We at AFG would like to wish legendary Pink Floyd recording engineer and producer James Guthrie a very happy birthday! Have a great birthday, James! We hope you enjoy your day.
Category Archives: News
Prog Magazine – Issue 144: Exploring The Solo Work Of Richard Wright
In the latest issue from Prog magazine they explore the solo work of Richard Wright and celebrate the recent reissue of Rick’s 1978 solo album Wet Dream with Gala Wright, Guy Pratt and Steven Wilson (who remixed the recent reissue). The issue is now available in stores, or you can buy it online here: http://bit.ly/buyprogmag
Fingal’s Cave Podcast Ep. 9 -Rosemary Breen on her brother Syd Barrett “He never sought celebrity”
Our friends over at Fingal’s Cave have released yet another amazing episode this time featuring Rosemary Breen, the sister of Syd Barrett. This episode is a really special one and we highly recommend you check it out.
Ep.9 - Rosemary Breen on her Brother Syd Barrett: „He never sought celebrity“
Syd Barrett: “An amazingly attractive, energetic, sparkly boy goes the wrong way in life and is lost”
Rosemary Breen knew her brother Syd Barrett better than anyone. They were inseparable as children, and in later years, Rosemary cared for Syd between the early 1980s and his untimely death in 2006. A “bright cookie” and kind, Syd had an unusual brain, and Rosemary became the single individual he could cope with.
Rosemary spoke to Ian Priston on 16 September 2023 to get things on record and encourage youngsters who look up to Syd to carefully think about why and how things happened to him.
Rosemary eloquently sums up how Syd wanted to play with the other members of Pink Floyd and with sound. He neither sought celebrity nor understood it. When being in the band ceased to be fun, Syd left. Syd Barrett expressed his true self through his art. After he returned to Cambridge, Syd produced some memorable artworks when he was in a good frame of mind. He had many ideas and would paint enormous canvases, and there was often one in progress when Rosemary visited.
The two used to go on days out. On one occasion, Rosemary and Syd were in central Cambridge, and Syd stopped and feared crossing a road because he felt compelled to get a painting out of his head and onto a canvas. For Syd, art was about much more than simply being creative; according to Rosemary, the process fulfilled a need and was vital.
The interview covers some serious topics, but there is also humour. For example, Rosemary explains how Syd was “Mr. DIY”. Talking about Syd Barrett’s lyrics, Rosemary says, “They make me giggle. He was a clown and was joking. Life was a joke. If anybody took him seriously, he just would giggle away.”
Hipgnosis Exhibition in Berlin: BREATHE – 50 Years of The Dark Side of the Moon
Starting this weekend The Browse Gallery in Berlin is hosting an exhibition featuring the groundbreaking cover art from Hipgnosis, specifically celebrating Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side Of The Moon for its 50th anniversary. Curated by John Colton and Aubrey “Po” Powell himself, with photographic contributions from special guests. The Exhibition opens to the public this Saturday, 4th November and runs through 17th December, see below for details.
Album Cover Art & Photo Design by Aubrey Powell and Storm Thorgerson
4.11.-17.12.2023
Curation: John Colton & Aubrey Powell with photographic contributions from special guests
In 1973 Pink Floyd released their album The Dark Side of the Moon. The record sleeve for it was designed by the British art house HIPGNOSIS, founded in 1969 by Pink Floyd friends Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey Powell. The album is an icon of rock music history. Music and cover of the record became cult, as well as Pink Floyd and HIPGNOSIS.
Browse Gallery presents the world’s only exhibition celebrating the 50th anniversary of The Dark Side of the Moon in two parts.
HIPGNOSIS: The Dark Side of the Moon and Other Album Cover Art
On display inside are artistic works of groundbreaking album cover art by HIPGNOSIS: history and design of The Dark Side of the Moon, magnificent art prints of other Pink Floyd record cover motifs, and photo designs for other music greats of the 70s: Led Zeppelin, Peter Gabriel, Paul McCartney, 10cc and others.
Also on display as a special feature are black and white photos of the band – on and off stage – taken during The Dark Side of The Moon Tour 1973. Pink Floyd let Hipgnosis look behind the scenes with 4 photographers*. The result was an intimate portrait of the band at the height of their creative power and friendship. This never existed again.
Photo installation: Themes from The Dark Side of the Moon
The concept album addresses various stages of existential human experience and coming of age: the search for self and a connection with others, the passage of time, the omnipresence of death, money and greed, war and conflict, isolation and madness. Do we choose the light or do we give in to the destructive impulses within ourselves and turn to the dark side of the moon? Universal themes that continue to speak anew to millions of people worldwide, across generations, to this day. So where are we today, 50 years after the album’s release?
