Just over a month ago, we told you about Gerald Scarfe's current exhibition at London's House of Illustration. Now running until February 10th, "Gerald Scarfe: Stage & Screen" looks at Scarfe's varied work for stage and screen. It's a rare opportunity to explore the extensive but little-known production designs by the celebrated political cartoonist. Storyboards, costumes and props are on display from Pink Floyd's The Wall, Disney's Hercules and English National Ballet's The Nutcracker.
To mark the final weeks of the exhibition, the artist himself is appearing this month - January 18th, at 7pm - to give some personal insight into the works on display – many of which are being shown for the very first time.
Join Scarfe in conversation with Colin McKenzie, Director of House of
Illustration, as he shares the stories behind the works and gives a personal insight
into Gerald Scarfe: Stage and Screen. Find out more about the extensive but little-known production design by the UK's most celebrated political cartoonist.
We understand that there is a fair amount of Floyd-related material on display amongst his work for other projects, so should definitely be worth a visit next time you are in London, even if you are unable to attend the talk itself. More details, and to book tickets, visit HouseOfIllustration.org.uk. The venue is open 10am - 6pm Tuesday through to Sunday, and is just around the corner from King's Cross railway station.
Our very best wishes for a great day, go to Guy Pratt today (January 3rd), who is celebrating his birthday. Born in London in 1962, son of the actor Mike Pratt from Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased), Guy took to a career in music, which lead to his first world tour whilst still a teenager!
Working with the likes of Bryan Ferry and Robert Palmer lead to him being noticed by David Gilmour, who invited Guy to play for Pink Floyd in 1987. This lead to work with other major artists such as Madonna and Michael Jackson, but Guy has stayed loyal to David, performing alongside him up to the most recent tours, including David's 2015-2016 Rattle That Lock tour that concluded in London's Royal Albert Hall.
Life as a musician on the road, and in the studio, inspired Guy to write his hilarious "My Bass And Other Animals" book, an essential read for any Floyd fan. He has toured his memories in a tour of the same name, and has also developed adaptations of the show. Whatever your interests in music are, the book (as with his solo, stand-up shows) give a mind-boggling and hilarious look at life with various musicians. There's plenty of detail within the pages of his Floyd life, so well worth taking a look. Check out our review of Guy's excellent book here.
Many happy returns, Guy, from all of us at Brain Damage!
2017 marked an interesting but generally neglected anniversary.
Exactly 10 years ago Irish guitarist Gerry Leonard was collaborating with Roger Waters, his guitar work featured prominently on the incredibly undervalued track Hello (I Love You), part of the soundtrack to the movie 'The Last Mimzy' and of Waters' limited recorded catalogue in the 25 years between 'Amused to Death' and 'Is This The Life We Really Want?'.
Leonard's work with Waters continued beyond that: the following year he was part of the team of prominent musicians that recorded The Child Will Fly with him to help support Fundacion Alas, an organization that provides aid to children in Latin America.
This decennial event in music history is among those that went unnoticed in 2017 (to a degree) based on the scale of the milestone it marked – but it is a milestone that added Leonard to a roster of guitarists that includes David Gilmour, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Dave Kilminster, Andy Fairweather Low, Steve Lukather, Tim Renwick, G.E. Smith, and Snowy White, among others (more recently, guitarists Gus Seyffert and Jonathan Wilson).
To mark the 50th anniversary of the five-piece Pink Floyd concert held in the Sussex town of Lewes, online community radio station Radio Lewes will be airing a show next month featuring people who had involvement at the time.
As most of you will be aware, there were a handful of shows undertaken in January 1968, after David Gilmour had joined, and before the departure of Syd Barrett from the band. Pink Floyd appeared in the town, appearing twice on January 19th. Jenny Spires, Barrett's girlfriend, will be a guest on the programme, talking about him and her recollections of Pink Floyd. The broadcast will also include people who promoted or attended the concert and the memories of that night from the original support band, Granny's Intentions. It will be available from January 12th and for at least a month afterwards at RadioLewes.org.uk.
The anniversary of the concert will also be marked by an exhibition at Lewes Town Hall from January 15th featuring exclusive photographs of Syd Barrett from the Barrett family, and other memorabilia associated with Pink Floyd and David Gilmour. Our thanks to Lee McLoughlin for letting us know about this.
Back in October, Nick Mason was the guest for one of the regular "An Evening With..." talks at the China Exchange in London. Hear Nick discuss the history of Pink Floyd, his cars, and more, at ChinaExchange.uk or by watching the video below:
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