A-Side: BRAVE FLAG Currently unavailable on any album B-Side: MONDO BRAVADO Currently unavailable on any album "I'm sure you will all be aware of the illegal and brutal invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces under the direction of Vladimir Putin. I've watched the situation unfold from its beginning with increasing horror. The Ukrainian people are suffering loss of life and homes due to the cruel onslaught of Russian missiles, shelling and bombing. There have also been gross atrocities and war crimes committed by Russian troops that will shock and disgust anyone with an ounce of decency. "I wanted to help, even if only in a small way, so have created a special single, the 'A Side' of which is titled 'Brave Flag'. The 'B Side' is titled 'Mondo Bravado'. Both tracks are instrumentals in the rock genre and feature epic guitars. The tracks come straight from my home studio and are in unmastered form. "I'm making the single available to fans for FREE as a digital download. All I ask in return is that everyone who downloads the free single should please donate a minimum of £5 to the Disasters Emergency Committee's Ukrainian humanitarian charities appeal. Every donation, no matter how small, will help to provide vital humanitarian relief for those in need in Ukraine. "Thank you for your generosity and compassion. Enjoy the single!" Performed, recorded and produced by Bill Nelson. All rights Bill Nelson 2022. Donate here

Illuminated At Dusk Bill Nelson album - 16 June 2008 Albums Menu Future Past Purchase this download TRACKS: 01) Switch On The Sky, Light Up The Stars 02) The View From Mount Palomar 03) Dance Of The Luminous Dials 04) The Venetian Conjurer 05) A Spirit Map Of Montparnasse 06) Angels Obey Bells 07) No Memories Here To Make You Sad 08) Art Is My Aeroplane 09) Silver Sailboat On Samsara Sea 10) Springtime Comes A Dancing 11) The Vanilla Summer Of Mr. Whippy 12) Frankie Ukelele And The Fire In The Lake 13) Lakeside 14) The Eternal Fascinator 15) Thoughts Without Friction 16) Summer Over Soon 17) Little Kisses Wrapped In Chocolate 18) Illuminated At Dusk ALBUM NOTES: Illuminated at Dusk is an instrumental album issued on the Sonoluxe label in a single print run of 1000 copies. The album was recorded as the second part of a trilogy of complementary releases, the associated albums being Silvertone Fountains (issued concurrently with Illuminated at Dusk) and Mazda Kaleidoscope . Illuminated at Dusk is another album that was borne out of the Frankie Ukelele and the Fire in the Lake project commenced in mid-2007, with some of its content being then considered for Silvertone Fountains in December 2007 before finally ending up on Illuminated at Dusk with its track listing confirmed in February 2008. CURRENT AVAILABILITY: Available for purchase as a digital download here in the Dreamsville Store . BILL'S THOUGHTS: "Illuminated embraces music which, (I personally felt), was a little less introspective, (on the whole). It's a bit more geared towards the rock guitar end of my spectrum...(or plectrum!). The arrangements are sometimes rather 'epic' sounding, larger and more 'up-front' than Silvertone, and there is more use of overdriven guitar sounds and percussion, though still with some odd twists and turns. "The music here might, at one time, have found itself on a Nelsonica Convention album but its purpose in the trilogy is to shift gears a little, to slip into more familiar waters before diving deep into Mazda' s strange lagoon. In a way, Illuminated provides a kind of respite from the introspection of the other albums [in the trilogy: Silvertone Fountains , Illuminated at Dusk , and Mazda Kaleidoscope ]. A more familiar ride for some, perhaps." _____ "These three albums are not about breaking new ground, but about cultivating previous territory in ever more subtle, sophisticated and elegant ways. Their purpose is to throw even more light on the concept, to refine the ideas, to offer detailed commentary and illumination. "With each of these albums, I've been concerned with a single, direct, arrow of beauty. That was my Sagittarian bow's aim. They were intended to be considered as a trilogy...and whilst each has its own subtle identity, they are deliberately linked, each following on from, and commenting on, the other..." FAN THOUGHTS: andygeorge: "I've been listening to Illuminated at Dusk most of this morning and have been amazed at how bloody good it is! This on only a couple of listens, which is unusual for me. I'm no musician, I don't know all the ins and outs of the recording process and the technical stuff that goes with it....but I know what I like and...THIS IS GOOD! "From the wonderfully intriguing titles, (love to know what inspired some of these Bill), the opening track "Switch on the Sky, Light up the Stars", which flows flawlessly for me thru to the quirky "Springtime Comes a Dancing" and ending with the Dreamy "Illuminated at Dusk"...bliss!" steve lyles: "I am not one for saying this is better than that one etc, usually because I truly love them all but I have been plugged in once again by the music on this particular cd. I have found myself having epiphany like all over body tingles. I am only on my fourth listen. In the car on the way to work this morning I was literally out of my mind most of the time totally absorbed in the musical landscape god knows who was driving. This is very personal music nothing tribal about it at all but thats exactly why I love it, it is something I can relate to completely." mvande2: "Illuminated At Dusk is preciously beautiful, possibly my favorite of all that you have done. Such instrumental guitar gems are the reason I seek out your recordings. They are especially intelligent and what you do best in my humble opinion." major snagg: "Oh how stupid I've been!...I've had the audacity to complain about Bill putting out too many instrumental CDs. So here I am (tail between my legs, as it were) saying my apologies...Sorry, Sorry, Sorry... I sent off for the above CD yesterday, actually received it today (is that a quick delivery or what!) it's BRILLIANT. I just can't believe that I wasn't going to bother with this CD. I'm not going to be that stupid again. This a Quality CD in every way, very tuneful, melodic, richly textured and of course a sparklingly clean production. How do you do this Bill? So many 'top' studios would give their eye-teeth to get such a sound. "I'm waiting with my credit card for the vocal CD. To hell with birthday presents, I want it now..." paul.smith: "I have to add to this thread because that trilogy of albums for me epitomises all that I love in Bill's instrumental albums - they possess endless depth and never present themselves as 'given' listens - there's very little that's 'finite' within them...beautiful endless abstracts that conjure up aural images that simply cannot be articulated in words...makes me wonder how I did without them before they were created..." thunk: "I have taken an early liking to "A Spirit Map of Montparnasse", probably due to its 'expanse', which like "Fever Dream of the Starlight Man" (a long one again), allows Bill to really experiment with a piece and take it into a different place..." Dar: "One instant giant, that jumps out and grabs me by the spine and squeezes me is "Silver Sailboat in Samsara Sea". It has the majestic, magnificent, deep and stirring qualities of the best and boldest Nelson masterpieces, and much of that is from the specific guitar tones, and much from the flavor of the notes themselves." andypeace: "Having listened to your music for 30 years now, you've taken me on a fascinating musical journey through all sorts of genres, you've never run with the pack, nor should you, and I've always admired you for that!...I'm listening to Illuminated at Dusk as I write this and on first listen its gorgeous, and it floats my boat...Keep producing works of sublime beauty like this and I for one will be more than happy...have a gold star sir." wonder toy: "Stunning!!! What an incredible album. Love all of it, but here are the tracks that standout for me: "The View From Mount Palomar", "No Memories Here to Make You Sad", "Springtime Comes A Dancing", "Frankie Ukelele and the Fire in the Lake", and "The Eternal Fascinator". I take that back... 'ALL' of these songs standout. This is monumental my friends. Get this record. You will not be disappointed on any level. "Thanks for raising the bar again, Bill." Albums Menu Future Past

Time and Place live album - 1984 Yukihiro Takahashi Production/Contribution Menu Future Past BILL: Guitar and Vocals. Production/Contribution Menu Future Past

Jet Silver Be-Bop Deluxe single - 7 June 1974 Singles Menu Future Past TRACKS: A) Jet Silver B) Third Floor Heaven ORIGINALLY: "Jet Silver" and "Third Floor Heaven" are lifted off the Axe Victim album. NOTES: Jet Silver was the second Be Bop Deluxe single issued during the band's existence. The single was issued in a generic record company sleeve. Promo copies exist with the words "Demo Record Not For Sale" and a large 'A' printed on the label. PAST RELEASES: "Jet Silver" would re-appear on the 4 track Hot Valves EP (1976), with both songs also included on the Singles As and Bs compilation (1981). CURRENT AVAILABILITY: The single is long deleted, but both tracks can be found on the Cherry Red/Esoteric Recordings reissue of Axe Victim (2020) - both in physical form and as a digital download. Singles Menu Future Past

