Every so often, some vintage Pink Floyd surfaces when you least expect it. In the last day or so, some incredible footage of the band playing live in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, on June 28th, 1975, has surfaced. This gig was the final show on the 1975 North American tour, showcasing The Dark Side Of The Moon and selections from Wish You Were Here, along with Raving And Drooling and Gotta Be Crazy (both to appear later on Animals), with an encore of Echoes. The footage which has just appeared was shot on Super 8, which allows for around 3 minutes on each cartridge of film. Thus, during the 70s if people were using Super 8 cameras to record shows, they’d grab snippets and highlights, rather than have the camera rolling for entire sequences. The footage, which you’ll see below, features highlights of the band’s performance throughout the evening, showing some of the stage effects well. The footage has also been restored and tidied up, and syncronised with an audio recording of this show (Super 8 film at that time was normally just picture, no sound, although larger cartridges had recently been developed allowing a magnetic sound recording). Enjoy!
To be released on January 24th, 2020, is a long-awaited reissue of the hybrid multichannel SACD (Super Audio CD) of Pink Floyd’s iconic 1973 album, The Dark Side Of The Moon. Originally released in the format (having a separate stereo layer playable on all normal CD players) in 2003 as mark of the commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the album, the SACD proved very popular. However, it has been out of print for some years, so the reissue later this month will be welcomed by many. The release is by Analogue Productions, and seems that they will be selling it exclusively through their AcousticSounds.com store (https://store.acousticsounds.com/index.cfm?get=detail Title_ID=133317), and preorders are now being taken. The mix is the same as the 2003 release, but we understand the packaging has been updated and the retailer are noting that it is presented in a deluxe format. SACDs provide high audio quality, and in certain cases (such as this, and the other Floyd SACD, Wish You Were Here) multi-channel, surround mixes too. The DSOTM and WYWH SACDs both sound superb, and it is worth checking to see if you have suitable equipment to play multichannel SACDs. Many Sony CD players are compatible with SACDs, and indeed Playstation 3 consoles all play SACDs with no problem. Other makes of CD/DVD/Blu-ray players do support the format, but this varies from model to model. If we hear of other retailers who are selling this title, we will let you know.
The lockdown period seems to have been beneficial, not just for reducing the spread of infection, but encouraging writers to pull books together, and we are now starting to see the fruits of these labours, with a number of publications being announced… and here’s another. Arriving in bookshops, both online and along the high street, on October 21st, 2021, is a new, 320-page book from Aubrey ‘Po’ Powell – Through the Prism: Untold rock stories from the Hipgnosis archive (https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0500252378/braindamage-21). Founded in 1968 by Po, Storm Thorgerson and Peter Christopherson, graphic design firm Hipgnosis gained a legendary status by transforming the look of album art through their designs for artists such as AC/DC, 10cc, Genesis, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Paul McCartney, Syd Barrett, and Black Sabbath. The publishers promise that in the book, “Powell presents brutally honest, entertaining and revealing insider stories from the world of rock, featuring an eclectic cast of pop stars, comedians, actors, managers, gangsters, and inspirational world figures from 1966 on. His narrative is packed with anecdotes – from the founding of Hipgnosis to surviving drugs busts, and from the creative process behind the most iconic album artworks of all time to mounting the Pink Floyd exhibition, Their Mortal Remains – and is richly illustrated with Hipgnosis artwork and Powell’s own photographs. “Drama and creativity are the common threads throughout these amazing stories. With candor and insightful reflection, Powell reveals how he and Storm became an effective creative partnership despite their volatile relationship; how the final colour artwork for Led Zeppelinâs Houses Of The Holy was created; how the most iconic album cover of all time â The Dark Side Of The Moon â came about; and how the 2017 Pink Floyd retrospective became the largest and most successful music exhibition ever mounted by the Victoria and Albert Museum â despite the deeply antagonistic and dysfunctional relationship between Roger Waters and David Gilmour. Throughout, Powell exposes how the trappings of fame and glory upset the balance of everyday life, bringing creativity and destruction in equal measure. “Packed with exciting insider stories and anecdotes featuring famous musicians, managers, and actors, Through the Prism is a must-have for music and pop-culture fans.” Certainly sounds a cracking read, which we can’t wait to get our hands on. You can order this book through the following links, taking advantage of Amazon’s free pre-order price guarantee – should their asking price drop at any point between you ordering it, and release, they will automatically charge you the lowest price during that period! Ordering through our links also helps with BD’s ongoing running costs, and we really appreciate it: Amazon UK (https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0500252378/braindamage-21), Amazon.com (https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0500252378/braindamage-20), Amazon Canada (https://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/0500252378/braindamageon-20),
Amazon France (https://www.amazon.fr/exec/obidos/ASIN/0500252378/braindamageon-21), Amazon Germany (https://www.amazon.de/exec/obidos/ASIN/0500252378/braindamage0f-21), Amazon Spain (https://www.amazon.es/gp/product/0500252378/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8 tag=braidama01-21 linkCode=as2 camp=3626 creative=24822 creativeASIN=0500252378) and Amazon Italy (https://www.amazon.it/gp/product/0500252378/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8 camp=3370 creative=24114 creativeASIN= 0500252378 linkCode=as2 tag=bradamonl-21).
Nick Mason’s Saucerful Of Secrets Tour 2019 (http://www.brain-damage.co.uk/nick-mason-s-sos-2019/index.php), which takes in 45 dates in Canada, the US, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland, Malta and The Netherlands. The last public performance was in September, in Nottingham, England, and the entire 2018 European tour received huge acclaim from fans and critics alike. Those who have been fortunate enough to have seen the band in action already, will no doubt concur with this. The picture to the left (click the thumbnail) is from the first night of the European tour last year, when the band kicked things off at Cirkus in Stockholm, Sweden. This evening at 8pm local time, the band will take the stage at Vancouver’s Queen Elizabeth Theatre (http://www.brain-damage.co.uk/nick-mason-s-sos-2019/march-12th-queen-elizabeth-theatre-vancouver-bc-c.html). We’re hoping that some Brain Damage regulars will be there to experience the thrill of the first night. Anticipation will surely be very high for their first North American appearance. How will the show go? What will the set list be? Will it be the same as heard at last year’s shows – or have they changed things around, or indeed added anything to the set? UPDATE: The first show, at Vancouver’s Queen Elizabeth Theatre (http://www.brain-damage.co.uk/nick-mason-s-sos-2019/march-12th-queen-elizabeth-theatre-vancouver-bc-c.html), has taken place – and there was a revised set list! Rather than reveal spoilers here, you’ll find more information over on the show page for that performance… As ever, we will bring you all the information we can about this show, and all the subsequent ones on the tour. Of course, to do this the best we can, we really would love your help – if you are going to any of the shows, please report back afterwards with any comments you might have, pictures you’ve taken, or anything else of interest. You can do this by emailing us through this link (mailto:matt@brain-damage.co.uk?subject=NMSOS%20tour) or via our Contact Us page (http://www.brain-damage.co.uk/contact-us/index.php). We’d love to hear from you, and appreciate all contributions made to the site. We hope, if you are seeing one of this year’s shows, that you enjoy the performance, and have a great time!
