Bill Nelson (musician)

Bill Nelson (born 18 December 1948 in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England as William Nelson) is an English guitarist, songwriter, record producer, painter and photographer. In the nearly half a century ongoing musical career, Nelson published with his bands and solo over 100 albums.

Biography

Bill Nelson comes from a musical family. His father Walter Nelson was saxophonist and leader of a dance band, his mother Jean was active in a dance group. In the relationship, there were other musicians, and Bill's brother Ian Nelson (1956-2006) was also a saxophonist and member of the New Wave band Fiat Lux

Bill attended the Wakefield College of Art, where he learned to appreciate the work of French writer, director and artist Jean Cocteau. As a teenager he began to play on the electric guitar; to his models he counted Duane Eddy and Hank Marvin. He made the first recordings with a band called Global Village, which disbanded in 1968. As a session musician he worked for the record label Holyground Records.

1970s

In 1971, Bill Nelson's first solo album Northern Dream; John Peel played in his radio broadcast regularly pieces of it. It came to a recording contract with EMI and establishing the progressive rock band Be-Bop Deluxe, whose debut album Axe Victim 1974 came out. With completely new cast - except, of course, Nelson - the group played one another four studio albums and one live album before Nelson disbanded it in 1978.

With his new band, the New Wave group Red Noise, which also included his brother Ian, Bill Nelson, published 1979, the album Sound - On - Sound and two singles. A second album was recorded, but not released by EMI. With a revised version, Quit Dreaming And Get On The Beam, released on Mercury Records in 1981, Nelson began a solo career. Quit Dreaming And Get On The Beam and in 1982 released The Love That Whirls ( Diary Of A Thinking Heart ) were the most commercially successful albums Nelson - both reached the top ten of the UK album charts.

1980s

In 1980, Nelson, along with Mark Rye label Cocteau Records, on which is essentially the extensive production Nelsons appeared. The first release was the single "Do You Dream In Colour? ", Which reached # 52 in the UK charts.

In the 1980s, Nelson worked occasionally with other artists - 1983 he produced, for example, Gary Numan album Warrior. Cooperation with major record companies in America was not particularly successful: a contract with CBS Records ended after the release of an album On A Blue Wing (1986 ), which had previously appeared in England with a different title sequence as Getting The Holy Ghost Across. The subsequent contract with Enigma Records found with the resolution of the label in 1991 to an end.

1990s and beyond

After disputes with his ex - manager Nelson won back the rights to his earlier publications. In the 1990s he founded the label Populux on which he, however, 1998 is the last released an album. His subsequent albums appeared on other labels.

Many of Nelson's albums were re-released over time. In addition, there were a number of compilation albums. 2011 brought Esoteric Recordings out the 8- CD package The Practice Of Everyday Life, which presents 40 years of the career of Bill Nelson.