BD visitor Steve Gregory has been in touch with another example of Pink Floyd dominating "listener vote" charts, this time in New Zealand, and a poll with a fun difference.

Over to Steve: "I thought you may like to know that last Friday (February 6th) which is Waitangi Day in New Zealand (our National day) a popular local classic hits radio station The Sound revealed the most popular 25 album sides as voted by the listeners - which were then played in their entirety as they counted then down - great concept.

"Floyd dominated with 6 album sides (24% of the total) - twice as much as nearest rivals The Beatles and Dire Straits - including taking the number one spot. They came in as follows:"

• 1 - The Dark Side of the Moon - Side 1
• 3 - The Dark Side of the Moon - Side 2
• 4 - Wish You Were Here - Side 1
• 8 - Wish You Were Here - Side 2
• 12 - The Wall - Side 1
• 18 - The Wall - Side 3

Our thanks to Steve for the info. With the nature of Pink Floyd's music, this is a great idea for a poll, and in some situations makes much more sense.

The UK's Sky Arts 1 (also Sky Arts 1HD) are hosting a special, extended Pink Floyd Weekend, starting tomorrow evening. Sky Arts 1 can be seen via Sky and Virgin Media in the UK, and in a number of countries in Europe via satellite.

They are promising "three nights dedicated to one of the most ground-breaking and influential rock bands of all time." The shows on offer (with their initial screening dates and times) are:

• Pink Floyd: Live in Pompeii - 6th Feb, 9pm UK
• Pink Floyd: Delicate Sound of Thunder - 7th Feb, 9pm
• Discovering: Pink Floyd - 7th Feb, 11pm
• David Gilmour: Live in Gdansk - 8th Feb, 9pm

There are repeats of these at various points (normally in the early hours of the morning) and there are shows focused on other artists in between, so calling it Pink Floyd Weekend is stretching things a little but still plenty to watch and enjoy, particularly for some of the newer fans out there who may not have seen all this (especially with Delicate Sound of Thunder still not - officially - available on DVD).

Our thanks to Phil Lloyd for tipping us off about these upcoming broadcasts this weekend. Hope those of you who can, will be tuning in!

All of us at Brain Damage offer our heartiest best wishes to Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason, who celebrates the very special occasion of his birthday today, January 27th.

The cornerstone of the band, he had his first drum kit at the tender age of 13. A member of Pink Floyd since the earliest iterations, he is the only one to have appeared on every one of their albums. Thanks to his late father Bill, he has been a "petrol head" from a young boy, and cars have been - and remain - one of his major passions in life. His most recent book, Passion for Speed, is worth checking out, as is the first of a series of DVDs focusing on his cars (with Nick heavily involved). Hopefully more of these DVDs are in the works!

Nick has contributed to a number of magazines on motoring issues over the years (including a fascinating monthly column in Octane Magazine), and four years ago became president of the Guild of Motoring Writers. He is a trustee of the Beaulieu National Motor Museum, and a life member and Guardian of the BRDC (British Racing Drivers Club). He has been involved in motor racing since the early 1970s and has entered Le Mans five times.

Obviously more recently there has been the release of The Endless River, which has had Nick back on the drums in David Gilmour's south coast studio, augmenting the existing recordings with some new drumwork. He is also lined up to work with David on his new album: "David is making a solo album and he's asked me to play on that..."

Many happy returns, Nick - hope you have a great day!

The well-respected UK radio station Planet Rock are broadcasting a new episode of their one-hour show, My Planet Rocks, now in its tenth series, tonight at 7pm UK time.

In this week's My Planet Rocks, Aubrey 'Po' Powell, now creative director of Pink Floyd, and, with his colleagues such as the late Storm Thorgerson, formed an integral part of design team Hipgnosis, talks to PR presenter Liz Barnes about his life and career thus far, and much talk of Pink Floyd is promised. You can hear the interview tonight (Sunday, November 16th) at 7pm, and again on Thursday, November 20th, at 8pm.

Those in the UK can tune in on DAB radio, via Sky satellite TV (channel 0110), Virgin Media digital cable (channel 924), or Freesat (channel 730). Alternatively, fans worldwide can listen in via their website: PlanetRock.com. They also have a "Listen Again" facility online but we cannot guarantee that this new show will be available through that route - although it should be there soon.