Zee feat. Pink Floyd’s Rick Wright & Fashion’s Dave Harris “Identity” Deluxe Box Set Includes Signed Remastered CDs & Posters
London – One of the most intriguing pop music partnerships of the eighties makes it’s return – Richard Wright, one of the founder members of Pink Floyd and who played keyboards on their multi-million selling albums joined forces with Dave (formerly Dee) Harris, best known to music fans as the former singer and guitarist with electro-funk band Fashion. The two, collectively known as Zee’s version of their album, Identity is to be released this year. The album which was recorded at Wright’s home studio and Utopia Studios in North London in 82 / 83, utilizes the Fairlight Computer, which has the ability to recreate the sound of any musical instrument.
The new partnership was born out of a Greek holiday that Rick Wright had in 1981. It was there that he met Raf Ravenscroft the well-known saxophonist session musician whose playing graced Gerry Rafferty’s huge hit “Baker Street.” “Raf was interested in forming a band, and we got talking in the way musicians do,” Rick said. “When we got back to England we met again, along with several other musicians, including Dave Harris. We had some rehearsal time at a studio in Battersea but we weren’t getting anywhere, mainly because no one had any material.”
At that time Dave Harris has just left Fashion – “I supposed you could put it down to the usual ‘musical differences’ – and was looking for fresh ideas. My decision to leave Fashion was good for both the band and myself, but I really needed to work with someone so that we could bounce ideas of each other,” Dave says. “It became more and more obvious that Rick and I would work well together, and eventually that is what happened. The other guys who had been initially involved understood that too, and in the end it was Rick and myself writing together.”
Rick and Dave started working on the “Identity” album as far back as September 1982, initially at Rick’s small studio in the country, before moving on to Utopia six months later to do the overdubs.
Unfortunately certain legal problems had to be ironed out first – and then there was also the question of mastering the Fairlight: “We spent hours and hours just experimenting with it at first,” Rick recalled.
“The great thing about the Fairlight is that every time you go back to it you learn something else. We had to get control over it though because it would have been very easy just to have ended up making funny noises. We spent several weeks sequencing and scripting everything but it was all worth it in the end.”
He added “For me it is exciting working with Dave because there were things that he was doing that I had not done before and vice versa. I think that Zee has given us musical opportunities that quite frankly neither of us were able to explore in our previous groups.”
Dave Harris says, “When we started recording it, we didn’t have any pre-conceived ideas of how it should be done, and we certainly didn’t try to create a sound. The whole thing just evolved quite naturally. There will probably be a lot of Pink Floyd fans interested in what Rick had been doing, and equally I’m sure that a lot of Fashion’s followers will want to know what I’ve been up to.”
A Statement from Dave Harris was made on the 25th January regarding all orders from Pledge Music
“Ok it’s Friday morning 25th January 2019. I as the artist have not received any contact from Pledge Music positive or negative regarding the news that is flooding the internet and has been known I have heard for the last 10 days.
I am also in London this week (as they know) and would have been available to meet. Therefore I can only come to the conclusion that they don’t give a damm about me and my friends who want to buy the album, or they would have taken it down from sale…. so from here on I recommend anybody wanting to buy the album uses www. Burningshed.com
I cannot apologise enough for being involved in another amateur outfit, such as Pledge. Not even an email of explanation or apology…..Dave“
Nick Mason’s Saucerful Of Secrets, fresh from the hugely acclaimed 21-date 2018 European tour have now announced a string of concerts for North America, taking place in March/April/May/July next year, and detailed below.
The US Shows mark Nick’s first full concert performances in North America since the 1994 Pink Floyd Division Bell tour; the last time he drummed in the US was during the 2006 Roger Waters tour.
