February 15, 2017, Dallas, TX – North American syndicated Rock radio show and website In The Studio with Redbeard: The Stories Behind History’s Greatest Rock Bands examines the 40th anniversary of Pink Floyd Animals through interviews with David Gilmour, Nick Mason and big-concept composer Roger Waters conducted by host Redbeard.
How did Pink Floyd evolve from the sublime cynicism of Dark Side of the Moon to the madness and despair of The Wall six years later? Hear first-hand the vital importance of this transitional Pink Floyd album Animals and the tipping point on the final stadium concert of that tour which sparked the eventual building of The Wall.
“At the end of this Montreal show there was some kid trying to climb up the chain link fencing. I got so angry with this kid who was screaming all through “Mother” or one of the quieter songs, anyway, I finally got so angry I spat at this child. He was 14 or 15, I suppose. And when I came off stage afterwards I thought, ‘What have I been reduced to, here?… What has happened to the relationship between the band and the audience?’ So, the wall was something that I had experienced very powerfully through most of that tour, but specifically on that day.” – Roger Waters
“We’ve never had any sacred idea about what we think we ought to be or what we ought to sound like.” – David Gilmour
“After this long, I think people are now so used to the fact that bands are so much more dysfunctional than that (mop top “Monkees” image). There is a reality to it. When you get creative people, frequently it is of limited duration.” – Nick Mason
On 24 March 2017, Pink Floyd will release ‘The Early Years, 1965-1972: The Individual Volumes’, a series of book-bound individual collections of the band’s seminal music during those years. The six individual collections were first released as part of ‘The Early Years 1965-1972’ box set, but will now be available as bite-sized volumes broken down by years 1965-1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971 and finally 1972. Outtakes and demos from the band’s early albums are included alongside live versions, as well as radio sessions and television appearances, on these packages.
The titles of each package (CAMBRIDGE ST/ATION, GERMIN/ATION, DRAMATIS/ATION, DEVI/ATION, REVERBER/ATION, OBFUSC/ATION) were dreamt up by Roger Waters to give an insight into where the band were at that particular point in their career.
‘The Early Years: Individual Volumes’ give fans the opportunity to hear the evolution of the band and witness their part in the cultural revolution from their earliest recordings and studio sessions to the years prior to the release of ‘The Dark Side Of The Moon’.
For fans wishing to immerse themselves in the full Pink Floyd story, the complete box set ‘The Early Years: 1965-1972’ is still available, and collates all of the individual volumes plus extra discs, collectables and memorabilia exclusive to the box set. In addition to the individual volumes and the deluxe set, a 2-CD highlights album ‘The Early Years – CRE/ATION’ is also available.
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I want you to cast your memory back to the year 2006, This was the year that David Gilmour released his Platinum album On An Island. Gilmour toured the album with Richard Wright, Phil Manzanera and long-time members of the live Pink Floyd band, Guy Pratt and Jon Carin. California based musician Steve DiStanislao was brought in as drummer. The shows included the entire On an Island album plus a selection of songs from the extensive Pink Floyd back catalogue.The tour is documented on the DVD/Blu-ray Remember That Night and the live album & DVD Live in Gdansk.
During this tour one of our regular forum members and a very well known glass maker in Scotland, Mr Ian Pearson has a very interesting story to tell.
“Time may indeed wait for no man but if you are “Glassman” then time can stand still. I have mixed emotions remembering 2006 and my involvement in creating a glass image of David Maciiwaines symbolic “Wireman”, featured throughout the “On an Island” promotion material. For it was in 2005 that my wife of thirty years died and I desperately needed to drown myself in a purpose to avoid my brain cells bouncing out of my head and shooting off to another planet. Hence I discovered David’s Blog and Fed who I wasn’t sure was real but all members seemed to communicate through him or her in a most interactive manner.
I am a glass artist with my own studio on the far North coast of Scotland with a reputation of being able to make anything so when I was asked could I do something in glass for Fed then for sure I could. I work glass rod and tubing in the flame so it seemed obvious to me that I could do a glass version of “Wireman”. It is about 12 inches high, mounted on a wooden base with a suitably engraved brass plate and took about twenty hours to complete.
As always making glass sculptures isn’t the whole picture as one has to make sure the finished work gets to the correct destination and person on time and without damage. So knowing I had tickets to see David at Glasgow in the Clyde Auditorium or “Armadillo” as it is known, that seemed the most appropriate opportunity to handover my glass offering. The fact that this did involve a 300 mile train journey cuddling my glass for the whole 7 hours didn’t put me off. In fact that seemed almost pleasant compared to the several hours wait outside the stage door waiting to be allowed in to hand the glass over.
