Just announced, and available to order immediately (with a release date of Friday, March 5th), is Pink Floyd The Dark Side of the Moon EMI Tape Box Folio – Side One, a limited edition of 250 replica prints that reveals the rarely seen The Dark Side of the Moon Quadrophonic discrete master – Side One EMI tape box, held deep within the EMI archive.

Recording of the album began in May 1972 in Studio Two at EMI Studios (as Abbey Road was known), using the iconic EMI TG12345 MK IV console. Abbey Road was to become Pink Floyd's home for 38 days over a seven-month period, as they embarked on the creation of what, for many, would be their defining work. The print shows Side One of the album, which was recorded in Studios Two and Three at Abbey Road, with Alan Parsons and Peter James noted as the project's engineers. The Dark Side of the Moon was released in the US on March 1st, 1973, and the UK on March 16th, and whilst it never received a UK number 1 position, it went on to break various records and become an iconic release, known the world over.

The tape contained within this box was exclusively manufactured by EMI. The boxes at the time the album was recorded were aqua blue with an 'atomic' image made up of three superimposed images of tape reels, which is the cover you see in this folio. Many of these tape boxes, including The Dark Side of the Moon, are now stored at the EMI Archives, in Hayes, London.

This is an exclusive collaboration between Pink Floyd and Abbey Road Studios. Each handmade folio is numbered and includes a 500gsm box card black folder (37cm x 37cm with a 5cm lip) which encases the two replica litho prints (30cm x 30cm), recreated in exact life size dimensions and cradled with transparent corner holders. Alongside this, it includes a leaflet looking back at the recording of The Dark Side of the Moon and a certificate of authenticity.

Here's a video looking at the folio, which can be ordered now while stocks last at shop.AbbeyRoad.com.

We recently told you about some more new music from respected guitarist Chester Kamen - for those of you who have been enjoying these songs (and there have been quite a number of you giving us positive feedback on these) some good news as the next song is now available. Amongst many other artists, Chester has toured with Roger Waters, joining his band in 2002 and playing on subsequent tours, and with David Gilmour on his 2016 Rattle That Lock tour. He first played with David back in 1985 during the Live Aid show - David and Chester were both part of Bryan Ferry's band for that show (as was Jon Carin).

Chester has, like many musicians, kept himself busy whilst lockdowns and restrictions due to Covid-19 have called a halt to many things - in particular, live performance. In October, he shared his recently finished new piece of music called Take This, that runs for over 23 minutes. Chester told us that Take This is the first side of an album he is currently working on - following, or inspired by, the old Floyd blueprint of one long piece and several songs on the flip side. Since then we've seen the first few songs on the second side of the album: Brand New Day, Swimming, and I'd Love To Turn You.

Chester is now inviting you to join him in Lover's Lane... via the latest track on the album which he has uploaded to YouTube. Chester told us that "Lover's Lane was written by myself and drummer Chuck Sabo. It is a bit of a waltz for a change (6/8) and is possibly inspired by the Peter Green era Fleetwood Mac, which, as a boy, I was very into." Chester adds that the video "has a little Floyd moment that I couldn't resist". See if you can spot it!

We'll update you as he progresses with the rest of the album, as we know from feedback we've had that a good number of you are enjoying the songs revealed so far!

This coming Tuesday - March 9th - at 10am UK/GMT, Sotheby's Auction House are hosting their Made in Britain sale, which aims to showcase art and objects by the very best artists and makers working in Britain in the 20th and 21st centuries, across paintings, works on paper, sculpture, prints, photography, design and studio and contemporary ceramics. With estimates starting at only £200, they note that there is something for every collector at every price point.

Of interest to Pink Floyd fans are lots 315 through to 323, which are all original works by Gerald Scarfe - all but one of them are representatives of his work for Pink Floyd's The Wall project. They are from his private collection. As they are originals, the prices reflect that and puts them out of many fans' price points. As you'll see from the details below, some have an upper estimate price of £60,000, although you never know - bargains can sometimes be had at auctions!

• Lot 315 - PF The Wall: Wife, Mother, Teacher and Pink, ink and watercolour. Estimate £8,000-12,000
• Lot 316 - PF The Wall: The Marching Hammers, oil on canvas. Estimate £40,000-60,000
• Lot 317 - PF The Wall: Album Sleeve Design, oil on canvas. Estimate £40,000-60,000
• Lot 318 - PF The Wall: The Teacher and the Mincing Machine, oil on canvas. Estimate £30,000-50,000
• Lot 319 - PF The Wall: The Flowers: Sequence, oil on canvas. Estimate £20,000-30,000
• Lot 320 - PF The Wall: The Flowers, oil on canvas. Estimate £8,000-12,000
• Lot 321 - PF The Wall: The Prosecuting Council, ink and watercolour. Estimate £6,000-8,000
• Lot 322 - PF The Wall: Comfortably Numb, ink and watercolour. Estimate £3,000-5,000
• Lot 323 - Maggie [Thatcher], ink and watercolour. Estimate £7,000-9,000

Follow the links above to see more detail of each of the lots, including detailed pictures of each (in some cases, showing the rear of the item too). It's also the place to go should you be interested in bidding for any of these incredible pieces (or anything else in the auction, of course).

Just published (last Thursday, February 18th) in Europe by Omnibus Books, is The Lyrics of Syd Barrett. In North America, you'll have to wait a little bit as it comes out over there on May 6th.

Featuring 52 songs and a foreword by Pink Floyd's first manager, Peter Jenner, and an introduction by Rob Chapman (author of Syd Barrett: A Very Irregular Head), this beautifully illustrated and official 96-page book compiles Syd's extraordinary lyrics together for the very first time. David Gilmour has been a key person behind this book, working his way through Syd lyrics checking them for accuracy before the book went to the printers.

As the publisher's rightly note, "legendary Pink Floyd founding member Syd Barrett's songwriting was unique, memorable and utterly brilliant." This book is sure to be a popular choice for many; Syd's lyrics were captivating, sometimes playful, sometimes dark and painful, but always unforgettable. Alongside the lyrics are a number of photos and artwork.

Having just got our hands on this, we've been very impressed with it. It's very nicely produced (and slightly larger format than we were expecting) and finally we have what must be considered the definitive version of Syd's song lyrics - with David Gilmour listening to the isolated vocal track on the original tapes at times to nail exactly what Syd was singing at various points, specifically for this book, that should settle any arguments over the lyrics for these songs.

We'd love to know what you think about the book, particularly if you have your copy already. Did anything come as a surprise to you? Do let us know at the normal email address!

For those who would like to add this to their Floydian bookshelves, you can order it through the following direct links. Ordering through our links also helps with BD's ongoing running costs, and we really appreciate it: Amazon UK, Amazon.com, Amazon Canada, Amazon France, Amazon Germany, Amazon Spain and Amazon Italy. Alternatively, London based TheFloodGallery.com are also selling the book, and they were doing a book and print bundle, although these now seem to be sold out.