I mentioned this elsewhere, but let’s give a thread to Fiat Lux. They are being included here in William’s World because they were the band with whom Ian Nelson very nearly made it big.
Between 1982 and 1985, they went through all the right stages: critically acclaimed indie single produced by well-known name (er, yes, none other than Bill himself); major label contract; very-near-miss singles; support from BBC Radio 1 DJs; hotly anticipated debut album; and…
Well that’s where it went wrong. The album didn’t happen because the label insisted on a proper hit single before releasing it. The nearly completed album tapes surfaced many years later and in that form are still easily found online (search under ‘Fac Ut Vivas’). The promo video and live footage compilation VHS tape – see Y**T*be – included songs that were never released but would have been on the album.
Then followed thirty years of a strong awareness that this was not a good end to a story.
Ian’s death in 2006 emphasised that this was a band that would never be likely to get its moment in the sun. In the years that followed, Bill mentioned a couple of times his own hopes of compiling a CD release for Fiat Lux’s material.
Let’s just appreciate Fiat Lux for a moment. FL are described on Wikipedia and elsewhere as a ‘synthpop band’ and this is fair enough as a quick summary. But actually, very few of the sounds were synths. What stands out these days is the ever-changing combinations of electronic rhythms with clarinet, saxophone, acoustic guitar, rumbling electric bass and the strong, deep tones of singer Steve Wright’s voice. The other special element is the boldness of the arrangements for and between instruments. Best song from the album is ‘The Moment’ - deceptively simple but so beautifully constructed. This band had something special going on. The other member was David Crickmore and he seems to have been the one most keen to move freely between instruments and bring out strong contrasts between sections of individual songs.
So now, in 2019, Cherry Red have finally compiled a 2CD retrospective of Fiat Lux’s career. Basically, it consists of the unreleased album (at last!), plus the six singles (A’s and B’s), plus the two tracks produced by Bill but never released in any form. [Bill recorded FL’s second single (Photography / Comfortable Life) with them but the Polydor people wanted the songs re-recorded for the band’s major label debut].
This stuff is just fabulous and the CD release is all taken from the original mastertapes. While you are over at the Cherry Red site ordering the Futurama re-issue, take a moment to add Fiat Lux’s ‘Hired History Plus’ (named after the singles mini-album that leads the 2CD set) to your order.
And not just that…..
Over at Proper Music https://www.propermusic.com/artist/Fiat-Lux-119055 is the chance to buy the first album by the reformed Fiat Lux (just Wright and Crickmore, with guests). This was released just last week and I must say that (to my surprise) it has turned out to be such a great album. Everything that was uniquely Fiat Lux is still there, particularly in the soaring, interesting use of clarinet and sax – not quite as Ian Nelson would have played them but clearly intended to continue the approach and pay tribute to Ian in where and how they are used. The gorgeous bass and strong vocals are also very much as they should be. The album is called ‘Saved Sympathy’ and is full of strong, sincere songs with rich vocals, clever arrangements and a quality that is simultaneously 1980s and something a bit smarter than that – which is what Fiat Lux always were.
If he’s happy to do so, I’d love to hear Bill’s thoughts on the band and its music and any memories of that time in his brother’s life. Did Cherry Red get in touch about the CD compilation?
Picked a copy up earlier at Action Records in Preston, steal of the week, only a tenner. Photography - cracking song, a blinder when it originally came out and still fantastic. Also, Breaking The Boundary, wouldn’t be out of place today, it’s got melody, hooks, the lot. I’d advise anyone to pick up a copy, if nothing else as a tribute to the sadly missed Ian.
Mick
Love the photo of Ian with his Red Noise shirt! And great to hear this time capsule of unreleased tracks as I had all the singles from back in the day. Can’t help but focus on Ian’s beautiful playing throughout. One of Bill’s best e-bow melodies on one track too!
The CD arrived Saturday. It was immediately transferred to my streamer and played. It's great to hear the tunes again. I can see, (in my mind) why Polydor chose not to release the Bill Nelson versions of Photography and Comfortable Life. Whilst the Bill versions are okay the other versions are in my opinion much better! (Whoops! have I opened the lid on a can of worms?). I stress this is my opinion. I still like the Bill versions but prefer the others. My favourites are It Feels Like Winter Again, This Illness, House of Thorns and Three's Company.
That’s very neat, John – the CD set seems to have reached the USA on the same day it got to the almost-Wales edge of England.