2019 Tour Dates are As Followed
March 12th – Queen Elizabeth Theatre, Vancouver, BC, Canada March 13th – The Paramount Theatre, Seattle, WA, USA March 15th – SF Masonic Auditorium, San Francisco, CA, USA March 16th – The Wiltern, Los Angeles, CA, USA March 19th – Comerica Theatre, Phoenix, AZ, USA March 21st – Paramount Theatre, Denver, CO, USA March 24th – The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory, Dallas, TX, USA March 25th – Jones Hall For The Performing Arts, Houston, TX, USA March 27th – The Fillmore Miami Beach at Jackie Gleason Theater, Miami, FL, USA March 29th – Tabernacle, Atlanta, GA, USA March 31st – Stifel Theatre, St Louis, MO, USA
April 1st – The Riverside Theatre, Milwaukee, WI, USA April 3rd – Orpheum Theatre, Minneapolis, MN, USA April 4th – Chicago Theatre, Chicago, IL, USA April 5th – Murat Theatre, Old National Centre, Indianapolis, IN, USA April 7th – Palace Theatre, Columbus, OH, USA April 8th – Akron Civic Theatre, Akron, OH, USA April 9th – The Fillmore Detroit, Detroit, MI, USA April 11th – Shea’s Performing Arts Center, Buffalo, NY, USA April 12th – Toyota Oakdale Theatre, Wallingford, CT, USA April 13th – Orpheum Theatre, Boston, MA, USA April 15th – Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier, Place Des Arts, Montreal, QC, Canada April 16th – Sony Centre For The Performing Arts, Toronto, ON, Canada April 18th – Beacon Theatre, New York City, NY, USA April 22nd – DAR Constitution Hall, Washington, DC, USA
April 29th – St David’s Hall, Cardiff, Wales April 30th – Aylesbury Waterside Theatre, Aylesburghy, Buckinghamshire, England May 1st – Cambridge Corn Exchange, Cambridge, England May 3rd – Roundhouse, Camden Town, London, England May 4th – Roundhouse, Camden Town, London, England
July 3rd – Kloster Wiblingen Ulm, Ulm, Germany July 5th – Augusta Raurica Open Air, Augst, Switzerland July 6th – Les Arenes De Nimes, Nimes, France July 20th – Freilichtbuhne, Loreley, St Goarshausen, Germany
Tickets Are Available Now Through Ticketmaster by Clicking Here
Aubrey Powell is a hero of the vinyl era. The record covers, designed by the British photographer and his artistic partner Storm Thorgerson for Pink Floyd and other rock stars, are world famous. Still, he says, he hugged the digital world tight. For a reason.
“Pink Floyd loved our ideas”: Aubrey Powell, shot in the Pink Floyd exhibition “Their Mortal Remains”, which he put together.
They worked for the biggest rock stars of the seventies, including forLed Zeppelin ,Paul McCartney ,Peter Gabriel and The Who.Most famous is the cover of the Pink Floyd album “The Dark Side of the Moon”.Is this your favorite motif?
The cover is so well known because the album has sold 65 million copies. If it had been sold only a thousand times, it might not be that iconic. It’s not my favorite cover because it’s a graphic. I like best photographic covers, like the 1971 “The Nice” album “Elegy”. I photographed red balls in theSahara . When I made the design The Nice keyboardistKeith Emerson showed he said, “That looks expensive.” I replied, “Yes, the record company will never pay that.” And he: “Okay. Then I’ll do it. “It was the first time anyone really believed in Hipgnosis.
Her trademark was strange, weird motives like the cow on the Pink Floyd album “Atom Heart Mother”.Where did you get your ideas from?Who inspired you?
Surrealist artists likeRené Magritte ,Salvador Dalí , Giorgio de Chirico andMarcel Duchamp hadStorm and me heavily influenced. Our cover illustrated neither the music nor the lyrics, they also had no relation to the band name or the album title. It was just plain, well thought-out pictures. They should stand for otherness and stand out in the record stores with their millions of albums.Pink Floyd loved that.
Who would you like to work for?
Bob Dylan andBruce Springsteen , because both tell stories with their songs. Our covers also told stories.
Would you like to work for rappers or R’n’B artists today?
Yes, because I find many of their covers uninteresting. Mostly they are photographs of the musicians themselves, as was customary in the fifties. Beyoncé,Rihanna , Drake orJay-Z do not care so much about cover design. The reason is that packaging is no longer important, because fewer and fewer people buy physical recordings, but stream or download their music. Their stage shows, on the other hand, are very artistic and elaborate.
