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Singles As and Bs Be Bop Deluxe retrospective collection - 19 June 1981 Collections Menu Future Past TRACKS: A1) Jet Silver And The Dolls Of Venus A2) Between The Worlds A3) Maid In Heaven A4) Ships In The Night A5) Kiss Of Light A6) Japan A7) Panic In The World A8) Electrical Language B1) Third Floor Heaven B2) Lights B3) Crying To The Sky B4) Shine B5) Futurist Manifesto B6) Blue As A Jewel B7) Surreal Estate NOTES: Singles As and Bs is a single album that neatly brings together the Be Bop Deluxe singles issued on Harvest, including 3 singles edits that were appearing on album for the first time. Collectors were drawn to this album (when initially released on vinyl in 1981) by the inclusion of "Between the Worlds", the band's third single, which was withdrawn shortly after its original release in 1975. However, by the time this collection had appeared on CD in '92, that super rare track had re-appeared on the Futurama CD as a bonus cut. All the tracks on this album, including the 7" edits, can be found on the more comprehensive Futurist Manifesto box set issued in 2012. PAST RELEASES: All 15 tracks on this compilation album had originally appeared spread across the band's eight 7" singles issued on Harvest. See individual entries of those singles for full details. In addition to "Between the Worlds", 4 of the 'B' sides and 1 other 'A' side were non-album cuts when first released although all five of these tracks had been included on The Best of and the Rest of Be Bop Deluxe double album a little over 2 years previously. The album was released on CD in 1992 with different artwork. CURRENT AVAILABILITY: This compilation is now out of print. Collections Menu Future Past

Bill Nelson Picture Gallery Pictures of Bill after the Be Bop Deluxe years...

Hip Pocket Jukebox mini-album - 1 October 2011 Bill Nelson Albums Menu Future Past Download Free Here TRACKS: 01) Blown Away 02) A Universe To Give You 03) Silver Tears 04) Where Do We Go 05) I’ll Be Everywhere 06) Maybe Strange Imagination ALBUM NOTES: The Hip Pocket Jukebox mini-album is a collection of 'PCM-F1' archive vocal tracks recorded between 1984 and 1995, which initially appeared as a CDR bearing no label or catalogue number. The disc came with printed labels that were signed and individually numbered by Nelson. The mini-album was included in the ticket price for an event held at Leeds University on the 1st of October, 2011, entitled The Art School Ascended on Vapours of Roses , and was limited to approximately 150 copies. (Note this is based on the limitations on the size of venue used to stage the event rather than anything officially confirmed by Nelson.) 'I'll Be Everywhere' warrants particular mention since it is the previously released instrumental track 'Tropicus' (from Chameleon ) but with added vocal. Because of the limited nature of this release, and the very high prices paid for a couple of copies that were listed on eBay (which sold for more than £200 each), enquiries from fans led Nelson to release the material as a free digital download on Soundcloud in December 2011. The digital edition came with free downloadable artwork. CURRENT AVAILABILITY: Original copies on CDR are near impossible to obtain, but the opportunity to acquire the free download is available here: Hip Pocket Jukebox FREE download. BILL'S THOUGHTS: "As an early Christmas gift for fans, we've decided to make the six tracks which comprised the Hip Pocket Jukebox CDR, (which was given to ticket holders at the Leeds concert/exhibition earlier this year), available as FREE downloads via this site. These are unmastered mp3s from my 1980's PCM F1 archives and are demos or rough sketches for songs that were never developed further or publicly released. They're rough and unpolished but, hopefully, enjoyable within their technical limitations. "This does not affect the exclusivity of the Hip Pocket Jukebox CDR which was produced as a strictly limited edition, being hand-numbered and signed by myself. These physical artefacts remain rare and valuable but the music itself, in basic download form, will allow fans who couldn't attend the Leeds event to hear the music. "These tracks will also give you a taste of the proposed album which will eventually surface on CD. (My plan is to eventually compile more of the best of these PCM archives as an official, physical album once the material has been properly mastered by John Spence at Fairview. Hopefully, sometime in the first quarter of next year.)" [This was later released as Return to Tomorrow .] _____ "I'd thought they were a little naive and somewhat substandard at the time, which is why they've been gathering dust for so long." FAN THOUGHTS: Puzzleoyster: "The PCM Era has taken a lot, if not all of us, by very pleasant surprise! Open mouthed agog as how comes most, if not all these songs and sketches found themselves down the back of the Proverbial PCM Settee!!???" aquiresville: "Amazing that these songs never made it on a proper album! Thank you, Bill!" James Ellis: "I'm Blown away by "Blown Away"! First listen, these are terrific songs, even in their unmixed state, far too good to sit on the shelves." TimeSlip: "These are great pieces. I don't know if they inspire me or depress me. I mean, these are "rough and unpolished"? So that's it: your "demos" are equivalent to the best efforts of others." banality: "Sometimes you play something a few times and you like it well enough. Then you play it one more time and you crack - after that it just sounds fantastic. Well, tonight, Hip Pocket Jukebox has cracked me. Now I've got that thing where your favourite track keeps changing..."I'll Be Everywhere"...no..."Silver Tears"...no..."Where Do We Go?"...and so on. What wonderful confusion! Thanks for the CD Bill." johnofdeath: "If you listen to tracks like "We Will Rise" and "Killing my Desires" from Buddha Head [part of My Secret Studio - Vol 1 ] you get a pretty good idea about how these tracks sound - same style of vocals, synth strings and angry guitar sound." "I'm really enjoying the music. I really hope this is the tip of an iceberg and we all get to hear more of these hidden gems. Thanks for making them available, Bill" Quinault: "I am awed by BN's creativity. It is like looking through a temporal worm hole into the past. Music as well as photography can capture time and these musical projects have a different timeline. We all know how Bill packages wonderfully themed albums. These songs seem like singles, snapshots of another era. Magic." Albums Menu Future Past

