Two new magazines are in UK stores now, both with a specific musical bent, but with items of particular interest to us all as they have interviews with various members of Nick Mason's Saucerful Of Secrets. The band have had a reasonable bit of coverage recently in various magazines, but these more specialist publications delve a little deeper into some aspects (in a very accessible way to non-players).

First, the September 2018 issue of Guitarist (issue 437, far left) has, alongside a major feature on Martin acoustic guitars, a look at "Nick Mason on recreating Syd's guitar tones". This is covered in a nice, eight page article, interviewing Lee Harris, Gary Kemp, and Nick Mason (is it a first for him appearing in this magazine?). The article is a fascinating insight into how the band came together, and how the material was developed for the set list.

You can order this magazine online, worldwide, through this direct link to the publisher's own eStore.

The other magazine of note is September 2018's Bass Guitar Magazine (issue 160, left) which has Guy Pratt on the cover, holding two of his basses, and backed with the Saucerful swirl design. The five page article is an absorbing look into the project, with the interview also covering Guy's long and diverse career in music.

As with Guitarist, above, you can order this magazine online, worldwide, through this direct link.

Sunday saw the opening show of the European tour by Nick Mason's Saucerful Of Secrets, in the Swedish city of Stockholm. The performance at Cirkus, a 126 year old permanent indoor big top (used for concerts and other similar events these days) thrilled a rapt audience, with the beefed up light show, larger staging, bigger sound, and expanded setlist.

Full details of the additional songs (including one that the Floyd never performed live) as well as our review of the concert and a selection of pictures, can be seen over on the Stockholm show page.

Tonight sees the band take the stage in Amsterdam; if you have tickets for this or any future shows, we're sure you'll have a great time. If you are yet to get your tickets, don't delay... you won't want to miss out!

We've also had a number of questions about the merchandise on offer; for the first night, the range on offer included six t-shirts, one hoodie, a bandana, cap, drumsticks, a mug and a poster (which - for this show at least - had been signed). There were also signed copies of Nick's, Guy's and Gary's books on offer. Queues quickly built for the purchasing opportunities presented, and a significant amount seemed to be sold. Please see the pictures below showing the merchandise available in Stockholm, which shows the prices in Swedish Kroner:

The combined wishes of all of us on the Brain Damage team, along no doubt with many of you reading this, go to Roger Waters, who celebrates his 75th 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.

Of course, Roger has been extremely busy over the last few years, having successfully taken Dark Side Of The Moon on tour in 2006, through to 2008. On completing that, 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. Recordings of that tour turned into the film, shown in cinemas and released on DVD/Blu-ray and as part of a mammoth, Super Deluxe Edition.

More recently, he kicked off his Us + Them world tour, which so far has been performed in North America, Australia, New Zealand and Europe. Roger and the band are now on a break before the tour resumes in a month's time, in Brazil. He's also released his latest solo album, Is This The Life We Really Want? as well as overseeing the release of the late Nick Sedgwick's book about the band, and in particular, the 1974 tour of The Dark Side of the Moon...

We hope you have a great day, Roger. Many happy returns!

The new issue of the UK's Classic Rock magazine (cover date September 2018, issue number 253) is well worth tracking down. A detailed, four page article takes a close look at Nick Mason's new project - his Saucerful Of Secrets - and speaks to all five members of the band.

For those wondering where the idea came from, and how the band members were assembled, the details are revealed by the men themselves. With the European tour starting in just over a week in Stockholm, Sweden, and the Unattended Luggage limited edition box set coming out next Friday, it is little surprise that there is a strong focus on all things Nick at present.

Elsewhere in the magazine is a review of the box set, and a large review of the BST Hyde Park festival, which of course started with Roger Waters headlining the first day, presenting an outdoor version of his current Us + Them tour. There's also a large interview with Slash about Guns n' Roses, plus plenty of other articles to keep you busy.

The magazine is now available from all good UK stores, and will be in selected outlets worldwide in due course as an import. Alternatively, you can buy individual issues (again, worldwide) from this direct link.