Category : Live in Gdańsk (2008)

Some good news for some of you.

David will be performing as a special guest of Amadou & Mariam, a well-known duo from Mali, at a one-off show at a secret venue somewhere in central London on Monday 25 May – all proceeds going to Crisis, the charity for the homeless.

The venue will be revealed to ticket holders by text or e-mail the day before the show. The venue is to be kept ‘hidden’ until this time for good reason: to draw attention to the uncertain reality of the UK’s hidden homeless.

Tickets are now on sale, available online from See Tickets or by telephoning +44 (0)871 2200260.

Tickets are priced at £25 (plus a booking/delivery fee of £2.75).

The first two rows are designated ‘VIP Seats’. These will also go on sale tomorrow, priced at £75 per ticket (plus the relevant fees). There are just 10 seats in each row, so that’s 20 tickets in total. If you want one, you’ll have to be quick.

VIP tickets come with a goody bag, the contents of which are still being decided, but should include a commemorative Crisis T-shirt, a copy of the four-disc version of ‘Live in GdaÅ„sk’, as well as Amadou & Mariam’s latest CD, ‘Welcome to Mali’.

Have a listen to their “Afro-pop blues” at MySpace.

Said David: “I met Amadou and Mariam at the Mojo Awards, where we expressed mutual respect for each others’ music, so it was a wonderful surprise when they called recently, inviting me to collaborate with them on this special one-off occasion for Crisis. I’m looking forward to breaking down a few musical boundaries in the cause of helping the homeless.”

More of Crisis’ ‘hidden’ gigs will take place across London until 17 June.

If you were unable to catch David and the band performing on Later… with Jools Holland back in September, and haven’t discovered the performance anywhere online since, part of the broadcast footage is now available for your guilt-free viewing pleasure over on the ‘Live in GdaÅ„sk’ page.

‘The Blue’ (from ‘On an Island’) can be found there, as well as some chat.

Although it really does seem like only yesterday, this was originally televised on 26 September 2008.

Other performances on the celebrated show, or its New Year’s special, Hootenanny, include appearances with BB King (in December 1997), Paul McCartney (in November 1999) and Mica Paris (in November 2001). Not forgetting, of course, the visit in May during the 2006 tour, where David Crosby and Graham Nash particularly shone.

Have I forgotten any others, and do you have a favourite?

Oh, and if you were hopeful of breaking news about a forthcoming appearance, I do apologise.

It’s the Grammys on Sunday. As you know, David has been nominated for Best Instrumental Rock Performance (for the GdaÅ„sk version of ‘Castellorizon’).

There will be a live stream of the non-televised portion of the night’s events from LA – the pre-telecast – over at GRAMMY.com, launching at 16:00 (Eastern).

That’s 13:00 (Pacific), 21:00 (UK).

This will be available on demand throughout February, if you’ve better things to do than watch hours of build-up and only really want to see how David fares.

You can watch the ceremony itself live on CBS in the States. Check your TV listings for details.

In the UK, ITV2 will be showing over two hours of highlights on Monday night, from 21:00 (UK).

Needless to say, you’ll have heard if it’s worth tuning in before then.

Have a good weekend, everyone, and Happy Birthday to Tom for tomorrow.

Australian radio station, Triple J, has its annual music poll running right now.

It’s apparently the world’s largest, attracting over half a million votes each year.

The most popular 100 tunes are counted down over the weekend of Australia Day: 26 January.

Anyone can vote for any ten songs, just as long as they were released in 2008.

Click here and VOTE NOW.

If you need help choosing a song which isn’t on ‘Live in GdaÅ„sk’, suggestions are provided.

Add your own if you don’t find what you’re looking for (you won’t), and compile a short-list of tracks on the right. Whittle it down to your final ten, and the rest is self-explanatory.

You have until Sunday 18 January.

This is an early reminder to find time this week to listen to Radcliffe & Maconie.