Magazine Interviews & Features Acquitted By Mirrors (Magazine Series) The Nelsonian Navigator (Magazine Series) Electronics & Music Maker - 1982 Home Studio Recording - 1984 Electronic Soundmaker - 1985 Sound On Sound Magazine - July 1986 Making Music - August 1986 Bill Meets Robert Wyatt - 1992 Sound On Sound Magazine - October 1995 Sound On Sound Magazine - February 1999 DavidSylvian.Net Interview - 2002 East Bay Times - Feb 2005 My Rare Guitars Feature - June 2006 Post-Punk Monk Article - June 2011 Prog Magazine - 2011 (Published Dec 2023) Guitar Player Interview - December 2012 Bill Interviews Duane Eddy - January 2013 Vintage Guitar Magazine - February 2014 Yorkshire Post - October 2014 Admirable Nelson, Yorkshire Post - March 2016 Classic Rock - May 2016 Eastwood Guitar Guide - February 2017 Eastwood Guitars Interview - February 2017 Songwriting Magazine - February 2018 Vintage Guitar Magazine - June 2018 Record Collector - February 2019 Classic Rock - February 2019 Vintage Rock - March 2019 Goldmine Magazine - March 2019 Paste Magazine US - April 2019 The Strange Brew Podcast - April 2019 Mix Magazine - May 2019 Interviewing The Legends Podcast - May 2019 Interview with Frank Mackay - June 2019 Hit Channel Website Interview - July 2020 Music Republic Magazine Interview - July 2020 Cherry Red Podcast - July 2020 Flood Magazine Interiew - October 2021 Guitar Player Article, Scott Rowley - December 2021 Prog Interview - December 2021 Be Bop Deluxe on 'Jazz Rock Soul' - January 2022 Bill Talks About Ziggy Stardust - June 2022 Martyn Ware Podcast (Part 1) - Feruary 2023 Martyn Ware Podcast (Part 2) - March 2023 Anil Prasad Interview - April 2023 Guitar World Interview - December 2023 Prog Magazine Interview - May 2024 Guitarist Magazine Interview - June 2024 Goldmine Interview - July 2024 Treasure Island Discs Podcast - May 2025 Vinyl Relics...The Story Of Axe Victim - August 2025

Magic Boomerang single - 1990 The Mock Turtles Production/Contribution Menu Future Past BILL: Producer Production/Contribution Menu Future Past

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

Warriors album - 1983 Gary Numan Production/Contribution Menu Future Past BILL: Producer, Guitar and Keyboard. Production/Contribution Menu Future Past

The Rumbler/Perfidia 2017 Free download single Click image for cover Artwork FREE download single to celebrate the launch of the new Dreamsville - Released October 2017. A-Side: THE RUMBLER (For Duane) Currently unavailable on any album B-Side: PERFIDIA 2017 Currently unavailable on any album Performed, recorded and produced by Bill Nelson. All rights Bill Nelson 2017.