Savage Gestures for Charms Sake Bill Nelson mini-album - 9 December 1983 Albums Menu Future Past TRACKS: 1) The Man In The Rexine Suit 2) Watching My Dream Boat Go Down In Flames 3) The Meat Room 4) Narcosis 5) Another Happy Thought (Carved Forever In Your Cortex) 6) Portrait Of Jan With Moon And Stars ALBUM NOTES: Savage Gestures for Charms Sake is a 6 track mini album of instrumentals issued on the Cocteau Records label. Initially issued on vinyl (with free art poster) and cassette, this mini-album was Nelson's first commercial release issued since the Mercury deal had lapsed. It was comprised of five outtakes from The Love That Whirls sessions, and one track of Quit Dreaming and Get on the Beam vintage. PAST RELEASES: When Savage Gestures for Charms Sake appeared on CD (Cocteau, 1987), it was coupled with Chimera for the UK market, and later given its own stand-alone release in the US (Enigma, 1989). CURRENT AVAILABILITY: Currently this mini-album is out of print, but will be made available as a digital download at some point in the future . BILL'S THOUGHTS: "Watching My Dreamboat Go Down in Flames": "demonstrates how multiple e-bow overdubs can create an orchestral wall of sound. I almost always use the bridge pickup with my e-bow, but I apply the guitar's tone control to shave off the brighter edges, (though I open it up for contrast on some phrases). A foot volume/swell pedal can sometimes be useful for controlling the attack, giving a smooth initial fade-in to the note, but just sliding the e-bow on and off the pickup's 'hot spot' will increase and decrease the intensity and harmonic content of the sound too. The e-bow is a very expressive device when used with some sensitivity." FAN THOUGHTS: James Ellis: "Contains the BEST Bill Nelson instrumental ever, "The Man in the Rexine Suit"." stormboy: "I really like the harder edge of "The Man in the Rexine Suit" as a starter, whilst "Portrait of Jan with Moon and Stars" is a sublime ending - one of Bill's best outings with the trusty ebow in my opinion." John Izzard: Forum Topic Question: Bill's Greatest Love Song?: "Portrait of Jan with Moon and Stars...Who needs words when music can whisper so deliciously as this?" Mozo: "As the years have passed, I find that if I have Das Kabinet , Trial By Intimacy (The Book of Splendours) and Savage Gestures for Charms Sake playing in the background, I seem to become more creative at anything that I happen to be doing, at the same time I'm listening. So I've come to appreciate the different facets of Bill's creativity all the more. Am I getting older (Brrr), mellowing, maturing?" Albums Menu Future Past

