Bill Nelson's Diary - July 2004
Saturday, 3 July 2004 -- LATE
On more than one
occasion, I've questioned the wisdom of attempting to present the forthcoming
30 year celebration tour under the sometimes less than favourable circumstances
that always seem to accompany these reckless ambitions of mine. During the last
couple of weeks though, I've begun to seriously wonder about my own sanity. I
seem to be beset by continuous problems and doubts and almost, a few days ago,
came to the conclusion that far too much was stacked against me and that I
should simply stick to recording studio work and relinquish the live stage
forever. The reasons for this are far too personal and complicated to explain
here but it has felt like such an uphill struggle that my self-perceived
megalomania could be the only thing that has kept me on track. It's a track
obscured by the 'wrong kind of leaves on the line' though, in typical British
Railway fashion. I'm sure other people could cope with all this stress better
than I but, right now, I feel terribly fragile. I'm doing my best to disguise it
though, trying to appear defiant, strong and confident, but the truth is, I'm as
filigree as a snowflake.
The old stress related patterns have emerged:
waking up at 4 am with a head full of things to be done...constantly listing
problems to be solved, logistics to be assessed, what if this happens, what if
that happens, safety measures, contingencies and so on. There was a time, back
in the 1970's when I used to come up with concepts for tours and a team of
dedicated and talented crew members would go away, do the research, find the
right people to execute the ideas and come back to me and say, "There you go
Bill, is this what you had in mind?" A few adjustments and we'd be away, all I
then needed to do was rehearse the band....The technical staff and practical
arrangements were all coordinated by Be Bop's tour manager Paul Bailey and crew
boss Robbie Wilson whose talents I probably took far too much for granted back
then. Boy, were they good at their jobs. And the band was pretty nifty
too. Maybe I'm only now beginning to realise this.
I'm determined not to
let things beat me...everything is happening far later than it should, even some
of the concerts aren't confirmed yet, though several have been 'inked in'. The
first date, which is supposed to be Sheffield, is floating around in some void
or other, partly because the venue is more than likely not up to the standard
I'm trying to hit with these concerts and partly because even if it was, there's
still no definite date fixed, only rumoured. What a lark! All of this means
I can't announce a definite starting and ending date for the band's rehearsal's
yet. Nor book a rehearsal space for the three weeks I need to get everyone in
shape for what will be a physically and musically demanding set. Trouble up 't
mill? Well, it's a bugger, Mr. Arkwright, and no doubt about it! Haven't even
decided what the set will be yet. Pushing my luck? Bloody right I am!
Have
been working on the various new albums that are intended to accompany the tour
(and fan convention Nelsonica 04). My friend Dave Graham has done an excellent
job on the convention album packaging design. I sent him a series of 'digital
paintings' I've made, kind of candy-coloured Bridget Riley op-art panels. Dave's
set them into the framework of the album's packaging and come up with a typeface
for the text. 'Wah-Wah Galaxy' looks cool and quite minimal. Kind of timely
considering Tate Britain's present '60's art retrospective exhibition. Must
catch that one before it closes. If I can find the time. 'Satellite Songs',
the album of demos that I'd originally put together for the band to re-record
has also begun to take visual shape as far as packaging design goes. I've sent
Dave a heavily processed photograph that I took inside the Tate Modern gallery
in London a few months ago. It's unrecognisable as such, looking like some
abstracted future cityscape. Dave has set this image in a 'moderne',
art-deco-ish framework and it looks good. I still need to send him some interior
shots and get my buddy Jon Wallinger to transcribe lyrics for the sleeve notes
too. This latter held up by the fact that I've suddenly decided to completely
re-arrange the musical content of the album. I've recorded two new songs,
originally with the intention of adding them to the existing running order but,
after trying this, made the reckless decision to completely scrap the previous
track list and start over again. I've now dumped two of the earlier tracks, so
although the track count still stands at twelve songs, two of the original
compositions have been replaced by brand new ones. So, THREE albums in the
pipeline in total (including 'Custom Deluxe'), all of which I'm about to master
with the talented and sonically aware John Spence at Fairview Studio's in a
couple of weeks time. Let's hope my 'Guardian Engineer' can sprinkle enough
fairy dust on these humble demos to turn them into a half-decent sounding album.