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2013 William's Study (Diary Of A Hyperdreamer) July 2007 Jan Feb Apr May Sep Oct Nov Dec Wednesday 11th July 2007 -- 8:20 pm It's been an intense few weeks. All of June spent working on music for an American documentary film about the visual design history of U.S. postal stamps. Ongoing too...until the end of July. The subject of stamps is far more interesting than one might initially presume. The film, produced by a company called 'twenty2 product' in San Francisco (and funded by the American PBS TV network and the US Postal Service), is beautifully photographed and edited and features several interviews with the highly talented visual artists and designers who have been involved with postage stamp design over the years. A wide range of subjects, including music, literature, science and art are covered by these stamps and each interview has required me to create an appropriate musical setting. 18 scenes or 'segments' in total but I've so far made approaching fifty tracks for the filmakers to select from. These are not fifty different tunes though but variations and mixes of perhaps 30 individual compositions. Still, it's been constant and intense work...12 hours per day on average and 7 days per week. I'm feeling burned out at this point in time but I think I'm not too far from a conclusion of sorts. I've booked Fairview Studios on the 28th and 29th of July to master the final choice of music cues, once the film makers have made their selection. Everything has to be decided, completed and prepared by then. The most challenging part of the work has been the attempt to create music that stays out of the way of the dialogue without becoming dull and ordinairy. Not easy as there is constant 'talking-heads' style narrative throughout the film. Some musical cues are very brief too, which means it's tricky to build musical dynamic tension over such a short period of time. I'm currently working on two promotional-advertising clips for the project, trailers basically. One is 20 seconds long, the other 30 seconds. Not a lot of music in terms of time but just as much work as the longer pieces within the film, if not more so. I also need to revisit some of the cues for which I've already created music, to see if I can bring even more alternatives to the table. All this highly focussed and time-consuming work has confined me to my little studio room since the start of June. My social life has gone out the window. Emiko has seen much less of me too, as have the rest of my long-suffering family. It's taken a toll on my health and nerves, as is to be expected. Sitting hunched over keyboards and mixing desk for 12 hours a day isn't the healthiest of pusuits for a man approaching 60. My waistline has expanded again and stress levels have reflected the obsessive nature of the work. Can't be helped, I suppose. Part of the job and part of the challenge. But that old cliche, 'not as young as you used to be' applies perfectly. I wonder if it will all be worth it in the end? Not in financial terms, (this isn't a Hollywood blockbuster, after all), but in terms of what the music adds to my 'canon.' I think there's an album to be got out of this, 'though it may be an unusual one. If I can gather the more interesting tracks together, there may be yet another aspect of my musical activity worth presenting to the public, beyond that of the music's function within the film. I've already come up with an album title for this: 'PICTURE POST.' ('Picture Post' was the title of an old 1950's photo-journalistic magazine, here in the U.K.) Despite my confinement to recording studio barracks, I did manage to attend my nephew Julian's wedding, a few weeks back. Julian is my late brother Ian's eldest son. He married a lovely girl, called Lindsay. They make a charming couple and it was good to see them surrounded by their friends who all wished them well. The marriage ceremony and reception was held at Walton Hall near Wakefield. I'd not visited to Walton Hall before, despite growing up in the city. It's a remarkable old house, built on an island in a lake and surrounded by a beautiful tree-blessed landscape. Quite magical. One of the pleasant side-effects of Julian's mariage was the fact that it gathered together what remains of the Nelson clan. Not a lot of us left, sadly. My eldest daughter, Julia, travelled up from London with my bright-star grandson Luke, (o.k, I'm biased), and my mother and my youngest daughter Elle and my son Elliot were there too. Also my sister-in-law Diane and my niece Lucy and nephew Louis and my Mum's husband George. I only wish Ian could have been there to see his son tie the knot. It was a bitter-sweet occassion in that respect. Ian was aware of the date of Julian and Lindsay's wedding before he passed away. I know he was looking forward to it with his usual sense of warm bemusement. There were some poignant moments for us all when we missed Ian's prescence. It doesn't really get any easier, despite it being around 17 months since I last saw Ian. I don't imagine time will ever make much of a difference to the emptiness that has been left in the lives of his loved ones. And, yes, I will say it again, I miss him tremendously. The world continues to roll by my window, indifferent to whatever plans or idealistic imaginings I might harbour. Summer, for what it's worth, seems to have been a season of floods so far. Terrible suffering for hundreds of families in Hull, Doncaster and Sheffield. Freak conditions for this time of year? Global warming the cause? Whatever the conclusion, it's a major topic in the media and already a subject for 'live aid' style pop concerts. But there's something hollow, something not quite right in our response to the problem. Hard to put into words but it's as if it's a kind of game, a fashionable badge to wear instead of a life and death issue. We're not doing anything near enough to redress the balance. Future generations will reap the terrible harvest of our casual attitudes, I'm afraid. Sometimes I feel as if the human race is a lost cause...Life fading fast on this bright blue pebble amongst the stars. Another great British cultural icon has passed away. The vibrant, colourful, joyous bundle of atoms that was George Melly has finally 'gone fission.' I never met him, (though my brother Ian did), but I liked him tremendously. George's great passions were jazz, surrealism, fishing, booze and sex. I'm somewhat fond of that sort of stuff too...but without the fishing. He was a bright, witty, intelligent and enthusiastic man who knew what wonders were hidden beneath the world's voluminous skirts. And he wasn't afraid to lift those skirts and have a good old lusty fondle. A bit mad and scary for some folks, our George. But for those of us who shared his wide-eyed hunger, he was definitely on the side of the angels. His autobiographical trilogy, 'Owning Up' should be compulsory reading for all those who think life begins and ends with reality tv and pop music. A force for the good and the world poorer without him. You'd think I'd have more to write about, considering how long it's been since the previous diary entry, but I haven't really got much else to say or the time to say it. Over the weeks I've made a mental list of topics to bring to these pages, but they've either faded from my memory or suddenly seemed inconsequential. It's all inconsequential really though, isn't it? Just babble... A brief note though: The ongoing demise of record stores. The rather wonderful Track Records in York is sadly shutting up shop. A result of the downloading malaise that is slowly eroding the way we access music, I suspect. Even our local Borders store is selling off cd stock at silly prices and has cut back on its album racking space Seriously junked its stock of jazz and other non-pop/rock records too. Some say it's the future. But it's greed really, cheapness and laziness triumphing over magic. And another step towards conformity of taste. It will strip the truly creative leaves from the trees, leaving only a sterile and barren thicket of fruitlessness. Thank goodness I'm not alone in thinking this. More and more critics and intellectuals seem to be coming 'round to the same conclusion. A recently published book presents the same argument: Basically it says that the internet is killing our culture and impoverishing truly creative musicians. There's too much plain old commodity and not enough treasure. Soon, no one will want to choose music as a 'career,' unless they're very young and desperate for attention. There will simply be not enough in it, either financially or aesthetically. No one will care in the way that my generation cared. We're the last of the line. Music, as a career or lifestyle choice will devolve to the lowest common denominator. The moronic will hold sway. What a marvellous prospect! Little enclaves of genuine music lovers meeting in secret, like Catholics at the gates of the reformation. The cathederals of record retailing in ruins, music as an illuminating force finally snuffed out in favour of free downloads, mediocre retreads and lousy sound quality...The enthusiast as the new outcast, an antiquated, nearly extinct species. Science-fiction's worst nightmares come home to roost and crouching at the foot of your bed, screaming. I once wrote to the NME, back in the '70's, pre-punk, with a manifesto for a renewal of 'real' music, music that needed commitment, energy and intelligence. Music that you'd be prepared to risk your life for. I wrote this under the humerous guise of 'The New Music Liberation Front' and signed it 'Christian Spink.' I didn't really think the NME would publish it, but they did, in heavy type, surrounded by a black border to make it highly visible on their letter's page. I had my tongue planted partly in my cheek but also, so I hoped, on the erectile tissue of the spirit of rebellion. There's nothing revolutionary about the current music industry, despite the dull, interminable trumpeting about so called 'new technologies.' It's just the same old tired, manipulative, nonsense, despite the gadgetry. Just another angle on the 'let's charm the pocket money out of kids sweaty hands' trick. Or, If we can't sell cds, lets flog 'em MP3 players, software, website subscriptions. Money for (very old) rope. People demanding music without any cost and an industry seeking profit without any risk. It will, I predict, all end in tears. No diary photo's this time. Too busy. When I get the film music completed, I'll hopefully find more time and energy for such things. Top of page

