The combined wishes of the Brain Damage team, along no doubt with many of you reading this, go to Roger Waters, who celebrates his 72nd birthday today.

Roger was born in Great Bookham, Surrey, in 1943, moving to Cambridge when he was two years old. It was there that he met, and became childhood friends with, a number of key people in the story of Pink Floyd. We hope you have a great day, Roger. Many happy returns!

Of course, Roger has been extremely busy over the last few years, having successfully taken Dark Side Of The Moon on tour in 2006, which became an extended event. On completing that, the touring bug had clearly bitten strongly, as he immediately started work on a new version of The Wall - which finally opened in September 2010. That tour was spectacularly successful, wrapping up in Paris for show number 217 in September 2013. The tour was documented, and the film that came from those recordings is screened worldwide later this month. It's anticipated that this will be followed in due course with a DVD/Blu-ray release, and there is talk of his new album, potentially being accompanied by a tour next year, and Roger's autobiography too.

Saturday night in the south coast city of Brighton featured a show that will long remain in the memories of those fortunate enough to be in attendance. David Gilmour kicked off his 2015 tour to support the release of Rattle That Lock, the new album due in a couple of weeks time, with a Preview Show at the Brighton Centre.

The venue isn't normally noted as one of the better places acoustically (and I talk with experience of many shows there over the years) but David and his technical wizards absolutely nailed it this evening with flawless sound, and a lightshow which seemed perfect. Our Brighton show page is being updated with full details of the show, and for those of you who were there, please share your views on an evening we think everyone loved!

It has been some 43 years since David last performed in front of an audience in Brighton, and hopefully we'll see him back in what could be considered his hometown now, again at some point.

The show page for this concert, in the 'David Gilmour 2015' section, does contain details of the songs performed (and yes, there were some definite surprises during the evening) but some of those details are hidden so only those who want to see them, can...our full review of the show is also there which talks about the show in a degree of detail.

There's also some pictures of the merchandise which was on offer - we've had a few people ask for details of what items would be for sale. The clock now starts ticking for the first night of the tour proper, in Croatia. If you are going to that, or any other shows on the tour, we hope you enjoy it, and don't forget to let us know all about it!

On sale this week are tickets for an event taking place at London's Porchester Hall, scene of the launch event for Pink Floyd's The Endless River (see picture, left). The event, being held at 7pm (and scheduled to run until 8:15pm) on October 15th, 2015, features David Gilmour and Polly Samson in conversation, discussing their creative relationship, as well as music, inspiration and their artistic processes.

This obviously has echoes of the Borris House Festival of Writing and Ideas appearance by the pair in June which covered this sort of ground. For those who were there, or have heard any snippets of the chat, it proved a fascinating event and also gave the attendees a sneak preview of a couple of tracks from Rattle That Lock.

The Porchester Hall event is part of the 5x15 initiative, and tickets are bound to sell quickly. Topics of conversation will potentially include Polly's recent novel, The Kindness, as well as David's new album. Should be an interesting evening. You can buy tickets now, which cost £20 plus booking fees, from Ticketweb.co.uk.

Coming up at the end of this month are the screenings across the world of Roger Waters The Wall, but this article is a reminder of a very special opportunity we're offering Brain Damage visitors! If you are in or around the New York area on September 10th or 14th, or easily able to travel there for the required time and date, you might want to try your luck in our latest competition, to win a place for you and a friend to attend an exclusive screening of the film...

Here are (to borrow a phrase) The Simple Facts of what's on offer:

• The lucky winners will each be able to bring a friend along to the event
• It is a private and intimate screening of 'Roger Waters The Wall' at a secret, undisclosed location in Midtown Manhattan, so a condition of entry is that you MUST be able to attend the location at the required time and date
• On that note, travel and accommodations are not provided - these will be your responsibility
• The movie will be presented in Dolby Atmos surround sound, the format in which Nigel Godrich mixed the sound in
• The organisers ask that you arrive a bit early if possible
• With your entry, please state your guest's name too, as the organisers will require BOTH names to permit entry to the venue

There are now TWO screenings taking place, so with your entry, please specify if you have a preference to seeing the exclusive screening on September 10th or September 14th, both at 5pm. If you don't specify, we will advise which one you will see if you are a lucky winner. So, to win a pair of seats at these exclusive events, all you need to do is answer this question correctly:

• Name all the members of the band who played guitar during a typical show on Roger's 2010-2013 Wall tour

Email your answers to  This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it  with the subject line of "The Wall NYC competition", and include your name, home address, and if you are a winner, your guest's name too. The closing date has been extended to September 7th, 2015, and all entries received by the end of that date will be in with a chance of winning. Just one entry per household please - and best of luck to you all!

Remember, you must be able to be in Manhattan around late afternoon on September 10th or 14th! Good luck, and however you see Roger Waters The Wall, we hope you enjoy it.