Bill Nelson's Red Noise, or more simply Red Noise, was

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 Flor ...

's umbrella term for what effectively became a British new wave band formed by himself (lead vocals, guitar), his 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 ...

(saxophone),

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) and Rick Ford (bass).

Dave Mattacks David James Mattacks (born 13 March 1948) is an English rock and folk drummer. Best known for his work with Fairport Convention, Mattacks has also worked both as a session musician and as a performing artist. Apart from playing the drums, he i ...

and Steve Peer (drums) both had brief stints in the band.

History

Nelson formed Red Noise after dissolving

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, guitarist ...

, while metamorphosing from

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

progressive Progressive may refer to: Politics * Progressivism, a political philosophy in support of social reform ** Progressivism in the United States, the political philosophy in the American context * Progressive realism, an American foreign policy par ...

and

glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was performed by musicians who wore outrageous costumes, makeup, and hairstyles, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists drew on diver ...

to more new wave and electronic sounds following the last Be-Bop Deluxe album ''

Drastic Plastic ''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 in the summer of 1977. Nelson recorded the album in because ...

'', released early in 1978.

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

Harvest Records Harvest Records is a British-American record label belonging to Capitol Music Group, originally created by EMI in 1969. History Harvest Records was created by EMI in 1969 to market progressive rock music, and to compete with Philips' Vertigo ...

subsidiary, to whom Be-Bop had been contracted, insisted on his name being added – hence Bill Nelson's Red Noise. Clark had also been a member of Be-Bop Deluxe, while Ian Nelson had collaborated on the song (and hit single) "Ships in the Night" from the '' Sunburst Finish'' album (1976). Peer was previously in TV Toy, only joining the band for touring purposes after the album had been recorded (he can be heard on a number of Red Noise live and Bill Nelson-credited B-side studio tracks plus the one Red Noise-credited track on Nelson's later ''Quit Dreaming And Get on the Beam''). In the studio, Nelson recorded most of the drum parts himself, hiring former

Fairport Convention Fairport Convention are an English folk rock band, formed in 1967 by guitarists Richard Thompson and Simon Nicol, bassist Ashley Hutchings and drummer Shaun Frater (with Frater replaced by Martin Lamble after their first gig.) They started o ...

drummer

for more complex tracks. Red Noise released only one album, ''

Sound-on-Sound ''Sound-on-Sound'' is the sole album by English new wave band Bill Nelson's Red Noise, released in February 1979 by record label Harvest. Band leader Bill Nelson formed the group after the disbandment of Be-Bop Deluxe in 1978. The record was rec ...

'', plus two singles, "Furniture Music" and "Revolt into Style", in February and April 1979. After that, Bill Nelson continued as a solo artist, with Ian frequently collaborating on his brother's recordings throughout the eighties. Clark would later appear, among other places, on " Ashes to Ashes" and other tracks on

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

's '' Scary Monsters'' (1980), and " Big Time" and " Don't Give Up" on

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and activist. He rose to fame as the original lead singer of the progressive rock band Genesis. After leaving Genesis in 1975, he launched ...

's '' So'' (1986). Rick Ford played with

Hazel O'Connor Hazel Thereasa O'Connor (born 16 May 1954) is a British singer-songwriter and actress. She became famous in the early 1980s with hit singles " Eighth Day", " D-Days" and " Will You?" She also starred in the 1980 film '' Breaking Glass''. Caree ...

and Joe Jackson and now composes soundtrack music for the entertainment industry in California, while Steve Peer returned to work with TV Toy. In the early '80's he formed Custom Made Country, a cow-punk band that hailed from the easternmost town in the USA, Lubec, Maine. While in Maine he started Reversing Recordings, a label that features Down East musicians and most anyone else who wants to align with the Vacationland movement. He co-wrote and played drums on two Puzzle Monkey albums, and continues to tour and record with Trisha Mason, The Larks and Doug Hoyt and The Crown Vics. Red Noise is also considered by some Be-Bop fans as a Be-Bop Deluxe continuation because of ''Sound-on-Sound'' similarity to the emerging electronic character of Be-Bop's final studio album, ''Drastic Plastic'', released the previous year. An interview with Bill Nelson in 1979 hints that several of the songs in ''Sound-on-Sound'' were written during his Be-Bop Deluxe days and might have been included in any Be-Bop album subsequent to ''Drastic Plastic'' had that band remained together. However, Nelson also makes clear that he regarded Red Noise as an escape from Be-Bop Deluxe rather than its continuation: "''Drastic Plastic'' was the last-ditch attempt to get the band to change a bit but it was difficult for people to accept." Touring England to promote the album, Red Noise performed a Be-Bop song from ''Drastic Plastic'', "Possession." In a 1984 interview, Nelson revealed that he had recorded a second Red Noise album immediately after ''Sound-on-Sound'' but that his record company