John hasn't failed me yet.
Domestic front: The big old willow tree in front
of the house had to be cut down. The tree surgeon said it was dead, despite a
few half-hearted leaves sprouting from the furthest branches. I was truly sad to
see it chopped down, branch by branch, then the massive trunk which shook the
house terribly when it fell. Its absence completely changes the look and
character of our home, but not for the better. It was like losing an old friend.
I must try to plant the largest semi-mature tree I can afford to atone for its
loss. The willow's spirit was part of our daily environment and protected us.
Listening through to the latest track assembly for 'Satellite Songs' as I
write these words. It seems to hang together better than I expected. I won't
announce it here yet...Tomorrow may change my mind. I have to settle on a final
choice soon though. My friend Paul has been helping me with the transfer of
my old celluloid home-cine footage of Be Bop Deluxe recording in Juan-Les-Pins
to digital video. Paul found a place to get this done. Hopefully I should have
this back soon and then I can begin the process of editing it into a 30 minute
documentary video to show at the concerts. Paul and his brother Ian, who are the
founders of the magazine 'Sound-On-Sound', have both been wonderfully
supportive. Without their help and sponsorship, the 'Be Bop and Beyond' tour
would not be possible. I can't thank them enough.
Unfortunate news...the
publication of the Paul Sutton-Reeves book dealing with my musical career has
been postponed until next spring due to it falling behind schedule. A shame, as
the tour would have helped launch the book. Better late than never, however.
Paul Sutton-reeves is to make another raid on my career archives next week. I
still have to design a front cover for the book too. My own 'Diary Of A
Hyperdreamer' book may just see publication in time for the tour. Pomona is in
the process of editing it at the moment. i will need to liase with Pomona quite
a bit over the next few weeks, I suspect. Flattered by Terry Hall's
inclusion of Be Bop Deluxe's 'Modern Music' album in his 'Observer' newspaper
top ten albums of all time list a week or two ago. Nice to be recognised by
other artists, especially one's with some artistic nous. God knows I need the
encouragement. It's a damned and lonely path sometimes.
As noted in my
previous diary entry...this is no time to be writing diaries and this entry is
far longer than I intended. More important things to attend to. Later...
Monday, 26th July 2004 -- 6.10 PM
Have been working hard...very hard. I've hardly had time to notice the
summer passing rapidly by outside my window. Not that it's been a particularly
sunny one. Today's been pleasant enough though, after a cloudy morning.
I
knew that getting this tour together was going to be tough but I wasn't quite
prepared for the degree of toughness. I've felt like throwing in the
towel on more than one occasion, been close to the absolute breaking point. The
problems have been many but mostly related to the slowness of the agent and the
casual attitude of a couple of the promoters. I won't go into details here.
Every time I open my mouth and tell the unvarnished truth in these diary pages I
usually get into trouble from one side or another. Nevertheless, some people
seem to take advantage of my reasonably easy going nature, thinking I can be
fobbed off with lame excuses and that I'll eventually accept a tenth-rate
proposal. Well, I've been ready to burn the house down, bang heads together and
generally act like a crazy bastard. How close I've got to telling those
lazy, unimaginative fuckers what I think of them. Trembling on the edge of a
precipice. Of course, I just take a deep breath instead and try to be reasonable
and act grateful for the few crumbs I'm thrown from the top table. You've got to
laugh as they say. Well, I've got to anyway, and ultimately I do. With a
little luck and a string of sell out shows, I may yet have the last
laugh...That'll show those doubting Thomases.
The annoying thing for me is
that there seems to be a general reluctance to acknowledge exactly what I'm
trying to achieve with this tour and all the various activities surrounding it.
