B.C. Williamson - The Official Website

Coming hot off the trails of the announcement of B.C.'s remixed "Lease Of Life" sessions, B.C. Williamson has made a press statement that will undeniably shock the very fundaments of the music business. It is a little known fact that Williamson, in late 1970, after having suffered vitriolic attacks from the American media in regards to his latest album "White Not Blue", retreated proudly into a dark room with his newly purchased Moog Modular Synthesizer, a prototype version of the famous ARP 2500, a considerable volume of medicinal marijuana, and an eight track recorder. He left the machines on constantly, occasionally twisting knobs and pushing levers, to produce almost two hours of revolutionary synthesizer ambience-pop, which he entitled "Sounds From A Dark Room", to be released in the new year as a three-LP set.

Sadly, the album never saw release, with record executives from Columbia, Atlantic, Reprise, Polydor and Capitol turning down the opportunity. B.C. hurriedly recorded a charming acoustic cover of Vera Lynn's dance hall classic "We'll Meet Again", and inserted it at the end of the album, hoping to influence executives with his legendary wit and humility. This failed, and the album was left on the shelf for forty years. Though it was unheard by the general public, many famous musicians in the industry were able to acquire tapes; it is rumoured that Lou Reed was inspired to release his infamous "Metal Machine Music" feedback-rock double album after hearing "Sounds From A Dark Room" for the first time. Other musicians indebted to the album's pioneering audacity range from Sonic Youth to Neil Young, who in 1991 released an album of live guitar noise called "Arc". In fact, some historians even point to "Sounds From A Dark Room" as the first appearance of the New Age genre. Williamson himself disputes this.

After calls from musicians and artists around the world (they wished for their names to be concealed), B.C. has decided to finally release these famous tapes on his own label, Rackermann Records. Release is set for March-May 2010, and the album will be available from the iTunes Store and this website. For those who cannot wait for this exciting release, here is a free sample of the album's centrepiece, First Footsteps: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65e177DWJ34

B.C. Williamson has today announced the future release of a remixed version of his classic album "Lease of Life", entitled "Lease of Life... Nude." Speaking at a New Year's party, Williamson commented "I was thoroughly unhappy with the original mix of the record - numerous overdubs (horn sections, female choirs, and more) were made without my consent on several of my more subtle tracks, which I felt ruined them, and took away from their original meaning. Therefore, I, together with Natty Roseman Jr., have started working on a newly mixed version, to be the definitive "Lease of Life." The track list is thought to have been slightly altered, and Roseman reassured fans skeptical at the new incarnation of this album that "it will be longer, that much is certain." The album is set for release sometime this year.

The original cover

An early draft of the new cover

In a recent press statement, a visibly exhausted B.C. Williamson announced his firm support of the Fairtrade Foundation, which works to properly reimburse poor farmers and workers across the Third World.

FROM THE FAIRTRADE WEBSITE
“Fairtrade is a strategy for poverty alleviation and sustainable development. Its purpose is to create opportunities for producers and workers who have been economically disadvantaged or marginalized by the conventional trading system. If fair access to markets under better trade conditions would help them to overcome barriers to development, they can join Fairtrade.”

As part of his philanthropic work, B.C. will be selling re-released copies of his landmark album "And That's Why They Call Me Johnny" with a Fairtrade mark added to the famous banana image. Other plans include a possible charity single in the near future with farming-related lyrics (though this rumour is unconfirmed) and a new line of B.C. Williamson-endorsed fruit and vegetable products designed to support America's underpaid farmworkers.

Today we remember one of the saddest days for B.C. supporters: the day when he finally decided to stop making his new album "FRoWN". B.C. had intended to release a ground-breaking, heavily produced masterpiece soon after recording the album in late 1969. However, he was beaten to the post by Barbra Streisand's pioneering "What About Today?" album. His spirit broken by the Generation's Soundtrack, B.C. stopped the production of his album just short of completion, commenting "Barbra got there first". B.C.'s increasing drug intake and growing paranoia had stopped the album from ever being released, along with its 10-minute rock opera, "The Story Of Catman Parker," an answer to The Who's revelatory "Tommy."  B.C. even went as far as to attempt to set fire to the original tapes. To this day, alternative masters have never been recovered, and FRoWN has been lost.

Today history is made. Today is the first ever release of B.C. Williamson's greatest hits is released. B.C.'s second foray into the digital market (following his re-release of his first single a few weeks ago), "Hits and Misses" encompasses B.C.'s entire career, spanning from his heavy-blues period all the way to his progessive-rock experimentations. The album is B.C.'s first compilation, and is available now on iTunes and eMusic. Enjoy.

Click me for a link to B.C.'s iTunes page

B.C.'s first single has been officially re-released in a new remastered edition, together with an outtake of "I (Went Down This Morning And) Got Myself a Gun" and an unheard German take, recorded exclusively for his Eastern-European market.

B.C. Williamson, in a recent press statement, acknowledged his love and reverence for the great Martin Luther King Jr., on the 46th anniversary of the historic March On Washington For Jobs And Freedom, a 250,000 person protest for civil rights, ledby Kingin the early 1960s, at which he made his iconic "I Have A Dream" speech.Indeed, Dr. King was secretly known to have enjoyed Williamson's music according to many sources, and in the picture above one can see King proudly displaying his favourite B.C. album at a rally in Montgomery, Alabama.

Said Williamson: "Dr. King was a beacon of hope to every African-American wanting freedom. He inspired me and many others, in both my work and attitude to life, and for this I remember him and the day on which he completed his greatest achievement. Thank you and god bless you all."

This represents the second installment in the Blues Bar 12 newsletter excerpts series, as created by club owner Blind Orange Peel. On This Day looks back on what B.C. was doing on this date in history, many years ago. More will come soon, so stay tuned!



The year is 1979. For the new wave of punk-rock, it is a year of Trojan importance, frequented with landmarks and tragedies. Sid Vicious, the "bassist" of The Sex Pistols, has passed away under mysterious circumstances. Elvis Costello has released his second record, This Year's Model, revolutionising punk that sounds American but is actually English. London Calling, The Clash's masterpiece, is soon to be released. The Ramones' universally panned collaboration with Phil Spector, End Of The Century, is on the way. These albums would all change the face of needlessly aggressive guitar music in their own way, as well as efforts by contemporaries Blondie, Adam and The Ants, The Buzzcocks, Joy Division, Talking Heads, Siouxsie and The Banshees, The Patti Smith Group, and many others.

Meanwhile, B.C. Williamson, the undisputed King of Traditional Folk-Based Blues, had recorded the interminable 'Me and The Blues', an ill-advised tribute album to the very music that once made him a star. Unconvinced that the product would shift satisfactory quantities, Atlantic Records released the collection only through mail order, spending roughly $200 on marketing costs. One critic reviewed the album in a brief sentence: "Never has the statement of stagnance been shouted so clearly and efficiently." After the album's failure, B.C. realised he was perhaps behind his own times, and advertised the beginning of a new tour, deciding to reference punk rock, with its poster mocking The Sex Pistols' one and only release, the similarly titled "Never Mind The Bollocks, Here's The Sex Pistols." After threatened lawsuits and complaints, the tour was swiftly cancelled, and B.C. would not reappear on stage until a one-off benefit concert in 1997 with Tick-Tock Turner, in support of diabetic blues musicians.