The photographerAubrey Powell (72) has with his partnerStorm Thorgerson designed hundreds of album covers for the rock stars of the sixties, seventies and eighties.Best known is the shell of the Pink Floyd album "The Dark Side of the Moon". The psychedelic rock band was one of the main clients of their design company Hipgnosis. In addition, the two worked for, among othersPaul McCartney ,Led Zeppelin , Genesis, Yes andPeter Gabriel . Later, Powell shot music videos for the same artists. Most recently, the 72-year-old Briton curated the exhibition, which is still running until 10 February 2019 in the Dortmunder U "ThePink Floyd Exhibition - Their Mortal Remains ". Powell is still friends with all of the still-living Pink Floyd members.
The cover design has already lost importance: at the beginning of the eighties, when the CD and music videos came out.At that time also the history of Hipgnosis ended.Were you sad then?
Not at all. I was relieved. I wore a Hasselblad camera in front of my chest for 15 years, working everyday, all over the world. We had the heyday of the album cover, which in 1967 with “Sgt. Pepper’s “Lonely Hearts Club Band” began and ended in 1982, not only experienced, but shaped. We wanted to make films now. By coincidence, MTV started, and we saw our chance to leave the album art world. In addition: The record companies were no longer willing to spend so much money on a cover because of the punk movement. They had realized that you could have a cover for 2 pounds. In addition, the CD was introduced. Who wants to work for such a tiny format? Not me.
They say punk destroyed the budget.Curiously, they movedSex Pistols in the same building in theDenmark Street, which included the Hipgnosis headquarters.Did you hate the band?
TheSex Pistols had their practice room there. We used the same entrance. Sometimes we heard them rehearsing. It sounded completely useless to me. We were used to working with very demanding musicians. One day I metJohnny Rotten in the hallway. He wore his famous “I hatePink Floyd “shirt. “Why are you wearing this?” I asked him. “You are old men, you hear Crosby, Stills and Nash all day, you are finished. We are the New Wave. Watch out! “He answered. He was very aggressive. But I realized that there was a change in the air.
One of the most famous record covers of all time: Pink Floyd’s “The Dark Side of the Moon”.
Could not you win punk?
Malcolm McLaren , the Sex Pistol Manager, invited me to the first concert. It should take place right across the street. “I’m not dreaming to watch a Sex Pistols gig. They are horrible, “I replied and turned down the invitation. I regret this decision until today.
Do you still listen to vinyl as a cover artist today?
I owned thousands of LPs. I sold them all. Vinyl is too complicated. I have a jukebox with singles from the sixties and seventies. Otherwise, I download my music. I hugged the digital world.
How could that happen?
Our productions were very time-consuming at that time and lasted up to six weeks. We worked without special effects. What can be seen in the pictures, there was also in reality. That was our way of working. We wanted it that way. For the cover of Pink Floyd’s album “Wish You Were Here”, we actually set one of the two businessmen on fire. Today I would add the fire with Photoshop in two hours. Same goes for movie editing. What used to take hours, now takes only seconds. Many things are faster and easier. I really hugged the digital world tight. I am up to date.
Nevertheless, you curated the Pink Floyd exhibition.You are a bit retro …
Yes. It is a retrospective. However, one purpose of the show is to make young people see how we approached things back then, how disciplined, how carefully we had to work, how long everything lasted. Today everyone wants to have everything immediately. We used to have the time to think about which picture is really the best. Our covers are not justSnapshots with theSmartphone . They are art.
“Our covers are art”: For the record cover of “Wish you were here” Aubrey Powell and Storm Thorgerson set fire to a stunt man.
WLTD.it stands out: the exhibition is not as nostalgic as one would have thought.Pink Floyd albums such as “The Wall” or “Animals” are still relevant today, in times of new walls and increasingly louder and lesser democratic extremities …
Yes, Pink Floyd metaphors like the wall or the inflatable flying pig are as meaningful today as they once were. AndRoger Waters delivers strong, clear political statements to this day. He ventures far out of cover and has to be careful not to shoot at him.
Have you ever tried to prevent the Pink Floyd breakup?
I’m close to the band, I’m still their art director, I talk to them regularly. Of course I tried to repair the friendship.Roger Waters andDavid Gilmour are two incredibly talented and intelligent musicians. There is nothing like experiencing music together in a room. But there is a grudge, there are human tensions and political disagreements that are difficult to overcome.
As theyWaters ,Gilmour and Mason, to whom Pink Floyd members still live, presented your exhibition idea, were they all in one room?
