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.
RogerWatersUsAndThem.com (http://www.rogerwatersusandthem.com). Us + Them is said to feature state-of- the-art visual production and breath-taking sound in this unmissable cinema event. Anyone who saw The Wall cinema screenings will know how well that was presented, so expected similar quality this time around too! Filmed in Amsterdam on the European leg of his 2017 – 2018 Us + Them tour which saw Roger and his band perform to over two million people worldwide, the film features songs from legendary Pink Floyd albums (The Dark Side of the Moon, The Wall, Animals, Wish You Were Here) and from his last album, Is This The Life We Really Want? Waters collaborates once more with Sean Evans, visionary director of the highly acclaimed movie, Roger Waters The Wall, to deliver this creatively pioneering film that inspires with its powerful music and message of human rights, liberty and love . As yet there are no details of a home release on DVD/Blu-ray of this concert film, but rest assured we will let you know as soon as the details are available.
As you all know, the 50th Anniversary of Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side Of The Moon is next month, with a deluxe box set, the Live At Wembley 1974 LP and CD sets, and the official book (which we’ve seen and is very nice) that’s included in the box set, and available separately too, all being released on March 24th. Full details of all these, here (https://www.brain-damage.co.uk/latest/pink-floyds-the-dark-side-of-the-moon-50th-anniversary-box-set-anno.html). Exclusively, though, for the Japanese market (but thanks to HMV.co.jp (https://www.hmv.co.jp/en/artist_Pink-Floyd_000000000004473/item_The-Dark-Side-Of-The-Moon-Hybrid-Multi-Ch-Edition_13590862) and CDJapan (https://www.cdjapan.co.jp/product/SICP-10143), available worldwide online) is a hybrid SACD (Super Audio CD) version of the album, bundled with loads of reproduction memorabilia – as seen to the right! For those unfamiliar with hybrid SACDs, they hold higher resolution audio, often with surround sound versions as well as standard stereo, and the stereo version is playable on all normal CD/DVD/Blu-ray players. To play the multi-channel audio, you need a compatible player, but as the format was devised by Sony and Philips, there are plenty of those around still. The surround and stereo versions of TDSOTM on this SACD is as released in 2021 on the SACD from Analogue Productions SACD. The album is packaged in typical Japanese style – a 7″ version of the original album cover, along with the stickers and posters you would hope to be included in this reproduction. However, they are also including a wide array of reproduction Japanese memorabilia: 1972 Pink Floyd In Japan Photo Book (48 pages, Airport, Live, and Japan stay in 1972)
1972 Pink Floyd In Japan Tour Pamphlet (16 pages)
1972 tour in Japan ticket (Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, March 6, 1972)
1972 tour in Japan ticket (Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, March 7, 1972)
1972 tour in Japan Tour Poster (Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium)
Lyric leaflet “The Other Side Of The Moon â works for all kinds of madmen” distributed at the venues on the 1972 tour in Japan
Flyer announcing the 1972 tour in Japan (Osaka: Festival Hall)
Promotional leaflet (handwritten by record company to promote “The Other Side Of The Moon”)
Commemorative sticker (round sticker for the campaign to promote the band’s visit to Japan)
Commemorative single jacket (“Pink Floyd/Big 4”)
Commemorative single jacket (“Point Me At The Sky”)
Reproduction OBI strip for the Quad 4-channel release (this edition ISN’T in Quad/just 4-channel!) Quite a collection of items! This special Japanese SACD edition is being released on April 19th, 2023, and can be ordered, worldwide, through these links at HMV.co.jp (https://www.hmv.co.jp/en/artist_Pink-Floyd_000000000004473/item_The-Dark-Side-Of-The-Moon-Hybrid-Multi-Ch-Edition_13590862) and CDJapan (https://www.cdjapan.co.jp/product/SICP-10143). Amazon Japan (https://www.amazon.co.jp/-/en/ãã³ã¯ã»ããã¤ã/dp/B0BQMDYBPC) has their own variant of this exclusive release (with a “Megajacket”) but at time of writing, they aren’t shipping this item outside of their country.
online worldwide through this link (https://nme.backstreetmerch.com/artist/uncut/magazines/prog-rock-ultimate-genre-guide) is a special magazine from the makers of the UK’s respected Uncut Magazine. Prog Rock – The Ultimate Genre Guide is a blend of newly written articles, along with classic archive features, looking at the greats of the golden age of UK progressive rock. As the opening piece suggests, the period featured bands and performers retreating from the limelight, be it via elaborate stage shows, or the wearing of fox heads and make-up as a mask. This was all to give prominence to the music – and what music some of it was! Artists covered in some depth across the 124 pages include The Moody Blues, King Crimson, Yes, ELP, Genesis, Jethro Tull, Floyd’s chums The Soft Machine, and of course Pink Floyd, who are also the cover stars. The twelve-page Floyd section is in two parts. First, there’s an extensive look at the band’s music, including how they took some of the complex arrangements on the road – and how these were presented to the audiences. This section is followed by three fascinating articles from 1973 editions of the New Musical Express and Melody Maker weekly newspapers, two of which include extensive interviews with David Gilmour – giving an interesting look at his, and the band’s, thoughts and feelings at the time. There’s also a list of the 40 best UK prog albums so you can see how many are in your own collection, and maybe find titles that you’ll want to track down to explore further. Elsewhere you can find a list of some of the most collectable records of the genre, in case you are sitting on an obscure goldmine! You can pick up this magazine in larger UK stores at the moment, or via the publisher’s online store worldwide (https://nme.backstreetmerch.com/artist/uncut/magazines/prog-rock-ultimate-genre-guide).