Fame is always subjective and we all are famous for something to someone. Every two years I meet HRH Prince Charles in my capacity as Chairman of a local arts society, he is certainly very recognisable to many but I don’t equate the word “fame” with good nor bad. It’s just a word. I am well known in several glass circles and I believe David Gilmour is not unknown in the guitar playing world. Neither of us are more famous than the other so when I arrived at the Auditorium I naturally thought the door would be opened for me and I be given a warm welcome. Sadly that was not to be and I struggled to get through the autograph groupies. After knocking on the door which was opened a few times by security staff during a couple of hours, Polly Sampson appeared and asked me to open the box. I hadn’t realised it at the time but trying to explain what I had in the box without extracting the object seemed hard work. It was obvious that I had to show the “Glassman” to Polly who then let me in.
Joining me on my journey was a friend Bob who presents on my local radio a risk show where at 11 pm every Thursday Floyd or Floyd related music is played. I am known as “Planet Floyd” and hence I used Bob to take photos when handing over the glass. Trouble is who to hand it over to? I was backstage and it seemed many people rushing around to distract from my conversation with Polly. Guy Pratt appeared and we spoke on the intricate of stress relieving glass to avoid cracking. I knew Guy was trying to give up smoking so I had sealed a cigarette in a glass tube and engraved the message “In Emergency Break Glass” on it. He found this amusing which was the aim of the piece. We continued chatting then rick Wright appeared and join us for a photo shoot. He seemed more serious than the others. Marc Brickman came over to see what the fuss was all about and (I think) admired my glass. I wasn’t really disappointed in not meeting up with David as my focus was on ensuring Guy would take good care of the “Glassman”, which apparently he did.
After about half an hour or so we were shown to the door and exited the Auditorium. There were still many seeking autographs outside and a few of them asked me if I had got David’s and others but of course I hadn’t. I didn’t even bother to ask, they never asked for my autograph!
It was pleasing to note that a photograph of “Glassman” appeared on the cover of the DVD “Remember that Night”.
I feel slightly guilty that “Glassman” was not based on an original idea but I console myself in that the techniques I perfected during the creation were and continue to be used on other sculptures. Not too long after my Glasgow (should that be Glassglow?) I created a piece for Billy Idol and others who would rather not be named!”
We would like to send a very large token of thanks to Ian Pearson for taking the time to write this article and for allowing us to share images with you.
To celebrate the 35th anniversary of its original release, The Prince Charles Cinema in central London has had six showings of the 70mm print of Alan Parker’s Pink Floyd The Wall . This is the first time since its original release date that it has been presented in this format on the big screen.
“Being a second generation Pink Floyd fan, and with the release of the movie based on their 1979 album The Wall pre-dating my arrival in this world by approximately 9 years, I of course missed the opportunity to experience the film on the big screen. Somewhat of an obscurity, even amongst some dedicated Floyd fans, The Wall movie is undoubtedly a cult movie which is somewhat alienating for a mass audience, not fully versed in Pink Floyd’s tone and style. One of the best independent cinemas in the country however, the excellent Prince Charles Cinema in London’s Leicester Square recently screened The Wall in an extended month-long run, and even better, on authentic 70mm film, with all its original fading and crackles in tact! It was here that I was finally able to experience the film on the big screen for the first time, and taste something of what it was like to watch it with the full cinematic experience.
I’ve watched The Wall many times before; in fact at the height of my Floyd obsession circa 2007-2010, I would probably watch it once a month! It is an interesting experience for sure, telling the story of the album in visual form using a mixture of live action and Gerald Scarfe’s incomparable animation, and with very limited dialogue. The album itself tells a story, but without some extensive research or listening, it might be tricky for the untrained ear to pick up on the story at it’s heart. The film itself doesn’t do too much to make it any less impenetrable, but it does add an extra layer to this already celebrated album, that is absolutely worth a watch, and especially on the big screen.
Watching this film at a time when literal walls are being talked about by a certain someone across the pond, it feels strangely timely to watch this, and in particular the scenes of Pink (Bob Geldof) as a quasi-Fascist dictator in his own mind are even more compelling. As was always the case with this film, the animation is the highlight, and the sequences which accompany Goodbye Blue Sky, Empty Spaces, and my personal favourite, The Trial, are disturbing, powerful, and funny in almost equal measure.