Heaven And Hell Volume Two album - 1991 Various Artists Production/Contribution Menu Future Past BILL: Contributed a cover of the Velvet Underground song "Lonesome Cowboy Bill", credited to Bill Nelson and The Roy Rogers Rocketeers. Producer and Keyboard on the Mock Turtles cover of the Velvet's "Pale Blue Eyes". NOTES: Bill's cover is not featured on any of his other releases, and remains unique to this tribute album. Production/Contribution Menu Future Past

Soluna Oriana Bill Nelson download single - 30 June 2010 Singles Menu Future Past TRACKS: 1) Soluna Oriana NOTES: "Soluna Oriana" is an exclusive instrumental piece composed especially for a fund raising campaign launched on behalf of former Japan bass guitarist, Mick Karn, who was then undergoing treatment for cancer. Sadly, on the 4th of January, 2011, Karn lost his battle against the disease. Initially Nelson had written an exclusive song to donate to the Mick Karn campaign called "Bluebird", spending a week working on it in June 2010. With the track nearing completion though, Nelson re-thought his plans, concluding that the lyric to "Bluebird" was not in line with his original intentions, and he immediately set to work on "Soluna Oriana". The download was made available through SoundCloud, where it remains as a tribute to Karn. CURRENT AVAILABILITY: Available as a free digital download on this page, or in the Free Downloads section . BILL'S THOUGHTS: "Soluna Oriana has turned out to be an ethereal, floating, gentle piece, featuring an e-bow improvisation over a modal 'puzzle pattern' backdrop. It's a track that I would have been pleased to put on any upcoming album of mine but am excited to offer as a free download for those of you who would like to contribute to the Mick Karn appeal and receive a heartfelt little musical gift from me in return." _____ "I have fond memories of working with him in the 1980's. A wonderfully talented musician and artist." _____ "Like so many of my titles, the sound and juxtaposition of the words is enough to make the thing attractive to me, but...'Soluna' could be interpreted as a marriage of 'Sol' (Sun), and 'Luna' (Moon). Which, alchemically could be thought of as male and female, yin and yang, etc, etc. 'Oriana' suggests to me the 'Orient' and East, or even 'Queen Oriana'...certainly, to me, something royal and mystical. But above all, it feels poetic and exotically beautiful. In the context of the music it brings identity to the piece, but the real meaning is to be found in your own heart when you hear the music and understand the reason for its existence." Singles Menu Future Past