Their show is on BBC Radio 2 tomorrow night (Tuesday 9 December), 20:00-22:00 (UK).

Re-scheduled from September, it includes ‘Echoes’ live from GdaÅ„sk in its glorious entirety.

I’m sure you’ve heard it a few times already, but it’s always good to hear David on the radio, isn’t it?

And – breaking news – it’s just been revealed that David will also perform Syd Barrett’s ‘Here I Go’ for the very first time.

You can listen to the show online no matter where you are, live or on demand (listen live, just in case).

If you’re in the UK, tune in to 88-91 FM on the night. Alternatively, listen through either your DAB digital radio or television set: channel 0102 on Sky, 902 on Virgin and 702 on Freeview.

You want the second hour.

If you want the chatroom, it’s now open – and will be until 15:00 (UK).

As you should have seen by now over at the fast-as-lightning Latest News page, David has received a Grammy nomination – for the live version of ‘Castellorizon’ from GdaÅ„sk, in the Best Rock Instrumental Performance category.

Well done, David.

Grammys, considered the highest accolade in music, are presented each year by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (of the United States) for outstanding achievements in the record industry.

See GRAMMY.com for all the categories and nominees.

Does anything catch your eye? (No, I haven’t heard of half of them, either.) Who would you give the key awards to?

If you have any interest in any category, be it Best Polka Album or Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals, let us know.

The 51st Grammy Awards will be held in February in LA.

Here’s November’s. (Yes, just 29 days until Christmas, folks…)

It’s the very well-read Pawel, with his signed copy of ‘On an Island’.

Thanks for sending it in, Pawel.

If you haven’t seen it yet, do have a look at the new GdaÅ„sk microsite. Comments welcome.

Also, if you’re in the States, you can catch ‘Live in GdaÅ„sk’ – and lots more – as part of VH1’s all-day Pink Floyd Thanksgiving fest. That’s from 11:00 (EST).

Other programmes include the ‘Which One’s Pink?’ documentary, The Pink Floyd and Syd Barrett Story, a Classic Albums special on the making of ‘Dark Side of the Moon’, footage from the ‘P.U.L.S.E’ DVD and ‘The Wall’ film. Nothing that you haven’t seen before, I expect, but still.

There are also plenty of the usual repeats coming up. Please see the calendar for those.

You won’t want to miss this, I’m sure.

David will perform Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Albatross’ next week: on Jools Holland’s Radio 2 show, Monday 10 November.

He’ll also be chatting about ‘Live in GdaÅ„sk’.

Everyone can listen live online, so set space in your schedule between the hours of 22:30 and 23:30 (UK).

You can listen later, on demand, for one week (courtesy of the BBC iPlayer), but possibly only if you’re in the UK, so do try and catch it live, if you can.

The chatroom has just opened, so feel free to call in. It will be open until 12:00 (UK).

This is Barbara’s dog, Hunter Beaudreaux, who was adopted by Barbara after his original family lost everything thanks to Hurricane Katrina.

He’s lovely, Barbara. Thanks for sending your picture in.

If your pet will pose for a photo, and doesn’t mind you sneaking in something DG-related, we’d love to see your furry, feathered or flakey friend here. Just get your picture online and include its URL with your comment.

Don’t forget that extended ‘Live in GdaÅ„sk’ on VH1 Classic (US-only) tomorrow, from 17:00 (EST)…

Nor your last chance in the UK – unless you’re in Wales* – to see the final part of ‘The Story of the Guitar’ (on TV, anyway): BBC4, Friday, 23:00 (UK).

* It’s on BBC2 Wales on Sunday 26 October at 23:20 (UK).

You have three more opportunities to see the extended ‘Live in GdaÅ„sk’ on VH1 Classic in the States this week: at 01:00 (EST) this morning, at 17:00 (EST) on Thursday, and at 19:00 (EST) on Saturday.

Please check those times for your own peace of mind, as there is some confusion over listings.

