In 2016, Pink Floyd's management had their attention drawn to a small batch of Blu-ray discs supplied for 'The Early Years 1965-1972', which had been subject to unreported transit damage (presumably to the packaging/assembly plant), causing eventual discolouration and playing issues over time.
They have now been advised that a small quantity of the below discs have been affected:
If you have any of the above discs that are experiencing playability issues, please TAKE A PHOTOGRAPH of the condition of the affected disc (both back and front), email
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stating the affected disc(s) catalogue number(s) and attaching the photographs to the email, including full delivery details, and they will send you a replacement.
They will be manufacturing replacement discs on a limited basis based on demand, so please contact them before January 1st, 2020, in order that your request can be processed. This offer does not affect your statutory rights.
They thank you for your support of Pink Floyd, and ask that you accept their apologies for the inconvenience that this may have caused.
Last night, David Gilmour made his scheduled guest appearance at Richard Thompson's 70th birthday concert, held at London's Royal Albert Hall. Held in front of a sell-out audience, in thrall to the variety of musicians who joined together in wishing Richard a great day, the show was a 34-song mix of Richard's material, Fairport Convention songs, and the odd cover version (more often than not, originally performed by the guest themselves in earlier days).
David's segment came at the end of the second half, and saw him perform a superb Dimming Of The Day, followed by Fat Old Sun (see below). The encore which followed - Meet On The Ledge, a Fairport song - included what appeared to be all the guests, including David. A memorable night was had by all!
Back in August, Pink Floyd The Later Years 1987-2019 was confirmed and detailed. It will appear as a 16-disc (or 18, if you include the two singles) box set, a double vinyl LP with selected highlights from the set, and a CD release of these highlights too. These will all be released on Friday, November 29th, this year.
Click here for the track listing of the box set.
The latest news is that Amazon.com and Amazon UK have both dropped their prices of the box set heavily - around 25% cheaper! If you have already ordered through either, don't worry - Amazon will always, automatically, charge you the lowest price they have advertised an item for, between the time you ordered it, and release. If you are yet to order it, now could be a great time, and if they make further reductions, that'll be the price you'll end up paying on release!
For those who need reminding, let's take a look at what is on offer. Looking at the largest item first, the box set, this consists of 5 CDs in a 60-page hardback book, 6 Blu-rays and 5 DVDs, each in gatefold wallets, 2 7" vinyl singles with material never released, a 40-page hardback photo book, replica tour programmes, and a reproduction memorabilia collection. The box set offers over six hours of previously unheard audio and over seven hours of previously unseen audiovisuals from A Momentary Lapse Of Reason, The Division Bell and The Endless River albums.
The CDs take in the 2019 remix of A Momentary Lapse Of Reason, a 2019 remix of Delicate Sound Of Thunder, a disc of live B-sides and unreleased material from The Division Bell, and a new remix of the 1990 Knebworth concert. With AMLOR, the album is presented for the first time in 5.1, and has been updated and remixed by David Gilmour and Andy Jackson. The release of The Later Years project gives an opportunity for a fresh overview of this album. By returning to some of Richard Wright's keyboard parts and recording new drum tracks with Nick Mason, producers David Gilmour and Bob Ezrin have restored the creative balance between the three Pink Floyd members.
The Blu-rays include 5.1 surround sound mixes of the above, as well as The Division Bell, a restored and remixed Delicate Sound of Thunder and includes additional tracks not on the original release, a re-edited PULSE, the full Venice 1989 and Knebworth 1990 concert films (Knebworth includes Great Gig In The Sky), along with music videos, the full range of tour screen films (including the very amusing Money screen film from 1994 with a very retro looking alien complete with ray gun), documentaries, and a new film by Ian Emes for The Endless River album. The DVDs replicate the above material with the exception of the surround sound mixes, which are only on the Blu-rays.
The two 7" vinyl singles host two previously unreleased songs - Arnold Layne from the 2007 Syd Barrett tribute concert at the Barbican, and Lost For Words recorded at the rehearsals for the 1994 Earls Court shows. The double vinyl LP and CD "highlights" packages bring together a flavour of the full set, taking in tracks from Knebworth, The Division Bell sessions, the Momentary Lapse remix, Delicate Sound and more. This has different artwork to the box set.
For another sneak preview (previously, we shared on this site Wish You Were Here from the Knebworth 1990 concert), here's another song from The Later Years that is now live on Spotify - the early version of High Hopes:
ORDERING INFORMATION:
You can order the various editions through the following direct links, taking advantage of Amazon's pre-order price guarantee so you will automatically pay the lowest asking price between placing your order, and release, whilst giving Brain Damage much needed help with running costs without costing you any extra. We really appreciate it too! All the below should be live when you read this, or if not, shortly.
