Although some proggy touches on the earlier albums, but by the last BeBop album (Drastic Plastic), Bill was taking more inspiration from the new wave. His next album, under the name of Bill Nelson's Red Noise, was a move further towards new wave.
After that, he ran into problems in getting material released - the first album as Bill Nelson, Quit Dreaming And Get On The Beam, was only released 3 years after it was recorded. Bill then became a one man cottage industry, and has been very prolific over the last 30 years. His new material is now released only through his excellent website www.billnelson.com He keeps a regular (if sometimes sporadically updated) diary on the website. He is currently working with EMI on new versions of the BeBop albums, so I imagine he will get some income from those once they are finished (which could take a while as Bill is notoriously fastidious).

in 1976, touring "Sunburst Finish". Great gig as I recall. Bill was still having a go at the guitar hero stuff, and the band were very tight. Bill encored with a flaming guitar which (I think) was broken up ( or maybe not ).

...for Be Bop Deluxe Deluxe CDs then...?

I had that album and one other. They were okay then but have they stood the test of time? Do you think we look back with rose tinted spectacles.I remember having the Greenslade albums which have now been reissued as two for ones. I loved them at the time - what will I think now? Should I give them a shot?

Is the one I had and still have. Weird mixture of Bowie-esque vocal mannerisms and very deft speedy guitar playing. Later he got poppier e.g. "Maid in heaven". I saw them in, oooo, 79? Good live. As posted above, he's very eclectic and diverse now.

Good podcast here where he talks a lot about his music and you get bits of recent stuff. BTW, other good 'casts available on Voiceprint if you're not scared of something slightly proggy. The Ant Phillips one esp good. Also the Francis Dunnery one.

http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/bill-nelson/id206171100

touring "Axe Victim" as support to Cockney Rebel at the time "Judy Teen" was climbing into the Top30. What a marvellous gig it was, too. This was the early BBD line-up and I saw the later one with Charlie Tumahai in the band: even better.

There's a terrific compilation called "Raiding The Divine Archive" which might be out of print now but is a very good overview. "Futurama," "Axe Victim" and "Sunburst Finish" are probably my favourite LPs. There's a few good solo compilations around but Bill's music is so varied you're probably best off trying to sample it and then buying. (And you should buy it: Bill's probably a case study in how to try to run a cottage industry operation for a small but die-hard fanbase.)

late last year: http://www.wordmagazine.co.uk/content/bill-nelson-a-lost-cultural-icon

which is not to say we shouldn't be discussing them now. BBD were good,as was the Red Noise album and "Quit Dreaming...". Whether they were great is a different matter, but Bill Nelson is definitely a musician many Word readers would enjoy and is worth checking out.

...I like the spirit of Bill's website. I can empathise with where's he at/who he is, as it were, while also thinking he's probably not fulfilling his potential vis a vis a wider fanbase, having cut himself off from live music etc for so long.

In a way, he's like a second division Robert Fripp - what with the cottage industry web based situation, the slew of ambient recordings after a proggy/axe-hero 70s heyday, the reliance on a core of fans to keep buying prolific amounts of stuff and the virtual withdrawal from 'conventional' live performance.

He strikes me as EXACTLY the kind of guy WORD should be interviewing - him, Julian Cope, Half Man Half Biscuit.... all these cranky mavericks who operate outside whatever remains of the system!

...ever since I saw BBD at Newcastle City Hall - can't even remember when, but Charlie Tumahai was in them then - subsequently bought lots of vinyl, including Red Noise and solo stuff when he had Cocteau Records. Shine still comes up on my iPod from time to time and I still love it. Anyone know where the sampled voice comes from?

Has anyone had any success downloading the podcast - won't work for me?

and for me, this one encapsulates best what they were about. Shame it's such a crappy quality clip

... is a GREAT compilation, if you can find it !

In the 70s the Daily Mirror did a daily gig guide. If you followed this there were basically only two bands in the UK..BBD and Woody Woodmansey's U-Boat.

Toffee the Cat ...that weird cornish voice talking about " halos spinning around his head and everything " on Shine is Simon Fox , the Be- Bop drummer , adding his vocal skills to the funk .

Be- Bop were simply one of the classiest bands of the mid 70s and were the perfect bridge between glam / prog of 71-73 and the new wave of 77-78 . Some of the best live gigs of my mis-spent youth were Be-Bop at Bradford St. Georges Hall .

If you want to have a taste of Bill's recent work which recalls lots of Be-Bop style I'd recommend Fancy Planets from a couple of years ago . It should still be available through his website .

....hung upon these silver strings....