This issues editorial is being written whilst listening to the first test pressings of ‘Sensoria’ Yes the infamous boxed-set is now in the final stages of production, all the artwork (except the book of photography) now complete. 

Some of you may be aware of a recent single by Cabaret Voltaire, which by some strange coincidence bears the title Sensoria. I was somewhat shocked to learn of this as I've had that particular title attached to my four-album set for over a year now (Regular readers of ABM will obviously realize this) Although my first reaction was to retain the title regardless, the subsequent amount of media attention given to the Cabaret Voltaire single has defused my enthusiasm and so I have reluctantly decided to change it and thereby avoid confusion. The boxed-set is now to be known as ‘Trial by Intimacy (The Book of Splendours)’ 

As well as the change in title there is a great improvement in content. originally there were to be three previously unreleased album and one previously released album (Sounding the Ritual Echo) There will now be four completely new, unreleased albums and "'Ritual Echo," will be re-released in its own right. To whet your appetite there is a complete track-by-track album by album listing on page 14 for "Trial by Intimacy". In all there are eighty three never before-released instrumentals. Bet you can't wait. The book of photography which will be included as part of the package is almost complete and will soon go into production. Also to be included is a set of eight of my drawings in the form of useable postcards which will come shrink-wrapped inside the box. I am very excited about the whole package and am looking forward to holding the finished article in my hands after all this time and hard work. In celebration of its release, I've decided to create a special division of Cocteau Records to release it. This will be known as a ‘Cocteau Connoisseur' and will only be used for special and highly selective works. 

Another branch of the label is the ‘Cocteau Collectors’ series of recordings which will deal exclusively with rare and archive material. Soon to be released as part of this series is a double album entitled "The Two-Fold Aspect of Everything. Record one in the double pack is "Eaux d’artifice" a collection of obscure B-sides, bonus tracks and never before available in album form. Record two, "Confessions of a Four-Track Mind" is a selection of old and rare four-track demo of songs that never quite saw the light of day. Curious stuff ......  

Since the last A.B.M. I've completed the conversion of' The Echo Observatory from eight to sixteen track recording. The new-look studio sounds very good considering the economics of its budget and I am currently busy recording backing tracks for first Holy Epic/Portrait album which should be available in the Spring of 1985. It's title is "Getting the Ghost Across." As yet, there are no complete lyrics so I can't give you individual song 7 titles or a running order (although this information will of course appear in a future issue of A.B.M.) Meanwhile, enjoy this issue’s E.P. "Giants of the Perpetual Wurlitzer" which makes use of some of the new equipment. 

You may recall my enthusiasm for a band known as Man Jumping (A.B.M. 10) Well they have now made their first album for Cocteau Records which will be in the shops as you read this. The album is called "Jump Cut" and is simply superb. Ignore it at your peril... 

Once again the Christmas season is upon us and I am looking forward to the traditional celebrations to be held here at Nelson Acres .... the usual log fires, party hats and strong wine! I must admit that despite the lack of what the media calls "public profile", I've been very, very busy with various projects this year, projects which are only now reaching fruition. There is much for you to listen to and look at, and I only hope it has been worthwhile. For myself, I am reaching the point of exhaustion and I need to take some sort of break once the vocal album is completed. My moods wander between Euphoria and Despair and there comes a time when one's mind needs to be cleaned so that fresh ideas and ideals can be formulated. All I know is that there is much more to come in 1985. 

This issues optional accessories are: "The Collected Works of Austin Osman Spare," "Liber Null" by Peter Carroll, "Alchemy, The Great Work" by Cherry Gilchrist, "Ravellette, The Rosicrucians Story" by Paschal Beverly Randolph MD and "A Little Girl Dreams of Taking the Veil" by Max Ernst....(all books). Clothes have been disgustingly sloppy and casual due to incarceration in the Echo Observatory. Food has been home made stew and dumplings, Sunday Lunch at the Crown pub in a nearby village and the occasional evening out at "The Maltings" Italian Restaurant in Selby. Cologne has been "Santos" by Cartier and TV has been "Fairly Secret Army" and "Thomas the Tank Engine." Dreams have been vivid, disturbing and of perversely sexual nature. And I thought I’d grown up....... 

Merry Christmas !! 
Much Love 

Bill Nelson 
November 84 

The Real Adventure..... currently engaged in most absorbing research ... 