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2013 William's Study (Diary Of A Hyperdreamer) September 2008 Jan Feb Aug Oct Thursday 4th September 2008 -- 5:00 pm The following diary entry was begun two days ago but I only now have found time to complete it and post it... I'm in a mood...and a low one at that. It may be exhaustion, or stress, or the depression that I always try to deny I suffer from, or all three demons colluding together. Whatever the cause, I wish I could escape it. Nelsonica is only eight weeks away and there's SO much still to do. I accept that there's always going to be a lot of pressure to get everything ready in time for the convention, but this year it feels even more extreme than usual. There have been lots of good intentions but the practical side is far more complicated than it might appear. One serious concern for me is that we're making little, or very slow progress regarding the confirmation of a band for the live concert side of Nelsonica. The band proposal has been on the agenda for several weeks now, yet it's no further advanced than it was when I last wrote about it in an earlier diary entry. Almost everything needed to make the band materialise, (apart from the time-consuming task of choosing, preparing, learning and rehearsing the songs), is in place. But there's still ONE essential component as yet unconfirmed. And unless this firms up soon, I fear that the whole idea will sadly have to be abandoned. Unfortunately, assembling and rehearsing a seven-piece band is not something that can be done at the drop of a hat. It needs the right combination of people plus a lot of careful planning and thought. The other tricky thing is that I really, here and now, should be finalising what material to assemble for the Nelsonica live performance. IF a band IS to be part of the day's programming, my solo set needs to be appropriate for that inclusion, both in length and in musical content. If the band set finally doesn't take any part in the day's schedule, then a much longer solo set will be required from me, and of a different nature. Not only do my solo performance backing tracks have to be chosen, then mastered at Fairview (and rehearsed) so that they make up a balanced and cohesive live concert, but I have to choose appropriate video backdrops to fit the set too. Once the sequence of music is settled upon, the video master-disc must be assembled with everything in the correct order of performance. I also have a couple of specially composed new solo instrumental pieces that I'd like to include amongst the older material but, at this point in time, there are no video backdrops to fit them. This will require the creation of new video pieces within what is rapidly becoming a frighteningly short space of time. I have to admit that my earlier feelings about completing all this work to a sufficient standard have not been particularly positive. I suspected that the idea of putting a band together and getting it rehearsed to a suitable level of accomplishment, within a less than ideal time frame, was going to be a risky proposition from the off. The fact that there have already been so many other pressing problems and commitments this year has not helped me either. I've been wondering whether I should not have not taken the band proposal on board to start with and instead just concentrated on the other things I need to do for the convention. Well...it's difficult to forsee how things might develop. I suppose there IS still a possibility, (albeit a faint one), that the band thing might come together, but it's looking very tight right now. Far more than I'm comfortable with. Unfortunately, I'm not the sort of person who can casually accept a poorly prepared performance as being o.k. I can't just scrape through then walk away and shrug it off as if it isn't particularly important. My basic attitude is, and has always been: 'if it's not good enough, bin it.' I'd also hoped to avoid an ill-prepared and manic few weeks before the event itself, to have a more enjoyable and less stressful lead-up to the day, (and throughout the day itself too). But this now seems highly unlikely. Something will have to give, something will be unavoidably compromised. There's just too many other Nelsonica-related things that I'm duty-bound to take care of within the time that remains. The fact is, my day to day life has been punishingly intense throughout the last 8 months, for all kinds of reasons. My tiny studio's output has been astonishing for that length of time...constant, obsessive, compulsive creativity. More than SIX album's worth of compositions recorded already, a massive amount of expended energy by anyone's standards. I still have no idea how I've been able to accomplish all this, considering the time-consuming domestic concerns that I've had to deal with, (especially my mother's ongoing and very stressful legal situation). Anyway, whatever the reasons for it, my self-imposed, highly driven work schedule has had a debilitating effect. To put it bluntly, I feel shattered, exhausted and drained by it all. Yes, I know I often complain about such pressures in this diary but, this time, it's gone just that little bit beyond what any sensible person would consider to be their reasonable limit. My own fault, to some extent, I suppose. So why did I jump through these particular hoops? To escape from other worries? Sheer stupidity? Concerns about income? A sense of time running out...sand slipping far too fast through the hour-glass? A kind of ego-driven mortal desperation? Or just trying to reach new heights within my personal dark sky? There's no real rationale involved whatsoever, (though trying to keep my head above the economic waters has to be one real-world motivating factor). Sometimes, I really should try to locate the off' switch, the 'not now' button, the 'pause' control... In fact, I really should let go of it ALL for a while, let it drop, float away, forget it, take a holiday. (A holiday? No chance whatsoever of that.) So here's the state of play as of this moment:- The recent instrumental trilogy is about to be completed with the upcoming release of the 'Mazda Kaleidoscope' album. A lovely, floating, drifting canvas of colours. Music to glide in, or swim in, or bathe in. (But the release date now delayed until the 8th Sept. Apparently a manufacturer's glitch.) I've also finally completed work on the vocal album, 'Golden Melodies Of Tomorrow,' nailed down its 18 song track-list and got the whole shebang mastered over at Fairview Studios with John Spence tweaking the frequencies. It's a darkly rich collection of songs which will take the listener a little while to absorb. Black lava reflecting ancient starlight. Actually, John paid me a wonderful compliment whilst we were listening to this material. He said he's not heard anyone else get such a warm and rich sound from digital recordings. I'm flattered as this is exactly what I'd hoped to achieve. The album seems to have taken on a character of its own. It's more like a location, an environment, than a set of songs. For me, it feels like a city from a long-forgotten tomorrow, the kind of place we wander through in our dreams, lost but unafraid, a labyrinth of memory and shadows, lit suddenly by lightning and sunbeams. The final running order for 'Golden Melodies Of Tomorrow' is now as follows: 1: 'Welcome To Electric City.' 2: 'Once I Had A Time Machine.' 3: 'Summer Hums In The Bee-Loud Glade.' 4: 'Frosty Lawns. (Snowballs And Oranges.)' 5: 'God Glows Green In Small Town Park.' 6: 'My Empty Bowl Is Full Of Sky.' 7: 'When Aeroplanes Were Dragonflys.' 8: 'Night Is The Engine Of My Imagination.' 9: 'The Old Nebulosity Waltz.' 10: 'Help Us, Magic Robot.' 11: 'Time's Quick-Spun Globe.' 12: 'Fountains Are Singing In Cities Of Light.' 13: 'The Emperor Of The Evening.' 14: 'I Saw Galaxies.' 15: 'Until All Our Lights Combine.' 16: 'Heaven Is A Haunted Realm.' 17: 'Golden Melodies Of Tomorrow.' 18: 'Golden Coda, (Farewell To Electric City.)' Besides the above, I've also made an adjustment to the track-list of CD 2 of the Nelsonica 'Clocks And Dials' double album whilst transfering all 38 tracks and before signing them off for mastering. This, again, over at Fairview with the professional and talented help of my long-time friend John Spence. The track-list adjustment is as follows: The instrumental track titled 'Dreamland Airships' has been removed and substituted with a new vocal track titled 'Clocks Wind Slow.' (And all better for it, I think.) As mentioned previously, I've also been working with David Graham on the packaging art for the 'Golden Melodies Of Tomorrow' album. We've just last night finalised that particular challenge. It looks fabulous and enforces the 'Busby Berkley Of The 22nd Century' mood that the music evokes. Now we're attempting to start on the 'Clocks And Dials' digi-pack artwork. I've spent most of yesterday and all of today trying to come up with images that I can adapt and tweak and send to Dave for him to lay out in the digi-pack format. Still lots more images required though. A LOT more. Putting these package designs together is not an exact science. Sometimes it can fall into place over a couple of days...othertimes it can take a couple of weeks or more. It's not nearly as quick and easy as it might seem. Unfortunately, due to holidays and other distractions, we don't yet have a template for the digi-pack. I need to chase up Paul on that score. (But he's away on holiday too.) Work that I still have to do before Nelsonica: Create a selection of drawings/artwork for the Nelsonica auction. Make new stage backdrop videos to fit the new solo-set pieces. Create this year's 'Nelsonica Workbox' art and contents Choose and master backing tracks and rehearse my solo set performance. Prepare performance charts for above. Choose and learn and rehearse a band set performance. (SHOULD the band finally materialise.) Prepare performance charts and lyric sheets for the above. Choose, repair and set up an appropriate selection of guitars/instruments for the live performances. Dismantle all musical equipment needed for the performances from my studio, (processors, cables, pedal boards, guitars, stands, etc, etc). Pack everything up and haul it downstairs ready to transport to rehearsals and convention. (There's a LOT of gear and it's damned heavy and I seem to get weaker and creakier every year!) Get a haircut! Choose and dry-clean my stage clothes and pack them ready for the event. PLUS: Several other things the Nelsonica team have asked me to do but that I've since pathetically forgotten. (Senior moments...don't ya just love 'em!) Enough already...I'm changing the subject. My mother's 80th birthday just over a week ago. I booked an Italian restaurant in Wakefield and her remaining family gathered around her to help her celebrate. She's had a very difficult six or seven months since her husband passed away, as noted in my previous diary entry. A rotten time for her which has been compounded by the hard-nosed calculations of others. My eldest daughter Julia and my grandson Luke came up from London just for the day. Also my youngest daughter Elle, my nephew Julian, my sister-in-law Diane and Julia's friend Michael attended the dinner, as did Emiko and, of course, myself. Unfortunately, Elliot was working and couldn't make it. My nephew Louis and nice Lucy were also unable to attend but it turned out to be a very pleasant evening with good food and warm conversation. My mother was much cheered by the support of her family. She is very much in need of love right now and that's exactly what we gave her, along with cards, flowers and birthday gifts. It's unfortunate that she still has all the unpleasantness of the legal struggle regarding her late husband's will to contend with. No love from that quarter whatsoever, it seems. The legal dispute is ongoing but is now moving firmly towards litigation. I've been helping my mother to deal with the preparation of witness statements for her Barrister and progress IS being made. We all want to see things sorted out for her and the support she is recieving from her close family is incredibly important, particularly in view of the shabby treatment she's received from what I'll simply refer to as 'the other side.' What else to tell? Something positive: My new Peerless 'Deep Blue Custom' guitar arrived and has helped to lift my own flagging spirits. Somewhere between a Gretsch and a Gibson but yet entirely its own thing. It's a beautiful matte-finish blue colour, a thin-line semi-acoustic without 'f' holes. It has a 'varitone' control similar in function to that on my Gibson 345 stereo guitar. It's also beautifully bound with abalone markings and feels comfortable and inspiring to play. I'm really enjoying playing it and have been using it on some new recordings. I've always been fond of guitars that don't strictly conform to popular or mainstream taste so the 'Deep Blue Custom' suits my personality and sounds great too. A character instrument, like the 'Monarch' archtop I've also been recording with of late. Every instrument has its own unique personality and inspires different aspects of one's creativity. A guitar's tone, shape, colour and feel are all factors that contribute to the playing experience. Choosing the appropriate guitar for any given piece of music is like choosing brushes and paint to work on a blank canvas. And I'm very lucky to have some wonderful instruments to work with. I'm really looking forward to the opportunity to line up several of my favourite guitars at Nelsonica and play them all in public. (Instead of keeping them to myself in the studio!) The Campbell Nelsonic, the Gus G1, a couple of Eastwoods, a Gretsch, a D'Angelico, and the two Peerless models should, between them, help to make the day a colourful one. Whilst on the subject of guitars: Most readers of this diary will be aware that I took up the guitar many years ago, around 1959. I started out messing around with a small toy guitar my brother Ian received as a Christmas gift, then I was given a slightly larger plastic 'Elvis Presley' toy guitar of my own, made by Selco. But what REALLY inspired me to continue with this initial interest and gave me the desire to aquire a full size, proper instrument, was hearing a particular guitar instrumental on the radio. Its title was 'Because They're Young' and it was recorded by Duane Eddy. Hearing Duane play that tune literally changed my life. Duane Eddy was my first guitar hero, followed by Hank B. Marvin of The Shadows. Then it was The Ventures, Chet Atkins, Les Paul and others. But Duane was the first. It's probably impossible for a youngster of today to understand what a mighty impact electric guitar instrumentals made on musically inclined 1950's schoolboys back then. It was the start of something that has, over the years, become a taken-for-granted aspect of popular musical culture. But it was startlingly fresh, even shocking, at the time. The reason I'm talking about this is because of a feature in the latest issue of 'Twangsville,' the newsletter/magazine of the 'Duane Eddy Circle,' (of which I'm a proud and honary member). The feature comprises an article with photographs relating to a recent special concert held at The Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. It was a 50 year anniversary concert celebrating the half-century since the Hollywood Bowl first put on rock n' roll concerts. This famous venue was originally intended for classical and light music but in 1958 it gave way to the tidal wave of rock and roll and put on its first rock concert. One of the stars of that original 1958 show was Duane Eddy who was enjoying hits with his raunchy, twangy guitar instrumentals at that time. The recent anniversary show, held in June of this year, brought Duane back to the Hollywood Bowl along with B.B. King and Liza Minnelli and an 80 piece orchestra. Duane opened the second half of the show with 'Rebel Rouser' and closed the concert with a epic rendition of 'Peter Gunn' featuring added guitar parts by B.B. King and the full strength of the 80 piece orchestra. (Plus Liza Minelli dancing on stage to the whole thing.) Sounds like a blast! But there's a nice and very personal aspect to this 50th anniversary concert: The special programme that was printed for the event contained a biography of Duane Eddy's career. (It's reproduced in the 'Twangsville' magazine, which is how I know about it.) The biography concludes with Duane talking humbly about how many world-famous guitarists have cited him as being the reason they first took up the guitar. And a handful of those guitarists are name checked in the Hollywood Bowl programme's biography: George Harrison, Hank Marvin, The Ventures, Mark Knopfler, Bruce Springsteen and...surprise, surprise! yours truly! I know I've been playing a long time now and I should be cooly jaded about such things, but to see my name listed alongside Duane, Hank Marvin, George Harrison and The Ventures in the official programme of such a special Hollywood Bowl concert gave me a genuine thrill. Still an awe struck kid with a guitar and a lot to learn? You bet I am! Still on the subject of guitars and guitarists...(and fandom.) I recently bought a copy of a new book titled 'The Les Paul Legacy.' It deals with the early years of Les Paul's career and makes a nice companion volume to the more elaborate limited edition Les Paul autobiography that I already own and treasure. I also recently received a message from a very kind fan in America who has obtained an autograph for me from Les, personally signed to myself. It's being sent to me soon and I intend to frame it and proudly display it on my studio wall. Les Paul plays every Monday evening at the Iridium Club in New York...two sets per evening, and he's now in his 90's! Inspiration? In spades! He even signed a Nelsonic Transitone guitar that the above mentioned fan owns...an honour in itself. A copy of my 'Return To Jazz Of Lights' album was also passed to Les. Hope he'll find time to give it a listen. Once again, another long diary entry, 'though I've missed out quite a few details. Actually, I may leave the diary alone for a while, perhaps until after Nelsonica. Every minute counts at the moment as there are so many pressing duties to attend to and not nearly enough time. As always, we'll see... Back to work. ***** The images accompanying this diary are:- 1: Flyer/advert for the 'Clocks And Dials' limited edition double album. 2: Advert for the Visu-Luxe DVD series, to be launched later this year. 3: Bill's Peerless 'Deep Blue Custom' guitar. 4: Another photo of the 'Deep Blue Custom.' 5: First of a series of 'dream' albums that don't actually exist. 6: Another 'Visu-Luxe' advert. Top of page Tuesday 9th September 2008 -- 9:00 pm Three hours ago, I returned home after a trip to Manchester airport. Emiko is winging her way to Japan as I write these words. I'm alone in the house and will continue to be so for the next two weeks and two days, until Emi returns. We had to arrange Emi's trip very quickly, consequently the last few days have been hectic. The reason for her departure is both unfortunate and unexpected. On Friday we received news that her mother had been admitted to hospital in Tokyo, suffering from intestinal cancer. Her mother, who is in her 80's and quite frail, must undergo an unavoidable operation this coming Thursday. It never rains but it pours. Naturally Emi became extremely concerned and wanted to fly to Tokyo to be with her mum. It's been two years since we last visited but we were hoping that we'd both be able to go to Japan again at the end of this year. This worrying news suddenly made the issue a much more urgent one. I desperately wanted to travel with Emi to Tokyo but I have so much personal responsibility here, (Nelsonica preparations and supporting my own mother with her litigation problems, amongst other things), that it would be impossible for me to just drop everything and fly to Japan. There are simply too many problems for me to deal with here and not even enough time to deal with them properly. But, clearly, it's extremely important that Emi sees her mother. The doctors seem to be reasonably optimistic about the outcome of the operation, at least at the moment. It seems that the cancer may be confined to one area. They'll know more as the surgery progresses but we're praying for a positive outcome. The last time Emi and I spent any lengthy time apart was around twelve years ago. I know that some married couples welcome a chance to get away from each other, but not us. We're a very close couple who genuinely enjoy being together, so parting at the airport this afternoon was a traumatic experience for both of us. I felt as if the world was suddenly empty when I travelled back from Manchester on the train after seeing Emi safely through the check-in proceedure. We'd had a stressful morning, trying to catch the Manchester airport train from York. The station car park was full when we drove into town so I dropped Emi at the station forecourt with her luggage and drove off to find alternative parking, telling Emi that I'd meet her on the platform as soon as I could. The search for an alternative car park ended up being a race against the clock. It seemed that there were no available spaces at any of the car parks within reasonable walking distance of the station. I finally found somewhere but I was then faced with a frantic dash to meet Emi on the platform and catch the train. In my haste, I hit my head on the car boot lid whilst grabbing my shoulder bag, resulting in a nasty cut to the top of my scalp. These days there's not much hair growing in that nebulous region to cushion any bangs or scrapes, I'm afraid. It hurt like hell and is still throbbing as I write these words. Anyway, after a heart-pounding scramble to get to the station, I made it back to Emi just in time for us to hop on the train. The route to Manchester airport took us through Dewsbury and Huddersfield, both towns holding old memories for me. When I was a schoolboy my mother and father used to take me to Dewsbury Market after school on Wednesdays. My father had a 'half-day' off work on that day and this meant he was free to meet me from school in the family jalopy. (An old 1940's 'Jowett'.) We would drive over to Dewsbury and browse amongst the market stalls and around the town. I recall getting a 'David Nixon Magic Set' from a shop there once. (David Nixon was a well known conjurer with his own tv show at that time.) Haven't really been there since though. Huddersfield figures a little later in my life. In the 1960's I had a three-piece psychedelic blues band called 'Global Village.' We had a fairly regular gig at a venue in Huddersfield called 'The Builder's Exhange Club.' It was an exploratory time for me, (and musically a magical time for anyone of my generation). The small club used to be packed to the rafters when we played there, a fabulous atmosphere, exciting and energetic. We took our cues from bands such as The Yardbirds, early Fleetwood Mac, Chicken Shack, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, Cream and The Jimi Hendrix Experience. I related these memories to Emi as we trundled past the towns on the way to the airport. Soon we were out in the hills and then rattling through the Pennines, ancient mills crumbling in the rain... After we'd tearfully parted at the entrance to the departure lounge, ('ticket holders only past this point'), I walked back to the airport station, feeling sad and lost. The trip back to York was filled with brooding thoughts and dark clouds. It was raining when I alighted on the platform and started the walk back to where I'd parked the car. I hit rush hour, people commuting away from the city. As I drove beyond the city centre, my mobile 'phone rang. It was Emi. She had already landed at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris where she was to make her connection with her flight to Japan. We spoke as I drove towards our home. I stopped in the lane that leads to our house and we talked for a few more minutes before she had to go to make the next leg of her long journey. When I opened our front door, our cats, Django and Tinkerbell came to greet me, then looked around for Emi. They've gone off into the surrounding fields now, as they usually do about this time, but it's clear they're wondering where she is. So, here I am...an enforced bachelor of sorts for the next two weeks and two days. I had a microwave meal at dinnertime and haven't done the washing up yet. I came up here to the studio to write this diary entry in the hope that it might ease my feeling of solitude. I need to keep myself occupied and try not to be too miserable. It's not as if I have nothing to do...in fact there's far too MUCH to do. And without my wife to help back me up with day to day 'real world' issues I'm going to feel even more stressed than before. Nevertheless, I must try to get on with it. Nelsonica is getting nearer and nearer with every panicky moment. Talking of which: one previously uncertain Nelsonica task has now been confirmed. There WILL definitely be a seven piece band performing at Nelsonica, although the component I was hoping would fall into place didn't actually materialise...but someone else has bravely offered to take up the challenge and help make the band more than just an idea. I'll try to post something on my website forum soon, revealing the members names and the band's name. (I've yet to decide upon the latter. It won't be 'The Lost Satellites' but something new.) I may even write another diary entry in order to record my bachelor misery for posterity. Or at least for Emiko to know how much she's missed. Right now, I'm going to go and mope into a glass of wine. Top of page