Clocks & Dials Bill Nelson double album - 1 November 2008 Albums Menu Future Past Purchase this download DISC ONE TRACKS: 01) Thunder Heralds The Fairylight Parade 02) Mystery Vortex (Oberon Touchstone) 03) Test Card 04) Clear Skies A' Coming 05) Rain Made Us Shine 06) Music For A Victorian Steam Cottage 07) A Town Called Blue Tomorrow 08) Searching For An Island Off The Coast Of Dreams 09) Signals From Earth 10) Frankie Surfs The Milky Way 11) I Travel At Night 12) Just A Kid And All That Sky 13) Rain Falls Fast On Faded Ruin 14) Artismo Loco 15) Dynatron Blues 16) No Time Says The Clock (Version 1) 17) How Many Miles To Babylon 18) The Rainiest Day In The World 19) Twang Rings True DISC TWO TRACKS: 01) The Phonograph Bird 02) The Experimental Time Traveller 03) Dig The Sparkles 04) The Golden Roundabout Rides Again 05) Mellophonia 06) Electric Trains, Clean Oceans, Clear Skies, Pure Air 07) Yonder Gleams Your Star 08) Cinnamon And Mint 09) The Marvellous Model Kit 10) Curate's Egg In Cup Of Grass 11) Rocket Billy Blues 12) Distant Years From Now 13) A Certain Thought Passed Through My Mind 14) Oh Moon In The Night I Have Seen Thee Sailing 15) Clocks Wind Slow 16) Strange And Wonderful (That's My Life) 17) A Million Moonlight Miles 18) The Silver Darkness Whispers Yes 19) No Time Says The Clock (Version 2) DISC TWO TRACKS: 01) The Phonograph Bird 02) The Experimental Time Traveller 03) Dig The Sparkles 04) The Golden Roundabout Rides Again 05) Mellophonia 06) Electric Trains, Clean Oceans, Clear Skies, Pure Air 07) Yonder Gleams Your Star 08) Cinnamon And Mint 09) The Marvellous Model Kit 10) Curate's Egg In Cup Of Grass 11) Rocket Billy Blues 12) Distant Years From Now 13) A Certain Thought Passed Through My Mind 14) Oh Moon In The Night I Have Seen Thee Sailing 15) Clocks Wind Slow 16) Strange And Wonderful (That's My Life) 17) A Million Moonlight Miles 18) The Silver Darkness Whispers Yes 19) No Time Says The Clock (Version 2) ALBUM NOTES: Clocks and Dials is a vocal album issued exclusively for Nelsonica '08 on the Discs of Ancient Odeon label. As with the previous year's convention exclusive, Clocks and Dials was pressed in a print run of 1000 copies to avoid the clamour for copies after Nelsonica , and the price of second hand copies escalating on eBay. Clocks and Dials stands alone within the body of Nelsonica releases as the only 2CD set among them, and was presented in a special fold out digipack sleeve. The album was recorded concurrently with Golden Melodies of Tomorrow and had a number of working titles (In The Realm of the Unreal; The Experimental Time Traveller ; Signals From Earth ; and Modern Moods For Mighty Atoms ) before Nelson settled on Clocks and Dials . As soon as Nelsonica was over, the remaining copies of Clocks and Dials were sold through S.O.S, and on January 3rd, 2013, an announcement was made on the Dreamsville Forum that the album had completely sold out. A small number of purchasers reported playback issues, which were attributed to the inability of older CD players to cope with the lengthy playing time, rather than there being any fault with the discs. CURRENT AVAILABILITY: Available for purchase as a digital download here in the Dreamsville Store . BILL'S THOUGHTS: "Several of the Clocks and Dials tracks were originally destined for Golden Melodies ...However, the fact that those particular tracks were left off Golden Melodies had nothing to do with incompatibility, technical quality or conceptual suitability. They were shunted to 'C+D' simply because there wasn't enough space to include them. Nevertheless, these related Clocks and Dials tracks come from the same time and place, they spring from the Golden Melodies sessions and sensibilities, from the same concept." _____ "There's certainly a psychedelic pop flavour to many of the tracks. It's quite a technicolour dream in some ways." FAN THOUGHTS: tommaso: "Have just listened to Clocks & Dials ...There's so much inspiration and invention here that most other artists would be happy to create such an album as a 'regular' release [rather than a free CD to Nelsonica attendees]. Favourites after first listening: the somewhat dark and melancholy "Rain Falls Fast on Faded Ruin", the utterly beautiful "Cinnamon and Mint", and one of the most immediately catchy songs Bill ever wrote, "No Time Says the Clock" (both versions). Ah, great stuff! Perhaps the best Nelsonica album ever. I guess when the muse kisses Bill, she does it wholeheartedly." Paul Andrews: "This really is a stonking album. When I play CD2 I keep getting stuck on "The Experimental Time Traveller" - it's so good I can't get past it! Knowing that "Curate's Egg in Cup of Grass" is just down the musical road does help though. Clocks and Dials is an enormous piece of work. I need to spend more time with it to get everything that lies within it to the fore. Can you slow down a bit Bill? I'm trying to catch up you know!" Mick Winsford: "Having listened again to this album this evening I simply want to say that this is definitely my favourite Bill Nelson album since Orpheus , and one of the best of his career. It's just full of all of the things that have kept me tuned into Bill's music since January 1976. I refuse to swear in case it offends anyone but it's a %*&£$#^ great album!" sauropod: "I love all three discs [the 2CD C&D + Golden Melodies ]. A very fine effort. I'm afraid of wearing them out, playing them so much!" Peter: "I'm halfway through my second listen (I was in the living room at 5 this morning, headphones on, cat asleep on my chest), and am enjoying these very much. Too much goodness, too many great songs, to name...just more wonders from the amazing Mr. N!" Gompers: "Bravo Bill. For my personal taste, it's the best in a while. Very versatile sounds throughout. I even detected a bit of a 'Be-Bop Deluxe' style in a few of the tracks. Outstanding offering." BryanH: "Wow...absolutely brilliant. My favourite BN release for some time." Tony M: "There is so much music here that I had previously listened to one CD at a time, with too long a break in between listenings. As with all of Bill's recordings, something new with each listen. Nothing better than a cruise down the highway with the volume up near 10! So many good songs and many new favorites. One that sticks with me is "Artismo Loco". The guitar playing is fantastic. This song could go on forever, way too short. Many other gems on this one. Looking forward to my next long drive." ladesco: "Fundertuneful bundliscious warm and fuzzy specialty assorted ice creamy dreams of sailships and boats with steams that are quite content with wallace and grommeting their way thru skyscape city tides, waving the pearlescent sandy beaches treasured with half-buried bottles containing watery journeys yet to be unraveled and traveled from whence they came...the other side of the world, or universe? A time travelers dream!!!! Wow, Mr. nelson...WOW. There are so many of yours that are crowding my top 10 list by now, I just as soon float gently on a breeze, and love them all with gracious equalities." steve lyles: "I listened to Clocks and Dials a couple of weeks back and didn't move a muscle through the whole of cd 1...better than any drug or drink I've ever had..." Alan Cawthorne: "I find this album a very confident release. Mr Bill seems full of good tunes, screaming guitars and frantic beats (Always welcome), and dare I say it full of sex the way he sings certain songs...Talk about an album crammed with tunes...!! A thoroughly nice and warm listen. And not a filler in sight!" alec: "The happiness approaches urgency at times on Clocks and Dials . Some great lyrics, singing and melodies, too. Frantic details swimming around every track." "No Time Says the Clock [Version 1]": "is a Psychedelic Pop Classic. A hit." Pathdude: "Every single song is tremendously enjoyable. The trilogy of "Blue Tomorrow", "Island Off the Coast of Dreams", and "Signals from Earth" are some of the most beautiful signals I've ever received. I think that "Signals from Earth" was written especially for me as it's now my favorite BN song. And I can't say directly why. It's just the feeling I get within when listening to it." Chimera Man: "Highlight in particular for me is "Frankie Surfs the Milky Way" - what an absolute gem of a song. Lovely guitar sound, fab "pop" song really, and it bounces along with an uplifting sense that can only put a smile on your face. I kind of have an image of Bill in a big cowboy hat, sat in a rocking chair out on the veranda of some isolated farmhouse in the American midwest with a broad grin on his face playing this, just as dusk is settling...whoever Frankie is passes by overhead, catches the sound, stops, winks at him and moves on swiftly as Emi emerges with a mug of some warm beverage for her beloved !!" Gavin Baker: "Playing it last night for the first time I had 2 favorites materialise immediately. "Clear Skies a Coming" & "The Silver Darkness Whispers Yes". Loads of stuff on here & a grand mixture to boot! After one hearing I would recommend this to any of you that haven't got it. THANK YOU BILL FOR PROVIDING THE SOUNDTRACK IN MY LIFE." GettingOnTheBeam: "Ah, but the best track is "Mystery Vortex". What a masterpiece. One of Bill's best ever in my opinion." play my theremin: "This is a terrific album, one of my favourites by any artist...Its absence would leave a large gap in any BN fan's collection as far as I'm concerned." major snagg: "Bill is an ARTIST who's main medium is sound." Albums Menu Future Past

