Rockonteurs is a podcast all about the real stories behind real music.
Presented by Nick Mason’s Saucerful Of Secrets / Spandau Ballet’s Gary Kemp, who wrote and performed megahits like ‘Gold’ and ‘True’, and Guy Pratt, a bass player who shaped songs for the likes of Madonna and Pink Floyd & David Gilmour, you’ll hear exclusive stories of life on the road, in the studio and what really happened behind the scenes from artists who wrote, performed and produced the some of the biggest classic rock and pop tracks of all time.
This week on Rockonteurs, Gary and Guy meet producer, composer, artist and Ivor Novello Lifetime Achievement award winner Nitin Sawhney.
Nitin discusses his diverse career that includes collaborations with Paul McCartney, Sting, Jeff Beck and Anoushka Shankar to name a few. He also shares a story on his meeting with Nelson Mandela and how the recent Pink Floyd track ‘Hey Hey Rise Up’ – which he plays on came about.
Just released is the two physical versions of Pink Floyd’s first newly recorded music in over 25 years, ‘Hey Hey Rise Up’.
The single, which was initially released digitally in April in support of the people of Ukraine and was #1 in 27 countries, will be available on 7” and CD single. Both formats will also feature a newly reworked version of ‘A Great Day For Freedom’ taken from the band’s 1994 album, The Division Bell.
The single was released today (excluding Japan – released on 3 August – and USA, Canada, Australia and Mexico – released on 21 October).
The lead track sees David Gilmour and Nick Mason joined by long time Pink Floyd bass player Guy Pratt, with Nitin Sawhney on keyboards, and features vocals by Andriy Khlyvnyuk of Ukrainian band Boombox. Proceeds for the physical release and the ongoing digital proceeds will go to Ukraine humanitarian relief.
For this limited edition release, David Gilmour revisited The Division Bell track ‘A Great Day For Freedom’ as a B-Side. He has reworked the song by adding a brand new vocal track in addition using the original tapes which feature Nick Mason on drums and Richard Wright on keyboards, along with backing vocals from Sam Brown, Claudia Fontaine and Durga McBroom. The music for this song was composed by David Gilmour with lyrics by Polly Samson and David Gilmour.
Talking about the inspiration for ‘Hey Hey Rise Up’ Gilmour commented, “Any war, but particularly a war that is started by a world superpower against an independent democratic nation, has got to raise enormous anger and frustration in one. As I said before, I have a small connection there; my daughter-in-law is from Ukraine. And the band Boombox are Ukrainian people that I already knew, not well, but from some time ago. It’s an enormously difficult, frustrating, and anger-making thing that one human being could have the power to go into another independent democratic nation and set about killing the population. It’s just obscene to an extent that is just beyond my belief.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAoctT8WP0g&feature=youtu.be
Roger Waters might get his name on the marquee (and the credit that goes with it) when he tours, but that doesn’t mean the final spectacle of light and sound is entirely his brainchild.
With Waters’ long-awaited ‘This Is Not a Drill’ tour launching this week, the Pink Floyd cofounder caught up with Q104.3 New York‘s Jim Kerr to discuss how one of his most unique live shows ever came into being.
As part of Nick Mason’s 2022 Saucerful Of Secrets‘ The Echoes Tour, the band recently stopped off at an acclaimed show at the Circus Krone, Munich, Germany on July 4, 2022.
Torsten, a Fleeting Glimpse Correspondent, was present and graciously sent in this wonderful collection of photographs to share with you all.
Please Note : Due to the sheer amount of images we have implemented a new gallery layout to make things more compact.
We have made this collection automated, Each photo can be seen for 15 seconds before moving on to the next one.
Additionally to view manually you can click the blue arrow keys that are shown on the left and right of the images to view specific photos from the collection.
Good Day to all our visitors from around the globe. A Fleeting Glimpse has been working long and hard behind the scenes to update and add even more additions to our immersive, interactive and modern viewing experience of tour books to all Pink Floyd fans across the globe.
Starting in July of 2020, our team has worked behind the scenes to reconstruct “almost’ every tour book in the 55 year Pink Floyd touring catalog, For the first time since these books were originally printed all the way back to and including 1966. They have now been reconstructed in 3D technology and presented to you digitally in their original form.
This has taken an extraordinary amount of effort and is a collaboration between A Fleeting Glimpse and collectors from all over the globe via The Pink Floyd Collectors social media platform. Originally launched as an online photo gallery in 1998 when the site was first established. We have now completely converted all previous material and in most parts have managed to upgrade the quality of every predecessor of this exhibit. Spanning an entire career from 1966 featuring over 75 new additions. We are delighted to be able to bring this to the masses as a permanent feature to the site.
Due to the fantastic response from our original launch in September 2021 from visitors from all over the globe, we have managed to source new additions and upgrade the quality of our previous sections of this exhibit.
