Be Bop Deluxe

A cross between Roxy Music, Bowie and Queen. Be Bop Deluxe was an eighties band that was out in the 70s. In the fall of 1975, I moved in with my cousin who lived in a trailer park in St. Charles. One of the great things about that stay was the great tunes I remember coming out of KSHE 95, especially late in the evening/early in the morning. "Maid in Heaven" from the album "Futurama" by Be Bop Deluxe was one of those songs. Once again, I wanted to hear more. These guys were tight, very melodic and could rock their ass off. With LPs like "Sunburst Finish" that featured "Ships In The Night", I would say these guys could hold their own with anyone. I never got to see BBD live, but I almost had the opportunity to talk to Bill Nelson once in KC. No one could ever figure out why I wanted to talk with this cat so much. Their loss. With that in mind, my five favorite BBD tunes:
1. "Maid In Heaven" from Futurama. Two minutes and forty five seconds of what Queen tried to do.
2. "Ships In The Night" from Starburst Finish. Power fucking pop.
3. "Adventures in a Yorkshire Landscape " from Axe Victim (I prefer the "Live! In The Air Age" version). David Gilmour has NOTHING on this song. Some of the best guitar work ever.
4. "Shine" from Live! In The Air Age. Is that a guitar he's playing? Wow!
5. "Sister Seagull" from Futurama. A painting in sound.
Honourable mention: "Fair Exchange" from Starburst Finish.
They were too good for "glam" and not great enough to make it. All of these CDs are now being rereleased and remastered. Buy them. These guys rock!
Be Bop Deluxe were sequined glam rock heroes, seemingly beamed down from an impossibly glamorous forgotten future-world. They were an intoxicating ‘70s phenomena filled with lipstick posturing, surrealistic lyrics and searing guitar solos from leader Bill Nelson’s semi-acoustic, cherry sunburst Gibson 345.

Now to celebrate the band’s 30th anniversary, the Be Bop Deluxe catalog is being reissued featuring bonus tracks and expanded CD booklets.
Go here to find out more.