didn't like it: "

wouldn't release it, and it sat on the shelf." Nelson's manager eventually purchased some of the unreleased songs back from EMI so that Nelson could release them as a solo artist under his own label, Cocteau Records. One of these was "Do You Dream in Colour", which received generous radio airplay and press coverage for its original music video. This track and one on the B-side featured all vocals and instruments by Nelson himself apart from sax by Ian Nelson. Two other tracks, "Ideal Homes" and "Instantly Yours", featured the Nelson/Nelson/Ford/Clark/Peer line-up. This release attracted the attention of

Phonogram Phonogram may refer to: * A sound recording – see Geneva Phonograms Convention * ''Phonogram'' (comics), a comic book by Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie * Phonogram (linguistics), a grapheme which represents a phoneme or a combination of phone ...

, who secured the remaining tracks for Cocteau to release the full album, ''Quit Dreaming And Get on the Beam'', credited simply to Bill Nelson, on their subsidiary label

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it is ...

in 1981. Red Noise had not been originally intended as a band so much as a name under which Nelson could bring in musicians as required without being tied down to a fixed band line-up. However, the commercial pressures of the music business meant that it didn't work out that way. Where only one track on ''Quit Dreaming'' was credited to Red Noise, it clearly referred to the band: "Disposable" featured the Bill Nelson/Ford/Clark/Peer line-up. Many other tracks featured both Bill and Ian Nelson. The ''Sound-on-Sound'' album title inspired the publishers of

Sound on Sound ''Sound on Sound'' is an independently owned monthly music technology magazine published by SOS Publications Group, based in Cambridge, United Kingdom. The magazine includes product tests of electronic musical performance and recording devices, a ...

to name their magazine after it. Harvest's 2012 CD reissue of ''Sound-on-Sound'' contained not only tracks from single B-sides previously unreleased on that format, but also a

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

Friday Rock Show The ''Friday Rock Show'' was a radio show in the United Kingdom that was broadcast on BBC Radio 1 from 10pm to midnight on Friday nights, from 17 November 1978 until 2 April 1993. For most of its existence, it was hosted by Tommy Vance. Vance ...

session from 17 February 1979 previously unreleased on any format.

Discography

Albums

* ''

'' (February 1979)

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 ...

Singles

* "Furniture Music" / "Wonder Toys That Last for Ever", "Acquitted by Mirrors" (February 1979), Harvest * "Revolt into Style" / "Out of Touch" (recorded live at Leicester De Montfort Hall) (April 1979), Harvest * "Revolt into Style", "Furniture Music" / "Stay Young", "Out of Touch" (both recorded live at Leicester De Montfort Hall, 12") (April 1979), Harvest

Miscellaneous tracks

* "Ideal Homes", "Instantly Yours" on B-side of single "Do You Dream in Colour" (1980)

these two tracks feature the Nelson/Nelson/Ford/Clark/Peer line-up, Cocteau * "Ideal Homes", "Instantly Yours" (same recordings as above) on ''The Two-Fold Aspect of Everything'' (1984)

ill Nelson ILL may refer to: * ''I Love Lucy'', a landmark American television sitcom * Illorsuit Heliport (location identifier: ILL), a heliport in Illorsuit, Greenland * Institut Laue–Langevin, an internationally financed scientific facility * Interlibrar ...

2-LP set of A- and B-sides previously unavailable on LP, Cocteau * "Disposable" credited to Red Noise on album ''Quit Dreaming and Get on the Beam'' (1981)

Mercury Mercury commonly refers to: * Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun * Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg * Mercury (mythology), a Roman god Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to: Companies * Merc ...

Compilation albums

* ''Bop to the Red Noise'' (1986)

mixture of BBD and RN material * ''The Practice of Everyday Life'' (2011)

8-CD, 40-year career retrospective of BBD, RN and BN solo material,

Esoteric Recordings Esoteric Recordings is a UK independent record label specialising in 1970s progressive rock, folk, psychedelic, and jazz-rock reissues as part of Cherry Red Records. Its releases include both catalogue reissues and new works from artists who s ...

Compilation singles

* ''Permanent Flame (The Beginners Guide to Bill Nelson)'' (1983)

5-disc set of previously released BBD, RN and BN solo material, Cocteau

References

External links

MySpace: Red Noise
Unofficial MySpace site

Sound-on-Sound by ''Julian Cope presents Head Heritage'' web page
{{Authority control Musical groups established in 1978 English new wave musical groups Musical groups disestablished in 1979 Harvest Records artists 1978 establishments in England