La Rocca! album - 1981 Snips Production/Contribution Menu Future Past BILL: Keyboards BILL'S THOUGHTS: "I was asked to play on the album by Snips himself, (real name Steve Parsons) who was originally, I think, a musician from Hull who had a background with various Hull bands, including 'Throbbing Gristle' in their earliest days, (though he wasn't really involved with that music, but just a friend of Cosey Fanni Tutti's). The album was produced by guitarist Chris Spedding, a great player who had been a session musician on many pop singles, (including 'The Wombles' novelty hit), but who also had a respectable jazz background. Chris played on Jack Bruce's wonderful, 'Songs For A Tailor' album as well as on several other respected recordings. Chris later went on to be a member of 'Sharks', a band which also featured Snips as vocalist and who, I recall, supported Roxy Music back in the day. I bought the Sharks album when it first came out and loved it, particularly the track 'Snakes And Swallowtails'. That album was played in the van in the earliest days of Be Bop Deluxe when we'd be driving from Wakefield to Leeds for a gig at 'The Staging Post' pub or wherever. Sharks also had the late Andy Fraser (from 'Free') on bass too. (I'd once been asked to join a 'supergroup' that Island Records were attempting to put together with Andy Fraser on bass and ex-Hendrix drummer Mitch Mitchell on drums). Anyway, jumping forward in time, Snips asked me to play keyboards on the album 'La Rocca'. I was surprised by this as I'd always considered my keyboard playing to be secondary to my guitar playing but, because I'd been such a fan of Sharks' music, I agreed to do it. I was incredibly nervous during the session, especially as Chris Spending was the producer and guitarist. I struggled through as best I could on an instrument I'd never had to deliver on in that kind of situation. I recall inordinate amounts of booze being consumed by both Chris and Snips during the session but I was too nervous to partake myself and desperately tried to stay focused and professional. It was one of those, dive in, sink or swim moments. Having said that, I think I acquitted myself reasonably well, without my guitar in hand. Played mostly Mini-Moog as far as I recall. A long time ago now. I still love what Snips and Chris do." Production/Contribution Menu Future Past