Or to appreciate the care and attention to detail that was brought to bear on
these things when I toured regularly with Be Bop Deluxe and Red Noise in the
past. I fully appreciate that times have changed but when did human nature
become so immune to passion and ambition? Did I miss something? These days, it
seems that things are often arranged at the last minute and then executed with
very little flair. Some of the venues originally proposed for the concerts were
an insult to whatever talent I've tried to keep alive and kicking all these
years. Perhaps I wouldn't mind if the remuneration made it worthwhile but I know
of local bands doing lame cover versions in weary old 'Irish-showband' style
that command four times the amount of money I've been offered for some of these
shows. Certain promoters obviously have little confidence in me or know very
little about my work and career. Nevertheless, the fees themselves are not the
reason I'm doing this. If it was all about personal profit I would have
backtracked years ago when I was forced to sell my guitars to pay the rent. This
isn't a 'chicken-in-a-basket' 1970's revivalist, re-formed Be Bop Deluxe,
cash-in nostalgia cabaret tour. (Although there are some out there who see it
that way or would prefer it to be so.) My original idea was to make these
concerts a celebration of a whole range of creative projects I've been
involved in during the last thirty years, an opportunity to wake certain people
up to what's been going on whilst they were sleeping. Without the financial help
and support of Sound-On-Sound magazine, the tour itself would be simply
impossible. There is no way, on the current showing of interest from the section
of the industry that puts on live music, that this 30 year celebration could
have got off the ground. Ian and Paul Gilby's support of my efforts, in both financial and
psychological terms, has been the only thing that has held me
together. Their faith in the project has been fantastic and deeply appreciated. Wish
I could say the same for those who are calling the shots on venues.
Despite the above moaning and groaning, I'm
determined to squeeze some juice out of the dry old music-biz lemon, tired and
insular as it is. I've got a good-hearted group of friends in the band, some
equally good people taking on tech duties and, one way or another, even if it
ends up being a touch compromised, I'll conjure up something that people
will respond positively to. Magic will triumph over mediocrity! Just wait and
see... Here's a list of what I've achieved since the last diary entry:
-
I've finished all the work on the THREE new albums, including their packaging
art and design (with the assistance of Dave Graham), and mastered all of them in
a mammoth session at Fairview studios with the help of my good friend John
Spence. These have now gone to be manufactured. Two of the albums, SATELLITE
SONGS and CUSTOM DELUXE will be on sale exclusively at the tour concerts. The
third, WAH-WAH GALAXY, I've reserved for ticket holders at this year's
NELSONICA fan convention. It will be the biggest album I've offered to fans at
this event so far,16 pieces of music running to over 70 minutes. Destined to be
a valuable rarity if previous year's convention CD's are anything to go by.
- Have worked with Pomona (the publishers), on aspects of the
soon-to-be-published 'DIARY OF A HYPERDREAMER' book. Elle and Elliot have been
interviewed and their comments on life with their crusty, grumpy old dad will be
inserted into the text. Emiko is to be questioned for it too.
- I've worked
a little more with Paul Sutton-Reeves for his story of my career which,
unfortunately, won't be published until next year. However, he's conducted an
interview with Emiko and taken away even more memorabilia for his research. I've
also submitted artwork to the publishers for the cover design. Paul tells me
that it's a bit of a 'tome' at the moment. I hope that doesn't sound too
ominous.
- Paul Gilby found a specialist company in Otley that could
transfer my ancient home-cine footage of Be Bop Deluxe to video. I've since
loaded this onto the hard disc in my Mac and edited together a 32 minute
'documentary' video to screen at the concerts. It's simply called 'BE BOP DELUXE
IN THE SOUTH OF FRANCE.' It documents my experience of visiting the Cote D'
Azur for the very first time. I hadn't seen the original super-8 footage for
more than twenty years and was surprised by how brief the glimpses of the band
actually were. I seemed to have been much more interested in the surrounding
environment, which fascinated me back then and still does. Nevertheless, I was
tremendously moved by the shots of the band members that did crop up in
the old footage and I've made particular use of these, extending them with
visual loops and reprises. I've created a lovely and special coda to the film
which I think will touch some of the older fans in the audience quite deeply.
