Tag: Elton John

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Rock Concerts

If These Walls Could Sing – Abbey Road documentary

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This month, the legendary Abbey Road Studios in London is celebrating its 90th anniversary, and as part of these, a new documentary film has been announced. Directed by Mary McCartney, daughter of Paul, the film – If These Walls Could Sing – explores the history of the studios, with the experiences and memories of various musicians who recorded there. A number of the many iconic artists who played there, or recorded film soundtracks, have been filmed for the documentary, including Paul McCartney, Elton John, Jimmy Page, Noel Gallagher, John Williams, George Lucas, and recounting their memories of recording various Pink Floyd albums, Roger Waters and David Gilmour. A trailer for the documentary has been released, and can be seen below. The documentary is due to be available for streaming on the Disney+ subscription service from 16th December 2022, and we suspect, later released on DVD and Blu-ray (although there are no details of that currently).

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Mark Fisher rock concert staging exhibition in Berlin

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Just opened (on September 11th) at the Museum for Architectural Drawing, Berlin, Germany, is a new exhibition – Mark Fisher: Drawing Entertainment – which runs until January 16th 2022. If the name isn’t familiar, his work certainly will be. Fisher (1947–2013) was the greatest entertainment architect of rock sets and spectaculars. He created dazzling and innovative shows for the tours of the most famous singers and groups of our time including Elton John, The Rolling Stones, Madonna, Pink Floyd, Lady Gaga, Janet Jackson and Jean-Michel Jarre, as well as creating outdoor extravaganzas for Walt Disney World and Cirque du Soleil. Before Fisher, audiences watched bands play on a bare stage with a few flashing lights and perhaps a bit of film flickering behind them. After Fisher, audiences participated in wild electronic sensory theatrical experiences. In Germany, and for the world, Mark Fisher is celebrated as the designer of that great historical moment watched live by nearly half a million people, and millions more on global television, where nine months after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, amidst the ruins of the former no-man’s land between Potsdamer Platz and Pariser Platz, he constructed the legendary The Wall – Live in Berlin concert for Roger Waters and guest artists. Mark Fisher’s drawings rock. He was an exquisite and beautiful draughtsman. Trained at the Architectural Association school of architecture in London in the 1960s, Fisher was taught by members of the famously influential Archigram Group who revolutionised futuristic design through their drawings of a high-tech world. Fisher started to explore the new pop architecture, and especially lightweight pneumatic structures which legendarily he put into practice with the giant articulated inflatable characters in his Pink Floyd and The Wall shows. As a stage designer, his drawings could be technical as well as dazzling: swirling rich pastels of radiant psychedelic light effects streaking across the night sky of velvet black paper. He was also of the generation who transitioned to computer-aided design (CAD) while never leaving behind his sense of drawing brilliance. The exhibition on Mark Fisher will explore his career as an entertainment architect through nearly one hundred of his drawings, as well as sketchbooks, photographs and videos of his live concerts. Since the exhibition takes place in Berlin, one of the focal points that they highlight is the Roger Waters ‘Live In Berlin 1990’ show staging. A catalogue accompanies the exhibition, which can be bought online, and ships worldwide (https://tchoban-foundation-shop.de/en/p/mark-fisher-drawing-entertainment). More information about the exhibition and venue can be found at tchoban-foundation.de (http://www.tchoban-foundation.de/10-1-Exhibitions.html) and www.museumsportal-berlin.de (https://www.museumsportal-berlin.de/en/exhibitions/mark-fisher-gezeichnete-show/). It is open Monday – Friday each week, between 2pm – 7pm, with Saturday – Sunday hours being 1pm – 5pm. Admission is an extremely reasonable €5 (or €3 for concessions). Our thanks to good friend Martin Geyer for the information and picture of this exhibition.

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Pink Floyd Live At Knebworth 1990 being released on CD, 2LP vinyl, and digital

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It has just been announced that next month, on April 30th, 2021, Pink Floyd Live At Knebworth 1990 will be released for the first time on CD, 180g heavyweight double vinyl LP, and digital platforms. The concert was part of the star-studded 1990 Silver Clef Award Winners performance at Knebworth House, in Hertfordshire, England, headlined by the Floyd. The concert, in front of around 120,000 fans, was a fundraiser for the Nordoff Robbins Music Therapy Charity, and also included Paul McCartney, Genesis, Dire Straits, Eric Clapton, Cliff Richard The Shadows, Elton John, Status Quo, Tears For Fears, and Robert Plant Jimmy Page. The Floyd set was performed by the touring line-up of the late 1980s, with a slight change to the vocalists – joining Durga McBroom was Sam Brown, her mother Vicki, and Clare Torry (original vocalist for The Great Gig In The Sky, resuming her role for this show, three years after doing the same for Roger Waters at his pair of 1987 Wembley Arena gigs). Saxophonist Candy Dulfer and keyboard player Michael Kamen also joined the band for this one-off show. The audio has been remixed by David Gilmour and Andy Jackson, and following its appearance in 2019’s The Later Years box set, is now available on CD or double vinyl for the first time as a standalone album. Nick Mason looked back at the concert, and remarked: “There is something special about Knebworth. We all still have fond memories of playing there in the 70’s, and this show was no different. As a North London boy this was almost a home game, but with the added delight of being the re-assembly of the band after a fairly mega tour that had lasted for well over a year. It was also an opportunity to get the wonderful Candy Dulfer to play - I had been a fan of hers for quite a while, and it was just a shame we didn’t have an opportunity to utilise her for more. We also had our dear friend Michael Kamen guesting. Michael had contributed so much to PF over the previous ten years, it’s great to have something of his playing on the recording.” To order either physical edition, you can do so from the following Amazon stores (thus helping Brain Damage with a much needed contribution towards site running costs, at no extra cost to you!): Pink Floyd Live At Knebworth 1990 – 2LP 180g double vinyl: Amazon UK (http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B08Y4HCFYV/braindamage-21)Amazon.com (https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B08X7W9J2J/braindamage-20)
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