Some hopefully great news for those of you in or near Germany – Nick Mason’s Saucerful Of Secrets have expanded their summer tour this year with a performance at the Herzberg Festival at Breitenbach am Herzberg, Germany (https://www.brain-damage.co.uk/nick-mason-s-sos-2024/july-28th-herzberg-festival-breitenbach-am-herzberg-ge.html). It’s quite a large festival, running since 1968 and this year, runs from 25th – 28th July, with Nick and the gang appearing on the final day – 28th July (https://www.brain-damage.co.uk/nick-mason-s-sos-2024/july-28th-herzberg-festival-breitenbach-am-herzberg-ge.html). Tickets for the festival are now on sale through burgherzberg-shop.de/c/ticket (https://www.burgherzberg-shop.de/c/ticket), although it looks like you can’t buy individual day tickets for the event. UPDATE: a single day ticket for the 28th – the day that Nick and his Saucers are playing – has now been added to the ticket store! We are still waiting to hear about the Rome, Italy gig which was included in the announcement for the dates in that country, but without the venue or ticket link being available. We’re also hoping that there will be other dates added but, as with Rome, once we have any information we will let you know.
new issue (issue 116) of the UK’s Prog Magazine (https://www.myfavouritemagazines.co.uk/Prog-Print-Back-Issues/prog-issue-116/?listtype=list&searchparam=prog). Always a great read, this month’s issue – as made clear from the striking cover – has a major feature of particular interest to Pink Floyd fans. Inside the magazine is a fascinating ten-page analysis of the Floyd’s 1977 album, Animals. Coming after The Dark Side Of The Moon’s narrative flow, and Wish You Were Here’s evocative sound, Animals arrived at the height of the punk explosion in the UK, and tapped into the feelings of anger and injustice, with a sound and feeling at odds to WYWH, but in line with music emerging at the time. As Prog puts it, the album “captured the moment when Pink Floyd made the giant leap from lush to harsh, from a pillow of winds to cold shafts of broken glass”. The article pulls into sharp relief the background and inspiration for the album, and via some interesting insights from engineer Brian Humphries, much detail on the recording of the album and the then new Britannia Row Studios used for the album. There’s also a look at the reaction to the album, and the thoughts of the band members retrospectively on the project. Alongside the article, there’s a look at the background to the rare, sought after (and fun) French record store bins made out of plastic for the release, shaped like the album’s cover star; there’s an illuminating chat with Howard Bartrop, one of the photographers for the cover; and there’s a piece from Steven Wilson with his (very positive) views on Animals. Finally, there’s a look at the supposed Animals box set release, which from what Roger Waters noted, was to include a 5.1 surround mix of the album. Things have all gone quiet on that front, and they ponder on this, wondering if it is still to come in future. Elsewhere in the magazine are the normal range of features on other artists, the latest news, reviews and more. There’s also the results of the 2020 Readers’ Poll, and a cover-mounted, 11-track CD of new prog music. If your local store doesn’t stock this magazine, you can get a copy, shipped anywhere in the world, through this direct link (https://www.myfavouritemagazines.co.uk/Prog-Print-Back-Issues/prog-issue-116/?listtype=list&searchparam=prog).
Justin Bigart – ‘Angel’ With his eagerly-awaited new album ‘Pretty Dopamine Bullets’ set to drop soon, emerging alt-rock artist Justin Bigart continues to preview his next collection with the emotive new single ‘Angel’. Oozing with raw and passionate power at every turn, he is returning to the fold with one of his most euphoric efforts […]
Orders are now being taken for the latest couple of limited edition books from our good friends at Floydstuff.com (https://www.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 â 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 bandâs creative process, which combined rigorous structure with spontaneous expression â 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 â 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 (https://www.floydstuff.com/product/7245714/pink-floyd-bbc-radio-1967-1971-hardcover-edition), or the paperback edition here (https://www.floydstuff.com/product/7245796/pink-floyd-bbc-radio-1967-1971-paperback-edition). 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 (https://www.floydstuff.com/product/7245525/pink-floyd-pink-floyd-in-de-goffert-holland-book).