Plans were laid in the early months of this year, after a short but productive meeting at CBS in Soho Square, which also happened to be Bill’s first visit to his new record company in the UK. I was naturally late as befitted such an important meeting, though Bill was actually conveniently absorbed in an interview with a Canadian journalist; he smiled politely looking unconcerned about the delay. Walking through the CBS offices for the meeting, I couldn't help but notice Modern Romance looking through publicity shots and posters - of themselves, naturally. 

I like Bill Nelson very much and always have done, ever since purchasing a copy of "Futurama" in or around 1975. I remember that particular LP having a great affect on me, the whole production being something rather special. Not only were the lyrics fascinating, intuitive and quite beautiful, the music itself was powerful and intoxicating. The immediate instinct was to take a deeper look and investigate, which I have been doing consciously and unconsciously ever since. I have been well hooked from that point in time. I went to see Bill play with Be Bop Deluxe at my then home town of Hemel Hempstead, at the Pavilion. After an amazing show - Perspex tubes full of dry ice, burning guitars, blistering guitar solos and amazing songs, I managed to sneak backstage to meet the man himself. Andy Clark took me back, Bill stood quietly at the back of the dressing room while the rest of Be Bop carried on noisily, making the most of the evening's triumphs. Bill was dressed casually (after the smart stage suit), wearing neatly pressed white trousers, a white and red hooded sweater and neck-scarf, with a lady equally elegant and quiet by his side, whom I later discovered was Mrs. Deluxe. I remember getting my programme signed up by the band and leaving without exchanging more than a few words with Bill. I left with a strengthened opinion of the man, his music and his character, and I had been chuffed to bits to meet him. A long-lasting, subconscious feeling followed, a feeling that said, "This man is something quite special." Time has proved that feeling well. 

By reading this, then it is more or less certain that you too have become equally absorbed and involved with Bill's musical genius. Perhaps not only that, maybe it's his overall intelligence or modesty, maybe his sense of style and individualism, probably a combination of all these elements. Whatever, I personally cannot pigeon-hole Bill Nelson's natural iridescence so simply shining through words and music, drawings and writing is a dexterous ability which is quite intangible. To purchase one of Bill Nelson's records is to take out a life-long subscription, and be excited and inspired by every new issue which appears. Every release a logical extension of his own very individual musical experiments, and after every release it always feels like the obvious move In his ever evolving career. 

The path of research for this book has, so far, been not dissimilar to the kind of route Bill has taken with his life's work itself. We have gradually been working through his lifetimes portfolio and made notes accordingly. Many long weekends have so far been absorbed entirely for the book, to which I am eternally grateful to Bill (and of course Jan, for the kind hospitality and lovely food). We have filled up around 16 hours of tape in conversation (so far), which has included thorough observations about all of Bill's albums and those he has been involved with, his life and feelings generally. All of this related to the people around him and those he works and has worked with. Without trying to destroy the album’s meanings for the individuals, by looking too deeply into them. we have managed to build a picture and feeling about each one, Occasionally we have uncovered some of the more cryptic and intentionally concealed meanings of the songs. Much of the time, that clever, cryptic mind of Bill's has hidden clues, emotions and secrets - some of which are destined to remain secrets to the end of time. As work on that side of the hook continued, It became less and less alarming to find the cleverest puzzles stitched into the most familiar songs - and my previous impressions about the pure quality of the writing and the music simply increased accordingly. 

To gain a full picture of the man behind the music, we always felt it would he necessary to talk widely about any relevant topic which we stumbled upon.  The obvious things of course, sprung to mind quite early on.  We recorded Bill's earliest recollections; childhood, school,  and early friendships.  Travels, places, recordings, influences and experiences - all of these through to deener conversations about Rosicrucianism, magic, religion and inevitably, Jean Cocteau. We've played old acetates, unreleased recordings, videos and 8mm footage, some of it shot whilst recording 'Drastic Plastic' in the South of France.

To help enhance these detailed conversations and observations, we travelled into Wakefield a couple of times to look around and visit old haunts, some of which are illustrated with this piece. It was also a proper excuse for Bill to go back and see places he hasn't been back to or seen properly for years.  Our first stop one warm June evening, was outside the old stationary office, where Bill suffered as a clerk in his formative years prior to BeBop.  The building had long been closed and looked ripe for demolition.  Although Bill hated everyday he spent there, a hint of sadness could be detected in his voice about the impending doom of the building.  He told me of some of the experiences there.  "I used to sit up at that window while the rest of BeBop would be waiting in the van there for me, I couldn't wait to get off and play - one eye out of the window and one on the clock." Bill said as we parked outside. We also visited all his early homes and school and while at his secondary school, lngs Road, Bill was very upset when he couldn't force an entry to look inside the old building!