Acceleration Bill Nelson single - 13 August 1984 Singles Menu Future Past TRACKS: 7" Singles: A) Acceleration (7" Remix) B) Hard Facts From The Fiction Department 12" Singles: A1) Hard Facts From The Fiction Department A2) Acceleration (Dub) B1) Acceleration (Long Version) B2) Acceleration (Short Version) ORIGINALLY: The various mixes of "Acceleration" (a song originally from the Chimera mini-album) were initially exclusive to these singles. "Hard Facts from the Fiction Department" was the lead track from the fifth ABM club ep (May 1984). NOTES: Acceleration is a single issued in three formats (7", 12", and 12" picture disc) on the Cocteau Records label. The 7" single was available in two different picture sleeves (as illustrated above). The picture disc would be the first and last Bill Nelson picture disc, and resembles the illustration that would be used on the cover of the Trial By Intimacy box set. PAST RELEASES: The "Acceleration" 7" remix was included on the original 2LP version of The Two Fold Aspect of Everything (1985) and the Duplex compilation set (1989). All tracks except the 7" remix were added to the remastered 2005 CD of Chimera . B2) was included in the The Practice of Everyday Life box set (2011). Both of the above releases are out of print in physical form. CURRENT AVAILABILITY: The 2005 reissue of Chimera is available via digital download through major online retailers. BILL'S THOUGHTS: "At that point in time, I had been making a fair bit of music along the lines of "Acceleration". I'd used some drum tracks sent to me from Japan by Yukihiro Takahashi of Yellow Magic Orchestra and had written various musics to go with them. Also the album The Love That Whirls featured electronica based tracks which provided the basis for things like "Acceleration". It wasn't really new to me, but maybe sounded new to others." Singles Menu Future Past

Old Haunts Bill Nelson album - 09 November 2019 Albums Menu Future Past Purchase this download TRACKS: 01) Gentle Spirits Prevail 02) Once Upon A River 03) Rain Town 04) Antique Interiors 05) In A Haunted Arcade 06) There Are Ghosts Here 07) Bells Ring Sweet Across The Meadow 08) The Phantom Palace Of The Prince Of Dreams 09) As The Stars Began To Glow 10) Lost In The Cosmos Again 11) My New Erotic Guest 12) To Imagine Is Hard 13) This Gilded Age 14) When Art Schools Shaped Tomorrow 15) The Darkness Will Remain 16) Soft Light ALBUM NOTES: Old Haunts is an album combining vocal and instrumental pieces issued on the Sonoluxe label in a limited edition of 1000 copies. The album was recorded during June and July 2019 and represents the final album to be made using Nelson's Mackie based recording system that has been his trusted set-up since 2002. Old Haunts continues the new exclusive arrangement of using Burning Shed as the manufacturers and online outlet for obtaining Bill Nelson's music on physical formats. With 16 pieces recorded for the new album, and with known issues with the DAT machine at Fairview Studios as experienced with the Auditoria 3CD set last year, Nelson decided to transfer the tracks for Old Haunts to CDR from his DAT masters in advance of the album's mastering session. That mastering session for Old Haunts took place at Fairview with John Spence at the helm on 17 September 2019. With the album successfully mastered, Nelson turned his attention to the album artwork. Assembly of the sleeve design fell to Martin Bostock working with images prepared by Nelson. Midway through the recording of Old Haunts , Nelson tabled an idea to hold a launch party, including a live performance of instrumental music, to honour the arrival of the new album. The launch party event was duly arranged for 9 November 2019 at the customary venue of The Clothworker's Hall at Leeds University. Tickets for the event went on sale on 10 August 2019 and sold out within 24 hours. Ticket holders had the opportunity to buy an advance signed copy of the Old Haunts album on the night. The remaining copies (mostly unsigned) were made available to buy through Burning Shed with a pre-sale announcement made on 17 October for a general release on 15 November. Old Haunts sold out in October 2021. CURRENT AVAILABILITY: Available for purchase as a digital download here in the Dreamsville Store . BILL'S THOUGHTS: "I'm currently working on a new album titled 'Old Haunts' . The starting point is to conjure up a state of beautiful decay, reverie and nostalgia. A twilight world where rain falls gently on rusty factories and streetlamps glow with pale light on abandoned avenues. Well, that's the starting point, but it will inevitably develop and stray." _____ "I have to admit that, all modesty aside for a moment, 'Old Haunts' is going to be a very good album with a great deal of personal insight. At least a couple of the songs are plain speaking, emotional recollections of my past, romantic life. It's a kind of exposing of some areas of my emotional travels, albeit in symbolic, metaphorical terms. But anyone who has followed my story with a certain amount of curiosity may be able to draw the lines between the dots." _____ "I now have 15 tracks completed for the 'Old Haunts' album, all of which, (even if I do say so myself,) are sounding very good. In the main vocal-based, this is going to be one of those albums that I find personally satisfying, both from a conceptual and aesthetic point of view. I may yet create one more track though, a short instrumental to open the album." _____ "The album isn't a 'flippant' or casual piece of work, though it does contain some lighter, less intense moments. It's an album for now and (I suspect,) the age I, and some other fans, have arrived at. It's reflective, pensive, a little melancholy perhaps, but, hopefully, filled with optimism and a contemplative surrender to inevitability but, not without a sense of beauty. I guess it has a 'spiritual' dimension, a hint of 'the other' about it..." _____ "On first listen it may seem a bit 'darker' than previous albums, but it's a gentle darkness that sparkles with beautiful light. It's a mature album in some ways, an 'adult' album for grown-ups who seek something with a little more depth and self-reflection, rather than the more 'la-la-la' dancing around your handbag stuff. It's simply a message from the heart and where I am at this particular point in time, as all my albums are. Just another statement of the here and now, a diary entry, a mark on the calendar. It goes on, ever forward and always in flux..." FAN THOUGHTS: Coach Matt: "Purely enjoying Old Haunts that I received today. This CD is putting me on mood swings! Bill knocked out another master piece! Fantastic and brilliant from end to end!! Outrageously Done!!" Michael: "First impressions: another diverse lot of songs with the usual superb guitar playing and, to these ears, some newfangled synth, drums and percussion sounds (is this the new drum machine?). There's also the playfulness, which is always refreshing, though the overall tone is rather somber. The entire CD is like a journey that should be listened to start to finish. Some of the tracks are downright epic with the intricate arrangements and twists and turns of the drum programming. I'm looking forward to repeated listens of this one, for sure!" Steve Lyles: " Old Haunts is a masterpiece...from first listen the whole album resonated with me...the style, the production, the superb musicianship...not one to compare but l hear hints of Golden Melodies Of Tomorrow and Simplex in the mix...the songs have a complexity and simplicity to them...it does demand an attentive listener and isn't one to cherry pick...it's ridiculous that one man can continue to create such beautiful music after all that has already gone before...long live Bill Nelson." "I love this album and it's been the most played here in Northern Nevada the last year." Palladium: "Really loving this album. Abundance of texture, depth, atmosphere, mystery...and lush melodies. Plus sublime guitar of course!" Albums Menu Future Past

Hot Valves Be Bop Deluxe ep - 5 November 1976 Singles Menu Future Past TRACKS: A1) Maid In Heaven A2) Bring Back The Spark B1) Blazing Apostles B2) Jet Silver & The Dolls Of Venus ORIGINALLY: All four tracks were album tracks, one taken from each of their four albums released up to that point. NOTES: The Hot Valves EP was the seventh Be Bop Deluxe single issued during the band's existence. The EP came in a picture sleeve (the first of their singles to do so). Promo copies exist with the words "Demo Record Not For Sale" and a large 'A' printed on the label. PAST RELEASES: "Maid in Heaven" was the track used to plug this EP, which finally earned the band a minor hit, although it deserved to peak higher than No. 36. Both "Jet Silver and the Dolls of Venus" and "Maid in Heaven" made it onto the Singles As and Bs compilation (1981) on the basis that they had also been issued as singles in their own right. CURRENT AVAILABILITY: On 24 November 2023 the Hot Valves EP was reissued on 10" vinyl by Cherry Red with fully restored artwork and remastered from the original master recordings. Singles Menu Future Past

Airfields single - 1981 To Heaven A Jet Production/Contribution Menu Future Past BILL: Producer and Bass on the A-side. NOTES: The B-side was created by Bill under the fictitious name Revox Cadets. Production/Contribution Menu Future Past