On the occasion of the LP’s anniversary, the curators of the exhibition have asked Berlin and internationally renowned photographers to contribute images that take up themes from The Dark Side of the Moon and stimulate a reflection on their relevance to the present. Photographs contributed by: Nikos Pilos, Robert King, Lisa Bukreyeva, Günter Zint, Barbara Klemm, Gordon Welters, Wolfgang Krolow, Jutta Matthess, Jackie Baier, Holger Gross, Jesus Pastor, Alexander von Reiswitz, Edith Siepmann, Stefan Melchior, Axel Benzmann, Tomas Petreikis, heba, Oliver Feldhaus, Christina Palitzsch u.a.. Portraits: Sabine Drwenzki, Sönke Tollkühn, John Colton.
Vernissage: November 3, 7 p.m.
with HIPGNOSIS founder Aubrey Powell
Greeting by Klaus Lederer (former Senator of Culture)
Musical performance: Zam Johnson & Guests
Exhibition duration: 4.11. to 17.12.2023
Opening hours: Tue to Sun – 13:00 to 19:00 o’clock
Location: Bergmannstr. 5, 10961 Berlin
Admission: 5€, erm. 3€
Buy ticket online through the pretix ticket portal
Kindly supported by the Berlin ministry for Cultural Affairs and Social Cohesion
Bob Dylan Blues – Syd Barrett – Official Lyrics Video
The Official Syd Barrett YouTube page has released another lyric video, this time featuring Bob Dylan Blues. This was a track Syd wrote in 1965 but not recorded until 1970 for the album Barrett. It was thought to be lost until it turned up in a tape collection at home by David Gilmour.
Bob Dylan Blues - Syd Barrett - Official Lyrics Video
“Bob Dylan Blues” was written in 1965 and later demoed for inclusion on the “Barrett”, on the Friday 27th of February 1970 at studio 2, EMI studios Abbey Road. This session for the second LP was engineered by Peter Bown, Alan Parsons and John Leckie, with David Gilmour stepping in as producer. This session consisted mostly of Syd demoing new (old?) material including Wolfpack, Living alone, Jigalo Aunt (sic) and “Dylan Blues”. Details of take numbers, false starts etc. are not noted on the recording sheet, but 1 reel of ¼” tape was used in making a 7.5 ips copy tape of the recordings. This was “Taken away by David Gilmore (sic)” on a 7” spool. Unfortunally he (Gilmour) returned and removed the masters as well.
In 2000-2001 David Gilmour mastered and released the track officially on the 2001 compilation “Wouldn’t you Miss Me?” and again later on the 2010 compilation “An introduction to Syd Barrett.
An in-depth look at the story of the song is published on the official Syd Barrett website: https://www.sydbarrett.com/featured_s… For this artistic interpretation of Syd Barrett’s music, Artist on the Border teamed up with Danish artist Jørgen Folmer Neergard Larsen. Jørgen has specialized in high contrast ink drawings “inks” of various cultural domestic and international personalities, including often reoccurring Syd Barrett. Among his accolades the inked tributes have been posted on social media pages belonging to the likes as Elvis Costello, Lou Reed and The Ramones. Artist page JFNL digital & ink: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?…
The Artist On The Border commented “Syd Barrett had, as many other of his peers, an infatuation with the prodigal Robert Zimmerman. This is something that I wanted to reflect in the animation. The various templates had Bob and Syd swap places in respective album covers. Syd would appear on the sleeve of “The Times are a-changing” and Bob would be in the striped bedroom at Wetherby Mansions But as things progressed I started to get a feeling that Syd was not just a fan of Bob’s. Syd and his mates, might actually have tried to mold Syd into a British Dylan character. As described in the “stories behind the songs” on Bob Dylan Blues, there are several links between Bob and Syds lyrics and if one squints, and tips his head slightly to the left, the covers of “The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan” and “Bringing It all back home” appear eerily similar to the photos shot at and around Duggie Field’s Wetherby mansions flat. But I digress.
Syd become Bob with his signs and a simple, effective gloomy backdrop made of Jørgen Folmers inkblots, running black paint and stylized faces of the two. He is Mr. Dylan, the king. Free as a bird on the wing“.
===== Listen to the song on spotify https://open.spotify.com/track/7x7aiP…
Atom Heart Mother Special Edition Pre-Order Now!
Pink Floyd’s Atom Heart Mother will be released as a special 2-disc package in a 7-inch gatefold sleeve, containing the Atom Heart Mother album on CD and a Blu-ray disc featuring footage of Atom Heart Mother (Suite) performed at Hakone Aphrodite Festival, Japan in August 1971 – originally released as part of The Early Years box set. The film has been upgraded from a recently discovered original tape of the time. It also includes a behind the scenes mini documentary. It will be released on Friday 8th December and is now available to pre-order. See the links below.