If you’ve seen it already, what did you think of the additional tracks?

Extra songs included in the broadcast are ‘Speak To Me’, ‘Breathe’, ‘Time’, ‘Breathe (Reprise)’, ‘Shine On You Crazy Diamond’ and ‘Wish You Were Here’.

If you haven’t seen it, do set your TiVo.

Who has TiVo, or something like it, anyway? I’d love to know.

Still with the USA… Coming up on RAVE this week, ‘Scotty Moore and Friends: A Tribute to the King of Rock and Roll’. That’s Wednesday afternoon at 13:00 (EST). David performs ‘Don’t’.

Then, on Saturday 25 October, an hour-and-a-half from ‘Remember That Night’, starting at 17:00 (EST). It’s repeated in the early hours of Sunday morning – at 03:00 (EST).

There have been reviews a-plenty added to the archives this week, if you’re interested.

Alternatively, if you’ve got your ‘Live in GdaÅ„sk’ – or maybe just a vivid imagination and unwavering faith – and can write one of those snappy one-line reviews that you see on the back of DVDs and books (there’s probably a name for them, but I’ll be damned if I can think of it, hence the hopeful squashing together of words that make up this post’s title), don’t be shy. Some of us could do with a laugh.

Linda’s “It rocks a big one” will take some beating, mind you.

Remember: less is more and it should fit on the CD cover. (Those of you still without the deluxe set have probably pictured that large, smooth box quite enough, right? I don’t want to make it harder for you. Or easier, depending on which way you look at it.)

Besides, it needs to stand out alongside someone else’s five star rating and another’s unnecessary exclamation marks.

So, very briefly, sum up the album in a way that would suitably intrigue those who hang around shops, idly browsing, during their lunch hour.

Something else to look forward to on UK TV: the three-part ‘Imagine’ series, presented by Alan Yentob and entitled ‘The Story of the Guitar’, which David has contributed to, starts this Sunday at 22:20 (UK) on BBC1.

I really am sorry that so many of you are still waiting for your copy of ‘Live in GdaÅ„sk’.

If you have a question concerning its availability, please send it in and I’ll try to get an answer for you, but information will be here just as soon as I have it.

For now, I’m afraid I can only apologise for the uncertainty and confusion, and hopefully not patronise you by saying that I fully understand how annoying and disappointing it is to have to wait for something you have been looking forward to for quite some time.

I’m sure you’ll find that it will be worth waiting for, however; and hope you know that your comments, both while you wait and once you’ve enjoyed all there is to enjoy from GdaÅ„sk as many times as you can manage, are always welcome here.

With regards to this weekend’s centenary tribute to James Bond author, Ian Fleming, which takes place at the London Palladium on Sunday and was briefly touched upon in a comment last week, please note that David will not be appearing.

A quick round-up of reminders.

First, the Planet Rock/Guy Pratt interview you were expecting tonight is now on Sunday at 17:00 (UK). Listen online. If you’re in the UK, you can also listen through your TV or DAB digital radio.

Before that, you might be interested in a radio special – which includes an interview – from Belgium, which starts on Sunday morning at 09:00 (CET), on Classic 21.

There’s more from Later… with Jools Holland tonight, as part of a BBC night dedicated to David. That starts at 21:10 (UK) on BBC4 with an hour from the GdaÅ„sk concert, plus the ‘GdaÅ„sk Diary’ DVD extra, followed by another documentary: ‘The Pink Floyd Story…’ (originally broadcast in 1994).

Turn over to BBC2 or BBC HD immediately after that, as David will be performing ‘The Blue’ and ‘Remember a Day’ for Jools, from 23:35 (UK).

The BBC4 programmes are repeated in the early hours of Saturday morning – from 01:30 (UK).

If you can’t wait for your next fix, here is something from New Zealand’s 3 News, something from today’s Sun newspaper, and, if you haven’t heard it yet, last weekend’s US radio special in full.