Revolt Into Style Bill Nelson's Red Noise single - 30 March 1979 Singles Menu Future Past TRACKS: 7" Single: A) Revolt Into Style B) Out Of Touch (Live) 12" Single: A) Revolt Into Style B1) Stay Young (Live) B2) Out Of Touch (Live) 7" Reissue Single: A) Revolt Into Style B1) Stay Young B2) Furniture Music 12" Reissue Single: A1) Revolt Into Style A2) Furniture Music B1) Stay Young (Live) B2) Out Of Touch (Live) ORIGINALLY: The studio tracks were identical to the album versions from the preceding Sound-On-Sound album. The live versions were recorded at Leicester de Montfort Hall on 8 March 1979, and were originally found in studio form on the preceding Sound-On-Sound album. NOTES: Revolt into Style was the second and final single to be lifted off the Sound-On-Sound album, and would (reissues aside) turn out to be Nelson's final record under his deal with EMI. The single was issued in 7" and 12" formats, and was Nelson's first release on the latter format. The 7" single was available in a picture sleeve in blue vinyl (limited edition) and black vinyl, and sold sufficiently well to reach No. 69 in the UK charts. The 12" was in standard black vinyl, also in a picture sleeve. Note that the 7" label states that "Revolt Into Style" was recorded live at Leicester De Montfort Hall, but in fact the version is taken straight from Sound-On-Sound . The tracks on the b-side are live versions, correctly identified as being from the Leicester De Montfort Hall show from 8 March 1979 during Red Noise's only tour (which was comprised of just 12 UK dates). For the tour, the line-up featured Nelson, Andy Clark, Rick Ford and Ian Nelson, with Steve Peer brought in on drums. PAST RELEASES: Both b-sides were included on the 1989 and 2012 CD reissues of Sound-On-Sound . CURRENT AVAILABILITY: All of the single tracks were featured on the 2012 CD reissue of Sound-On-Sound, which is now out of print in physical form, but available as digital download on Amazon and iTunes. Both b-sides are available on The Practice of Everyday Life box set (2011), which is now out of print in physical form, but available as digital download on Amazon and iTunes. BILL'S THOUGHTS: "The Red Noise album featured myself playing drums on all but four of the songs. I always played drums on my home demos, even for the Be Bop songs, so to keep the feel as close to the demos as possible, I played drums on the actual album too. The four songs I didn't play drums on were taken care of by legendary drummer Dave Mattacks whose playing I had long admired. Those four songs required something a little more 'sophisticated' than my basic drum technique allowed and Dave did an absolutely wonderful job, particularly on the song "Revolt Into Style" which was quite an energetic and challenging piece. I also played some bass guitar on the album and some synth and piano too, though the bass and keys were mainly covered by Rick Ford and Andy Clark respectively. The tracks were mainly recorded in overdubbed layers, rather than as a 'live' band...despite the album's apparent edginess it was a carefully produced thing, tightly controlled with a definite, neo-futuristic style in mind." _____ "Be Bop didn't make promo videos as they were not considered an essential part of promoting a band at that time so EMI Records never bothered with them. Later, however, I did make a promo video for Red Noise, for the song "Revolt Into Style". Sadly, I never had a copy of it, 'though I believe my ex-manager Mark Rye 'appropriated' a copy when he left his day job at EMI as an A+R man to become more intimately involved with his artist's income. Anyway, the Red Noise video was based around a concept I had of a kind of ironic retro 'swinging London/Carnaby Street' pastiche. It featured shop window mannequins dressed in sixties psychedelia and mod outfits and was shot in a private drinking establishment in London's west end. It was a quirky and hip video, way ahead of the contemporary 'boutique fashion' revival thing and the sixties resurgence of recent years. A genuine rarity." Singles Menu Future Past

The Essoldo Cinema Welcome to Bill's private cinema. Pull up a seat, select your film and enjoy the show! Christmas Greetings Videos Films Created For Nelsonicas And Live Shows Bill's Solo Videos Be Bop Deluxe Miscellaneous

Contemplation 2007 Bill Nelson download single - 3 December 2007 Singles Menu Future Past Download here TRACKS: 1) Contemplation 2007 NOTES: "Contemplation 2007" is a re-recording of a song which was issued in demo form on ABM Club EP # 3 in 1983, and later recorded professionally for the Getting the Holy Ghost Across album in 1986. The 2007 version runs for over 11 minutes long, and was performed live at Nelsonica 07 before shortly afterwards being presented to the Dreamsville Community as a free download using a guide vocal track. The download was later added to Nelson's Bandcamp page once it was established for the very reasonable price of £1. CURRENT AVAILABILITY: Available for purchase as a digital download from Bandcamp. BILL'S THOUGHTS: "It was kind of adapted from the version I'd performed live on the 2004 Be Bop Deluxe and Beyond Tour...by that, I mean the extended version with longer improvisational sections. I didn't refer back to the '80s recording too much but tried to give it a slight twist here and there." _____ "Contemplation" is STILL one of my favourite songs from that era, which was why I included it in the 2004 anniversary tour set with my band. And both versions of the song have their merits for me." Singles Menu Future Past

By The Dawn's Early Light album - 1991 Harold Budd Production/Contribution Menu Future Past BILL: Electric and Acoustic Guitars. Co-Writer on one track, "The Place of Dead Roads". Production/Contribution Menu Future Past