We know that the vast majority of our readership are fully aware of what Roger's Us + Them Tour consisted of, and how it was presented. He combined selections from the Floyd's back catalogue (such as Pigs, Money and Us and Them) with songs from his recent album, Is This The Life We Really Want? as a plea for humanity, a call to action to the audiences. The film's aim was to highlight this, whilst providing a stunning and unforgettable cinematic experience. Rolling Stone notes that the film "overwhelms both in subject matter and presentation — the theater shakes with the bass in the Dolby Atmos mix — and you can see how the show affected the audiences that came to see the tour. Us + Them, which contains footage from the tour’s stop in Amsterdam last year, will screen around the world this week." Here's a taster of the film...
In their extensive interview with Roger, he expresses his relief that the film turned out so well, and was struck by the emotions and reactions from those captured on camera in the audience. "I'm glad the film turned out to have a humane and political message. I'm proud of [the audience members]. I'm proud of anybody who allows themselves to be moved by the idea that human beings acting collectively to make each other's lives more full of love is something worth fighting for."
Talking more generally about his live production, and his thoughts on touring, he discusses the importance to him of making the event a compelling experience, a piece of theatre. He also reveals that "I've been talking today with Sean [Evans] about this tour that we're going to do next summer, and I was saying, I've been thinking about a title and which songs to do. There's a song in a demo for a piece that I'm recording, and it's, "Time keeps slipping away." I think it's because we're all dying under the attack from the homicidal sociopaths who have all the money and all the power and run the media and the propaganda system and lie to us constantly and try to keep us at each other's throats so they can maintain the system."
He then expanded on the plans for next summer. "I think the plan is to do 30 or 40 gigs in North America in election year, and also a few gigs probably only in Mexico City. If we're playing in the States, I really want to go to Mexico because audiences are stunning. I love the people. It'll be Canada, the U.S.A., and maybe three gigs in Mexico City. And that's all. I can't go off around the world, and I don't really want to either. And I'm not doing any outdoor shows; I'm just doing arenas, so there's only one thing to produce. But it'll be a new show. It will be no-holds-barred. It will be even more political than Us + Them was — political and humane. We were listening to songs and looking at set lists today. We were talking about, what should we call it? I shouldn't be giving this away, but I don't give a shit because it will probably all change, but imagine the iconic helicopter that normally comes before Happiest Days and Brick 2 — that noise that we all know and love — and imagine a megaphone, somebody abused this device before, I know — but, "This is not a drill." I thought that could be a good title for the show: This Is Not a Drill. The ruling class is killing us."
Obviously as and when the dates, venues and other details are revealed, we'll let you all know. In the meantime, visit RollingStone.com for the full, fascinating interview where Roger talks touring, climate change, David Gilmour and Nick Mason's Saucerful Of Secrets, as well as his new film, which hopefully will have a domestic release announced soon too.
To be published this month is Have a Cigar!, the memoir of music impresario Bryan Morrison, a fascinating insight into the highs and lows of his life in music and sport.
When Morrison died aged 66 in 2008, after two years in a coma following a polo accident at The Royal Berkshire Polo Club of which he was a founder, he left behind his unpublished memoir. As a music publisher, manager and agent, Morrison had represented the Pretty Things, Pink Floyd, Elton John, the Bee Gees, T. Rex, The Jam, Wham! and many others. He was also the founder and owner of the Royal County of Berkshire Polo Club.
In the sixties, he formed the Bryan Morrison Agency, a management and booking agency, who looked after Floyd (amongst others) in their early days, taking over the management of the band from Blackhill Enterprises in 1968. The late Steve O'Rourke and Tony Howard were also part of the team.
In this candid and outspoken book, titled Have a Cigar!, which he was looking to publish before his untimely death, Morrison reveals the true stories behind why Syd Barrett once bit his finger to the bone, the Pretty Things were banned for life from New Zealand, and he became involved with the Kray Twins. He also tells how Elvis Presley had heard - and seen - the Floyd in action, and how Roger Waters sacked Morrison in the corridors of the Royal Albert Hall after a very successful show at the London venue. Spanning the golden age of British rock ’n’ roll from the 60s to the 80s, this is the extraordinary story of a cigar-chomping, East End entrepreneur, with a passion for art and design, fashion, music and polo.
The book proves a truly absorbing read, with Morrison exhibiting a flowing, conversational style that almost feels like he is regaling you with tales from his past over a glass of Scotch. For me, the stories of the rise of his music publishing business, via various money making schemes, fascinate, with great - and poor - decisions taking him in different directions. His later love of polo, and the detail within the book of this, is less interesting, although of course this book will inevitably have different audiences who will thrive on the candid nature of his narrative.
Irrespective of his early involvement with Pink Floyd, then separately Syd Barrett, the book is a must read, "warts and all" look at how someone like Morrison becomes such a key person in the music industry, via photography and fashion. Credit must also go to Bryan's son, Jamie, who arranged with Quiller Publishing to tidy up his father's manuscript that had been kept in a drawer, following the death of Greta, Bryan's wife.
Ordering links: To add this book to your Floydian bookshelves, please use these direct links to help support the running of Brain Damage: Amazon UK, Amazon.com, Amazon Canada, Amazon France, Amazon Germany, Amazon Spain and Amazon Italy. Amazon ships books worldwide so if you are not in one of the locations listing Have a Cigar for order, please try another 'branch' of Amazon.
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