**The tour book section is compatible on all devices, but we do suggest you glance over the how-to guide to enhance your viewing experience.
Today we remember Syd Barret who sadly died on this day in 2006 aged 60.
He was the principal songwriter behind Pink Floyd’s debut – 1967 masterpiece The Piper at the Gates of Dawn – and a handful of strong early singles that helped define the psychedelic age. His creative genius was derailed by a drug-fueled psychological collapse, forcing his 1968 removal from the group he helped form.
Fans of Syd Barrett will be pleased to know we will be hosting an interview with Syd’s nephew in the upcoming months talking about Syd’s creativity and uniqueness and celebrating his life and legacy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4sg0R-G-QA
So many questions going into the opening night of the This is Not a Drill Tour:
How many solo songs would Roger Waters sneak into the set of classic Pink Floyd?
Would this prickly and passionate artist, after a two-year pandemic tour delay, show any further signs of wear and tear at 78?
Would the “in the round” production rise to the level of grand spectacle of The Wall and The Us + Them Tours?
Would the band kill it right out of the gate?
And, perhaps most importantly, who would Roger offend this time?
The latter is emphasized because the show preview last week generated a stream of Roger hate on social media for his outspoken stances against Trump and Israel’s Palestinian policies, which adds up to a combined contingency of, oh, more than half the population. “He’s a communist!” “He’s an antisemite!”
That’s enough negative energy to power a small city.
Fittingly, his first show since closing Us + Them in December 2018 in Monterrey, Mexico, began at 8:20 Wednesday night at PPG Paints Arena with an announcement noting, in part, “If you’re one of those ‘I love Pink Floyd but I can’t stand Roger’s politics people,’ you might do well to [expletive] off to the bar right now.”
The music then kicked off in bold fashion, underplaying a Floyd classic often reserved for the encore.
Waters, unseen, launched “Comfortably Numb,” greeting the crowd with the ominous “Hello. Is there anybody in there?” amid claps of thunder. The heavy talk-sing carried on, and on, like a Gregorian chant through the entire song, accompanied by a sickly green video of people queued up in stillness on the long screen above the stage.
The drone was broken by a female voice coming in with a shrill howl. The famous solo? Skipped!
Waters, in all black with hair and beard trimmed, then jumped on stage for “The Happiest Days of Our Lives” and “Another Brick in the Wall, Parts 2 and 3,” played the way they were on “The Wall.” Through the show, he would switch sides, back and forth, on the long rectangular stage lined with red lights.
The middle of set 1 was an early offering of what people often joke about being bathroom breaks: those post-heyday songs that got little or no radio play. They were compelling though. From “Radio K.A.O.S.” came “The Powers That Be,” played as a lament about the inequities under the corporate capitalist system.
On the screen were the names of Black people killed by police, including Antwon Rose II, who was shot in East Pittsburgh in 2018. (The mention inaccurately said he was driving in a taxi.)
“The Bravery of Being Out of Range,” a rarity from the Gulf War era of 1992 that was a barking condemnation of politicians unleashing bombs and missiles that kill from a distance, began with a video of Ronald Reagan, branding him as a “WAR CRIMINAL” for his actions in Guatemala. It went on to put the same stamp, in bloody red, on the Bushes, Clinton, Obama and Trump. Nonpartisan, at least, right?
For Biden, it declared, “WAR CRIMINAL,” underlined with “Just getting started…”
Brand new was “The Bar,” an unreleased song written during the pandemic performed as a spare working-class ballad with Waters at piano. He joked that he would probably mess it up, but he pulled it off.
The latter part of the first set had him flipping the treasured 1975 “Wish You Were Here” over for the full side two. Of course, that’s three songs: the jagged “Have a Cigar,” the sweeping title track and the reprise of “Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts VI-IX).”
On the screen for “Wish You Were Here” scrolled a story about him and Pink Floyd co-founder Syd Barrett, ending with “When you lose someone, it serves as a reminder: This is not a drill.”
Waters loves his “Animals.” Last time, he ventured into that 1977 homage to Orwell with “Dogs” and “Pigs,” on which he unfurled the infamous “TRUMP IS A PIG” banner. This time, he opted for “Sheep,” a word that was weaponized quite a lot during the pandemic, as “sheeple.”
The song, depicting the sheep rising up to crush the dogs, came with a screenful of floating sheep and then a flurry of tweets about the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade.
During intermission we were entertained by the flying pig, emblazoned with “[expletive] the Poor” on one side and “Steal from the Poor. Give to the Rich” on the other. It was adorned, as well, with such defense contractor logos as Raytheon and Elbit Systems.
Jumping into set two, we were back to “The Wall,” with Waters in full-length leather coat and shades, for the aggressive combo of “In the Flesh” and “Run Like Hell.” He ended “In the Flesh” by firing at the crowd with a semi-automatic rifle. A fake one.
