Ok, I'm not posting anything new here and I would imagine almost every forum member has probably seen this interview.
However, for anyone that hasn't and any people new to Bill's overall work, past and present, then this interview with Bill Nelson and Mark Powell of Esoteric Recordings/Cherry Red, is a cracker!
It's a brilliant interview all round, great structure and good questions and an absolute pleasure to see Bill reminisce those events/times, and colour in the picture. There's no 'awkwardness', due mainly to Mark Powell knowing his stuff, and Bill ofc, which obviously puts Bill at ease from the off, resulting in a wonderfully relaxed and insightful interview = great stuff!😎
It's Bill Nelson weekend again at our house, on the music front and were playing a mixed bag, old and new.
I picked out Futurama, as one of the 'oldies', as it was the first Be-Bop album I bought back in 1975, as a 15 year old, which blew my socks off at the time and made me an instant, and indeed lifelong, fan and really opened my eyes to music.
I continue to this very day, with a similar excitement and enthusiasm I had back then, buying and listening to new Bill Nelson recordings, as I would imagine most of us do here, and long may it continue.
Anyway, I watched this YT video again, a little after midnight and thoroughly enjoyed it. I could listen to Bill reminisce like this, all night long...magic!
I started guitar late too, about 1973-74. The timeline mentions the other Simon – Andy Clark – as Sir Simon. Without support from Peel and the BBC, I don't think BBD would have succeeded as much as they have. I really had hoped at one point that they could have reformed as a sideline project of Bill. Now many touring nostalgia bands have no original members (e.g., the Allman Brothers) or are even down to one original member. To have Simon Fox, Andy Clark and Bill would have such a would have been a gold mine.
I think Futurama was definitely a marker and the starting point where you could say, ok, Be Bop Deluxe are a serious band..they could stand their ground, easily, with any other professional bands around..It was also an album that really showcased Bill Nelson as a guitar virtuoso and displayed just what a capable and gifted player he was, and it didn't water that down in the slightest, and now also supported with equally capable musicians, that transformed the identity of Be Bop Deluxe from a 'semi-professional' band, to a seriously good professional band, with world-class potential.
One of the things that really strikes me, even to this day, is the complexity of the arrangements of some of those songs, a point highlighted in this interview. When you consider the limits of the technology used to record back then, including fx etc, and everything else, in comparison to what is available today, it's quite something to think they were able to achieve the expansive vision and depth of sound Bill was after (It sounds like Bill is pretty happy with the results) and capture it, and the almost cumbersome nature involved, and how time consuming to actually do it, it's a pretty amazing achievement.
I didn't even look at the timeline, but I'm reasonably sure Simon Fox has not been knighted..Nice thought though, especially in the world of drummers..he was superb. Hope all's well with him, and Andy Clark.
Be Bop Deluxe always meant so much to me during the '70s. I started playing guitar around 1974 and Bill just lit up that side of things for me...I always loved their music and Bill's vision of change, that constant evolvement of sound, direction and style, from album to album, always massively appealed to me. So much a fresh thing back then, instead of treading water and rehashing the same old thing, like many band were doing, albeit great bands and musicians..And yes, agreed, the sharp Italian bespoke suits and slick hair cuts etc, genius, also massively appealing, such a fresh burst and a delightful middle-finger to the denim clad rockers uniform of the time..great stuff.
That's enough of me prattling, but glad you mention John Peel. He was an amazing man in the world of music, and was an instrumental part in the success of many bands and artists..We'll never really see DJs and shows like his again.
Just a little side-note, I think I'm one of those rather lucky Be Bop Deluxe fans that actually likes all the albums, studio (and live), equally. I look at them as what they are, different recordings captured in their own specific moment in time, each moving on from the other and each equally valid in the overall musical jigsaw and connecting thread...Look at the massive difference between Axe Victim and Drastic Plastic, and the difference between all of them..but that's definitely a huge part of the appeal for me, and why I like them all as much as each other..😉😎
A good interview. It says Recruiting Sir Simon on the bottom time-line, and I'm thinking did Simon get knighted? Also, it said John Lennon, but it was really about John Peel. So I'm thinking it's a couple of mistakes. But everybody was relaxed and grooving to the past. I have Futurama, but it really didn't make that much of an impact on me. What started me off on my Be Bop Deluxe journey was hearing Sunburst Finish on BOAC traveling to England. I thought what quirky and catchy music – music that comes at you with sharp angles and with a tinge of religious humor. The look of suits and haircut went against the whole hippie vibe, so Be Bop stuck out – but not way out there like the Tubes or Devo which tended towards a camp esthetic or bent on giving you a kamikaze ride through the universe. Be Bop was sensible and charming, for people with a quirky itch that needed scratching. They would never be the Beatles, or mainstream, but could still carve out a fairly decent career if marketed right. John Peel was instrumental. I know so little about John Peel. Nevertheless, John Peel was significant in getting BBD and new music out to the listening public. He had a good ear to spot talent and Be Bop Deluxe was the obvious choice.