Tag: Be Bop Deluxe

I recently read about this band, and a term came up that fits them well. “Genre Hopping,” and that phrase tells it all. This song grabbed me first because it has a power pop sound. But they combine other styles with it. Plus, some of their other music goes from hard rock, pop, blues, art rock, to prog rock in a flash. I like it when bands cover a lot of ground, and this band most certainly does.

Be-Bop Deluxe began in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, by guitarist, singer, and songwriter Bill Nelson, a musician with one foot in rock and one foot in the avant-garde. Nelson had been playing in local bands throughout the late 60s, experimenting with everything from blues to psychedelia, but he wanted something more ambitious, something that combined sharp guitar work, futuristic imagery, and sophisticated songwriting.

By 1972, Nelson formed the first version of Be-Bop Deluxe, a lineup that changed several times before the classic version solidified. Early on, the band included Ian Parkin, a friend from Nelson’s earlier groups, along with various rotating bassists and drummers. This initial formation leaned heavily on blues rock, but Nelson quickly moved past that sound and reshaped the band into something sleeker.

Their breakthrough came when Nelson recorded the independently released debut album, Axe Victim (I love the title track…the guitar is amazing), in 1974. Though it featured a very different lineup than the one that would make them famous, it established the Be-Bop Deluxe identity, a mix of glam rock, blues guitar, art rock, and guitar gymnastics, all wrapped in Nelson’s sci-fi-themed lyrics and elegant pop melodies.

This song was released in 1976 on their Sunburst Finish album. It peaked at #23 on the UK charts. The album peaked at #17 on the UK Charts as well. You can hear some XTC and other bands in this that came after Be-Bop Deluxe. Jon Leckie produced this, and he would go on to produce XTC, The Stone Roses, and Radiohead in the future.

It’s a band worth checking out because they probably have something you will like since they are so versatile.

Ships in the Night

Like a square peg in a round hole
Like a harp without it’s strings
Like a sailor who sails no oceans
Like a bird that has no wings

I am a desert
(Without love) my light is dim
(Without love) I have no treasures
(Without love) I cannot win

Without love we are like ships in the night
Without love, selling our souls down the river
Sailing away and forever our pleasure is blue

Like a dream that has no dreamer
Like a cloud without a sky
Like a truth with no believer
Like a mother without a child

I am a desert
(Without love) my light is dim
(Without love) I have no treasures
(Without love) I can’t sit still

Without love we are like ships in the night
Without love, selling our souls down the river
Sailing away and forever our pleasure is blue

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