One of the first homes Bill lived in was at Coniston Crescent, and on visiting that house, he again expressed an interest to look inside.  It took little prompting for me to go and knock on the front door, which at first slightly worried Bill, but in seconds he was by my side, waiting for the door to open.  It didn't, much to Bill's relief and he said immediately "Great, nobody's in, let's go 'round the back and look at the garden!" With this, I followed Bill who was totally in his element and deeply retrospective, feeling around in his imagination for what once was.  In that garden, we found the little side shed open, which used to be his dad's shed.  Bill walked in and everything flooded back . "I'm sure I can smell the solder" Bill whispered to me trying hard not to disturb that magical atmosphere.  The shed had evidently had the internal appearance of an electricians Aladdin's cave, full of bits and pieces for electrical applications.  Bill's father (Walter Nelson) was something of a local electronics professor' by all accounts, from that shed came the Nelson families first TV set, built from scratch by Bill's father especially for the Coronation of 1953.  And so the experiences continued, I was rather pleased though to get back to Bill's Porsche, though expecting at any time to be arrested for attempting to liberate a garden spade or worse.


The background work has been spread over a number of months, simply to fit both Bill's and my own schedule.  Since Bill returned from the USA, work has progressed nicely.  The bonuses of involved research filled days at Nelson acres, has been the joys of not only staying at, their gorgeous home, but also sharing long and friendly weekends with the Nelsons.  Life goes on up there as normal of course, whether I am there or anyone else.  During our many taped conversations it became a ritual for Elliot to come shouting into any of the rooms we were occupying, only to get his dad chasing him out again saying "Not now Elliot, you know I'm working!"  Of course, that's sometimes not enough for a mite as determined as as young Elliot Nelson, and we often had to secretly change our location in the house or lock the lounge off completely to continue work.  Elle gets prettier every time I visit, and I normally spend most meal times trying to compete pulling faces with her, only when Jan's back is turned otherwise we both get told off!  I normally get a little drawing from her every time I leave for home though, which I stick above my desk, and yes, they certainly have promise.

Since the first of my many trips to deepest Yorkshire, The Echo Observatory has notably taken a turn for the better. my first look at the room holds no comparison against the way it looks now.  The old faithful 8 track has been replaced by a beautiful 16 track Fostex and large mixing desk which now gives the room the appearance of a mini space craft.  On the walls are prints, posters and postcards by Cocteau, Man Ray and Picasso.  The windows are decked out in snazzy red blinds that cast shadows in the most glorious red hues across the carpets the sun shines in across the room - a most impressive sight for sure.

In the first week in the nearly operational studio, Bill had managed to 'knock -off' some ten finished tracks, all instrumentals, and all quite beautiful and stunning in their execution.  All this was made on equipment Bill knew very little about and was really just nlaying with.  One or two of them, in my humble opinion, are some of the best instrumental tracks he has ever recorded - mini classics indeed.

At the beginning of another week-end's work, Bill took me un to the Studio and played me that new, practically improvised material.  We sat there, virtually without sneaking, listening to the labours of a week's work, as Bill played each track directly from the Sony video tape where he now stores all finished recordings made at the Echo Observatory - I was knocked out with the new material, and Bill made it seem quite effortless.  I am personally still trying to come to terms with the Sensoria material which Bill plays in the car on our travels around Selby and Wakefield, but to be confronted with fresher inspirations is something else.  Incidentally, you will fall in love with Sensoria as soon as you hear it, its charms are addictive. 

Time away from Yorkshire has been spent trying to co-ordinate all the material I have so far collected.  As you can imagine, there is one hell of a lot of work to be done if it is to reflect the quality of the man himself.  Periphery interviews are well underway.  Informative afternoons have already been spent with Bill's mother, Ian Nelson, Richard Jobson, Alan Quinn, Stuart Adamson, Leon Phillips etc etc.  I get the kind of comments from these people that I know Bill himself would never forward.  The work so far, has been a real joy to do and the hard work is well underway after the fun, with this book I hope to provide some of the answers to the questions surrounding the mystery of Bill Nelson - perhars the book will also help to focus a little more attention upon the man himself for those less acquainted with the all important history.  If it helps to introduce some new-comers into the fold, all the better.


There is a lot of work to do and Mark's predictions about publication time is about right.  I will definitely keep you posted on further developments with the book and write further pieces for the club magazine.  Until then, I really must quit dreaming and get on that beam

Kevin Cann

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