Be Bop Deluxe

by William Ruhlmann
Be Bop Deluxe was a 70s British rock group led by guitarist Bill Nelson (born on December 18, 1948, Wakefield, Yorkshire, England) who veered between glam rock, pop, and heavy metal, with lots of demonstrations of Nelsons guitar prowess. After recording with Gentle Revolution and on his own, Nelson put together the first lineup of Be Bop Deluxe in 1972: Ian Parkin (guitar), Robert Bryan (bass), and Nicholas Chatterton-Dew (drums). But after the release of the first album, Axe Victim, Nelson sacked the band. The second album, Futurama, featured Nelson with a rhythm section of bassist Charles Tumahai and drummer Simon Fox. Keyboard player Andrew Clark joined for the third album, Sunburst Finish, which contained the U.K. chart single Ships in the Night. Be Bop Deluxe released a fourth album, Modern Music; a concert recording, Live! In the Air Age, that became their only U.K. Top Ten hit; and a fifth studio album, Drastic Plastic, before Nelson folded the enterprise, briefly tried another group, Red Noise, and went solo again in 1979. Since then he has recorded prolifically, if experimentally, and handled occasional production jobs.