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Topic: David Bedford R.I.P.< Next Oldest | Next Newest >
wiga Offline




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Posted: Oct. 05 2011, 03:44

Quote (Matt @ Oct. 04 2011, 19:45)
Quote (Mike Oldfield @ October 04 2011, BASCA website)
I am truly saddened to hear of the passing of my friend David Bedford. His support for my music in the early 1970s, before Tubular Bells was successful, gave me the will to carry on making instrumental music even when my work was rejected by all record companies. He was a great composer and wonderful human being. Thanks so much David.
Mike Oldfield

Nice tribute from Mike. David was obviously a good support and believed in him in the early days - you don't forget that kind of encouragement.

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Barn's burnt down - now I can see the moon.
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stpaul Offline




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Posted: Oct. 05 2011, 05:14

Very sad news. Next to Pierre Moerlen, David Bedford for me was the most important musical collaborator in Oldfield's work. His intellectual and open minded musical understanding had a major impact on Oldfield during the 70s and particularly on Incantations.
Bedford's own work is outstanding: From the psychedelic "Garden Of Love" (1970) to the great orchestral soundscapes of "Star's End" (1974), to the haunting avandgarde composition for children's choir and orchestra "The White Horse" (1978) and the ambient composition of "Great Equatorial" (1994, it covers many aspects and styles of modern classical music.
Although Bedford can't be called a minimalist, his music offers parallels of this genre as well, but in contrast to Steve Reich and Philip Glass his approach is more unorthodoxly. David Bedford can be best compared to the more famous composers György Ligeti and Iannis Xenakis.
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Tati The Sentinel Offline




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Posted: Oct. 05 2011, 05:44

Hope that in 2012 BBC Proms can organise a tribute concert in memory of the great David Bedford.That would be fantastic.

Mike's note was really emotional to me,we all know how important David was on his carreer plus all the support Mike had.


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"But it's always the outsider, the black sheep, that becomes the blockbuster." - Mike Oldfield, 2014

"I remember feeling that I'd been judged unfairly and that I was going to prove them wrong." - Peter Davison, 2011
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Blue Dolphin Offline




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Posted: Oct. 05 2011, 13:20

Nooooo!! I was schocked with the news of David's passing.  :/ I've got most of his albums in my collection, and this man was a real musical genius!

My condolences to David's family and friends; may you rest in peace David.

I was surprised with Mike's tribute! When Pierre Moerlen and Morris Pert passed away we didn't hear from him (maybe it happened in private). But obviously Mike lost a close friend (don't know if they still had contact).


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-The mark of a good musician is to play one note and mean it-

Mike Oldfield - 1980
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bee Offline




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Posted: Oct. 05 2011, 16:53

Quote (Tati The Sentinel @ Oct. 05 2011, 05:44)
Hope that in 2012 BBC Proms can organise a tribute concert in memory of the great David Bedford.That would be fantastic.

....this would be a good way of recognising his contribution to the music world and music lovers worldwide...it would be significant as it's the Olympic Year ( I think I heard somewhere they are performing all of Beethoven's symphonies ~ conducted by Daniel Barenboim, not been done in many years so it's going to be special ) and London's profile will be high in the world.


And I too felt that David's belief in that young teenager with so much talent and so many ideas all those years ago, showed great vision and a generously supporting and caring soul. Great man.


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....second to the right and straight on till morning....



You heard me before
Yet you hear me again
Then I die
Till I call me again
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SimonUK Offline




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Posted: Oct. 05 2011, 18:50

I am very sad to hear of David's passing. He was an amazing & unique composer. I have most of his albums, my favourite being Instructions For Angels. His memory will continue through his music. Condolences to David's family & friends.

