''Drastic Plastic'' is the fifth and final album by English rock band released in February 1978.

Recording and content

''Drastic Plastic'' was recorded in in the south of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in the summer of 1977. Nelson recorded the album in because he was inspired by the relation of the place with artist who influenced him in the 1960s.

Composition

The sound of ''Drastic Plastic'' is different from the previous albums, showing changes in the musical direction of the band. This sound has been classified as

art rock Art rock is a subgenre of rock music that generally reflects a challenging or avant-garde approach to rock, or which makes use of modernist, experimental, or unconventional elements. Art rock aspires to elevate rock from entertainment to an art ...

and new wave. The song is a song dedicated to Nelson's father, Walter, who died in 1976.

Release

''Drastic Plastic'' was released in February 1978 by record label

Harvest Harvesting is the process of gathering a ripe crop from the fields. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulse for harvest, typically using a scythe, sickle, or reaper. On smaller farms with minimal mechanization, harvesting is the most labor-i ...

. It was re-released in early 1990 with three bonus tracks while an expanded version appeared in 2021. The band split up shortly after releasing the album. By the time of the disbanding, Nelson was writing material intended to be part of the repertoire, but instead played by his next band, , formed alongside keyboardist and Nelson's brother

Ian Ian or Iain is a name of Scottish Gaelic origin, derived from the Hebrew given name (Yohanan, ') and corresponding to the English name John. The spelling Ian is an Anglicization of the Scottish Gaelic forename ''Iain''. It is a popular name in Sc ...

. released an album with more electronic-based music than in 1979. That band and album were considered as Shortly afterwards, Nelson decided to continue his career as soloist, releasing more synthpop albums. Nelson only maintained for his After Be-Bop Deluxe split, bassist played with other bands in Britain seven more years, returning to his native in 1985, where he joined reggae band

Herbs In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal ...

, continuing his career until his death in 1995. worked with formed and joined After , contributed to selected tracks on 1980 album and the first two albums by Q Magazine described the album as a 'respectable swansong'.

Track listing

All songs written by Bill Nelson. #"Electrical Language" – 4:50 #"New Precision" – 4:30 #"New Mysteries" – 4:44 #"Surreal Estate" – 5:00 #"Love in Flames" – 4:09 #"Panic in the World" – 5:04 #"Dangerous Stranger" – 3:05 #"Superenigmatix (Lethal Appliances for the Home with Everything)" – 2:10 #"Visions of Endless Hopes" – 2:23 #"Possession" – 2:34 #"Islands of the Dead" – 3:45 The U.S. release (SW-11750) dropped "Visions of Endless Hopes" and inserted "Japan" – 2:34

CD reissue bonus tracks

#"Blimps" – 2:46 #"Lovers Are Mortal" – 4:54 #"Lights" – 2:43

Personnel

* Bill Nelson - electric, acoustic and

12-string A twelve-string guitar (or 12-string guitar) is a steel-string guitar with 12 strings in six courses, which produces a thicker, more ringing tone than a standard six-string guitar. Typically, the strings of the lower four courses are tuned in o ...

guitars,

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

, guitar synthesizer,

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

Andy Clark Andy Clark, (born 1957) is a British philosopher who is Professor of Cognitive Philosophy at the University of Sussex. Prior to this, he was at professor of philosophy and Chair in Logic and Metaphysics at the University of Edinburgh in Scotl ...

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

and

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

s * Charlie Tumahai -

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...

Simon Fox Simon Andrew David Fox (born 12 July 1949) is an English rock drummer, who played in different rock bands during the 1970s and the 1980s, most notably the progressive rock group Be-Bop Deluxe. His earliest band was Hackensack, during the 19 ...

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

, loops

References

External links

Be Bop Deluxe DiscographyMySpace: Be Bop Deluxe ('78)
MySpace site dedicated to the ''Drastic Plastic'' era {{Authority control 1978 albums Albums produced by John Leckie Harvest Records albums Albums with cover art by Hipgnosis Be-Bop Deluxe albums New wave albums by English artists