Be-Bop Deluxe Legend Bill Nelson’s Unreleased Album “Powertron” Available May 3, 2024

Recorded in 2016, “Powertron” has languished in the Bill Nelson archives for eight years.

A potent collection of twelve pieces that highlight Nelson’s prowess and invention as a guitarist.

“Its genesis came whilst recording tracks for ‘The Jewel’ album. Amongst these was a track titled ‘Drive Shaft’ which I considered too brash for ‘The Jewel’, but too good to abandon. I decided to create a suitable album to house ‘Drive Shaft’ and ‘Powertron’ was the result. It’s an album of left-field rock songs, mainly vocal but layered with loud and edgy guitars. It will appeal to those who enjoy the wilder side of my work.” - Bill Nelson

 billnelson.com

 

Track list:
01) Fascinating Noise
02) A River On The Edge Of Time
03) Dreams And Smoke (Flow With The River)
04) The Moon Came In My Window
05) Where's The Wonder?
06) Loose Chippings
07) When I Don't Feel Blue
08) Moments In The Day
09) Fair Winds And Steam Machines
10) Sailing My Boat
11) Laughing Sailors, Raging Seas
12) Drive Shaft

Pre-order CD: https://burningshed.com/store/billnelson/bill-nelson_powertron_cd

Also available:
“Starlight Stories” - https://burningshed.com/store/billnelson/bill-nelson_starlight-stories_cd
“All The Fun Of The Fair” - https://www.billnelson.com/fun-of-the-fair

Bill Nelson’s “Starlight Stories” Now Available!

Bill Nelson’s “Starlight Stories” is an album comprising a mixture of song based and instrumental material issued on the Sonoluxe label in a limited edition of 1000 copies, and available digitally.

Despite being recorded during the same 2022 recording sessions that produced the “All The Fun Of The Fair” album, “Starlight Stories” has a wholly different atmosphere and intent.

Wistful and melancholic, the album contains dreamy meditations fed through the filter of Bill Nelson's contemporary musical sensibility.

“The inspiration for many of the songs came from my memories of a set of children’s story books, published in the 1920s, that my Mother had owned when she was a child in the early 1930s. She had kept these books and would read to me from them when I was an infant in the early 1950s. They were thick, heavy bound books with embossed covers and had titles such as ‘The Golden Wonder Book For Children’. They were brilliantly illustrated by artists who displayed a combination of Art Nouveau and Art Deco styles. The books contained stories by famous authors such as HG Wells, Miguel De Cervantes, Homer, William Blake and others, plus poems by various poets, both classical and contemporary to those times. I was entranced by the wonderful stories and illustrations they contained. They had an aura of magic and mystery about them, with fairy tales and evocatively British poetry, filled with seasonal and rustic imagery. A treasure trove of fantasy and adventure, which I loved.

‘Starlight Stories’ doesn’t attempt to directly portray those old books but it does try to capture some of their atmosphere and manifest my nostalgia for them. Consequently, the songs on this album have a softer, melancholic quality about them, albeit with some distressed, patina-like textures that evoke the scent and feel of those old books. They are dreamy meditations, wistful reveries fed through the filter of my contemporary musical sensibility. I hope they will, in some small way, connect you with your own lost story books, as well as with mine.” - Bill Nelson 2023. billnelson.com

Be-Bop Deluxe FUTURAMA 3CD/1DVD Limited Edition Deluxe Boxset To Be Released May 3, 2019

Esoteric Recordings is proud to announce the release of a new re-mastered four disc deluxe expanded boxed set limited edition (comprising 3 CDs and a DVD) of FUTURAMA the legendary 1975 album by BE-BOP DELUXE.

Recorded in the first two months of 1975 at Rockfield studios (with some sessions also taking place at SARM studios in London), FUTURAMA was the second album by Be-Bop Deluxe and the first to feature the line-up of BILL NELSON (vocals, guitars, keyboards), CHARLIE TUMAHAI (bass, vocals) and SIMON FOX (drums). Produced by Roy Thomas Baker (who at the time was also working with Queen), FUTURAMA was an album of immense musical inventiveness and creativity and was a huge leap forward in creative terms for Bill Nelson.