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"I want something good to die for, to make it beautiful to live"
(Josh Homme, from Queens Of The Stone Age - 'Go With The Flow').
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Tati The Sentinel Offline




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Posted: Oct. 06 2011, 04:11

Another tribute here:
http://sidsmith.blogspot.com/2011/10/david-bedford-1937-2011.html


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"But it's always the outsider, the black sheep, that becomes the blockbuster." - Mike Oldfield, 2014

"I remember feeling that I'd been judged unfairly and that I was going to prove them wrong." - Peter Davison, 2011
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Inkanta Offline




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Posted: Oct. 06 2011, 18:18

Hi all,

Matthew Sorell posted a lovely tribute to David over at the Amarok Mailing List. I am posting it here, with his permission.

Best,

Inkanta

*******

Like everyone else here, I was shocked and saddened to hear of David's death. According to the obituary in The Guardian, he died after a short battle with lung cancer.

I met David in 2008 in Bristol, while on sabbatical in the UK. We had acup of tea with his wife, then went to watch English bellringing (which David had never previously seen) at St Mary, Redcliffe. After dinner at a restaurant by the harbour, we proceeded to swap MP3s in his studio. I gave him a copy of Music of the Spheres (which he hadn't heard) and he handed over pretty much the entire collection of recordings of his music that he had available.

In 2006, I was involved in the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra's performance of the Orchestral Tubular Bells. When I made enquiries about contacting David, I was astonished to find a personal email from him the next day. He confirmed that "The main reason for orchestrating TB was that Richard Bransom offered me a large fee!". He was very helpful in assisting me to prepare a pre-concert talk, sent words of encouragement to the conductor, Ben Northey, and even posted a personal message to a fan gathering on the day.

"Heartiest greetings to all of you at the Tubular Bells convention! It's been a part of my musical life for more than 30 years and it's great that people still appreciate it. All best wishes for a successful and enjoyable convention.
Warmest regards
David Bedford"

When I asked him about his foray into pop music with Kevin Ayers, he said "It was actually more by accident than design - the manager of SoftMachine had heard some of my arrangements for a chanteuse and asked me to do some arranging on Kevin's first solo LP Joy of a Toy. Since this involved some keyboards it was a natural progression for me to be asked to join the band. Mike joined after being auditioned by Kevin. It's true that my classical colleagues were in the main rather snobbish about my involvement."

For Mike fans (ie all of you), find a copy of "Instructions for Angels". Track 5 features David on pipe organ and Mike on screaming electric guitar at Worcester Cathedral. David tells me when this was recorded (1976 or 77), the public got wind of the recording session and a crowd burst into the Cathedral, to find Mike standing in the centre aisle rolling a cigarette.

It's also worth digging out First Excursion. For a bit of silliness, try also "Speak (Tho' You Only Say Farewell)" which was recorded, he says, as a joke.

David was a first-rate avant-garde and classical composer away from the pop scene. I recommend highly the CD "Twelve Hours of Sunset", which contains an astonishing Recorder Concerto and the magnificent choral piece "12 Hours of Sunset". He was also an inspiring music teacher, engaging with children in particular to compose and perform music. His avant-garde techniques of loose musical notation served him well both with working with pop musicians and with children with little formal music training. See if you can dig up his arrangements of Beach Boyshits for your local choir.

David had intended to be at the Tubular Bells performance at St George's Cathedral, Bristol, on November 4 ( http://www.stgeorgesbristol.co.uk/event.php?pid=1197) according to our last communication. Sadly, he'll miss this performance of the piece of music that would never have seen the light of day without his active encouragement of Mike to pursue his ideas while they were part of TheWhole World.

"Yes we had long chats about music in our Ford Transit during journeys to and from gigs. I gave him suggetions for listening, ranging from Delius to Terry Riley and Stravisky and Carl Orff."

David was quiet and unassuming, always willing to talk to fans, performers and students. His contribution to modern avant-garde, classical and pop music is surprisingly profound. Whether you listen to Enya, Madness, Mike Oldfield or your local school choir, you'll hear his influence whenever you least expect it.

Nice guy, meet 'em everywhere...


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"No such thing as destiny; only choices exist." From:  Moongarden's "Solaris."
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Tubularman Offline




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Posted: Oct. 09 2011, 07:59

rest in peace...

