WITH the speakers turned up to number 11 you could probably hear the thrum of his Gibson Les Paul guitar from Wembley stadium, but Welsh Harp rocker Bill Liesegang has performed to far larger audiences in a long and illustrious career.

Bill, of Kinloch Drive, has worked with the likes of Rod Stewart and Bruce Dickinson during his 20 years as a session musician.

He has toured the world, playing to crowds of more than half a million, living the rock n' roll lifestyle to the full.

But with his second album, Visual Surveillance of Extremities, earning rave reviews, Bill is making waves of his own at the age of 52.

He said: "It was released a couple of months ago in Japan and has done well. I've played a lot there and my first album, No Strings Attached, sold 10,000 copies.

"The new album is heavy rock. Fans of classic stuff and heavy metal will like it but there are also modern, nu-metal influences."

Bill produced and wrote the album from the sound-proofed studio in his home.

Like Bill, the studio has quite a history.

"I bought it six years ago from Chris Thompson of Manfred Mann," said Bill. "Brian May from Queen used to come around and play, so I'm in good company."

Bassist PJ Phillips, 40, of Elmside, Edgware; singer Doogie White, 38, of Chiswick; drummers Barry Fitzgerald, 55, of Islington, and Thomas Lang, 32, of Mill Hill, and Los Angeles-based keyboard player Roger Scott-Craig, 52, accompany Bill on the album.

They are an experienced line-up, Bill knows well.

He said: "I've played with a lot of the guys since the Eighties when we were with the Nina Hagen Band.

"It was with Nina that we did the Rocking Rio festival to 500,000 people. We followed Queen on stage and the atmosphere was incredible.

"We also played huge gigs in Paris and Holland as well as football stadiums in Europe and four US tours."

After 12 years of touring, Bill concentrated on session work.

The list of artists' albums he has appeared on reads like a who's who of rock music.

"Working with Rod Stewart and, more recently, Shara Nelson from Massive Attack, was fun. But playing for Nina was best as I was with her longest," he said.

"It can be tough. You work 12 hour days and some artists are very demanding.

"I once played on an album for a group called Kingdom Come. Their guitarist was terrible and I was brought in to correct his mistakes but he insisted I played exactly as he'd done, which was a pain."

Mixing with the stars is not new for Bill.

As a teenager, he jammed with David Bowie and was even asked to join his band.

"I met him when I was 14 at his club," said Bill. "He was like a Bob Dylan folk character, a real hippie.

"He asked me to join his band but I was still in school so I couldn't. My parents wouldn't allow it."

Bill has had his own band before, releasing three albums with Xero in 1980. One of the forerunners of heavy metal, they influenced groups like Motorhead and Metallica.

More recently, Bill has written soundtracks to television programmes like BBC series Grumpy Old Men and sports showpieces like the World Cup.

He now owns 35 guitars, but like all self-respecting axemen he has a favourite.

"It has to be the 1966 Gibson Les Paul. It's got such a beautiful, velvety sound," he said.

Bill has been married to Austrian wife Georgey for 25 years. They have a 12-year-old daughter Celina, who attends Barnet Theatre School.

"After hearing about the trials and tribulations of my career, Celina doesn't want to go into the music business," said Bill.

"She wants to be a marine biologist."

To buy Bill's new album, see www.liesegang.co.uk or email billsgang@aol.com