No. I met everyone in person, but apart from each other. They were never in the same room. It is sad. I never say never, but I do not see them performing again.
Some exhibits fromLondon are not featured in the Dortmunder U, the first band van and the model of Battersea Power Station.Why?
The exhibition is a bit smaller. There was not enough space. We had to leave something out.
isDortmund at all the right place?
I originally wanted to goBerlin , preferably afterTempelhof , in the former airport building. But in wholeBerlin was not a location free. Some museums are booked three, four years in advance. InDortmund, on the other hand, was a place, andDortmund has a Pink Floyd history. The band performed “The Wall” there on eight evenings in February 1981 – and otherwise only inLos Angeles ,New York andLondon . Nevertheless:Berlin is a cultural center,Dortmund not. Sometimes you just do not have the choice.
The inflatable pig “flies” between the chimneys of Battersea Power Station in London.
Which photo session was the most elaborate or exciting?
Quite clear: the pictures for the “Animals” cover at the Battersea Power Station inLondon , as the inflatable pig broke free and got into the approach lane of Heathrow Airport. I stood next to this huge coal-fired power plant and looked after the pig. Never in my life have I been more afraid. I already saw ourselves responsible for one of the most terrible air catastrophes. I remember very well, like everyone elsePink Floyd in herCars climbed and cleared and left me alone.
And then?
There were no mobile phones. I ran to the nearest phone booth and called thePolice . “There’s a gigantic pig flying towards the planes,” I shouted into the phone. Pilots had already reported it. The air traffic was stopped. Two military aircraft came up to search for the pig because it was not visible on the radar. I was arrested in the meantime because, as they said, I was responsible for a UFO. Afterwards everyone believed it was a public relations stunt. But it certainly was not.
The matter went well …
Yes. At 9pm, I was back in my photo studio in theDenmark Street, the phone rang. A farmer outSouth England called and said, “You’re looking for a big, pink pig?” – “Yes.” – “It’s lying on my field, terrifying my cows.”
Interview Conducted By Mathias Begalke / RND for Neue Presse
Remastered original CD
Bonus tracks
CD of unreleased mixes and demo’s
Reproduction Press Release
A4 lyric book with artist notes.
Reproduction promotional 10″ × 8″ photos
Priced at £75
Identity Remastered CD
Remastered original CD
Including bonus tracks
Priced at £12
Identity Signed Remastered CD
Remastered original CD
Including bonus tracks,
Signed by Dave Harris
Priced at £22
Identity Signed Remastered CD in Card Packaging
Remastered original CD
Including bonus tracksJapanese style cardboard sleeve
Signed by Dave Harris
Priced at £25 Available Unsigned For £15
Artwork A2 Poster
Large A2 Sized Poster
Signed by Dave Harris
Priced at £30 Available Unsigned For £20
Artwork A3 Poster
Medium A3 Sized Poster
Signed by Dave Harris
Priced at £25 Available Unsigned For £15
One of the most intriguing pop music partnerships of the eighties makes it’s return – Rick Wright one of the founder members of Pink Floyd and who played keyboards on their multi-million selling albums joined forces with Dave (formerly Dee) Harris, best known to music fans as the former singer and guitarist with electro-funk band Fashion. The two, collectively known as ZEE’s version of their album, Identity is to be released this year.
The album which was recorded at Wrights ’s home studio and Utopia Studios in North London in 82 / 83, utilises the Fairlight Computer, which has the ability to recreate the sound of any musical instrument.
The new partnership was born out of a Greek holiday that Rick Wright had in 1981. It was there that he met Raf Ravenscroft the well-known saxophonist session musician whose playing graced Gerry Rafferty’s huge hit “Baker Street”.
“Raf was interested in forming a band, and we got talking in the way musicians do.” Rick said, “When we got back to England we met again, along with several other musicians, including Dave Harris. We had some rehearsal time at a studio in Battersea but we weren’t getting anywhere, mainly because no one had any material.”
At that time Dave has just left Fashion – “I supposed you could put it down to the usual ‘musical differences’ – and was looking for fresh ideas. “My decision to leave Fashion was good for both the band and myself, but I really needed to work with someone so that we could bounce ideas of each other” Dave says.
“It became more and more obvious that Rick and I would work well together, and eventually that is what happened”.