Cherry Red have issued a very well-constructed archive of Fiat Lux’s properly-recorded career. Highly intelligent sleeve notes from Steve and David (dedicating the album to Ian) are revealing and thorough but also calmly reserved – resisting absolutely all temptation to blame or grumble about what went wrong but still being upfront about what they saw happen. They look back with fondness and satisfaction on what seemed like endless days of recording in many impressive studios; this was a band that clearly loved capturing the songs themselves and are delighted now to be creating Fiat Lux music once again.
When I said ‘properly-recorded’ just now I was referring to the sleeve notes’ significant point that there are no outtakes, demos and live filler tracks in the package. Instead, this contains everything that the surviving band members consider as having been completed and fully realised during the band’s three-member recording career.
For a nostalgic old fan such as myself, it’s very weird and very wonderful to have the official history and the latest compositions all released within around a month of each other. This was a band with no proper albums in a 35-year history for goodness sake! I’ll say it now: buy both! Hired History Plus is remarkable value from Cherry Red and Saved Symmetry is a good little package from Proper Music.
The two CD set makes perfect sense sequenced as it is. CD1 is everything from all the singles but missing out some 7” single edits and adding in the until-now-missing original Bill Nelson produced versions of Photography and Comfortable Life. These would have been the second indie Cocteau single but the Polydor contract came along and led to re-recordings of both songs. Photography would still be single number 2 and Comfortable Life would be the b-side for single number 3 – but in smooth, reverb-heavy Hugh Jones produced versions. I can’t say which versions are better: every pulse of the Hugh Jones versions has been as familiar as the back of my own teeth for three decades but the BN versions have a much cooler edginess to them when heard in the totally different context of 2019.
CD2 is … the album: the album that was ready to go as soon as it was given permission to do so by Polydor. That permission never came. The album is now known as Ark of Embers – one of the shortlist of titles it had at the time. It included everything that fans have had as mp3s for several years plus just one unheard additional song, In the Heat of the Night. You might wonder why to buy this… turn it up and hear the album’s full CD quality mastered beautifully – I’m hearing so much more than I have previously.
The packaging has lovely photos and all the strong graphic design elements that enlivened the original singles. But it’s not an over-the-top celebration of some kinds of pop/rock legends – this was just a band that loved writing, recording and playing music that responded to its current influences but had a sound that was their own: the growling bass, soaring woodwind and deep sonorous vocals was a niche that Fiat Lux were and are well aware of. This CD set may not be a huge seller (although I’ve just now discovered that Cherry Red are reporting it is out of stock!) but we buyers of Bill’s 500 CD pressings know all about niche music. Quality and creativity are to be found here and on FL’s 2019 album. This stuff matters!
Let there be light! The CD just arrived here in the states.
Some great pictures of Ian (one in a Red Noise sweatshirt), and at least one small glimpse of Bill.
Bill, love your edgy early versions of "Photography" and "Comfortable Life". For me these beat out the Hugh Jones produced versions by a mile.
Still digging in. Maybe one of you can take over and give a review from a more educated fan's perspective - I'm a casual fan without much knowledge of the (hired) history.
This is excellent news. Thanks for the heads up. I had noticed a digital single release of Secrets (new version) but wasn't aware of new album or Hired History on CD.
Side 1 of my vinyl version of Hired History is an utter joy.
I like what Fiat Lux produced and look forward to the Cherry Red release. It will fill the gaps I have in my collection. I have also secured a copy of Saved Symmetry. I've played the first track and was impressed. I'll play the rest at the weekend. I also have a digitized copy of a BBC Radio 1 In Concert session they did. Correct me if I'm wrong; (as I haven't put it on my sever yet and can't check the details straight away), but I think it was as support to the band Fashion. From memory it's a good one; (not Fashion though, I never liked them).
Though I don't have the Cherry Red CD set yet, the missing versions appear to be:
Photography - 7" single
Aqua Vitae - 12 B-side - probably the one missing (unclear because several different timings are suggested in different places)
Blue Emotion - 7" single
Three's Company - 7" B-side - probably the one missing
Solitary Lovers - 7" single
No More Proud - 7" B-side
Meanwhile, if you can bring yourself to share the contents of that CDR, I'd be thrilled to hear it!
Fiat Lux were a genuinely different band - happy to fit the 'synth thing' that was going one but also keen to do both gentle and sombre sounds using a wider range of instruments and arrangements than their contemporaries.
Yes, Feels Like Winter Again and This Illness are both present on the Cherry Red compilation. The band released six singles: all the A and B sides are included - though not every version/edit/remix of every song.
So is the first Fiat Lux single: This Illness / Feels Like Winter Again that was on Cocteau Signature Tunes?