At the very end of November, Pink Floyd 1965 - Their First Recordings was quietly released to create a storm of shock and surprise amongst the Floyd community. The stealth release of 1050 copies, housed on two 7" singles, in a gatefold sleeve with a Po Powell design, brought the official release for the first time of six songs recorded during that year. It appeared in selected record stores with no fanfare or pre-notice. Rumour has it that record stores weren't even told who the single was by or what it was called, but just told they could order in a handful of copies of a rarity that would become clear on receipt.
The recordings were made when the band were still a five-piece, with Rado Klose on guitar, alongside Syd, Nick, Roger, and Richard. One of the tracks, Walk With Me Sydney, also includes Juliette Gale (later, Richard's first wife) on vocals. Andy Jackson did the mastering for vinyl of these tracks, and the sound quality is very good across all six tracks.
Naturally, these sold incredibly quickly and it is extremely unlikely (but not impossible) that any remain in record stores. However, for those who have missed out, an official digital release has just appeared on iTunes via http://fave.co/1NUyPiA, although possibly this is not yet in all country's iTunes as yet - but worth checking regularly if you want to purchase this and see just what set the Floyd community ablaze at the start of December...
Whilst it isn't something to look forward to in 2016, something a little further in the distance to start thinking about, particularly for our friends in Canada (initially, anyway).
The Montreal Symphonic Orchestra is working with Roger Waters for the staging of an opera about the Wall titled "Another Brick in the Wall The Opera" for Montreal's celebrations of their 375 year anniversary in 2017.
Roger is quoted as saying that he is thrilled and look forward to work with the "Quebecois" once again. The opera is intended to tour Opera Houses around the world, once the Montreal premiere has taken place. An article in the Montreal newspaper La Presse also revealed that Dominic Champagne will be the one responsible for the "Mise en scene". Champagne is the one who created the incredible show "Love" about the Beatles for Cirques du Soleil, which is currently playing to sell-out crowds in Las Vegas.
As yet there are NO confirmed details of dates or locations, for the Montreal staging nor for any subsequent performances, but once we have them, we will bring the news to you as ever. Our thanks to Paul Cousineau for the information.
The album is called 73 Days At Sea, and features guest appearances from former Van der Graaf Generator saxophonist David Jackson and Panic Room's lead singer Anne Marie Helder. Andy said of the album: "I spent some time travelling back and forth to the sea – the edge of the world - while I was working on projects for others. I noticed in myself a sense of nostalgia each time I went there, as if revisiting a childhood home. I have never lived near the sea and I've scarcely been to this particular place before. Still, the false nostalgia persisted. I resolved that I would write a suite of songs concerning the sea. It seems to occupy a pivotal place in our subconscious. Eventually it became clear that the entire album was to be the 'sea suite', albeit that direct mention was sometimes fleeting."
The album is available to order now, for despatch upon release. The CD also features a DVD with a stunning 5.1 Surround Sound Mix and a 96 kHz / 24-bit stereo mix. You can order it through the following direct links, all resulting in a small but vital contribution toward our site running costs:
The new issue (December 2015) of the German magazine Eclipsed features a large interview with Roger Waters under the heading of Live Walls. Despite having a particularly Floydian title, the magazine is a general music publication, and other artists within the pages of this new issue include The Beatles, Def Leppard, and the late Frank Zappa.
The interview starts with the magazine mentioning the stats of The Wall tour - more than 200 concerts, in front of more than four million viewers, the most successful tour by a solo artist. Roger: "I've never thought about it. Of course I'm glad that so many people came to the shows. I hope they all got to draw something positive from it, just as I could in any case." The interviewer notes that despite the original 'dark themes' still being there, there are also hopes of warmth and humanity - how did he integrate these emotions?
Waters: "It is not the question of how you can incorporate these things deliberately in the show. It's just the question of whether one is 30 or 70 years old. In the past 35 years I have learned to look at things from a different perspective. Over the years I have become less narcissistic and do not feel so affected by my personal problems that I had as a young man, when I wrote the piece and performed with Pink Floyd. Now I am working on more general issues. I'm trying to build, through empathy and understanding, connections between all brothers and sisters throughout the world, which are separated. Separated by walls of all kinds, which are built up by our governments and national interests..."
The magazine suggest that Roger's lighter mood, joking at times during the film, is also a sign of how things change over 35 years. "Yes, probably. Also in 1990 at the concert on the Potsdamer Platz in Berlin, the atmosphere was much better than at the shows in Los Angeles, New York, London and Dortmund, we had played in 1980 and 1981. The relationship between me and the audience has evolved. In 2010-2013 I felt a very close connection with the audience. In my opinion, it is also because the audience is now much better at understanding what is at stake in "The Wall", i.e. by much more global things, rather than personal problems. To things that concern us all somehow. In 1979 that was not so clear."
The full interview (in German) is in the magazine. Our thanks to Michael Nickel for the information on this publication.
On December 28th, at 8:05pm, a 50 minute special - Pink Floyd, l'histoire Belge airs on La Deux, part of RTBF (the French language national TV station) in Belgium.
The programme will detail the Belgium concerts of the band, and has been produced with the assistance of Charles Beterans, author of the book, Pink Floyd In De Polder which we reviewed a few years ago. On the subject of the book, the current edition has completely sold out. Charles tells us that next year he will start preparing a revised edition which will also be available in English (and retitled "Pink Floyd To Lowlands Paradise"). More details about this are to follow in due course.
Back to Pink Floyd, l'histoire Belge though - presenter Marc Ysaye gives the history of Pink Floyd's appearances in Belgium, from their first time in the country in the late 1960s, and looks at the development of the band. Some of the RTBF content is available to watch on demand at their website, and we hope that this show will be amongst those available.
Older News Archive 
Whilst it isn't something to look forward to in 2016, something a little further in the distance to start thinking about, particularly for our friends in Canada (initially, anyway).
Just over a year ago, 
On December 28th, at 8:05pm, a 50 minute special - 