Emiko, who wasn't around in those days and has never met the Be Bop members,
(except for first line-up drummer Nick Dew last year,) was genuinely moved by
the video when I completed my work on it. She said it was "beautiful and sad."
Hankies at the ready then, all the over forties who are planning to attend the
shows.
- I've composed and recorded three new interactive backing tracks
for my solo section of the concerts. Their titles are: ASTRONAUT BLUES,
BLACKPOOL PLEASURE BEACH AND THE ROAD TO ENLIGHTENMENT, and GLORIOUS HOSTS OF
LIGHT. Not sure at this stage how many of these will make it into my final
choice of solo set. I've still got this to decide. I also haven't chosen the
band's set list yet either...yet another pressing task. There are only so
many hours in the day and I'm doing my best.
- I've roughed out a design for
the custom amplifier that Carlsboro are going to build for me. I don't know how
practical the design will be at this stage but will await the company's reaction
to my initial drawings. It's an interesting, 'Jetsons' styled piece.
- Begun
to sort out tour programme content with Paul Gilby. I need to write an
introduction and also a piece about the Be Bop video to include in the
programme. It promises to be a proper, glossy affair, classy and collectable and
full of entertaining items.
- Tour security passes for band and crew
designed and printed.
- Regional publicist appointed to deal with tour promo
on a local level in each town.
- Rehearsal room found after much research.
It is booked for a full three weeks in September.
- Organised a production
meeting, arranged it for tomorrow with our sponsors plus Adrian from Opium, Paul
Gilby, Ian Thorpe who is our front of house engineer, transport sponsor Steve
Hargreaves and also Alan Myers to keep the UK web
site up to speed.
- Begun to address the problem of tour technical crew, with the help of Ian
Thorpe. Things still to be resolved here.
I can't remember what else I've
done but, unsurprisingly, there's still plenty on my plate. And spilling over
onto the table...That's all I'm saying, tour-wise at the moment. Change of
subject:
After many years, I've finally made contact with my old friend and
Be Bop Deluxe 'mark 2' drummer Simon Fox. It's been good to hear his voice on
the end of my line after all these years and he sounds as bright and witty as
ever. I'll be seeing him very soon and he's also agreed to come up to this
year's Nelsonica for a meet 'n' greet session with the fans. I'm really pleased
to have found Simon again...can't wait to see what he makes of the 'BE BOP
DELUXE IN THE SOUTH OF FRANCE' video I've created from the old cine reels. My
days are full, from morning until bedtime, with very little chance of family
life or social interaction but I do have some new books that I'm attempting to
read in bed before my eyes close. I usually manage around five or ten minutes of
reading before sleep kicks in although I've been waking up at 4 am and panicking
about 'things to be done'...I read a bit more of my books when this happens in
an attempt to distract my mind from the ever-present tour concerns. The books
are these: Derek Bailey And The Story Of Free Improvisation by Ben Watson,
The Spirit Of Place (nine neo-romantic artists and their times) by Malcolm
Yorke, Soho In The Fifties And Sixties by Jonathan Fryer, and Groovy Bob
(the life and times of Robert Fraser) by Harriet Vyner. Not finding time to
listen to any music these days, (other than my own), but if I did it
would be Birth Of The Cool by Miles Davis, any Billie Holiday recordings (but
preferably those featuring Lester Young), any of John Cage's sonatas for prepared
piano, and something by Joe Pass or Wes Montgomery. I watched a clip of Wes on a
dvd recently and the guy really had 'it' big time. I bought some of his albums
way back in my teens but I've had my ears retuned to him lately for some reason.
I also fancy hearing some Bill Evans and Lennie Tristano...and maybe just
a little Cecil Taylor, just to free up the blockages in my nervous system. A
blast of passion.
Another of my recent accomplishments is this diary entry.
How I dare write it when there's so much else to be done is another story. A
story I haven't got time to tell right now so...Later. Working hard, very
hard.
On to August 2004!
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