The other guys who had been initially involved understood that too, and in the end it was Rick and myself writing together. Rick and Dave started working on the ‘Identity’ album as far back as September 1982, initially at Richard’s small studio in the country, before moving on to Utopia six months later to do the overdubs.
Unfortunately certain legal problems had to be ironed out first – and then there was also the question of mastering the Fairlight:
“We spent hours and hours just experimenting with it at first” Rick recalled.
“The great thing about the Fairlight is that every time you go back to it you learn something else. We had to get control over it though because it would have been very easy just to have ended up making funny noises. We spent several weeks sequencing and scripting everything but it was all worth it in the end.”
He added “For me it is exciting working with Dave because there were things that he was doing that I had not done before and vice versa. I think that ZEE has given us musical opportunities that quite frankly neither of us were able to explore in our previous groups.”
Dave Harris says “when we started recording it, we didn’t have any pre-conceived ideas of how it should be done, and we certainly didn’t try to create a sound. The whole thing just evolved quite naturally”.
“There will probably be a lot of Pink Floyd fans interested in what Rick had been doing, and equally I’m sure that a lot of Fashion’s followers will want to know what I’ve been up to“.
Finally Zee is getting the deluxe treatment so many other seminal back catalogue releases have had done.
1. Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts 1-5) 2. Welcome to the Machine 3. Have a Cigar 4. Wish You Were Here 5. Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts 6-9)
5.1 surround mix by James Guthrie
Assistant engineer Joel Plante
Mastered by James Guthrie and Joel Plante
Mixed and mastered at das boot recording
DSD authoring for SACD by Gus Skina
Analog Productions’ SACD of Pink Floyd‘s 1975 album Wish You Were Here is being remanufactured and will be available to buy again from the middle of this year.
This hybrid disc contains the album mixed for 5.1 surround sound and stereo from the original analog master tapes by Pink Floyd Producer/Engineer James Guthrie. It was originally issued back in 2011, around the time that the ‘Immersion’ box set of Wish You Were Here came out, but has since gone out of print.
Despite that big box containing a 5.1 mix on both DVD and blu-ray, the band wanted an SACD version to be released and the Analogue Productions package delivered on both sound and an excellent presentation, with six postcards featuring iconic Hipgnosis designs (‘The Veil,’ ‘The Diver,’ ‘The Swimmer,’ ‘Man in the Desert,’ ‘Cover Sticker’ and ‘Burning Man’) and an eight-page booklet.
The word on the street is that The Dark Side Of The Moon will follow in the same format, even though an SACD of that title was widely available when issued for the 30th anniversary in 2003.
Today we also mark the 48th Anniversary of the release of The Madcap Laughs, Syd Barrett‘s first solo album.
Above is an alternate Mick Rock picture from the photo session that resulted in the much loved cover
Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason has been awarded a CBE for services to music in the New Year Honours list.
The skilled percussionist featured on every album produced by the progressive rock group since he co-founded the band in 1965. Together with his bandmates, including David Gilmour and Roger Waters, Richard Wright, Mason helped forge a new and commercially popular experimentalism in rock music.
Mason, 74, has been made a CBE in recognition of his services to music throughout decades in the industry.
He began drumming in bands alongside fellow Regent Street Polytechnic student Waters in the early 1960s, before they teamed up with keyboard player Richard Wright and frontman Syd Barret. From their debut album, The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn, Pink Floyd gathered an adoring audience and achieved major commercial success.
Mason was influenced by jazz music, which helped him provide the distinctive percussive elements to the band’s concept albums. He also had a hand in lyrics and co-wrote several songs, including Echoes. He still tours with his newly-formed band, Nick Mason’s Saucerful Of Secrets, and has indulged his passion for motor racing and Ferraris between touring commitments throughout his career.
London – One of the most intriguing pop music partnerships of the eighties makes it’s return – Richard Wright, one of the founder members of Pink Floyd and who played keyboards on their multi-million selling albums joined forces with Dave (formerly Dee) Harris, best known to music fans as the former singer and guitarist with electro-funk band Fashion. The two, collectively known as Zee’s version of their album, Identity is to be released this year. The album which was recorded at Wright’s home studio and Utopia Studios in North London in 82 / 83, utilizes the Fairlight Computer, which has the ability to recreate the sound of any musical instrument.
