On This Day, 27/02/1979 Bill Nelson's Red Noise

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On this day, 27 February 1979, rock band Bill Nelson's Red Noise played Cardiff University.

The band had just released the first and only album Sound On Sound, after which Nelson continued as a solo artist.

The band was Bill Nelson's umbrella term for what effectively became a British new wave band formed by himself (lead vocals, guitar), his brother Ian (saxophone), Andy Clark (keyboards) and Rick Ford (bass). Dave Mattacks and Steve Peer (drums) both had brief stints in the band.

Nelson formed Red Noise after dissolving Be-Bop Deluxe,while metamorphosing from blues, progressive and glam rock to more new wave and electronic sounds following the last Be-Bop Deluxe album Drastic Plastic, released early in 1978.

EMI's Harvest Records subsidiary, to whom Be-Bop had been contracted, insisted on his name being added – hence Bill Nelson's Red Noise.