The Blog’s now closed for the weekend, but will be back on Monday.

If you haven’t yet seen it, Fender’s microsite for the David Gilmour Stratocaster is now up, so have a butcher’s.

A break from the fine Piotr Tarasewicz GdaÅ„sk shots for today. This one’s another of Frank’s, from Leicester Square last year.

You too could be striking that very same pose with your own black Strat soon (ish). Probably not a good idea to try striking it in Leicester Square, though. You know what crowds are like.

Thanks again, Frank.

Just a reminder that there’s more from Later… with Jools Holland tomorrow night on BBC2, as well as an hour from the GdaÅ„sk gig and a 30-minute documentary (on BBC4).

That might interest a few more of you now that many poor souls are still waiting for their postie to deliver their five-disc bundle of joy. (You’ll have yours before Friday night, I’m sure.)

For those of you thinking of downloading the album from iTunes, now you’ll only get ‘Wot’s…’ if you’re in Europe. (Sorry!)

The word is that the new release date for Poland is Monday. Please take that with a pinch of salt, just in case. It does sound wildly optimistic, no offence to EMI Poland.

Saturday is still the all-important day for Australia, and Monday for France and the vinyl.

By the way, SoundStage Direct’s price for the LPs is now $98.99 (US).

There have been many articles added to the archives lately, including some from the Polish press. (Thank you, Tomasz, for sending these in.)

If you spot anything interesting, particularly if it’s not in English, let me know.

There hasn’t been much talk of the free ‘A Great Day For Freedom’ download, so here’s that link again, just in case you haven’t been paying attention to the Latest News. (Tut, tut.)

I’d also like to know two things.

1. Who went to see the Gdańsk gig on the big screen on Monday, where did you see it, and how did it go?

2. Do you have your copy of ‘Live in GdaÅ„sk’ yet? Whether your thumbs are up or down, speak to me.

As some people are still waiting for theirs, please remember that discussion of DVD Easter eggs should take place here, not here, or anywhere else. Some like surprises, apparently.

And finally, the chatroom is open today from 13:00 (UK), so feel free to drop in and talk about whatever you like… Almost. Don’t forget those red rules on your way in.

There’ll be updates on the various delays, and all this trouble with iTunes, just as soon as I know anything useful. Until then, as ever, I can only sincerely apologise for the confusion and disappointment caused, and ask you to be patient while these issues are being resolved.

If you don’t want to know, please don’t read on.

There will be no further mention of Easter eggs on any page other than this one, so you only need to avoid this post (and, if you want it, bookmark it, because comments left anywhere else will be deleted).

Did you find any? (You have to find a copy of ‘Live in Gdań„sk’ first, I know…) 

‘Live in Gdań„sk’ is released today in Argentina, Canada, Uruguay and the USA. It’s out in Australia on Saturday (and the vinyl will be available in France on Monday, apologies for the delay).

If you missed my notes yesterday, I’m sorry to say that the two-disc set will not be available in Spain; the three-disc set will not be available in Belgium, Holland or Italy; the four-disc set will not be available in Germany, Spain or Switzerland; and the five-disc set will be not be available in Portugal (and is proving hard to find all over Europe, it seems, due to insufficient orders having been placed).

Don’t forget Later… with Jools Holland: BBC2 and BBC HD, tonight, 22:00 (UK).

David will still be appearing on Later… with Jools Holland tomorrow night (and also on Friday night). He has changed his songs and will now perform ‘Remember a Day’ and ‘The Blue’ instead. He will also be talking with Jools.

Please see the calendar for times.

‘Remember a Day’ was written and sung by Richard Wright, who died last week. The song features on Pink Floyd’s second album, ‘A Saucerful of Secrets’.

Thank you, Liz, for the lovely portrait.

‘Live in Gdań„sk’ is out today across Europe, and also in Brazil, Israel, Mexico and New Zealand.

