Tomorrow, Thursday April 20th (or – please note – tonight in certain parts of the world, such as the Americas), Pink Floyd are marking the 50th Anniversary of The Dark Side Of The Moon with a listening event timed to a rare solar eclipse in Exmouth, Western Australia. The Ningaloo Eclipse will see eight lucky competition winners at the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Ningaloo Marine Park (Nyinggulu) heading to a special secluded beach location in the region to hear The Dark Side of the Moon in full â with Roger Waters iconic closing lines “But the sun is eclipsed by the moon⦔ from the album’s final song Eclipse timed to align with the extraordinary moment of total eclipse at 11.29am WST. Thankfully, there’s going to be a live stream which starts around 3:30am UK/10:30am WST, which you can join here:
In a recent interview with multi-instrumentalist and music producer Rick Beato, Alan Parsons talks at length and in fascinating detail of his work, with an early focus on working with The Beatles, then Pink Floyd, where he was heavily involved with the production of The Dark Side Of The Moon. Running for almost an hour, it’s an interesting watch:
Just published is the latest issue (March 2023, issue 542) of the UK’s Record Collector magazine, which as you might guess from the eye-catching cover, has a whopping eighteen page article looking at various aspects of Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side Of The Moon, tying in with the upcoming 50th Anniversary of the album, and the associated releases. The magazine, in UK stores now and selected stores internationally, and available to purchase online through this link (https://shop.recordcollectormag.com/issue/view/issue/RC542), often includes material of interest to Floyd fans and on occasion, there’s major coverage within its pages. The main article takes a look at the 1972-74 live shows, from presenting the early version of the album through the changes and finessing to the final iteration that we all know and love. They chat with photographer Jill Furmanovsky, who took a number of atmospheric and unique pictures of the band at that time (and of course, is still doing so, having recently focused her lenses on Nick Mason’s Saucerful Of Secrets). They also take a look at reviews of the album from the time of its release, which is an interesting trip back in time. There’s a small section sharing the thoughts of Guy Pratt, vocalist Durga McBroom, and saxophonist Theo Travis about their experiences discovering and learning the songs from the album, for their respective roles on the road. Finally, and tying in with the release of the new book Pink Floyd – Any Colour You Like: The Dark Side Of The Moon on Vinyl (https://www.brain-damage.co.uk/latest/pink-floyds-the-dark-side-of-the-moon-collectors-book-anno.html) which details the 700 currently known variations of the album, there’s an interview with author Stefano Tarquini and publisher Charles Beterams about this mammoth undertaking (identifying and collecting these variations, and putting the book together). This sits alongside a guide to some of the editions worth tracking down, and a guide to 50 collectable variants for people to keep an eye out for. There’s also a selected UK discography, with rough valuations, a competition to win a Pink Floyd print, and an offer of a limited edition (just 100 will be made) A3 print of the magazine cover signed by Furmanovsky. Elsewhere in the magazine – and in addition to the eighteen pages focused on the Floyd – is an interview with Alan Parsons, talking about his life in music, a look at occasional Floyd vocalist Sam Brown’s new album, and a wide range of non-Floyd related features taking in artists from The Jam to the Rolling Stones. There are also obituaries for Jeff Beck and David Crosby.
