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The Pink Floyd Exhibition: Their Mortal Remains heading to Toronto, Canada!

Announced this lunchtime: Toronto has been confirmed as the seventh location to host The Pink Floyd Exhibition: Their Mortal Remains, the magnificent and critically acclaimed major retrospective of Pink Floyd, their music and the impact the band had on art and culture. Canada sees the exhibition remain on its shores having recently staged it in Montreal. Following its hugely successful debut at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum in 2017, which saw over 400,000 people attend, the exhibition has subsequently traveled to Italy, Germany, Spain and the United States attracting well over 500,000 people and will now take residency in the cultural hub of Toronto. The Exhibition opens on Friday, June 16th, 2023, and is being held at the Better Living Centre at Exhibition Place in the city. Tickets go on sale Friday, May 26th at 10am EST. The Better Living Centre should be a good venue for the immersive experiential journey through Pink Floyd’s world. The band played in Toronto a number of times, as have the individual members of the band on their solo tours. The exhibition normally runs for a while, and once we have the anticipated closing date, we will update this story. “After a hugely successful run in Montreal this past year, it was time to bring The Pink Floyd Exhibition to Toronto to rock the summer,” said Michael Cohl, Executive Producer of the exhibition and Canadian Promoter of Pink Floyd. “It’s only fitting since Pink Floyd has such strong ties to the city, notably the sold-out 1987 shows that launched the next phase of their storied career. I am thrilled to be able to present this exhibition in my hometown where we can all celebrate Pink Floyd’s legacy.” “Pink Floyd has an enduring history in Toronto starting with their premiere concert in 1973 at Maple Leaf Gardens; and having performed at Exhibition Stadium seven times during the 80s and 90s,” said Darrell Brown, CNE CEO. “The CNE has a rich musical legacy, and we are honoured to be hosting this incredible retrospective on the grounds where many of their most memorable Toronto concerts took place. The CNEA is proud to be part of this extraordinary exhibition that brings the history and music of Pink Floyd in a new light.” To purchase tickets for the exhibition, and for more information, please visit PinkFloydExhibition.com (http://www.pinkfloydexhibition.com) and as before, advance booking is highly recommended as popular times and dates will no doubt sell quickly. Ticket prices include the excellent audioguide which attendees to previous stagings of the exhibition will know is an extremely well designed facility which will really enhance your visit. Each day of operation the first entry is at midday (12pm) and evening tickets (normally after 6pm) are more expensive. There’s also a VIP package available to purchase. Here are the hours each week that you can visit the exhibition, of which you really need to allocate at least two hours to get around: Monday: Closed
Tuesday – Thursday: 12pm to 10pm (last visit)
Friday – Saturday: 12pm to 10pm (last visit)
Sunday: 12pm to 10pm (last visit) For more information about the exhibition, you can also check out the various articles here on Brain Damage, or, as mentioned above, visit www.pinkfloydexhibition.com (http://www.pinkfloydexhibition.com).

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Roger Waters: This Is Not A Drill tour coming to Buenos Aires, Argentina

Estadio River Plate in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on November 21st 2023 (https://www.brain-damage.co.uk/2023-tour-zone/november-21st-estadio-river-plate-buenos-aires-arge.html). We suspect there will be more shows at the venue, and other venues in that part of the world. The current show is presented live in the round – a departure from Roger’s previous shows – and we wonder if there will be different staging for this stadium show due to the practicalities of the location. The production has already been seen in the US and Canada in the latter part of 2022, and Europe in early to mid 2023, showcasing both the new visuals, and the new set list. More details of that can be found in the show pages for concerts which have already taken place on Roger’s 2022 and 2023 tour – but don’t go there if you don’t want to have any surprises spoilt! Tickets for this show will go on sale first in an exclusive instance for Santander American Express customers, starting on Monday, May 8th at 10 am local time. This pre-sale will be open for 48 hours or until stock is exhausted, whichever comes first, and then leads to the general sale. The only official sales site is AllAccess (https://www.allaccess.com.ar/event/roger-waters).