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Mike Oldfield M i x e s
https://soundcloud.com/tubularman
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pauken Offline




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Posted: Oct. 14 2011, 07:40

This comment from Robert Wyatt really made me smile despite being sad that David has died:

Quote

"Mike Oldfield 's remarks remind me of when we played, with Lol Coxhill, with Kevin Ayers decades ago. We had  such fun together. Kevin allowed us such freedom, anarchy even, all just about held together by the wit and charm of his songs. In particular, I remember a David Bedford solo  for which he simply placed a brick (painted pillar-box red, I think I remember) on the organ keyboard. Full volume. With all our racket around it, I thought it sounded great! With all his musical erudition, David could have pulled rank on us, but he just wasn't like that. Happy memories.
Robert Wyatt"


from http://www.basca.org.uk/news/david-bedford/

Listening to Star Clusters, Nebulae & Places in Devon now...
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Hastengas Offline




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Posted: Oct. 15 2011, 11:51

Very sad to hear this news......R.I.P. David
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CuNimb Offline




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Posted: Nov. 03 2011, 04:52

RIP David, Another great gone...

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Happy? ha ha ha....
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mike10872002 Offline




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Posted: Nov. 25 2011, 18:19

Found the news today regards David Bedford's recent passing and I am very saddened by it.

It must have been back in 1975 that he released his album 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner' which was based upon Samuel Coleridge's poem and narrated by Robert Powell. Way back then on Radio 3 there was a presenter who used to play his choice of newly released abums on late Sunday nights (presumably after all the oldies had gone to bed)  I was just sixteen and I used to listen avidly, if this presenter liked an album he would play a good proportion of it. One Sunday it was David Bedford's 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner' and the whole album was played, end to end. I was absolutely entranced by it especially the track 'Homeward Bound' beautifully sung by a choir with Mike's haunting guitar backing, the whole album was so special and many years later I found a CD album of it in a second-hand music shop which I still have today. I copied it onto tape and kept it in my car, my wife became quite ill on a holiday in Wales and I drove her home and remember playing the entire album again on the M4 as she slept and again it just hit the emotional spot, such a superb piece of work by David Bedford.

So it is perhaps 35 years later and David Bedford has passed on. I have read his obituaries and it seems he led a fruitful and interesting life, his artistic direction was always varied and he was always trying new things and helping those who find themselves less fortunate in life. I remember looking at his website and seeing a contact e-mail, I wanted to send him an e-mail saying 'Thanks' but I never did and now I wish I had.

My farewell must be a quote from 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner' :-

"In his loneliness and fixedness he yearneth
towards the journeying Moon,
and the stars that still sojourn, yet still move onward;
and every where the blue sky belongs to them,
and is their appointed rest, and their native country
and their own natural homes,
which they enter unannounced,
as lords that are certainly expected
and yet there is a silent joy at their arrival."

Blue sky Mr Bedford

Michael
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Airborne Offline




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Posted: Nov. 25 2011, 18:51

Quote (mike10872002 @ Nov. 25 2011, 23:19)
Way back then on Radio 3 there was a presenter who used to play his choice of newly released abums on late Sunday nights (presumably after all the oldies had gone to bed)  I was just sixteen and I used to listen avidly, if this presenter liked an album he would play a good proportion of it.

That would be Derek Jewell with his programme "Sounds Interesting". He was definitely a Oldfield and Bedford fan. He played long sections of Incantations when that was released.
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mike10872002 Offline




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Posted: Nov. 25 2011, 19:14

Quote (Airborne @ Nov. 25 2011, 18:51)
Quote

That would be Derek Jewell with his programme "Sounds Interesting". He was definitely a Oldfield and Bedford fan. He played long sections of Incantations when that was released.

Quote

That would be Derek Jewell with his programme "Sounds Interesting". He was definitely a Oldfield and Bedford fan. He played long sections of Incantations when that was released.


Ah thanks Airborne, yes that was him. Incantations was the first Mike Oldfield album I purchased and looking back I suspect I heard it there first!

Michael
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