Editing David Bedford (section)

==Recording and arranging==
In 1969, Bedford was engaged to [[orchestration|orchestrate]] [[Kevin Ayers]]' album ''[[Joy of a Toy]]'', on which he also played keyboards. This led to his role as keyboard player for Ayers' band, Kevin Ayers and the Whole World, who recorded one album, ''[[Shooting at the Moon (album)|Shooting at the Moon]]'' (1970). On that album, in addition to organ and piano, Bedford plays [[accordion]], [[marimbaphone]] and guitar.  Bedford also contributed to later Kevin Ayers albums as keyboard player and orchestral arranger.

Bedford's work with The Whole World led to collaborations with the group's saxophonist [[Lol Coxhill]], with whom he formed the Coxhill-Bedford Duo. The Duo released several singles of old [[vaudeville]] and British [[music hall]] songs featuring Bedford on piano and lead vocal, and Coxhill on saxophone and second vocal, for [[John Peel]]'s [[Dandelion Records]] label in the early 1970s. One of these singles was released under the pseudonym, Will Dandy and the Dandylettes (covering a medley of [[Al Jolson]] songs), with the B-side credited to the Coxhill-Bedford Duo. More tracks by the Duo appear on Coxhill's solo album, ''Ear of Beholder'' (1971) on which they play three songs, including an early version of "[[Don Alfonso (song)|Don Alfonso]]" which Bedford would record again later. Still more Coxhill-Bedford Duo songs can be found on ''Banana Follies'', a 1972 [[BBC]] concert radio broadcast featuring Kevin Ayers, released on CD in 1998. In that broadcast, Bedford and Coxhill also perform a short radio play titled "Murder in the Air". Coxhill later re-recorded the play without Bedford and released it as a 12-inch single, stating in the liner notes that he would have preferred to record it with Bedford, who was unavailable.

The first album to consist entirely of David Bedford compositions was ''[[Nurses Song with Elephants]]'', recorded at the Marquee Studios, and released in 1972 on John Peel's Dandelion label. On this album, Bedford mixed classical ensemble with poems and voices. ''Some Bright Stars for Queen's College'' uses twenty-seven plastic pipe twirlers, John Peel himself being among the pipe twirler players. There are five tracks on the album: ''It's Easier Than It Looks'', ''Nurses Song With Elephants'', ''Some Bright Stars for Queen's College'', ''Trona'' (1967), and ''Sad and Lonely Faces''. Bass guitar on the title song is played by [[Mike Oldfield]] and the final track features a poem by [[Kenneth Patchen]] that is sung by Kevin Ayers.

Bedford collaborated even more extensively with [[Mike Oldfield]], The Whole World's bass guitarist. He orchestrated and conducted Oldfield's ''[[The Orchestral Tubular Bells]]'' album (1975),<ref name="Potter">{{cite web | author=Keith Potter | url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/oct/04/david-bedford | title=David Bedford obituary | work=The Guardian | date=4 October 2011 | access-date=1 February 2015}}</ref> an adaptation of ''[[Tubular Bells]]'', the record that had given the [[Virgin Records|Virgin]] record label its first major success in 1973.  Bedford also orchestrated Oldfield's follow-up album-length composition, ''[[Hergest Ridge (album)|Hergest Ridge]]'' (1974) as ''The Orchestral Hergest Ridge'', which was performed live and recorded for radio broadcast from concert performances twice, once in 1974 by the [[Royal Philharmonic Orchestra]] with [[Steve Hillage]] on guitar, and once in 1976 by the [[Royal Scottish National Orchestra|Scottish National Orchestra]], again with Hillage on guitar, although [[Andy Summers]] had played on other performances that year.  The latter recording was acquired by Virgin, but not released as an album, although portions of it were used in ''The Space Movie'' (1979), which featured Oldfield's music.

Bedford provided vocals and piano for Oldfield's cover versions of more old music hall numbers (in the manner of the now-defunct Coxhill-Bedford Duo), ''Don Alfonso'' (1974) and ''Speak (Tho' You Only Say Farewell)'' (1976), collaborated with Oldfield on a piece titled "First Excursion" for Oldfield's box set compilation ''[[Boxed (Mike Oldfield album)|Boxed]]'', and orchestrated Oldfield's soundtrack for ''[[The Killing Fields (film)|The Killing Fields]]'' (1984).  In 1983, Oldfield created a short-lived record label called Oldfield Music whose sole release was a David Bedford album, ''Star Clusters, Nebulae and Places in Devon / The Song of the White Horse''.

Bedford's association with Oldfield led to a record contract to make a number of albums for Virgin, some using orchestral players, others featuring Bedford's keyboards, and some include Oldfield as a featured performer. Album titles from this period include ''Star's End'' (1974), ''The Rime of the Ancient Mariner'' (1975, a musical setting of [[The Rime of the Ancient Mariner|the poem]] by [[Samuel Taylor Coleridge]]), ''The Odyssey'' (1976, a musical setting of [[Odyssey|the poem]] by [[Homer]]), and ''Instructions for Angels'' (1977), the latter including an appearance by [[Mike Ratledge]].

Bedford contributed to records by the [[Edgar Broughton Band]], including a single titled ''Up Yours!'', a [[polemic]] on the [[1970 United Kingdom general election|1970 UK general election]] declaring their intention to [[Turn on, tune in, drop out|drop out]].  The single features a [[string instrument|string]] arrangement by Bedford.

Bedford worked on several [[Roy Harper (singer)|Roy Harper]] projects, including the 1971 four-song album ''[[Stormcock (album)|Stormcock]]'' which also featured [[Jimmy Page]] on guitar (credited as ''S. Flavius Mercurius'' for contractual reasons), and the 1974 album ''[[Valentine (Roy Harper album)|Valentine]]''. Bedford also conducted an orchestra during Harper's live concerts, including the Valentine's Day launch of the album, the concert later released as [[Flashes from the Archives of Oblivion]] and featuring, among others, [[Keith Moon]]. In 2001 he was reunited with Harper when the latter celebrated his 60th birthday with a concert at London's [[Royal Festival Hall]], joined by numerous guest artists, including [[Jeff Martin (Canadian musician)|Jeff Martin]] and [[John Renbourn]]. A recording of the concert ''[[Royal Festival Hall Live – June 10th 2001]]'' was released as a double CD shortly afterwards.

He also worked with a wide variety of other artists, including [[A-ha]], [[Billy Bragg]], [[Camel (band)|Camel]], [[Elvis Costello]], [[Frankie Goes to Hollywood]], [[Madness (band)|Madness]], Andy Summers, [[Alan White (Yes drummer)|Alan White]] (drummer for [[Yes (band)|Yes]]) and [[Robert Wyatt]].<ref>Rupprecht, Philip. '[https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/british-musical-modernism/39720D6D49CB9A92FD4FDD0850209770 Vernaculars: Bedford and Souster as pop musicians]', Chapter 7 of ''British Musical Modernism'', Cambridge, 2015</ref>