‘The golden phosphorus of nostalgia.” Bill Nelson’s words, not mine, but they do sum up our faintly warm and glittery reaction to selection of recordings made nearly thirty years ago when Bill Nelson was the highly literate, sci-fi chewing axe-man/frontman to the belligerent art/prog rock ensemble that was Be Bop Deluxe. That EMI have chosen to release this bright and cheerful introduction to Wakefield’s finest off the back of the David Bowie and Brian Eno re-releases seems entirely unremarkable given Be Bop Deluxe’s not always accidental likeness to both; although archivists may argue that they were a vital and involuntary component within all that crazy old art-school posturing rather than a belated caricature – but I have to say they could be wrong. Looking at the dates at which albums like ‘Modern Music’ (1976) and ‘Drastic Plastic’ (1978) were released you’d have to say they come somewhat tellingly after Eno’s inspirational ‘Here Come The Warm Jets’ (1974) and Bowie’s darkly soulful cyberfest ‘Diamond Dogs’ (1975) – both of which bear markedly similar production notes (not least the charmingly surreal and disaffecting ‘Adventures In A Yorkshire Landscape’).
Stuffing them into this one box alone, though, would not only be a disservice to the lively and intelligent lyrical wit of Nelson, whose clipped, nasal reckonings lift the tracks beyond the stuttering crowd of Bowie imitators, it would also be an inaccurate testimony when there’s a dazzling range of styles and conceits in addition to all the glam and experimental boffinalia you have here. Check out the religiously overtop axe-wielding on ‘Axe Victim’, ‘The Gold At The End Of My Rainbow’ and ‘Stage Whispers’ which travels far faster and is far more outrageously protracted than anything spun by Mick Ronson or Mott The Hoople. ‘Bring Back The Spark’s lilting bossa rhythms and jingling acoustic guitars soothe the angularity of the band’s natural, ostentatious bent, whilst ‘Modern Music’ sees Nelson soar toward the bold epic imagery and bombast of Emerson. Lake and Palmer. ‘Honeymoon On Mars’ may listen today like a charming but silly Roxy Music outtake, but ‘Lost In The Neon World’ from the ‘Modern Music’ album positively shivers with good vibes. It may be a little too AOR for most current sensibilities but it’s such a remarkable, euphoric and reckless capitulation of styles that it’s anything but boring. And with ‘Drastic Plastic’ it’s another proposition entirely. ‘Electrical Language’ must rate as one of the first ostensibly electronic pop records released by a band in the UK and a more than cursory listen to the remainder of the album yields an unlikely British analogue to Talking Heads and Devo – as well as proving a sound conceptual basis for bands as diverse as Human League, Japan and Heaven 17 (even if you have to ignore the obvious Strangler’s tragedy, ‘Love In Flames’.) Many of the tracks on this album are not available on this ‘Introduction’ – but it’s certainly worth a listen – if only to observe the ease with which Nelson realigns himself to periodical shits in gear, technology and styles.
Strange to think that at the time, Be Bop Deluxe were the brave, forward wits of the UK music scene. Even stranger to think that they occasionally still sound that way.
Also re-released:
Futurama (1975)
Modern Music* (1976)
Drastic Plastic* (1978)
Live In The Air Age (1977)
* of particular worth.