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Roger Waters – Prague concert live cinema broadcast worldwide

Trafalgar Releasing, in conjunction with Sony Music, are collaborating with Roger Waters for the third time, following their cinema broadcasts of the Us And Them, and The Wall Live, concerts. On Thursday, May 25th, they will broadcast Roger’s “This Is Not a Drill” show live from Prague to cinemas around the world. This cinematic event will feature 20 Pink Floyd and Waters’ classic songs, along with the new song “The Bar”. Tickets will go on sale in one’s week’s time, on Tuesday, April 25th at www.thisisnotadrillfilm.com (https://www.thisisnotadrillfilm.com), where details of participating cinemas should also be available. They advise that this event has been time shifted in some markets to suit local time zones, which is a sensible move, to avoid being in the middle of the working day, or the middle of the night. Obviously, check local listings for more details of this. Here’s the trailer for the event:

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News wrap: Guy in Brighton, Pink Floyd in German magazine, Ron Geesin talks sound effects

This morning we’re bringing together a few small items of recent news that might be of interest, all with a Floyd connection! First, those in or near Brighton in the south of England, Guy Pratt is hosting a Q&A with Toby Amies about Amies’ new movie about King Crimson, In The Court Of The Crimson King. The Q&A follows a screening of the film at Brighton’s Duke Of York’s Picturehouse (which dates from 1910 and claims to be the oldest purpose-built cinema in the UK), on Saturday, April 8th at 8:30pm. Details and tickets here (https://www.picturehouses.com/movie-details/008/HO00012682/in-the-court-of-the-crimson-king-toby-amies-q-a). For those of you in Germany, the latest issue (cover date March 2023) of Eclipsed Magazine (https://www.eclipsed.de/en) has a large feature on The Dark Side Of The Moon – as hinted at with the very eye-catching cover. Their synopsis of the main feature is as follows: “50 years ago, in March 1973, the eighth album of Pink Floyd was released. At that time, no one could have guessed what traces “The Dark Side Of The Moon” would leave in the world of rock music. Today we know that it is one of the five best-selling albums of all time and crowned an entire genre. For art rock and for the band itself, a new era began with this work. Pink Floyd would become one of the most famous and influential groups ever. The album is a synthesis of music, lyrics, sound and artwork. To this day, it has lost none of its fascination. This fascination will also be kept alive by the new deluxe box of the album – including Dolby Atmos mix – which will be released on March 24.” From the cover it is clear that they also look at Alan Parsons’ work on the album, and include a classic interview with David Gilmour. Our thanks to Michael Nickel for the information on this one! Last month, the BBC’s Radio 4 broadcast a documentary about sound effects, and the incredible impact they have on story-telling and atmosphere within film, TV and radio. The hour-long programme, which is available to listen to online (https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001hxs4) for the next 11 months, includes musicians and foley artists, alongside the likes of Ben Burtt who made iconic sounds for Star Wars. Ron Geesin, who worked with Pink Floyd on Atom Heart Mother, and chiefly with Roger Waters on Music From The Body (although the entire band appear uncredited on the final track of the album), also features from around the 17 minute mark. Ron explains how he got into creating his sound textures and techniques. Our thanks to Malcolm Walker for tipping us off about this fascinating radio show. Staying with the radio, last week, Paul Giblin, director of Phonic FM, an Exeter community station, dedicated his radio show to his personal celebration of 50 years of The Dark Side Of The Moon, reconstructing the album from many diverse sources in a live 2 hour mix. He started with the original Speak to Me, then explored classical, bluegrass, jazz, reggae, dub, ska, polka, dubstep, trance, soul, wild rock, country and other takes on it until concluding with the Floyd’s live Eclipse from 1974, complete with its tolling bell. Listen to the show in full here! (https://www.mixcloud.com/paulgiblin33/fsoe-show-dark-side-50-year-diversity-mix/). Finally, details of some shows covering Pink Floyd’s music. First, Primus leader Les Claypool and his Fearless Flying Frog Brigade (which includes Sean Lennon on guitar) will be touring the US this summer performing Animals in full (with co-headliners Jerry Harrison of Talking Heads and Adrian Belew on 11 dates performing Remain In Light). Dates, venues and ticket info at Ticketmaster.com (https://www.ticketmaster.com/search?q=Les+Claypool%27s+Fearless+Flying+Frog+Brigade&lang=en-us). Second, for those in Sicily, Pink’s One, the Italian Pink Floyd tribute show, are bringing back Floyd backing singer Machan Taylor, saxophonist Scott Page and percussionist Gary Wallis, for three live concerts, respectively at the Mandanici Theater in Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto on April 21st and at the Vittorio Emanuele Theater in Messina on April 22nd and 23rd 2023. Tickets and more details are available from Tickettando (https://www.tickettando.it).

