The ever inventive and entertaining Ron Geesin holds a place in many Pink Floyd fans hearts. He was key to the writing and development of Atom Heart Mother, and also worked on the Music From The Body documentary film, principally with Roger Waters for the music throughout the film, but also with the Floyd for the uncredited full band performance which appears on the soundtrack and subsequent soundtrack album. He also famously was joined by David Gilmour in 2008 for a recreation of the Atom Heart Mother suite at London's Cadogan Hall.
A highlights video of his very last live performance has just been put together (from three audience members' videos) to give a flavour of the event, which was held at the Cardiff Arts Centre, on the 7th February 2020. It includes solos on piano, banjo, bass marimba, voice and percussion; readings from his new book 'The Stapled Brain'; ends with Ron's interpretation of Bassoon by Vassily Kandinsky and includes a brief discussion of his involvement in Atom Heart Mother. Those who never had the opportunity to see Ron live, will get a good flavour of the unique, and memorable, nature of his performances...
Those of you in the UK and Ireland (and selected locations elsewhere who might have reception) have got their Saturday evening (November 21st) viewing sorted!
Despite the selections in question being freshly released, the British free-to-air television channel Sky Arts (on Freeview, Sky, Virgin Media and other providers) are treating their viewers to a couple of crackers, perfect for those who haven't yet bought either to check them out - try before you buy, to a degree.
First, at 8pm, is the Restored. Re-Edited. Remixed version of Delicate Sound of Thunder. Running on Sky Arts for two hours, this is the stunning new version which came out in the Later Years box set, and on Friday, November 20th (the day before Sky's broadcast), a standalone release on Blu-ray, DVD, 2CD, 3LP and deluxe 4-disc box. For those who are yet to see just how different, and improved, the new version is, prepare to be amazed!
Just published is the latest issue (number 35 - cover date December 2020) of the Pink Floyd fanzine "Heyou" run by our friends over at the Italian website of the same name. The 52-page dual language magazine (in Italian and English), which is published every six months or so, catches up with things in the Floyd world.
The magazine has a range of subjects as its major focuses, despite 2020 being a year when plans have changed dramatically for many people - musicians in particular, with Roger and Nick both having planned to be touring with their respective bands.
The first feature looks at the collaboration between Polly Samson and David Gilmour - in particular the audiobook of A Theatre For Dreamers and David's single, Yes, I Have Ghosts. This is followed by a lengthy review by The Second Disc of Nick Mason's Saucerful Of Secrets: Live At The Roundhouse, which is (quite rightly) very enthusiastic about the release.
There's a detailed and fascinating look at the making of The Later Years box set, via an article from somethingelsereviews.com, which includes interviews with Aubrey 'Po' Powell, Damon Iddins, and Andy Jackson.
A review of the Roger Waters Us + Them precedes the first part of a detailed article looking at the initial run of Wall concerts in 1980, and what happened during the shows. Finally, there's a look at two of the Floyd related Record Store Day 2020 releases - Roger's 1990 Berlin gig on vinyl, and the Floyd's 7" single of Arnold Layne recorded at the Syd Barrett tribute concert at London's Barbican in 2007.
More details of the Heyou fanzine can be found at www.heyou.it/fsubscrbd.html, where you can get individual copies, and subscription enquiries (four issues costing 35 euros within Europe, and 45 euros outside Europe) should go to
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- make sure you mention Brain Damage when you write!
Last month, we told you about some new music from respected guitarist Chester Kamen. 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. Last month, 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.
The first of the songs on the second side of the album is now here - Brand New Day - which has a nice, optimistic feel to it (something we need in current times) and seems to have a bit of a Beatles-ish vibe to it. We'll update you as he progresses with the rest of the album:
Many of you will be fully aware of the literary skills of Glenn Povey. Founder of Brain Damage magazine (the forerunner of this website) and author of a string of essential books about Pink Floyd (in particular In The Flesh, revised as Echoes, and most recently in its fullest iteration, The Complete Pink Floyd listing every concert, appearance and song in their history).
Glenn has now turned to a slightly more specialised, or focused, history. High Hopes: David Gilmour, The Origins of the Voice and Guitar of Pink Floyd has just been announced and published in a limited, numbered edition of 500 hardback books, signed by Glenn along with his co-author Warren Dosanjh. The 124 page book is the most detailed biography of David Gilmour's early history in print, with Glenn, along with Warren - a lifelong Cambridge resident and also the manager of Syd Barrett's pre-Pink Floyd band Those Without - tracing Gilmour's career from the very beginning.
The book tells the story of Gilmour's upbringing, childhood and influences as well as the bands he performed in and sets into context the relationships developed in his hometown of Cambridge.
A wealth of previously unpublished photographs, anecdotes from school friends,
former band mates and family are brought together to tell the definitive story of a shy yet determined teenager who went on to become the voice and guitar of Pink Floyd. Many of the recollections and earliest photos are from David's younger brother Peter Gilmour, along with David's various early bandmates.
We've now seen a copy; the amount of detail and information within the book is quite breathtaking at times, and there are many incredible pictures of David in his youth, both in family/childhood contexts, and in his early bands. We urge you to act fast if you want to secure a copy with it being so limited in nature.
You can order High Hopes: David Gilmour - The Origins of the Voice and Guitar of Pink Floyd directly from the publisher's website, which is MindHeadPublishing.co.uk.
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Those of you in the UK and Ireland (and selected locations elsewhere who might have reception) have got their Saturday evening (November 21st) viewing sorted!
Just published is the latest issue (number 35 - cover date December 2020) of the Pink Floyd fanzine "Heyou" run by our friends over at the Italian website of the same name. The 52-page dual language magazine (in Italian and English), which is published every six months or so, catches up with things in the Floyd world.