Originally only released in Japan in 2021, the set contains some unique memorabilia – a special photo book containing many rare, never-seen-before photos, reproductions of the pamphlet, the poster, the concert ticket, and the flier distributed at the event.
The only Pink Floyd footage at Hakone Aphrodite that exists is that of the 16-minute-long suite Atom Heart Mother. The details including whereabouts of the master film and how it was shot had been a mystery for a long time. However, after fifty years, the original 16mm film of this video was discovered in a fan’s garage. The meticulous processes of digitizing, restoring and remastering was undertaken and finally this enhanced video will be released outside of Japan.
Over 50 years ago, Japan’s first international outdoor rock festival “Hakone Aphrodite” was held at a specially built venue beside Hakone Ashinoko Lake on August 6th and 7th, 1971. Pink Floyd’s first-ever concert in Japan was as headliner for the festival. Aspiring to be the Japanese Woodstock, The “Hakone Aphrodite” invited many international artists and became the first rock festival experience for many Japanese fans.
The set contains not only the original live footage (with audio taken from the gig at Hakone Aphrodite), but also behind-the-scenes footage of the band, travelling between the airport, the hotel, the press conference, the bullet train, the show set-up, and, of course, beautiful Japanese scenery.
At the time of the historic concert, Pink Floyd had just released Atom Heart Mother (in October 1970), and were yet to release Meddle (released in November 1971). Pink Floyd appeared as the final act of the festival, and alongside Atom Heart Mother, they performed another five songs including Careful With That Axe, Eugene, A Saucerful Of Secrets, and Echoes from then-unreleased album Meddle. Sadly, official footage of these has not resurfaced. The band’s mystical and fantastic show, enhanced by nature’s unwitting stage effects of fog emerging from the lake when they played, was talked about for years to come. For the show, Pink Floyd used huge PA systems not yet commonly used in Japan back then, and it is widely believed that this show greatly influenced Japanese audio and stage production after that.
Pink Floyd - Atom Heart Mother (Hakone Aphrodite 1971) Original VS New Discovered Film
Floydpodcast Returns!
Brain Damage, the definitive Pink Floyd radio show has made its return after a three month hiatus. Go to https://floydpodcast.com to listen now and give a warm welcome back! Consider leaving a donation to keep up with licensing and host fees and to show your support for the podcast!
13 New UK Screenings For Have You Got It Yet? – The Story of Syd Barrett and Pink Floyd
There is a special set of 13 UK screenings of ‘Have You Got It Yet – The Story Of Syd Barrett and Pink Floyd on Monday 30th October.
There is a live broadcast before the screening, director Roddy Bogawa & producer Orian Williams will introduce the film and talk about the making of this fascinating documentary. Go to https://www.sydbarrettfilm.com for more info (and to keep an eye out for further screenings) and buy your tickets – or you can use the links below.
- Addlestone, UK – The Light Addlestone – TICKETS
- Banbury, UK – The Light Banbury – TICKETS
- Bolton, UK – The Light Bolton – TICKETS
- Bradford, UK – The Light Bradford – TICKETS
- Cambridge, UK – The Light Cambridge – TICKETS
- Redhill, UK – The Light Redhill – TICKETS
- Sheffield, UK – The Light Sheffield – TICKETS
- Sittingbourne, UK – The Light Sittingbourne – TICKETS
- Stockport, UK – The Light Stockport – TICKETS
- Thetford, UK – The Light Thetford – TICKETS
- Wallasey, UK – The Light New Brighton – TICKETS
- Walsall, UK – The Light Walsall – TICKETS
- Wisbeach, UK – The Light Wisbeach – TICKETS
Have You Got It Yet? The Story of Syd Barrett and Pink Floyd (Trailer)
‘Dark Side’ 1973 Sound System Re-Creation To Be On Exhibit At Australian Pink Floyd Show Dates
Back in early September you may remember CH Vintage Audio showcasing Pink Floyd’s touring PA from their 1973 DSOTM tour at the PLASA show in London. The PLASA show showcases the latest and greatest in Audio/Video, Lighting, Rigging and Staging technology. Well now, that same PA will be making select appearances on exhibit at upcoming Australian Pink Floyd dates:
A treat for Pink Floyd fans and Australian Pink Floyd fans- part of the 1973 Dark Side of The Moon Sound System- Martin Audio ,Kelsey Sennheiser ,Vitavox, EV ,Phase Linear – seen here in London last month with Bryan Grant ex Pink Floyd employee and still head of Britannia Row- the system will be exhibited at the following Australian Pink Floyd UK dates in the venue foyers (more dates could be announced.) For tickets visit https://www.aussiefloyd.com/tour-dates and keep an eye on Chris Hewitt’s Facebook for further date announcements: https://www.facebook.com/deeplyvale.deeplyvale
Australian Pink Floyd Show UK 2023 Dark Side 50 Tour