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Nick Mason’s Saucerful Of Secrets heading to Australia!

Some (hopefully) great news for our friends in Australia – Nick Mason’s Saucerful Of Secrets have just revealed that they are coming to your country for a string of concerts in September 2023! Details of the dates and venues are below. There’s no need to panic as the tickets don’t go on sale immediately. There’s a TEG Dainty (https://www.tegdainty.com) and a Ticketek (https://premier.ticketek.com.au) pre-sale, which start on Monday, 20th March at 10am local time – go to their respective websites for more details of how to participate in these pre-sales. This is followed by the general sale of tickets which starts on Wednesday, 22nd March, again at 10am local time. Here are the dates: 16 September – Forum Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia (https://www.brain-damage.co.uk/nick-mason-s-sos-2023/september-16th-forum-melbourne-melbourne-victoria-aust.html) – TICKETS (https://premier.ticketek.com.au/shows/show.aspx?sh=NICKMASO23&v=FOR)
19 September – Brisbane Convention Exhibition Centre, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia (https://www.brain-damage.co.uk/nick-mason-s-sos-2023/september-19th-brisbane-convention-exhibition-centre-brisbane-queensland-aust.html) – TICKETS (https://premier.ticketek.com.au/shows/show.aspx?sh=NICKMASO23&v=CVN)
21 September – Enmore Theatre, Sydney, NSW, Australia (https://www.brain-damage.co.uk/nick-mason-s-sos-2023/september-21st-enmore-theatre-sydney-nsw-aust.html) – TICKETS (https://premier.ticketek.com.au/shows/show.aspx?sh=NICKMASO23&v=NMO)
25 September – Riverside Theatre, Perth, WA, Australia (https://www.brain-damage.co.uk/nick-mason-s-sos-2023/september-25th-riverside-theatre-perth-wa-aust.html) – TICKETS (https://premier.ticketek.com.au/shows/show.aspx?sh=NICKMASO23&v=RTP)

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Nick Mason talks about the Saucerful Of Secrets set list

Our friend José Abellán of the Spanish Animals Pink Floyd Magazine (http://www.animalspinkfloydmagazine.com) has just completed a special edition of the publication, which focuses on Nick Mason’s Saucerful Of Secrets (more details below), and as part of it, he had the opportunity to ask Nick some questions about the current tour. Thanks to José, we can share the English version of the interview, here… ‘Echoes’ is the name given to this tour. After Richard Wright’s death in 2008, David Gilmour said that he would not play this song again because it was a dialogue between him and Wright. Nick, how do you feel about this song? I totally disagree with David on this. David couldn’t imagine… well, In 2008 no one had any idea that this was going to happen, and I think that this is a really important celebration of some of Rick’s playing and it would be a tragedy to not play it. I believe respect is to play it. We don’t particularly agree on that. We decide what we think is good for us, I guess. You have already said that you don’t see the point in playing the same songs that the fans already listen to at David Gilmour and Roger Waters concerts. What will the show be like and what songs will be played at the concerts in Spain? The biggest difference is that we are working on the early Pink Floyd catalogue and it’s very different to what Roger does with The Wall and David as well. Someone said we are an old style garage band and have to be a lot more in the spirit of Pink Floyd in 1967, 1968, 1969; the music should be a bit freer, and we should be able to improvise a little bit. The music is generally taken from what we made before 1972 so that includes Piper, ah, Saucerful Of Secrets and Meddle as well as some of the least well known singles. I think for people who remember these, there is an element of nostalgia but I hope that for people who really don’t know very much of old Pink Floyd will enjoy it but also see how the ideas developed over the years.

