7. Be-Bop DeluxeModern Music

You could put this one with Cockney Rebel, as this is another school one. Just before the punk explosion happened, Be-Bop Deluxe were the most exciting band – they blew me away. It’s what I would call art rock and again, you could put these on your leather jacket with Cockney Rebel, Roxy Music, and Mozart Estate! It felt so exciting hearing this at school, it was untouchable, you didn’t hear about these people, you weren’t in their world at all, you couldn’t get close, you wouldn’t go to a gig and see them at the bar afterwards, not like now. There was a Bowie thing, a mystery, I didn’t know how they lived their lives, it was godlike. I dreamt about it. It was a different time, just before the punk revolution, and then a real change came, and you could go to the bar with the singer from a punk band. I think something was lost – mystery. Today’s pop stars, they don’t know what privacy is, they wake up and share their day with their fans, it’s too much. For me, mystery is what it is all about. Bill Nelson is the best guitarist I have heard from England. People will laud people like Eric Clapton, but I think Bill is my favourite guitarist.