He was hired by English new wave artist Gary Numan to produce his 1983 album "Warriors", with Numan saying that Bill Nelson was his "favourite guitar player, bar none." However, the two musicians failed to maintain a working relationship, and ultimately Nelson chose not to be credited for his production role on the album. Nelson also contributed towards several tracks on David Sylvian's "Gone to Earth" (1986). He was commissioned by Channel 4 to write music for the 1987 television drama series "Brond".