The album gained much praise thanks to Bill Nelson’s composition skills and his highly innovative guitar playing. Featuring such wonderful material as ‘Maid in Heaven’, ‘Sister Seagull’, ‘Music in Dreamland’, ‘Sound Track’, ‘Between the Worlds’, ‘Jean Cocteau’ and ‘Swan Song’, the album would see Be Bop Deluxe heralded as one of the most accomplished acts of 1975.

This expanded reissue has been newly re-mastered from the original master tapes and features an additional 36 bonus tracks drawn from a stunning new 5.1 surround sound & stereo mixes from the original multi-track tapes by award winning engineer Stephen W. Tayler, a previously unreleased out-take from the album sessions, a previously unissued BBC Radio “In Concert” performance from May 1975 (thought “lost” for some years), a rare John Peel Show session from March 1975, along with a previously unreleased 1975 Harvest Records promotional video for ‘Maid in Heaven’ and a session for BBC TV’s “Old Grey Whistle Test” show from July 1975.

Another highlight of this limited edition boxed set is the lavishly illustrated 68-page book with many previously unseen photographs and an essay of recollections by Bill Nelson. Additionally, the set includes a facsimile Record Store poster for FUTURAMA, replica track sheets, and postcards. This special deluxe limited edition boxed set of FUTURAMA is a fitting tribute to a fine band, the creative vision of Bill Nelson and a wonderful album.

 Futurama

 

Bill Nelson's official website: www.billnelson.com

New BE-BOP DELUXE SUNBURST FINISH Documentary Featuring Bill Nelson and Producer John Leckie

Esoteric Recordings has recently released a new re-mastered four disc deluxe expanded boxed set limited edition (comprising 3 CDs and a DVD) of SUNBURST FINISH the legendary 1976 album by BE-BOP DELUXE. Founding band member, guitarist and songwriter Bill Nelson and legendary producer John Leckie, who co-produced the album with Bill, are featured in a new documentary about the SUNBURST FINISH sessions. Filmed in York, England at Bill’s residence, the documentary was researched & directed by Matt Bristow. Filmed & Edited by Mark J. Freeman (markjfreeman.co.uk) for Cherry Red Records. 

Recorded in the Autumn of 1975 at Abbey Road studios (with some sessions also taking place at AIR studios in London), SUNBURST FINISH was the third album by Be-Bop Deluxe and the first to feature the line-up of BILL NELSON (vocals, guitars, keyboards), CHARLIE TUMAHAI (bass, vocals), ANDY CLARK (keyboards) and SIMON FOX (drums). It was also the first BE-BOP DELUXE album to be co-produced by BILL NELSON and JOHN LECKIE. An album of immense musical inventiveness and creativity, SUNBURST FINISH was one of the finest albums of its era, a perfect cohesion of ten classic songs written by BILL NELSON (featuring his highly imaginative guitar playing) and a stylized and striking artwork package. Featuring such classic material as “Heavenly Homes”, “Crying to the Sky”, “Sleep that Burns”, “Life in the Air Age”, “Crystal Gazing” and “Blazing Apostles”, the album also spawned the hit single “Ships in the Night” and launched BE-BOP DELUXE as one of the major breakthrough acts of 1976.


This expanded reissue has been newly re-mastered from the original master tapes and features an additional 39 bonus tracks drawn from a stunning new 5.1 surround sound & stereo mixes from the original multi-track tapes by award winning engineer Stephen W. Tayler, previously unreleased out-takes from the album sessions, a BBC Radio “In Concert” performance from January 1976, a rare John Peel Show session from February 1976 (unavailable on CD for over twenty years), along with an unissued and previously unreleased 1976 Harvest Records promotional video for “Ships in the Night” and a session for BBC TV's “Old Grey Whistle Test” show from January 1976.

Another highlight of this limited edition boxed set is the lavishly illustrated 68-page book with many previously unseen photographs and an essay of recollections by Bill Nelson. Additionally, the set includes a facsimile of the 1976 SUNBURST FINISH tour programme, postcards and a replica poster. This special deluxe limited edition boxed set of SUNBURST FINISH is a fitting tribute to a fine band, the creative vision of Bill Nelson and a wonderful album.

To order BE-BOP DELUXE SUNBURST FINISH 3CD/1DVD Limited Edition Deluxe Boxed Set: Sunburst Finish

Bill Nelson's official website: www.billnelson.com