Some good news for those of you who are in France – and in particular the south of the country: Nick Mason's Saucerful Of Secrets have just announced a further date on their 2020 European tour (nick-mason-s-sos-2020/index.php).The band will be playing the rather attractive looking Theatre de la Mer in Sete, France, on June 30th (nick-mason-s-sos-2020/june-30th-theatre-de-la-mer-sete-france.html). This open-air amphitheatre should be a spectacular venue to see the band in action! With a backdrop like this, maybe it should be Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sea? Maybe not! Tickets have just gone on sale, and you can get them through Nick Mason's SOS 2020 link (nick-mason-s-sos-2020/index.php) in the left hand menu, or click on the link at the start of the paragraph above.
Just published is the latest issue (number 35 – cover date December 2020) of the Pink Floyd fanzine Heyou run by our friends over at the Italian website of the same name. The 52-page dual language magazine (in Italian and English), which is published every six months or so, catches up with things in the Floyd world. The magazine has a range of subjects as its major focuses, despite 2020 being a year when plans have changed dramatically for many people – musicians in particular, with Roger and Nick both having planned to be touring with their respective bands. The first feature looks at the collaboration between Polly Samson and David Gilmour – in particular the audiobook of A Theatre For Dreamers and David’s single, Yes, I Have Ghosts. This is followed by a lengthy review by The Second Disc of Nick Mason’s Saucerful Of Secrets: Live At The Roundhouse, which is (quite rightly) very enthusiastic about the release. There’s a detailed and fascinating look at the making of The Later Years box set, via an article from somethingelsereviews.com, which includes interviews with Aubrey ‘Po’ Powell, Damon Iddins, and Andy Jackson. A review of the Roger Waters Us + Them precedes the first part of a detailed article looking at the initial run of Wall concerts in 1980, and what happened during the shows. Finally, there’s a look at two of the Floyd related Record Store Day 2020 releases – Roger’s 1990 Berlin gig on vinyl, and the Floyd’s 7″ single of Arnold Layne recorded at the Syd Barrett tribute concert at London’s Barbican in 2007. More details of the Heyou fanzine can be found at www.heyou.it/fsubscrbd.html (http://www.heyou.it/fsubscrbd.html), where you can get individual copies, and subscription enquiries (four issues costing 35 euros within Europe, and 45 euros outside Europe) should go to durgaheyou@libero.it (mailto:durgaheyou@libero.it?subject=Heyou%20enquiry%20from%20BD%20visitor) – make sure you mention Brain Damage when you write!
Jon Carin (https://www.facebook.com/joncarinofficial), who today celebrates his birthday (Wednesday, October 21st). The talented multi-instrumentalist has been a key part of the Pink Floyd
operation for many years, first working with David back in 1985 at the London Live Aid show, with both of them in Bryan Ferry’s band, and more recently toured with David Gilmour on his On An Island and Rattle That Lock tours, and Roger Waters on his Dark Side Of The Moon, The Wall Live, and Us And Them tours. These all saw Jon singing, playing keyboards, guitar and more during the shows. As many of you will be aware, recently Jon released two new songs on Spotify (https://www.brain-damage.co.uk/latest/two-new-songs-released-by-jon-carin-on-spotify.html) which have been extremely popular, based on the feedback that we have received so far. Recently, the world marked what would have been John Lennon’s 80th birthday, and Jon recorded his version of Gimme Some Truth, a protest song Lennon released in 1971 on his Imagine album. Jon did all the instrumentation on his version of this song. You can hear Jon’s version on Spotify now, and here’s Jon’s Spotify Artist’s page (https://open.spotify.com/artist/4EK0FdWQv1oH211xxqNoka?si=pK_kvu2VQtGp2nyJ0qiRGw). For a thirty second taster of the track, click the play button below: For those who might have missed it, or want another chance to read it, check out our extensive and exclusive interview with Jon from August 2007 (https://www.brain-damage.co.uk/other-related-interviews/jon-carin-interview-august-2007-with-brain-d-3.html). It’s full of fascinating insights into his life and work with various top musicians, including (of course) David, Roger, and Pink Floyd. Hope you are having a great day, Jon!