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

Silent Night Free Christmas download single Click image for cover Artwork Special FREE Christmas download single - Released December 2012. SILENT NIGHT Currently unavailable on any album Bill's instrumental version of the traditional Christmas carol. Watch the accompanying video in the Essoldo Cinema Performed, recorded and produced by Bill Nelson. All rights Bill Nelson 2012.

Days in Europa album - 1979 Skids Production/Contribution Menu Future Past BILL: Producer and Keyboards Production/Contribution Menu Future Past

Tomorrow Never Knows single - 1982 Monsoon Production/Contribution Menu Future Past BILL: Guitar and Bass Production/Contribution Menu Future Past

Cinema Menu Be Bop Deluxe Be Bop Deluxe video clips...more will be added soon! Be Bop Deluxe - BBC Sight And Sound Full Concert - 1978 Be Bop Deluxe - Live Radio Broadcast - Dec 1976 - AUDIO ONLY! December 6 1976 - WLIR FM Broadcast Recorded at Calderon Concert Hall Garden City. Life In The Air Age, Fair Exchange, Sister Seagull, Ships In The Night, Adventures In A Yorkshire Landscape, Forbidden Lovers, Down On Terminal Street, Blazing Apostles, Dance Of The Uncle Sam Humanoids. Cinema Menu

Lines of Desire album - 1995 Su Lyn Production/Contribution Menu Future Past BILL: Producer, Guitar and Bass on three songs: "Out of the Ice Age", "The Photograph" and "Precinct of Life". NOTES: Bill, with John Spence's assistance, produced 3 tracks in 1991, which Su later added upon to finish this album for 1995 release. The CD and download are available via Bandcamp. Production/Contribution Menu Future Past