Sunburst Finish Be Bop Deluxe album - 9 January 1976 Albums Menu Future Past Purchase this box set Purchase this double CD TRACKS: 01) Fair Exchange 02) Heavenly Homes 03) Ships In The Night 04) Crying To The Sky 05) Sleep That Burns 06) Beauty Secrets 07) Life In The Air Age 08) Like An Old Blues 09) Crystal Gazing 10) Blazing Apostles ALBUM NOTES: Sunburst Finish is the third album by Be Bop Deluxe. It was recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London during October 1975, and represents the band's commercial breakthrough. The band lineup on Sunburst Finish is that established for Futurama - Bill Nelson, Charles Tumahai and Simon Fox, with the addition of new member Andy Clarke on keyboards. The album appeared on vinyl and cassette and was promoted by the release of the single Ships in the Night , which became a Top 30 hit in the UK, and exposed the band to a much wider audience. Vinyl copies were released in a single sleeve, and the record was housed in an inner sleeve bearing lyrics to all songs. For the North American market an 'Airplay' edition of the album was pressed for radio use only. This comprises the same material as the commercial release but the segued tracks are individually banded. When reissued on CD in 1991, EMI elected to enhance the album by adding 3 bonus tracks, although they represent a mixed bag in the context of this album and the reissue programme as a whole. "Shine" stems from the same period as the Sunburst Finish album (albeit recorded after the album sessions, without Charlie Tumahai), but was released in tandem with the follow up album Modern Music as a single 'B' side, so arguably belongs with Modern Music . Both of the other 2 bonus tracks hail from the Drastic Plastic period, and one of them, "Speed of the Wind", is a bonus track on Futurama , so shouldn't have been included on both albums. Conversely, the experimental track "Blimps" which can be found as a bonus track on the Drastic Plastic reissue in the same series, was recorded around the same time as Sunburst Finish and should have been included on that album instead. If you no longer kept your vinyl copy, and require song lyrics, then this CD edition satisfies that need, and the informative sleeve notes penned by Kevin Cann provide useful context. In April 2017 Cherry Red and E soteric R ecordings , who, since 2011, have done so much to raise the profile of Bill Nelson's solo recordings from the period 1980 to 2002, acquired the rights to release the Be Bop Deluxe and Red Noise material issued between 1973 and 1979. While this resulted in the deletion of existing physical editions, Cherry Red kept Sunburst Finish on catalogue from 1 June 2017 via the usual download sites such as Amazon and iTunes while an expanded edition was prepared for a 2018 physical release. On 23 November 2018 Sunburst Finish became the first Be Bop Deluxe album to be issued as a Deluxe Edition comprising: a freshly remastered version of the original album, a 2018 remix of the full album. 6 unreleased studio recordings. previously released live and studio material recorded for Radio 1. the original album presented in a 5.1 mix and three filmed performances. the previously released OGWT appearance from 13 January 1976. a super rare promo video for Ships in the Night that was made in 1976 but never shown on TV. The album is presented in a triple fold out digi-pack and contains a 68 page booklet with an essay penned by Bill Nelson, reminiscing about the recording of the album at Abbey Road Studio, previously unseen photographs from the period and a couple of reproductions of advertising posters. A 2CD edition of the album is also being released at the same time as the Deluxe Edition featuring Discs 1 and 2 which will also replace the standard download edition. The full track listing for the Deluxe Edition is: Disc 1: 01) Fair Exchange 02) Heavenly Homes 03) Ships In The Night 04) Crying To The Sky 05) Sleep That Burns 06) Beauty Secrets 07) Life In The Air Age 08) Like An Old Blues 09) Crystal Gazing 10) Blazing Apostles Disc 2: 01) Fair Exchange (New Stereo Mix) 02) Heavenly Homes (New Stereo Mix) 03) Ships In The Night (New Stereo Mix) 04) Crying To The Sky (New Stereo Mix) 05) Sleep That Burns (New Stereo Mix) 06) Beauty Secrets (New Stereo Mix) 07) Life In The Air Age (New Stereo Mix) 08) Like An Old Blues (New Stereo Mix) 09) Crystal Gazing (New Stereo Mix) 10) Blazing Apostles (New Stereo Mix 11) Ships In The Night (First Version) 12) Beauty Secrets (First Version) 13) The Mystery Demo 14) Crystal Gazing (Alternate Vocal Version) 15) Crying To The Sky (First Version) 16) Ships In The Night (Alternate Vocal Version) Disc 3: 01) Life In The Air Age (BBC Radio 1 In Concert 15 January 1976) 02) Sister Seagull (BBC Radio 1 In Concert 15 January 1976) 03) Ships In The Night (BBC Radio 1 In Concert 15 January 1976) 04) Maid In Heaven (BBC Radio 1 In Concert 15 January 1976) 05) Third Floor Heaven (BBC Radio 1 In Concert 15 January 1976) 06) Blazing Apostles (BBC Radio 1 In Concert 15 January 1976) 07) Crying To The Sky (John Peel Session 10 February 1976) 08) Piece Of Mine (John Peel Session 10 February 1976) 09) Blazing Apostles (John Peel Session 10 February 1976) Disc 4: 01) Fair Exchange (5.1 Surround Mix) 02) Heavenly Homes (5.1 Surround Mix) 03) Ships In The Night (5.1 Surround Mix) 04) Crying To The Sky (5.1 Surround Mix) 05) Sleep That Burns (5.1 Surround Mix) 06) Beauty Secrets (5.1 Surround Mix) 07) Life In The Air Age (5.1 Surround Mix) 08) Like An Old Blues (5.1 Surround Mix) 09) Crystal Gazing (5.1 Surround Mix) 10) Blazing Apostles (5.1 Surround Mix) 11) Ships In The Night (BBC 2 Old Grey Whistle Test 13 January 1976) 12) Fair Exchange (BBC 2 Old Grey Whistle Test 13 January 1976) 13) Ships In The Night (Unreleased Promo Video 1976) PAST RELEASES: The original edition of Sunburst Finish was deleted sometime around 1979/80, but was reissued as a budget release in 1982 by EMI on their Fame imprint. The album was reissued again on Revolver in 1986. Neither reissue came with the benefit of the lyrics on the inner sleeve. CURRENT AVAILABILITY: The deluxe box set and the 2-CD set is available for purchase in the Dreamsville Store . BILL'S THOUGHTS: "On Sunburst I had more control. The song "Crying To The Sky" on that is still my favourite Be-Bop track - it was called 'ecstatic' guitar. I wanted to get away from the bombast of Led Zeppelin and follow Hendrix; "Crying To The Sky" was my homage to Hendrix. I used a Gibson ES345 stereo and a Carlsboro 100 watt amp. I'm always asked how I got the sound on it but there was no gadgetry or secret devices. The amp was just put right at the back of Studio Two at Abbey Road, where the Beatles used to work, right at the back wall. I turned it up until I couldn't turn it up any further, stood right at the other end with a very long lead, to avoid feedback, and just played. I approached it from the angle that Hendrix had approached his more lyrical pieces." (from an interview in Guitarist Magazine, September 1991). _____ "There were THREE perspex cylinders on that tour. They were used to make a visual connection between the Sunburst Finish album sleeve image and the tour itself. They were also inspired by my fondness for a cult 1950's sci-fi film, 'This Island Earth'. (If you've seen the film you'll recall the scene where the hero and heroine step into perspex tubes that turn their flesh transparent, revealing the underlying physical structure of muscles and skeleton.) "The show that Be Bop presented back then was designed around a stage set that included our own theatre-style procenium arch, complete with scarlet velvet curtains with the band's name embossed in gold at the top. The curtains would part to reveal the stage in semi-darkness with the three cylinders spread out at the front. The cylinders had tracer lights inside them and were filled with dry ice. (Not smoke.) Charlie was in one tube, Andy in another, and myself in the central one. Simon was hidden behind us, up on his drum riser at the rear of the stage. The tubes would be winched up and out of sight, revealing Charlie, Andy and myself, before we'd pick up our instruments to play. All this was choreographed to a tape of opening music...(Which, I think, was the abstract instrumental "Blimps"). There were three projection screens at the rear and sides of the stage, the central screen being used for specially edited film and the side screens for slide images of old pulp magazine covers from the 40's and 50's. Again, everything was co-ordinated to music cues and all the images were chosen to reflect the musical content. Once the stage lights went up, we'd go straight into the first song of the show which used clips from the Fritz Lang film 'Metropolis'." _____ "Actually, I have silver discs on my studio walls for Sunburst Finish and Modern Music . These represent sales to the value of "more than £100,000" according to the little plaque mounted under each disc. I guess the ambiguity lies in the words 'more than'. It could, I suppose, amount to a heck of a lot 'more than', but no one's telling. I do remember being told that Sunburst had gone gold towards the end of the band's career but I was never given a gold disc." ALBUM REVIEW: Review by Dmitry M. Epstein Review on ProgNaut FAN THOUGHTS: Tim Barr: "It was with Sunburst Finish that the band achieved their most significant commercial success, reaching the charts with both the album itself and the "Ships In The Night" single. Stretching out across ten tracks, Sunburst Finish sounded like the product of some weird, future jukebox; from the Hendrix stylings of "Crying To The Sky" and the dreaminess of "Heavenly Homes" to the raw, vamped-up punk of "Blazing Apostles". Outside of the band's increasingly obvious "signature sound" it was evident that something special was happening." (Interviewer for Guitarist Magazine) Returningman: "Sunburst Finish - the ultimate 70's album (and album cover)." Old Darkness: "One day in 1976 my world changed forever when an older friend (to whom I shall be eternally grateful) introduced me to Be-Bop Deluxe via Sunburst Finish . From the very first listening I recognized that here was something very special and unique. Be-Bop had it all, the music, the lyrics, the voice, the perfect triumvirat for the perfect musical storm." aquiresville: "I consistantly return to those incredible soaring guitar runs that Bill crafted for the dynamo-of-a-song "Sleep That Burns", a track that, once I bought the CD (and lovingly shelved my vinyl), I had to resist (and fail) multiple "repeat" playbacks. Sunburst Finish is an incredible collection of art, each track a beauty, story-sets blazing with characters, drama, location and energy." quitdreaming: "In my mind it is more aggressive, edgier, rawer - more basic - but at the same time so polished and honed to within an inch of perfection. There is incredible beauty & poetry in the slower compositions ("Heavenly Homes" being an absolute gem - along with, of course, "Crying To The Sky") balanced with the sheer energy of "Fair Exchange" and "Blazing Apostles". The soundtrack of my youth and an absolute classic." mvande2: "I was on a "cosmic cruise" in my buddy's Mercury at night navigating the two-tracks in local forests. He had recently purchased 8 track tapes of Sunburst Finish and Futurama because he like the covers. I've been forever hooked. Peter: "Was at home doing my homework and listening to KSAN, a local AOR station that was my favorite at the time. On comes this amazing song! I was transfixed and transported. I waiting for the DJ to give the title and it turned out the be "Fair Exchange". I decided that BBD deserved another chance. I went out and bought Sunburst Finish and an obsession was born." soteloscope: "I was waking up for another 2nd grade school day when my big brother put on "Beauty Secrets" on Sunburst Finish . The opening guitar with its folky chords and almost Spanish solo notes were magical to me." Prey: "I went into K-Mart (1976) to look through the limited record rack... there was a naked girl in a tube holding a flaming guitar on the cover of an album, I thought even if the music sucked the cover was cool, I bought it. Side one was awesome, turned it over and side two was defective after track 2, so I went back to K-Mart to get another, they offered me my money back... I kept the album defects and all rather than give it up altogether. It was years later I got to hear the 'rest' of Sunburst Finish ." Puzzleoyster: "I listened to the entire Sunburst Finish album, in the car last weekend and was once more blown away by the quality and freshness of the music - there's STILL no other band like Be Bop Deluxe...I will certainly continue to enjoy them, along with all of Bill's more recent music." Quinault: "I won Sunburst Finish off the radio, went to the concert later that week and have bought everything I could get my hands on ever since." John Leckie: "I first met Bill Nelson in 1974 when I mixed most of the album called Axe Victim over a weekend. I then went on to co-produce and engineer Sunburst Finish , Modern Music , Live! In the Air Age , Drastic Plastic and Red Noise and Bill's solo album Quit Dreaming ." Albums Menu Future Past

