Nelson was educated at the Wakefield College of Art, where he developed an interest in the work of poet and filmmaker Jean Cocteau. At this time he was also developing as a musician, drawing upon Duane Eddy as a primary guitar influence. His first recording was a brief contribution on an album entitled "A-Austr" with Chris Coombs, Brian Calvert and Mike Levon . Mike recorded and produced the album "A-Austr: Musics from the Holyground" which appeard on Holyground Records in 1970. After that Bill appeared in a much more substantial role on three Chris Coombs tracks on the Holyground album Astral Navigation released in 1971. One track from this also gave Bill his first airplay by John Peel: "Yesterday" by Chris Coombs, where Bill's lead guitars were recorded by Mike Levon in an acid-rock style, supporting Chris's Stylophone riff. After this, Bill's solo album was recorded and co-produced by Mike at Holyground, also in 1971. Bill's solo album titled Northern Dream drew more attention from famed British DJ John Peel, and this eventually led to Nelson's new band, Be Bop Deluxe, signing to EMI. The band's first recordings were also made at Holyground. All the Bill Nelson recordings made there were released in February 2001 by Holyground in an CD called "Electrotype". Shortly after this they were signed to EMI, releasing "Axe Victim". On stage the band developed a reputation built upon Nelson's electric guitar stylings, which have been described as "pyrotechnic".
After the breakup of Be Bop Deluxe, Nelson attempted another band project called Red Noise (aka Bill Nelson's Red Noise), but eventually settled into a career as a solo musician, recording iconoclastic albums in the early electropop vein such as The Love That Whirls and Quit Dreaming and Get On the Beam. Many of these albums also shipped with bonus records featuring experimental ambient instrumentals, and this was a genre of music Nelson would embrace more fully in the future.
Nelson had bad luck with major labels in the 1980s. A deal with CBS Records went sour, leaving one admired album, Getting the Holy Ghost Across (US title: On a Blue Wing) in limbo with no CD release until 2006. Nelson and his manager Mark Rye had formed the Cocteau Records label in 1981, and for many years this label handled the majority of Nelson's output, which often included multiple albums a year. Among the more ambitious Cocteau releases were the four-record boxed set of experimental electronic music, Trial by Intimacy (The Book of Splendors), and the later ambient collection, Chance Encounters in the Garden of Lights, which contained music informed by Nelson's Gnostic beliefs. In the late 1980s, Nelson signed to the US label Enigma Records, and though they re-released his entire Cocteau catalog and seemed to be giving him a big push, the label soon went out of business.
As the 1980s ended, Nelson suffered a tremendous series of personal setbacks, including a divorce, tax problems, and an acrimonious falling-out with his manager over his back catalog rights. In the case of one album, the unreleased Simplex, his manager had been selling copies via mail order without Nelson's authorization; Nelson claims he never received any royalties from these sales.
Nelson channeled his troubles into his music, with the result that the 1990s proved an even more prolific period for him. His divorce inspired a 4-CD boxed set, Demonstrations of Affection, and he worked on some guitar-based instrumental projects such as the albums Crimsworth and Practically Wired, or How I Became Guitar Boy. With Demonstrations, Nelson perfected a songwriting ethic based on the immediacy of creative inspiration; each song was recorded almost as soon as it was written, taking only an average of two hours to complete. This technique enabled Nelson to produce a staggering amount of new music into the new century, which resulted in such large-scale releases as the 4-CD set My Secret Studio and the 6-CD set Noise Candy.
In 1996, Nelson's troubles with his former manager were resolved in a lawsuit which enabled Nelson to recover much of his back catalog. A fully authorized version of the Simplex album was released in 2001.
In the late 1990s, Nelson had a label, Populuxe Records, with a distribution arrangement with Robert Fripp's Discipline Global Mobile, but the relationship with DGM has stagnated and Nelson's last DGM release was Atom Shop in 1998. Subsequent releases have been on other imprints such as Toneswoon and Voiceprint as well as direct mail-order releases. Some of Nelson's early albums have recently been re-released in this manner, including Quit Dreaming And Get On the Beam and Chimera.
Though not a very public figure today, Nelson has a devoted core audience who admire his perseverance, his integrity to his art in the face of commercial rejection, and his versatile musicianship. In recent years Nelson has begun to perform live again.
Will
Bill Nelson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
As ships sailed past in silence
Hung my hands upon her hips
She whispered in my ear
"Do what you will, mean what you say
Where there's a will, there is a way"
Funny how the picture changed
Funny how the smallest spark
Still invites the flame
Where there's a will, there is a way
Hold me until, time fades away
Where there's a rainbow's end
There's a place to play
Where sunny skies are baby blue
We'll find our dreams someday
It takes one, to know one
It takes two to care
If it takes me, eternity...
I'll be there
Where there's a will, there is a way
Hold me until, time fades away...
In a minute, in a moment
In the twinkling of her eye
I saw comets, I saw rockets
I saw stars fall from the sky...
Placed a kiss upon her lips
As ships sailed past in silence
Hung my hands upon her hips
She whispered in my ear
"Do what you will, mean what you say
Where there's a will, there is a way"
The lyrics to Bill Nelson's "Will" describe a romantic encounter between two people under the sky while ships sail past them in silence. The singer places a kiss on the woman's lips, and she whispers in his ear, encouraging him to be true to himself and follow his desires. This phrase - "do what you will, mean what you say, where there's a will, there is a way" - is repeated throughout the song, suggesting that if you have the desire to make something happen, you will find a way to make it a reality.
The second verse acknowledges the fleeting nature of life's happiest moments, but insists that even the smallest spark (i.e., a momentary attraction between two people) still has the power to ignite a flame (the potential for a lifelong bond). The bridge section ("It takes one to know one, it takes two to care, if it takes me eternity...I'll be there") reinforces the idea that a strong connection between two people requires both parties to invest time and energy into cultivating the relationship.
Overall, the lyrics to "Will" are about taking chances on love and living life to the fullest. The repeated mantra of "where there's a will, there is a way" is a reminder that if you have the courage to pursue your dreams, you will find a path to reach them.
Line by Line Meaning
Placed a kiss upon her lips
I kissed her passionately
As ships sailed past in silence
We were standing near the shore, observing ships glide by quietly
Hung my hands upon her hips
I held her gently by her hips
She whispered in my ear
She spoke softly to me
"Do what you will, mean what you say
She asked me to be honest and to have the courage to do what I must
Where there's a will, there is a way"
If you are determined, then you can achieve whatever you desire
Funny how the picture changed
It's strange how things look different from a fresh perspective
And somehow stayed the same
Yet familiarity remains
Funny how the smallest spark
It's amazing how something so small can cause great change
Still invites the flame
It can still ignite a fire
Where there's a rainbow's end
If you follow the rainbow to its endpoint
There's a place to play
You will find a haven
Where sunny skies are baby blue
When the skies are clear, crisp and refreshing
We'll find our dreams someday
We will someday discover and achieve our dreams
It takes one, to know one
To recognise something, you must possess similar qualities
It takes two to care
Both parties must invest to nurture and maintain a relationship
If it takes me, eternity...
I'm willing to wait as long as it takes
I'll be there
I will always be present and devoted
Where there's a will, there is a way
When you're determined, there's always a path to succeed
Hold me until, time fades away...
Embrace me, until time separates us
In a minute, in a moment
In a trice, in an instant
In the twinkling of her eye
In her eyes, in her gaze
I saw comets, I saw rockets
I saw something spectacular, exciting and eventful
I saw stars fall from the sky...
I saw something magnificent happen
Contributed by Nathan N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.