By that point, we had been through that album, “Wish You Were Here” and “Animals” with nary a glimpse of “Dark Side.”
The wait would continue through a few more solo songs: soaring power ballad “Déjà Vu,” beginning with a nod to Julian Assange and Chelsea Manning and rolling with messages for reproductive, trans and Palestinian rights that brought cheers from the crowd; and the mournful title track of “Is This the Life We Really Want?,” which blames all of us for the apathy that allows for so much global suffering.
He emphasized the ending, “We all stood by silent and indifferent. It’s normal.”
Sixteen songs in, we got the familiar cha-ching of “Money,” along with the first lead vocal from Jonathan Wilson, who, let’s say, lacked the grit of the song’s original singer.
It introduced side two of “Dark Side,” the dreamiest, most ethereal segment of the evening. “Us and Them” and “Any Colour You Like” were a contrast of melodic beauty with stabbing guitars and war-torn imagery.
Waters delivered one of his most tender vocals on “Brain Damage,” before eight green pyramid lasers wrapped the Jumbotron while backup singers Shanay Johnson and Amanda Belair helped bring “Eclipse” to a gorgeous climax.
For all of that, he thanked the crew and said, “Thank you, Pittsburgh, from the bottom of our hearts. We came here with a lot of love in our hearts and found a lot of love from your hearts.”
Emerging from that was “Two Suns in the Sunset,” his Pink Floyd sign-off from “The Final Cut,” a tranwquil ballad about nuclear annihilation and the doomsday clock, querying, “Could be the human race is run?”
After apologizing to Bob Dylan for borrowing an idea from “Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands,” he wrapped the show with a quiet reprise of “The Bar” that sounded like the bard, blending into “Outside the Wall.”
Conclusions:
On this rainy July night, classic rock connoisseurs had a choice between this or the Santana/Earth, Wind & Fire show at Star Lake (at least until that was postponed due to Santana’s heat exhaustion).
This was by no means the fun choice. It was, however, the more challenging one as Waters relentlessly drove home powerful themes about the human condition — from the disparity between “us” and “them” to the loss of rights to the threat of apocalypse.
It was, he said, in a recent statement, his “shout from the rooftop.”
It may have lacked the fiery urgency of the Trump-era tour and the jaw-dropping spectacle of the “Animals” factory filling the arena, but it came through loud, clear and inspirational.
Click For Setlist
Set 1: Comfortably Numb (New Version), The Happiest Days of Our Lives , Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2, Another Brick in the Wall, Part 3 , The Powers That Be, The Bravery of Being Out of Range, The Bar(New Song), Have a Cigar, Wish You Were Here, Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts VI-IX), Sheep Set 2: In the Flesh, Run Like Hell, Déjà Vu, Is This the Life We Really Want?, Money, Us and Them, Any Colour You Like, Brain Damage, Eclipse, Two Suns in the Sunset, The Bar (Reprise), Outside the Wall
Photos courtesy of Lee Pizzini
Rogers tour merchandise courtesy of Pink Floyd Collectors
When Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets visited London’s Royal Albert Hall as part of their 2022 The Echoes Tour, they were contacted straight after by Bernd Wuersching, a colleague of the Porsche museum in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen.
After playing even more dates on their critically acclaimed tour, they managed to find time in their busy schedule to pop in for a visit. This was an exciting visit for Bernd as, outside of music, Nick is also a car-collecting, motorsport-loving individual. A founding member of Pink Floyd, this king of the drums is almost as well-known for his incredible car collection as he is for his music career, but did you know he’s raced in the 24 Hours of Le Mans no fewer than five times? His La Sarthe debut was in a car from Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen.
As well as giving him a behind-the-scenes tour together with Alexander Klein, Manager of Porsche Car Collection, the guys at Porsche also showed Lee Harris, Guy Pratt, Garry Kemp, and Barrie Knight around the Taycan factory.
Rockonteurs is a podcast all about the real stories behind real music.
Presented by Nick Mason’s Saucerful Of Secrets / Spandau Ballet’s Gary Kemp, who wrote and performed megahits like ‘Gold’ and ‘True’, and Guy Pratt, a bass player who shaped songs for the likes of Madonna and Pink Floyd & David Gilmour, you’ll hear exclusive stories of life on the road, in the studio and what really happened behind the scenes from artists who wrote, performed and produced the some of the biggest classic rock and pop tracks of all time.
Rockonteurs is a podcast all about the real stories behind real music.
This weeks upcoming episode is Number 91 and features guest Barbara Charone
Rockonteurs is a podcast all about the real stories behind real music.
Just released is the two physical versions of Pink Floyd’s first newly recorded music in over 25 years, ‘Hey Hey Rise Up’.
Today we remember Syd Barret who sadly died on this day in 2006 aged 60.