Whilst The Wall is undoubtedly an odd film, and still somewhat alienating for those who perhaps aren’t familiar with the album’s concept and central themes of abandonment and isolation, watching it on the big screen perfectly marries the unusual and unforgettable imagery with the sheer power of the music, making it a wholly more satisfying experience. The familiarity with songs such as Another Brick in the Wall pt. 2 and Comfortably Numb are given new weight and meaning when listened to with the accompanying visuals, and whilst disturbing in places, the operatic visceral quality of songs such as In the Flesh and Run Like Hell have even more raw power when viewed as opposed to just listening to them.
It is perhaps ironic for a film and album which focuses so heavily on isolation as it’s central theme, that the film makes the album somehow less of an isolating experience, and whilst newcomers might still have some questions, it is incredible to see Waters’ visionary album visually coming to life. You might be a second generation Floyd fan like me, or perhaps seeing this film at the cinema in 1982 feels like somewhat of a distant memory, but if you’re able to experience The Wall on the big screen, then it is an experience not to be missed!”
We would like to take a moment to send special thanks to Sarah Buddery for taking the time to write and send in this review.
You heard it here first.. Our new 2017 Roger Waters Us And Them Tour Zone is now officially open for business.
You can find all the latest news regarding the tour and its venues by simply clicking the image above or by choosing the link from the Concerts & Tour section.
Can YOU help? We are looking for any material related to this tour. Scans of posters, news items, ticket stubs, show pictures, or anything else you may think be of interest to our visitors. Thanks. Please send any show material to liam@pinkfloydz.com
As the title suggests we have managed to get an exclusive interview by email with Durga McBroom.
For those not familiar with her work, Durga McBroom has worked with Pink Floyd as a backing vocalist consistently on all of their shows since the 1987 “A Momentary Lapse of Reason” Tour up to the final concert of “The Division Bell” in 1994. In 1989, She formed the band Blue Pearl and had several hit songs including “Naked in the Rain” and “Alive” which featured guest appearances by David Gilmour and Rick Wright.
In 2014 she came back together with Pink Floyd to record on their last album “The Endless River” which sold over 2.5 million copies worldwide.
With a busy schedule this year we have managed to secure an exclusive email interview. We are giving you the chance for Durga to answer YOUR questions
To submit your questions and to join in the discussion… head over to our discussion in the forum by clicking here. You can also click here to email your questions in.
The closing date for all questions will be Friday the 3rd of March 2017.
So many of you will know that Roger has been hard at work in the studio recently, being skilfully assisted by Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich, his social media channels are slowly giving a little glimpses at the activity there.
For those that have missed the latest news Roger has is going back on the road with a brand new tour for 2017 entitled Us & Them.
You can get all the latest information on the tour by visiting our dedicated tour rooms by Clicking Here
“We are going to take a new show on the road, the content is very secret,” said Roger Waters. “It’ll be a mixture of stuff from my long career, stuff from my years with Pink Floyd, some new things. Probably 75% of it will be old material and 25% will be new, but it will be all connected by a general theme. It will be a cool show, I promise you. It’ll be spectacular like all my shows have been.”
Whilst we cannot “Officially” confirm a release date for the album, Many articles have appeared online claiming that album is scheduled “for an early May release in advance of Waters’ first tour date” and naturally we will be keeping you up to date as more information becomes available.
Below is a snippet of some video footage of some potential new material that has appeared online on one of Rogers social media accounts..
Following his performance of the show on December 13th 2016 in Dubai, “Guy Pratt is The Sideman” is lined up for another unmissable performance, this time being held at Juju’s Bar and Stange, London on Friday 10th February 2017
GUY PRATT IS THE SIDEMAN: a one-man show celebrating 30 years as the bass player of choice for the heavyweights of rock and pop. Guy Pratt is a Grammy award winning bassist who has played live and on record with such megastars as Pink Floyd, David Gilmour, Roxy Music, Bryan ferry, Robert Palmer, Gary Moore, Womack & Womack, Jimmy page and David Coverdale… and worked as a studio sideman for artists including Madonna, Michael Jackson, the pretenders, Kirsty MacColl and Elton John.
In his one man, Guy regales audiences with stories from behind behind the scenes. His self-deprecating wit is irrestible and so are his rip-roaring anecdotes. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry. If you’re a musician, you’ll probably sue…
“Bass players are ten a penny, but a good wit is hard to find, so we hired him”
– David Gilmour
The event starts at 9pm and Tickets are available at a bargain of £12 (plus fees) from Seetickets.com.