Tickets are still available for cinemas in the States tonight, if you want to see the Gdań„sk concert. Go to The Bigger Picture website and click the graphic at the foot of the page. When you see that image full-screen, you should also notice a link for THEATERS AND SHOWTIMES on the left, which will tell you everything you need to know about where this one-night-only event is taking place.

‘Live in Gdań„sk’ is out tomorrow in Argentina, Canada, Uruguay and the US.

I apologise that the following information is, well, sketchy.

A GdaÅ„sk radio special is coming up in the US, and it’s either due to be broadcast sometime this weekend, or on Tuesday, so tune in and see what they have to say.

It’s an interview, plus live tracks, on the following stations:

Abilene (KHXS) Albany, GA (WJAD) Albany, NY (WPYX), Amarillo (KARX), Atlanta (WZGC), Austin (KLBJ), Bellingham (KISM), Bismarck (KBYZ), Boise (KRVB) Boston (WZLX), Brattleboro (WKVT), Cedar Rapids (KKRQ), Centralia (KITI), Champaign (WGKC), Cheyenne (KIGN), Chicago (WLUP), Clarksville (WZZP), Colorado Springs (KKFM), Columbus, MS (WSMS), Des Moines (KGGO), Detroit (WCSX), Farmington (KDAG), Florence (WMXT), Fort Bragg (KOZT), Fort Wayne (WFWI), Greensboro (WSMW), Hagerstown (WQCM), Harrisburg (WTPA), Huntsville (WTAK), Indianapolis (WFBQ), Kalamazoo (WRKR), Las Vegas (KMDZ), Lewiston (KOZE), Madison (WHLK), Manchester (WTBK), Memphis (WEGR), Mount Pleasant (WRFQ), Myrtle Beach (WYAV), Nashville (WNRQ), New York (WAXQ), Oklahoma City (KRXO), Omaha (KKCD), Philadelphia (WMGK), Portland (KINK), Raleigh (WBBB), Saginaw (WMJO), Salt Lake City (KZHK), San Diego (KGB-FM), San Jose/San Francisco (KUFX), Savannah (WGZO), Tallahassee (WGLF), Toledo (WXKR), Waterloo (KCRR), Wilkes Barre (WEZX), Wilmington (WBNE).

Also, Wednesday’s Radcliffe & Maconie interview has been cancelled.

Two more (Californian) indie stores, should you be looking for the ‘Wot’s…’ CD.

Prices for Mod Lang, El Cerrito are $16.98, $29.98, and $41.98. If anyone wants to pre-order, e-mail instead of using the site. The other is M-Theory Music, San Diego. Both ship worldwide.

The release date for Mexico is this Monday, Tuesday for Argentina.

With ‘Live in GdaÅ„sk’ released across much of Europe today, and a good chance that the postman will deliver a few copies over the weekend, here’s what you should know about the web pass.

You get one with the vinyl set and also if your version comes with a DVD.

It’s your ticket to bonus content. In the case of the vinyl, that means you can download the entire concert; with the DVD, 12 live tracks and, of course, ‘Wot’s… Uh The Deal’.

You get a new track on the first of every month, starting with ‘Wot’s…’, which you can download now.

Insert the concert DVD into your computer’s DVD drive, go to www.davidgilmour.com/bonus and follow the instructions. Be sure to click Yes (or Run) to run the validation software, then OK to validate your DVD.

No personal data is collected. A cookie is left on your machine, but it expires within the hour. Therefore, you will need to re-verify your DVD each month.

With the vinyl, your web pass is more unique number (or access code), which you need to redeem online. Again, go to www.davidgilmour.com/bonus and enter an e-mail address. For future visits (as there’s a lot to download), the number and address must match.

Instructions are in English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese and Spanish. There’s also a multi-language FAQ, should you encounter any problems, as well as e-mail support.

The release date for Brazil, Israel and New Zealand is Monday 22 September.