Ian Walter Nelson (23 April 1956,

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

, England) – 23 April 2006) was an English new wave musician, and younger brother of

Be-Bop Deluxe Be-Bop Deluxe were an English rock band who achieved critical acclaim and moderate commercial success during the mid to late 1970s. History Be-Bop Deluxe Be-Bop Deluxe was founded in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, by singer, guitaris ...

singer and guitarist

Bill Nelson Clarence William Nelson II (born September 29, 1942) is an American politician and attorney serving as the administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Nelson previously served as a United States Senator from Flo ...

, whom he accompanied in different musical projects. He played mainly the

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

Biography

He was more than seven years younger than his brother , who was present at the time of his birth, on 23 April 1956. Walter, who was a saxophonist, taught him to play saxophone, which would later be Ian's principal instrument. His first participation was on the Be-Bop Deluxe song from the album (1976). When this band split up, Bill, alongside keyboardist , reunited with Ian on saxophone, and formed , a synthpop band which lasted briefly and was a continuation of . After split up, spent some time collaborating in his brother Bill's solo career. In 1982, he joined

Fiat Lux Fiat Automobiles S.p.A. (, , ; originally FIAT, it, Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino, lit=Italian Automobiles Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer, formerly part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and since 2021 a subsidiary ...

; during his three years with the band they released a number of singles, but only had two minor UK hits, "Secrets" and "Blue Emotion". Fiat Lux gigged England and Europe until they broke up in 1985. He reappeared in the early 1990s as member of and from 2002 to 2006 was in and . He was also a member of the line-up of a failed reformation of in 1990. He also worked with Richard Jobson,

Level 42 Level 42 is an English jazz-funk band formed on the Isle of Wight in 1979. They had a number of UK and worldwide hits during the 1980s and 1990s. Their highest-charting single in the UK was " Lessons in Love", which reached number three on th ...

, The Sound,

Nik Kershaw Nicholas David Kershaw (born 1 March 1958) is an English singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. Kershaw came to prominence in 1984 as a solo artist. He released eight singles that entered the Top 40 of the UK Singles Chart during the ...

and Howard Jones among others. Nelson died in his sleep, and was later found on his 50th birthday, on 23 April 2006, by his wife Diane.

References

External links

Bill Nelson's homepage
Bill Nelson announcing the death of Ian Nelson
Bill Nelson's homepage
Bill Nelson writing about Ian Nelson
HiredHistory
Web dedicated to Fiat Lux
MySpace: Red Noise
MySpace site dedicated to Red Noise {{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson, Ian 1956 births 2006 deaths English rock keyboardists English new wave musicians Place of death missing English rock saxophonists British male saxophonists Musicians from Wakefield Bill Nelson's Red Noise members 20th-century saxophonists 20th-century British male musicians