Published tomorrow (April 27th) in the UK is a new, one-off magazine special that may be of interest to many of you. From the respected monthly Uncut is Pink Floyd Live: The Ultimate Companion.

In their fairly brief description, they say: "Celebrating the unbelievable 50 years since Dark Side Of The Moon was first heard by an audience, we present our latest Special: the Ultimate Companion to Pink Floyd Live. Includes: massed gadgets, flying pigs, and new insights into how the band made their greatest music."

As noted on the cover, it includes the stories, concepts, live recordings, onstage meltdowns and more. They include interviews too. We hear that it has 124 pages; it certainly looks a fascinating read, and worth snapping up when it goes on sale tomorrow in the UK. Alternatively, they are selling it online, worldwide, through this direct link.

Orders are now being taken for the latest couple of limited edition books from our good friends at Floydstuff.com, both of which sound like further essential items for the Floydian bookshelves.

BBC RADIO 1967-1971 - English language, 240 pages in full-colour, printed on heavyweight 170gms paper (22x22cm). Published 3 June 2022. Available as a hardcover and paperback edition. Hardcover edition is signed, numbered and limited to 400 copies only.

The publishers say: "Pink Floyd's BBC radio sessions bridge the gap between their meticulously crafted studio albums and the ferocious improvisations of their live performances. Each recording documents a band constantly evolving, dealing in turn with the collapse of their leader Syd Barrett, their unsuccessful attempts to recapture the pop charts, and their eventual self-reinvention as providers of multimedia extravaganzas.

"In the crucible offered by BBC programmes like Top Gear, Pink Floyd forged a musical approach that would serve them for years to come. As high-profile advertisements for a young and hungry group, the role of these appearances in furthering the band's career cannot be overestimated. The collaboration of an English researcher and an American composer, Pink Floyd – BBC Radio 1967-1971 combines the authors' extensive research into the details of each session with a thoughtful analysis of its contents. Every chapter contains new additions to the historical record and sheds fresh light upon the band’s creative process, which combined rigorous structure with spontaneous expression – and astonishing bursts of inspiration with unabashed recycling of existing work.

"Inside are firsthand recollections from audience members and BBC engineers, and coverage of unpublished recordings, including one session that only survives in a private collection and is here described in detail for the first time. The authors delineate the best sources for all the recordings discussed, and provide up-to-date information on Pink Floyd's other radio broadcasts. The text additionally speaks to the unsung heroes: home tapers and engineers who preserved Pink Floyd's legacy when the BBC did not; DJs like John Peel who advocated ceaselessly for their music and offered them a platform from their earliest days; and even the band's own members and collaborators, whose contributions are often under-recognised.

"Pink Floyd – BBC Radio 1967-1971 covers its subject in unprecedented depth, while telling a story of triumph and loss, interspersed with wit and pathos. If you are keen to explore the early history of Pink Floyd, this is undoubtedly a book for you". Order the hardback edition here, or the paperback edition here.

PINK FLOYD IN DE GOFFERT - Dutch language, 112 pages in full-colour, printed on heavyweight 170gms paper (22x22cm). Published 3 June 2022. Available as a hardcover edition, limited to 500 copies.

For this book, the publishers say: "As if it was meant to be, Pink Floyd put up their tents in Nijmegen in the summer of 1989. Twenty years before that, the group is in town for the first time for a disastrously poorly attended gig at the Kolpinghuis. Things will be different now. On Monday 10 July, the immense Goffertpark will be populated by no less than sixty thousand visitors. Never before has Pink Floyd played for so many people in the Netherlands as on that night. In little more than a day, the whole circus has come over from London after the last of six concerts. There is no hint of fatigue. The group led by David Gilmour is in top form that night.

"The story begins two months earlier with a concert in Werchter, first stop of the tour. It is uncertain for a long time whether there is any room for a second concert in the low countries. Competing concert promoters, a logistical nightmare and a very special encore in the Venice lagoon - broadcast worldwide thanks to Dutch television pioneers IDTV and the Cinevideogroup - are the ingredients of a memorable summer. Above all, it is the warm memories and unique, mostly never-before-used visual material of these concerts that make PINK FLOYD IN DE GOFFERT a timeless document. Although written in Dutch, the whole lay-out will certainly appeal to anyone not speaking Dutch". You can order the hardback edition here.

A reminder, should you need it: it's the 2022 Record Store Day! Each year, they reveal a list of limited edition, one-day-only releases sold via participating stores over the counter (and not via mail order), and for Floyd fans there's a potential gem tucked away amongst this year's items, which may be of interest.

Mercury Studios are releasing, for the very first time on vinyl, Pete Townshend's Face The Face album recorded live at MIDEM in Cannes on January 23rd 1986 and broadcast live by Rockpalast, the German TV show. The album was released on DVD/CD in 2016.

The new 2LP set is pressed on bright yellow vinyl and includes 14 songs from the concert.

The band, known as Pete Townshend's Deep End, included David Gilmour on guitar for their limited run of shows in late 1985 and early 1986, and also featured Townshend on guitar and vocals, Peter Hope-Evans on harmonica, Chucho Merchan on bass, Simon Phillips on drums, John ‘Rabbit’ Bundrick on keyboards, and Jody Linscot on percussion.

They were joined by the Kick Horns: Simon Clarke, Roddy Lorimer, Tim Sanders, Pete Beachill and Dave Plews, with backing vocals provided by Billy Nicholls, Ian Ellis, Chris Staines, Gina Foster and Coral Gordon.

TRACK LIST:

SIDE ONE
Won’t Get Fooled Again
Secondhand Love
Give Blood
Behind Blue Eyes
SIDE TWO
After The Fire
Slit Skirts
Blue Light
SIDE THREE
Hiding Out
The Sea Refuses No River
Face The Face
Pinball Wizard
SIDE FOUR
A Little Is Enough
Rough Boys
Night Train

As with the other RSD 2022 releases, it is a limited edition: often the RSD releases are pressed up as just a couple of thousand or so worldwide. As yet we don't know how many there will be of these to snap up on the day.

And, as we've mentioned previously, all the limited edition items are released via RSD participating stores today, 23rd April 2022 - go to RecordStoreDay.com or RecordStoreDay.co.uk for more details of who those will be. A reminder that it will ONLY be these stores participating; the stores themselves can't sell it online - the record will become available for customers coming through the door of the store from the morning of the 23rd (and not before), in limited quantities - first come, first served, and only one copy per customer. After RSD, if copies remain, they may put them for sale online (and of course, there'll also be copies on eBay inevitably...).

Last night, April 13th, Nick Mason's Saucerful Of Secrets began their delayed UK and Ireland tour with a show at the Convention Centre in Dublin.

Amongst the changes were a revised set list, that took in two main chunks of the show, along with an encore, and a new backdrop for film and suchlike.

Initial reports are starting to arrive with those lucky souls in attendance knocked out by the presentation, song selection and performance. If you WANT to have spoilers as to what the set list was, you can head over to the relevant show page for the Dublin Convention Centre Saucers gig, where it is craftily hidden so unwary people don't accidentally see it. All you need to is highlight the relevant area and the set list will reveal itself!

Suffice it to say that those present weren't expecting some of the new additions, including songs never played live before, or not played live since the very early days of Pink Floyd.

Tonight sees the band at the Ulster Hall in Belfast. If you are going, hope you have a wonderful time, and do tell us all about it! Our thanks, by the way, to Martin Kilbride for the picture here, and on the Dublin show page.