Acquitted By Mirrors - Issue Fourteen - Published Autumn 1987 Back to Top

Sunday 23rd October 2005 A sense of relief and satisfaction this morning. And a hangover. Yesterday's annual Nelsonica Convention turned out to be another grand day out for all its attendees and particularly for myself. It's always a pleasure to spend the day with such devoted fans and friends but yesterday's event was particularly heart warming for me, in so many ways. As always before these conventions (and indeed, before any public appearance of mine), I seem to get myself worked up into a state of nervousness approaching outright panic. I had been working flat out over the past few weeks, preparing new material for the forthcoming tour, including video pieces to project behind me on stage. In fact, I lost a lot of time when two days worth of video footage and seven days worth of render files were inadvertantly erased from my computer's hard disc... the second such loss this year (although the first time it happened was on my multi-track hard-disc recorder, rather than my computer). The days before the convention saw me working into the early hours to try to catch up with lost time. In the end, I managed to make videograms for 10 of the pieces of music in the set. But it was tough going. My friend Paul Gilby burned my finished digital video tapes to DVD for me, literally on the night before Nelsonica opened its doors to the public. It was all very much a last minute thing. Fortunately, Jon Wallinger and the convention team of Ian, Eddie, Ged and Dave had pre-planned the actual event to perfection and didn't suffer from the computer malfunctions that blighted both myself and Paul's efforts. Everyone attending the event commented on how extremely well organised the day was. But, what appears on the surface as relaxed and smooth running is actually the product of months of hard work, forward thinking, careful teamwork and organisational skill. The Nelsonica team coped superbly with all the logistics involved and, apart from a frustrating mistake at the pressing plant involving the manufacture of both the 'Sailor Bill' album and the convention's limited edition 'Orpheus In Ultraland' album, all went like clockwork. The pressing plant problem was completely unforseen and entirely out of our control. It seems that they hadn't printed up the albums sleeve art in time to deliver to Nelsonica and it was only after some very formal complaints from Paul that we got anything from them at all. In the end, they sent up just enough convention albums to give to ticket holders, but, unfortunately, minus cover artwork and sleeves. We now have to send each convention ticket holder the artwork through the post. Once the factory gets around to delivering them to us, that is. Annoying, frustrating, etc, etc... especially after all the hard work that went into finishing those albums in time to get them manufactured. Nevertheless, this problem didn't seem to mar people's enjoyment. I heard nothing but praise from attendees and the event was a great success. There were many familiar faces there but also many new ones too. People are always extremely sweet and kind to me at Nelsonica and this year's convention was no exception. I was bowled over by the warmth of sentiment shown to me by everyone I spoke to. It was also a pleasant surprise to meet up with someone I hadn't seen for many years, someone I remember fondly from the very earliest days of Be Bop Deluxe, before we were professional musicians. The band played the Leeds pub circuit in the early 'seventies and the person I'm referring to used to be a regular audience member. Although she was usually accompanied by her boyfriend, she managed to slip away from him to spend a little time with me. I was very flattered by this attention, particularly as she was an attractive 17 year old at the time and I wasn't the typical, 'party animal' type of rock guitarist. I hope I was a bit more sensitive than that. I'll admit to always having a deeply romantic nature and I guess that was the way that this particular relationship took me, although I was actually married at the time... but not happily, or for long, I must stress! Of course, I was a much younger, less wise man back then, skinny, selfish and ambitious. What time does to us though, eh? Well, the years have certainly changed my waistline for the worst, if not my ambition. But maybe the ambition is focussed elsewhere now, less concerned with commercial success and glamour. But I still want to achieve so many other things. But I do hope I've developed more compassion for others and have tamed the wilder aspects of my ego. Anyway... it was lovely to see that the person mentioned above looked hardly any different from those long ago days, apart from a rather vivid change of hair colour! I, on the other hand, have less and less hair to worry about these days... (Probably as a result of bleaching it blonde, back in the 'eighties!) The stresses and strains of a life spent battling to preserve some kind of musical freedom have left their unfortunate mark, I guess. I'm sure my appearance must have come as something of a shock to someone who hasn't met me for over thirty years. It comes as a shock to me everytime I catch my reflection in a mirror! But life is strange and things go around in circles it seems. Old faces return out of the mist with warm smiles and welcoming eyes. It's beautiful, sad and poetic all at the same time. As well as the happy opportunities to meet with friends, Nelsonica this year provided a new item on the programme. I was the subject of a 'live on stage' interview with Simon Warner who coaxed out my thoughts about the arts in general and their influence on my musical career. I really enjoyed this part of the programme and, from what I can gather, the attendees did too. There was also an opportunity to give everyone a preview of the 'Sailor Bill' album, even if we had no copies available for them to take home. I included a piece from the album in my live performance, the song 'The Ocean, The Night And The Big, Big Wheel'. I chose this track as it is one of the easier songs to tackle from the album, at least in a 'solo performance with backing tracks' style. (Which is what my forthcoming November tour will be.) I had some reservations about including vocals in the set at all, but the four I've allowed myself to perform seem to work quite well. Much better than I expected. As with all the recent Nelsonicas, I end the day feeling a little bit melancholy as well as happy. It's the celebratory aspect of the event that both encourages and warms one's heart but it also helps to underline the passing of the years and how much is still to be achieved. So many possible ideas to pursue and yet nowhere near enough time to fulfill them. I could never be one of those self-conscious minimalist types who squeeze out an album once every few years as if it was some gargantuan triumph over a kind of creative constipation, or some precious god-like artefact torn from deep within the soul. Music for apartment dwellers and aging yuppies? That sort of approach feels a little too restricting for me, too tedious and slow and too obviously tweaked to fit a certain marketplace. I prefer the constant fireworks display, the snowstorm of thought, the perpetual fountain of sound. The Kerouac continuous roll. Having said that, 'Sailor Bill' just about exhausted me beyond anything I've ever done before. A lot of work and attention to detail... But it was made over a few months, not years. I'm still very pleased with the way it came out though, compromised or not. Considering I made it on a non-existent budget, without the help of other musicians, engineers or whatever, I think I can allow myself to feel a little pride and satisfaction with regard to the end result. I think that time will vidicate me on this one. Now I'm back in video making mode, creating further videograms to project behind me on next month's concert dates. More slow and painstaking work, but it is getting there, bit by bit. Weather definitely colder now, leaves falling faster from the trees, rain and grey skies, darker earlier. I'm glad we have such seasonal changes and not the less dramatic seasonal uniformity of mediterranean countries. Living here in Yorkshire, the landscape really allows one to see nature's cycle in a vivid and wonderful manner. I consider myself extremely lucky to have such beauty on my doorstep. And, as Nelsonica serves to remind me, to have such beautiful, warm hearted fans to share my music with. I'm hoping to dream up some new ideas to incorporate in next year's Nelsonica, to try and make it even better and more unmissable. With a fair wind and the blessing of the fates. Thanks to everyone involved in this year's event, both on the organisational side and the attendee's side. You gave me a day I'll never forget. Top of page William's Study (Diary Of A Hyperdreamer) October 2005 Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Dec 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2013

Bill's Radio Interviews Bill has done countless radio interviews over the years. In an attempt to try to gather them together, we would like to add them to this page... If you have any audio recordings of Bill's interviews that don't appear here, please get in touch and we can hopefully add them to the list. February 1978 - Radio Hallam Bill visits the Radio Hallam Studio, based in Sheffield, England before heading off to do a show in the town... Much discussion about the new Be Bop Deluxe album 'Drastic Plastic'... The tracks played on the programme have been edited out, so you will need to spin them yourself if you want to recreate the show! 1980 - BBC Radio One A short interview where Bill talks about his Red Noise project, producing The Skids and his album 'Quit Dreaming And Get On The Beam'. 23 May 1981 - BBC Radio One Another short interview, Bill talks about 'Quit Dreaming And Get On The Beam', Cocteau Records, his current tour and the making of a couple of singles from the album. 28 November 1981 - BBC Radio One Bill talks to John Walters about working with the Yorkshire Actors, The Invisibility Exhibition, Cocteau Records and his love of the work of Jean Cocteau. 1982 - ABC Radio (Australia) Triple J Bill is visited at his home for this chat with an Australian interviewer. He talks about the 'Quit Dreaming And Get On The Beam' album, plus the Cocteau Records label and releasing local bands like 'Last Man In Europe'. There's also a super-cute moment when Bill's daughter Elle pops in to say goodnight to her dad... 30 April 1983 - BBC Radio One Bill is the guest on BBC Radio 1's Saturday Live show, he discusses his album Chimera, his Cocteau record label and working with Fiat Lux and Gary Numan. 14 December 1985 - BBC Radio One With the release of the individual albums from the 'Trail By Intimacy' box set, Bill talks about the writing and recording process, working on David Sylvian's 'Gone To Earth' album, and his approach and ideas for video production. 19 May 1995 - WFMU Upsala College Bill is in the radio studio with Chris Beyer. As well as a nice long interview, Bill plays live in the studio to backing tracks of 'Moon Rocket Highway', 'Gloria Mundae', 'Signum Natura', 'Trance And Transcending', 'B-Movie Bug Boy' and 'Themis Aurea'. 13 January 2025 - House of Prog - Telephone interview Bill speaks with Ian Gregson from the Canadian internet radio station House Of Prog. The quality of the phone connection is not great, but well worth a listen. The host also plays a few tunes from Bill's career.

