Bill Nelson's Red Noise - Wonder Toys (1981)

I've been a fan of Bill Nelson for many, many years, with his 1971 'Northern Dream' album being one of the very first 'rare records' that I purchased from a dealer when I started to seriously collect vinyl. I followed him through Be-Bop Deluxe, and loved everything they did, from the out and out guitar rock of their first few albums, right through to the more electronic stuff from their later period, but for me his best ever band was Red Noise. They burst onto the scene in 1979 with the 'Revolt Into Style' single, followed quickly by the eponymous debut album, and bearing in mind that he'd already been a folkie and a hard rocker, this band slotted into the burgeoning new wave/indie scene like it was made for them. The album is still one of my all-time favourites, and although they only lasted for twelve months, they've left behind one of the great British new wave albums. It never occurred to me before that there might be unheard songs tucked away as I assumed that as they were only together for such a short time then everything they recorded was on the album, but it turns out I was wrong, and there are a few hidden tracks on the b-sides of their singles, as well as live recordings and demos of songs that never made it into the studio. 
Nelson has revealed that he had recorded a second Red Noise album immediately after 'Sound On Sound', but his record company wasn't impressed and so shelved it, but eventually Nelson's manager purchased some of the unreleased songs back from EMI so that Nelson could release them as a solo artist on his own label, Cocteau Records. One of these was 'Do You Dream in Colour', which received generous radio airplay, and both this and it's b-side featured all vocals and instruments performed by Nelson himself, apart from sax from his brother Ian. When Phonogram heard these songs they secured the remaining tracks for Cocteau to release a full album, entitled 'Quit Dreaming And Get on the Beam'.... but that's a whole other story, as you'll hear later. There was actually one track on 'Quit Dreaming...' which was credited to Red Noise, with 'Disposable' featuring the Bill Nelson/Rick Ford/Andy Clark/Steve Peer line-up, and so that's here as well. If you don't know the band, and this album appeals to you, then do get hold of 'Sound On Sound', as it's a superb record.

Track listing 

01 Revolt Into Style (single version 1979)
02 Out Of Touch (live b-side of 'Revolt Into Style')
03 Furniture Music (single version 1979)
04 Wonder Toys That Last Forever (b-side of 'Furniture Music')
05 Acquitted By Mirrors (b-side of 'Furniture Music')
06 Stay Young (live b-side of 'Revolt Into Style)
07 Substitute Flesh (1978 demo)
08 That Way For Years (1978 demo - previously unreleased) (slight drop-out patched)
09 Disposable (from 'Quit Dreaming And Get On The Beam' - recorded 1979)
10 Waiting For The Night (1978 demo - previously unreleased)
11 Possession (live BBC recording of Be-Bop Deluxe song 1979)