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Roger Waters wows the Pittsburgh crowd on the tour’s first night!

Roger Waters This Is Not A Drill 2022 North America tour (https://www.brain-damage.co.uk/2020-tour-zone/index.php) took place last night (July 6th) at the Pittsburgh PPG Paints Arena. This followed what we hear was a dress rehearsal at Bryce Jordan Center, University Park, Pennsylvania on Saturday, July 2nd. Last night saw an enthralled crowd in Pittsburgh taking in the music, in a diverse and interesting set list, the spectacle, and the occasion itself. First nights are always fun, with everyone being in the same boat in terms of no knowledge of what is going to happen and when. Initial reports are that the show was quite an experience, but as always, we value your first hand views on all the concerts – so if you went, please let us know your thoughts! The Pittsburgh show page (https://www.brain-damage.co.uk/2020-tour-zone/july-8th-ppg-paints-arena-pittsburgh-pa-usa.html) has the full set list if you want to check out what was played – what mix of older and newer songs was there? What was the ratio of old Pink Floyd stuff against Roger’s solo material? Any new songs? The answers can be found here (https://www.brain-damage.co.uk/2020-tour-zone/july-8th-ppg-paints-arena-pittsburgh-pa-usa.html), hidden from immediate view as we normally do, so for those who accidentally go on the page, who don’t want to see it, they don’t! We’ve also got some great pictures (already!) which we’re adding to the page; if you have any contributions – a review, brief comments, or pictures – we’d love to see them! Please drop us a line at the normal address: Matt@Brain-Damage.co.uk (mailto:matt@brain-damage.co.uk?subject=BD%20contribution).

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Gerald Scarfe – a very happy birthday to you!

Our very best wishes go to Gerald Scarfe (http://www.brain-damage.co.uk/gerald-scarfe-interviews/november-2005-with-brain-damage.html) today as he celebrates his 86th birthday. Gerald, of course, is a graphic artist with a long history with the Floyd, from the 1974 tour programme caricature, through to his most famous work on The Wall, and beyond that, working with Roger Waters on his Pros and Cons project. Many happy returns to Gerald on this very special day from all of us here at Brain Damage. For those who haven’t seen it, Gerald’s superb The Art Of Pink Floyd The Wall (https://www.brain-damage.co.uk/books/gerald-scarfe-the-art-of-pink-floyd-the-wall-hardback-book.html) is REALLY worth checking out if you are interested in his work on the project, which spanned the album, concerts and film. It is a beautiful, 288-page hardback book, in landscape format housed within a cardboard sleeve that reveals a huge amount of rare and previously unseen sketches, paintings and more, created by Gerald Scarfe principally for The Wall project, but also includes earlier materials, for Wish You Were Here and Animals, for example. It is an expensive book, but the work involved bringing together the breadth of material within, and the quality of its presentation, help to justify the price tag – and it is completely different to any previous books on Scarfe’s artwork for the Floyd. However much you think you know The Wall, and Scarfe’s artwork for it (and earlier Pink Floyd projects), this book will reveal far more than you could imagine. One wonders if there was anything left in his archive that wasn’t included? That’s not a criticism, but a note of thanks for bringing in so many early sketches and ideas to sit alongside finished designs and images. This is a truly incredible book that will appeal equally to Pink Floyd fans, to Scarfe enthusiasts, and to those interested in production design for film and concert stage. As a special exclusive treat, Gerald had this video shot especially for Brain Damage, so you get a feel for what the book includes, and the format it comes in. Thanks Gerald, and hope you have a great birthday!