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I received the news of the recent passing of the Brighton based photographer Roger Bamber at the age of 78. I knew Roger through his interest in steam railways, but eventually realised from seeing his name credited that he took the photographs for the cover of the Be Bop Deluxe album 'Modern Music'. In discussions with him about this photoshoot, he seemed to recall he was called in at short notice to complete the shoot somewhere on the Kings Road and in the early hours of the morning. Does Bill have any recollection of this? I had recently contacted him to suggest he purchase a copy of the 'Modern Music' boxed set as there were many new images from the album and that he also purchases the recent Mojo magazine with the article on Bill, as the article included the album cover. Roger had a distinguished career as a Fleet Street and freelance photographer and has a portfolio containing images of other music icons. There was a selection of his photographs published in 'The Guardian' newspaper on Tuesday 13th September and further images can be found on 'The Guardian' website by locating Roger Bamber - A life in Pictures.

Ok, I'm not posting anything new here and I would imagine almost every forum member has probably seen this interview. However, for anyone that hasn't and any people new to Bill's overall work, past and present, then this interview with Bill Nelson and Mark Powell of Esoteric Recordings/Cherry Red, is a cracker! It's a brilliant interview all round, great structure and good questions and an absolute pleasure to see Bill reminisce those events/times, and colour in the picture. There's no 'awkwardness', due mainly to Mark Powell knowing his stuff, and Bill ofc, which obviously puts Bill at ease from the off, resulting in a wonderfully relaxed and insightful interview = great stuff!😎 It's Bill Nelson weekend again at our house, on the music front and were playing a mixed bag, old and new. I picked out Futurama, as one of the 'oldies', as it was the first Be-Bop album I bought back in 1975, as a 15 year old, which blew my socks off at the time and made me an instant, and indeed lifelong, fan and really opened my eyes to music. I continue to this very day, with a similar excitement and enthusiasm I had back then, buying and listening to new Bill Nelson recordings, as I would imagine most of us do here, and long may it continue. Anyway, I watched this YT video again, a little after midnight and thoroughly enjoyed it. I could listen to Bill reminisce like this, all night long...magic!

Will be mastering 'Stand By: Light Coming...' next month, and hopefully its companion piece 'The Last Lamplighter' too, but I'm also trying to make a decision on which of the older, unreleased albums to try and get out around a similar time. One album that has already been sequenced and just needs mastering and artwork is 'Amplified Dreams And Wild Surprises.' This is a definite contender but, as it is a double album and will therefore take longer to transfer to Fairview Studio's mastering computer (and require more artwork for its packaging,) its release will have to be at least a couple of months behind the release of 'Stand By: Light Coming...' I find it frustrating, having so much music recorded and waiting for release but the physical side of manufacturing and packaging can't be achieved instantly, it's a slow process and I have to be patient. I remember saying, in an interview in the 1970s, that albums should be released as frequently as magazines, i.e.: one per month. In musical terms, I'd still find that an exciting way to work but, in practical terms, there are so many barriers to the process. I can but try... A flyer for 'Amplified Dreams And Wild Surprises' which I'm hoping to get released this summer...

New comment from Bill Nelson on his Facebook page: 'I know this is said often, but my generation was so fortunate, so privileged, to grow up in an age when some of the greatest creative, cultural shifts in art and society were taking place. We were so lucky. Now we endure, in our twilight years, the dumbing down of virtually everything, a new dark age where Americans vote for an ignorant bigot and the world descends into hatred , warmongering and chaos. Such sad times. But things will change, a new voice will arise, a new direction will come, and a new generation, not yet born , will pick up the torch and shift the balance back to a better direction. It will take time, but it will happen. Keep the faith!' (https://www.facebook.com/bill.nelson.54943600) I always appreciate it when Bill takes the time to comment on wider (political/social) issues. Several years ago, I think he called it exactly right on Brexit, Boris Johnson, Trump, Liz Truss, etc. And before that (2010) he predicted correctly on the coalition between David Cameron's Conservatives and Nick Clegg's Liberal Democrat's. At the time nobody knew how that would turn out - some were optimistic, others pessimistic. To Paraphrase Bill's comments from back then, he said he thought they (Cameron and Clegg) would end up being universally reviled. Pretty good prediction (long before Brexit and David Cameron's role in it were known)! McLuhan (or Ezra Pound - I can't remember which, perhaps both) once said artists were "antennae of the race", early alarm systems. And we see great artists such as Bill as ahead of their time in many ways. (Btw, he recommended David Lynch's Eraserhead long before Lynch was well known, and he recommended Robert Anton Wilson way before Wilson established his reputation as important counterculture author, etc... there are many examples like this that I can think of, where his early recommendations of something turned out to be gold). Good to see most of the comments on FB in positive agreement with Bill on his remarks. Another day, another ray of hope!

Just received an Australian pressing for Sound on Sound with a white cover. Really chuffed!

Posted a new journal entry today...Don't forget to scroll down the page to see the three images it contains. Check it out here: https://www.billnelson.com/journal/here-and-there-and-back-again

A brief but to the point journal entry just posted. Read it here: https://www.billnelson.com/post/strange-times

Trust you’ll have a good one. Or two. .

Ayup, i was a active member on the old site way back when, but life often gets in the way! I attended a few Nelsonicas, and when Bill played the Hepworth, for the fundraising event so i have met quite a few Nelsonians. I'll endeavour to contribute when appropriate lol

Do any of you have information on the Nelsonic Starliner LP which I understand was designed by and produced by Bill Nelson. The info I have says they were a better build at a more cost friendly price than the Gibson and I couldn't agree more. Gibson sued and shut the production down. I am the proud owner of one that I play daily. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Jon? Please fix it? I hate it when those images look blurry when I had resized them smaller and they looked clearer. Thanks, mate. :)

Is this an actual symbol or something created by Bill ?I'd just like to know in case someone ask's about my t-shirt.

I already have these except for the bonus tracks (and not remastered). I'll be pre-ordering. Steve Gibbons Band: Rollin' - The Albums 1976-1978, 5CD Remastered & Expanded Box Set - Cherry Red Records Edit: I have the BBC In Concert but only as a bootleg, so that will be new as well.

Steve Jones of Sex Pistols speaks to Gary Kemp and Guy Pratt | IN FULL | ...sometimes, these two can be a little, shall we say, annoying, interrupting their guests a good example, but they handle this Jonesy interview really well...Thoroughly enjoyable, so if you are a Steve Jones fan like me (big fan), it's well worth a watch...and, a nice couple of references to Steve's Nottingham connection, which I found cool as a Nottingham lad. Steve Jones of Sex Pistols speaks to Gary Kemp and Guy Pratt | IN FULL | Rockonteurs

Monty Python star Terry Jones has died at the age of 77, his agent has said. A statement from the family of Monty Python star Terry Jones said: “We are deeply saddened to have to announce the passing of beloved husband and father, Terry Jones. “Terry passed away on the evening of 21 January 2020 at the age of 77 with his wife Anna Soderstrom by his side after a long, extremely brave but always good humoured battle with a rare form of dementia, FTD.

If you missed out on one of the limited edition CDs, Bill has now made available 'The Years' on his Bandcamp page - a great instrumental album. Check out the album details, samples etc. in the Discography section of Dreamsville.

Hope you have a smashing day! XO

Marta Flich from Vampyres (2015, available on Netflix):

Sir Thomas Sean Connery turns 90 today. Most peoples favourite Bond. Talk about cool...Men wanted to be him, women just wanted him (and probably more than few men too!) On his 89th birthday