Albion Dream Vortex Bill Nelson album - 2 September 2013 Albums Menu Future Past Purchase this download TRACKS: 01) Thought Bubble No 1 02) Behold These Present Days 03) Like A Boat In The Blue 04) Sparky And The Spearmint Moon 05) Tomorrow Will Not Be Too Late 06) Start Beaming And Get On The Gleam 07) We Who Are Awake Will Not Be Asleep 08) Thought Bubble No 2 09) Electrical Adepts Of The Celestial Bed 10) The Mastery Of The Thing 11) Albion Dream Vortex 12) Thought Bubble No 3 13) Long Ago, By Moonlit Sea 14) Let Us Melt And Make No Noise ALBUM NOTES: Albion Dream Vortex is an instrumental album issued in a one off print run of 1000 copies on the Sonoluxe label. Although generally print runs were now set at 500 copies, the fact that Nelson elected to issue Albion Dream Vortex in digipack artwork meant that he was forced to produce 1000 copies. The music that eventually made up the Albion Dream Vortex album was initially intended for a DVD project with the title Atom Totem Apparitions , which Nelson first made subtle reference to in April 2012. By November that year, Nelson revealed more recording details for the planned DVD project, including a track called "Mind is a Map of Sparkling Galaxies", that remains unreleased. By June 2013, Nelson had long abandoned the DVD idea in favour of what was, by then, the Albion Dream Vortex CD. His published running order at this point included as track 3 "Glisten", which had recently appeared on Blip 2 , leading Nelson to replace that track with "Like a Boat in the Blue" during the mastering sessions in July. Albion Dream Vortex sold out in the summer of 2019. CURRENT AVAILABILITY: Available for purchase as a digital download here in the Dreamsville Store . BILL'S THOUGHTS: "Albion Dream Vortex is an instrumental album blending guitars and keyboards in a variety of styles. It contains subtle references to instrumental music I've made throughout my career, embracing ambient, electronic, vintage and modern, wrapped up in a dream-like vortex of sound. "The word 'Albion', for me, signifies the post-World War 2 era I grew up in. It also reminds me of a company called 'Albion Motors' who built art-deco styled buses in the 1930s and '40s. But 'Albion' is actually the oldest known name for the island of England and inevitably conjures up swirling spirits from the mysterious past. "The subject of dreams, their nature and purpose, has fascinated me since childhood. Dreams have also been a recurring motif in my creative life, and will continue to be so until, somewhere in the future, I will become little more than a flickering, ghostly dream of myself...atoms of memory, spluttering and sparkling like tiny fireworks in a long ago November sky. "We inhabit two worlds, one of which we assign to reality and the other to dreams. Our lives are spent half awake and half asleep, adrift in realms of reason and unreason. The boundary between these realms, for the artist, is often deliberately blurred, nebulous, ambiguous. Yet our creative imagination holds the ticket that allows us to travel between these two states and permits mysterious goods to be imported and exported. This luminous traffic, this flickering mystery, is the foundation of Albion Dream Vortex ." _____ "It's not written in an obvious, 'intro, verse, chorus, bridge, verse, repeat chorus, end' form. The music is rather more fluid, sometimes 'non-linear' and develops along different lines to a rock or pop song...It doesn't attempt to arrive at a particular stylistic conclusion but grows organically from point-to-point without being forced to make obvious 'points'. In that sense, its 'point' is simply to be pure music, music for its own sake, as much concerned with sound and atmosphere as note choices or hooks, etc. "Also, with this album as with several others of mine, no one track is meant to stand alone as the album's signifier (though the title track comes conceptually close). Instead, each track forms one single building block of an entire edifice. It's a complete album rather than a collection of separate tracks and should be 'read' as a whole construction, from start to finish. "Albion Dream Vortex treats you like an adult, doesn't talk baby language to you, doesn't feel the need to lead you by the hand through its mysterious corridors, but simply opens its doors for you to enter and explore. I hope, as you familiarise yourself with its twists and turns that you'll want to spend more and more time with it." _____ "If you enjoyed the trilogy of, Illuminated At Dusk , Mazda Kaleidoscope and Silvertone Fountains , then Albion Dream Vortex will carry you up the escalator of dreams to the next level." _____ "It's perhaps the most 'spiritual' (for want of a better word), album I've released for some time. Those of you who treasure deep listening will, I hope, truly appreciate this album for the rest of your lives..." _____ "With this watershed album, I aimed for a future that might humanise, console, enlighten and soften the day to day cruelties and unkindnesses we all endure. It's an album for the tender of heart and the strong in spirit. I hope it's for all of you. And, at this point in time, I think it is one of the very best, of this style, that I've ever recorded." _____ Bill's Listening Notes for the album: 'Albion Dream Vortex' Listening Notes FAN THOUGHTS: paul.smith: "It's turning into a solid, bona fideeeah! classic...and I really can't/won't stop playing it...probably what Bill wanted us to do...but this one just keeps moving on and on with its revelations of sound... "Behold These Present Days" has got to be one of my favourite tracks of the last decade...and I like a lot of what's gone on in the last decade... If you have overlooked this album for one reason or another, please be assured it is utterly essential if you like Bill's found voices/instrumental music...I have gained so much pleasure from this album in the short time since its release..." December Man: "ADV arrived on the West Coast USA yesterday like a beautifully packaged gift out of some future, musically evolved civilization -- a kind of reverse Time Capsule of musical things to come, things to look forward to! Like others, I put it on (wore it?) last night and HAD to listen to it from start to finish! Certainly Bill's best instrumental album to date and arguably his best work in any form! Congratulations, Mr. Nelson! Good stuff, sir! Met and exceeded my already high expectations of all you create! This album is simply a masterpiece in MHO. "The Mastery of the Thing" sums up the whole album! "Electrical Adepts of the Celestial Bed" is breathlessly beautiful, as I write and listen. Can't say enough about how good this is...so I better stop here. Back to Albion!" BenTucker: "For me, it's Mysterious & Beautiful 21st Century English Romantic Psychedelia - the same deep, rich seam (or labyrinth of seams) mined in The Dreamshire Chronicles and Fables and Dreamsongs , but all-instrumental. What incredibly lovely sounds, melodies, textures and moods it evokes." Pathdude: "After the first listen I must concur with other reviewers and state that this album is simply stunning. Lovers of Bill's instrumental music will not be disappointed. Something for everyone. Plus, added bonus, I think it will grow on you with repeated listenings. There are layers here people! "Behold These Present Days" has got a grip on me and won't let go. And I love it. Thank you Bill for this marvelous piece of work." felixt1: "Albion Dream Vortex": "Wow, what a beautiful track. More immersive synth, choral effects, birdsong, electric piano. Very mellow...and then a church bell rings and a distant bass drum strikes. The keys mutate gently and the woodwind section and layered strings begin...to take us further...My favourite so far. You could describe this album as a spiritual successor to And We Fell Into A Dream , although it is quite different again. I think Albion Dream Vortex delves deeper into the subconscious mind than the aforementioned, and as I have said, it really does entrance you at times, just as AWFIAD does but, it feels and sounds different somehow - it stands on its own." andygeorge: "The Mastery of the Thing"..."a beautiful, magical piece of Nelsonic wonderfulness from a terrific album...you've excelled yourself there Mr Bill." Chimera Man: "Like a Boat in the Blue": "...achingly gorgeous." Puzzleoyster: "We Who Are Awake Will Not Be Asleep": "A track which never ceases to excite and amaze regardless of ultra repeating. The track soars hammers and collects the musical matter from its own universe like gossamer from a spiders web which has the same density of steel. A BEAUTIFUL fizz bang... synths piano fills Bass guitar soars upwards from a Beautiful Bill guitar solo, synth fills to accompany a fanfare. All over too soon...but a definitive guitar rolls out the outro, the guitar has the last word. How very apt..." Returningman: "If you don't have this in your collection yet you are missing a rare and precious gem of an album." "Thanks Bill for enriching my life with this mellow gem." steve lyles: "As always superb...really am continuously baffled as to Bill's ability to create such deep beautiful emotional and intellectually interesting music..." garyd: "Currently listening to my recently purchased Albion Dream Vortex . Oh my. My Dad raised me to see everyone as equal. He knew nothing!!" Prey: "Bill Nelson was light years ahead of the rest in the 70's with Modern Music , Sunburst Finish and Futurama , I have said here many times, I knew it then, and after listening to Albion Dream Vortex I am still convinced Bill produces the music others may do someday, but for now we get a preview of the future right here, right now. I do have one fear - this CD is so good I can't see how it's possible to make it better, so future releases may damage your reputation." Albums Menu Future Past