Duplex Bill Nelson retrospective 2CD collection - September 1989 Collections Menu Future Past TRACKS: Vocal Album 01) Flaming Desire (The Love That Whirls album, 1982) 02) Do You Dream In Colour? (single in 1980, then Quit Dreaming And Get On The Beam album, 1981) 03) Acceleration (Remix) (single in 1984, after original on Chimera album, 1983) 04) Living In My Limousine (remix) (single in 1981, after original on Quit Dreaming album, 1981) 05) Hope For The Heartbeat (Remix ) (US promo single in 1982, after original on The Love That Whirls album, 1982) 06) October Man (The Love That Whirls album, 1982) 07) Here And Now (previously unreleased outtake from the Getting The Holy Ghost Across album, 1986) 08) Private View (The Love That Whirls album, 1982) 09) Life In Your Hands (non-album single, 1989) 10) Contemplation (Getting The Holy Ghost Across album, 1986) 11) Glow World (Chimera album, 1983) 12) Another Day, Another Ray Of Hope (Chimera album, 1983) TRACKS: Instrumental Album 01) The Blazing Memory Of Innuendo (Chamber Of Dreams album, part of the Trial By Intimacy album set, 1985) 02) Another Tricky Mission For The Celestial Pilot (Map Of Dreams , 1987) 03) The Angel At The Western Window (Chance Encounters In The Garden Of Lights set, 1987) 04) Portrait Of Jan With Flowers (The Love That Whirls album, 1982) 05) The Man In The Rexine Suit (Savage Gestures For Charms Sake mini-album, 1983) 06) Wiping A Tear From The All Seeing Eye (Scala - Secret Ceremony single, 1987) 07) Right, Then Left (Iconography, 1986) 08) Secret Ceremony (Theme From Brond) (Scala - Secret Ceremony single, 1987) 09) Half Asleep In A Hall Of Mirrors (previously unreleased, theme from the movie Dream Demon, 1988) 10) Broadcast News (previously unreleased, theme from the Channel 4 programme Right To Reply, 1988) 11) Opening (previously unreleased, from the TV production: Henry Moore And Landscape, 1988) 12) Loosening Up With Lady Luck (previously unreleased, from the BBC movie Lucky Sunil, 1988) 13) Metaphysical Jerks (Yukihiro Takahashi - Stranger Things Have Happened single, 1985) 14) The Garden (La Belle Et La Bete album, 1982) 15) Loving Tongues (Pavillions Of The Heart And Soul album, part of the Trial By Intimacy album set, 1985) 16) Burning The Grove Of Satyrs (Chance Encounters In The Garden Of Lights , 1987) 17) Radiant Spires (Chance Encounters In The Garden Of Lights , 1987) 18) Set Me As A Seal Upon Thine Heart (Chance Encounters In The Garden Of Lights , 1987) Vinyl and cassette omitted: Disc 1, track 07), "Here And Now" An extra track "Transition No.3" from La Belle et La Bette, 1982 appeared on the vinyl version. NOTES: Duplex is a double compilation album that was issued on vinyl, cassette and CD by Cocteau Records. At the time of its release, Duplex was the perfect introduction to Bill Nelson's solo work. The material was very neatly separated into a vocal album and an instrumental album. The CD edition included a bonus track in the form of the previously unreleased song, "Here And Now" (track 7 on Disc 1). Tracks 09 - 12 on the Instrumental album were appearing for the first (and only) time. Track 13 had originally appeared on a Yukihiro Takahashi 12" single, "Stranger Things Have Happened", and was an outtake from the Chimera sessions. Note: some confusion was caused due to an erroneous track listing on the Instrumental album: tracks 15 - 18 (D7 - D10 on LP and cassette). The track listing above reflects reality rather than duplicating the error. Duplex was deleted far too soon with the dissolution of the Cocteau Records label in 1990, and copies became virtually impossible to find once existing stocks ran out. CURRENT AVAILABILITY: Currently out of print, there appears to be no plans to reissue this set. BILL'S THOUGHTS: Dream Demon : "My first film score and a horror film at that, plus, after the film was completed and I was in the middle of another project, the company decided to completely re-write and re-film Dream Demon' s ending to make the story's conclusion a little more upbeat and clear. Consequently, I had to compose new music for the new ending, which really put the pressure on. I remember working on one project, (the Henry Moore documentary film), throughout the day and then on the new Dream Demon music into the early hours, getting to bed around four or five am. This was necessary to get the task completed in time for the film's release." Collections Menu Future Past