Futurama (album)
Encyclopedia
Futurama was the second album by the band Be-Bop Deluxe and released in 1975.
After the line-up of Be-Bop Deluxe changed the band recorded the album with Bill Nelson
(guitars and vocals), Charlie Tumahai
(bass and backing vocals), Simon Fox
(drums) and Andrew Clark
(keyboards). The album was recorded at Rockfield Studios
in Wales and produced by Roy Thomas Baker
who also produced Queen
.
In the Rough Guide to Rock, Peter Buckley described the album as:
However, Maid In Heaven reached number 36 in the UK singles charts in October 1976 as the lead track on the Hot Valves EP. The American market was harder to break for British acts during the 1970s due to the hangover from the 1960s and problems with availability of records in the US for breaking acts, such as Be-Bop Deluxe whose first album Axe Victim was only available as an import. Although critics were not always open to the mix of styles, Be-Bop and Nelson's music received a fairly warm welcome from the music critic of The New York Times
. John Rockwell started his article with a fairly scathing dismissal of English musical acts "Every month or is it week? seems to bring a new rock band from Britain, eager to catch a few leftover crumbs from the Anglophilia of the 1960s. Most fail completely; others latch onto an FM cult success; a very few, unpredictably, make it big..." Although the opening seems to dismiss British music as hanging on to fame gained during the 1960s, Rockwell goes on to say:
).
After the line-up of Be-Bop Deluxe changed the band recorded the album with Bill Nelson
Bill Nelson (musician)
Bill Nelson is an English guitarist, songwriter, producer, painter and experimental musician...
(guitars and vocals), Charlie Tumahai
Charlie Tumahai
Charles Turu Tumahai was a New Zealand singer, bass player and songwriter who was a member of several noted rock groups in New Zealand, Australia and the UK...
(bass and backing vocals), Simon Fox
Simon Fox
Simon Andrew David Fox is a drummer who played in different rock bands during the 1970s and the 1980s, most notably the progressive rock group Be-Bop Deluxe.His earliest band was Hackensack, during the 1970s...
(drums) and Andrew Clark
Andy Clark (musician)
Andrew Clark is an English rock composer and performer who is best known for his work on keyboards and synthesizer in the 1970s, playing and recording alongside Mick Hutchinson, in Clark Hutchinson, alongside Jeff Beck with his involvement in Upp and on the album Wired, and alongside guitarist...
(keyboards). The album was recorded at Rockfield Studios
Rockfield Studios
Rockfield Studios, near Monmouth in Wales and just outside the village of Rockfield, Monmouthshire are where many of British rock music’s most successful recordings have been made.-History:...
in Wales and produced by Roy Thomas Baker
Roy Thomas Baker
Roy Thomas Baker is a multiple award-winning Anglo-American music producer, songwriter, arranger and Recording Academy Governor, who has produced Platinum and Gold certified pop and rock records from the 1970s to the present.- Career :Baker began his career at Decca Records in England at the age...
who also produced Queen
Queen (band)
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
.
In the Rough Guide to Rock, Peter Buckley described the album as:
Top-heavy with massed guitars and melodic ideas pursued on a whim and just as quickly abandoned, it nevertheless contained two of the most perfect pop singles never to make the charts — "Maid In Heaven" and "Sister Seagull".
However, Maid In Heaven reached number 36 in the UK singles charts in October 1976 as the lead track on the Hot Valves EP. The American market was harder to break for British acts during the 1970s due to the hangover from the 1960s and problems with availability of records in the US for breaking acts, such as Be-Bop Deluxe whose first album Axe Victim was only available as an import. Although critics were not always open to the mix of styles, Be-Bop and Nelson's music received a fairly warm welcome from the music critic of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
. John Rockwell started his article with a fairly scathing dismissal of English musical acts "Every month or is it week? seems to bring a new rock band from Britain, eager to catch a few leftover crumbs from the Anglophilia of the 1960s. Most fail completely; others latch onto an FM cult success; a very few, unpredictably, make it big..." Although the opening seems to dismiss British music as hanging on to fame gained during the 1960s, Rockwell goes on to say:
Be-Bop Deluxe is redeemed by the brilliance of [the band's] playing, and particularly Nelson's guitar playing. His records put Nelson right up there with the other great masters of the electric guitar.
Track listing
(All songs written by Bill NelsonBill Nelson
Clarence William "Bill" Nelson is the senior United States Senator from the state of Florida and a member of the Democratic Party. He is a former U.S. Representative and former Treasurer and Insurance Commissioner of Florida...
).
Personnel
- Bill NelsonBill Nelson (musician)Bill Nelson is an English guitarist, songwriter, producer, painter and experimental musician...
- guitar, vocals - Charlie TumahaiCharlie TumahaiCharles Turu Tumahai was a New Zealand singer, bass player and songwriter who was a member of several noted rock groups in New Zealand, Australia and the UK...
- bass, background vocals - Andrew ClarkAndy Clark (musician)Andrew Clark is an English rock composer and performer who is best known for his work on keyboards and synthesizer in the 1970s, playing and recording alongside Mick Hutchinson, in Clark Hutchinson, alongside Jeff Beck with his involvement in Upp and on the album Wired, and alongside guitarist...
- keyboards - Simon FoxSimon FoxSimon Andrew David Fox is a drummer who played in different rock bands during the 1970s and the 1980s, most notably the progressive rock group Be-Bop Deluxe.His earliest band was Hackensack, during the 1970s...
- drums