Category : Pink Floyd

I expect you’ve now heard the news that Pink Floyd were victorious in their legal case against troubled record label, EMI, which reached its conclusion yesterday.

In a lawsuit filed last April, lawyers acting for the band argued that EMI should not be entitled to sell Pink Floyd’s extensive back catalogue – a back catalogue second only to that of the Beatles’ in terms of value – as individual tracks online so as to “preserve the artistic integrity of the albums”.

EMI argued that the contentious clause in Pink Floyd’s latest contract, signed in 1999, five years before the boom in legal digital downloads (which states that they have no right to sell any of Pink Floyd’s music as single tracks other than with the band’s express permission), only applied to physical copies and not digital ones.

EMI were ordered to pay an estimated £60,000 in costs, with fines still to be decided, and banned from selling Pink Floyd’s music online.

A challenge on the amount of royalties that band members receive from online sales has also gone in the way of Pink Floyd. It is the first royalties dispute between artist and record company ever to be held in private, as per EMI’s wishes.

So, a triumph for art over corporatism… or all a bit unnecessarily precious? Would you do the same for your music if you felt it were open to exploitation and if, through a lifetime of commercial accomplishment (which had created successful careers and all its trappings for many others, don’t forget), you felt you had very much earned the right to protect your work from being dissected and packaged in more profitable bite-size pieces to suit interests other than your own?

Are you disappointed that you may soon be unable to individually purchase Pink Floyd tracks online, or would you always choose an album in its entirety because of its characteristic “seamless” nature? Should it matter if the creators of the music would ideally prefer you to listen to their work as one continuous piece, or should the consumer always have the right to choose?

It’s cheaper to download an album than each of its tracks individually, after all.

Besides, isn’t love for the mellifluous the reason why such effort went into making Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd what it is (and why familiarity with the albums from which the songs were taken meant that, for many, Echoes didn’t really work)? That wasn’t merely a carve-up job with the songs idly presented in any old order.

Go on, as NME’s Luke Lewis set me off with his blog post yesterday, which songs – from any classic album, not just Pink Floyd’s – could you live without if you chose to purchase digitally rather than in the formats that many of us still cherish.

I’ll go first: Blood on the Tracks’ frenetic ‘Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts’ by Bob Dylan. There, I said it. (Forgive me, Bob.) More often than not, it gives me an instant headache. As does Don Henley’s ‘Man With a Mission’ (from Building the Perfect Beast). But I can skip these songs when my head is feeling particularly delicate and they remain part of two of my favourite albums regardless. Granted, when purchased, there was no option to pick and choose each song, nor to preview them freely at leisure. However, I still feel that today’s wider choice is mostly irrelevant to me when it comes to downloading music, and surely this should be all the more true when it comes to concept albums.

In fact, of Pink Floyd’s more obvious concept albums, you’d be hard pressed to find a track that does not segue at either its beginning or end.

Can you imagine ‘Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ not turning into ‘With a Little Help from My Friends’? Or ‘Overture’ from The Who’s Tommy not concluding with the joyous announcement that ‘It’s a Boy’?

I’d enjoy sharing your examples of the perfect song segue, if you care to.

So, lots of questions to end the week with and perhaps to aggravate you well into the weekend, but I have (almost) managed to refrain from asking whether we should condone public flogging as the only punishment befitting the heinous crime of savagely butchering Dark Side of the Moon.

Now, there’s a thought… Dare I suggest that maybe EMI got off lightly?

According to Friday’s Times, as part of an attempt to cut costs, the BBC plans to shut down two of its radio stations by the end of 2011. One of these is BBC Radio 6, better known as 6 Music.

Naturally, online campaigns protesting against the proposals have sprung up, and one name that has been mentioned repeatedly is that of much-loved and greatly-missed DJ, John Peel, who died suddenly following a heart attack in 2004.

As Phill Jupitus so simply yet perfectly put it, killing off 6 Music would be “an affront to the memory of John Peel.” David Bowie added that “6 Music keeps the spirit of broadcasters like John Peel alive, and for new artists to lose this station would be a great shame.”

Best known for his legendary Peel Sessions, which began in September 1967 and ran for 37 years, John Peel undoubtedly helped launch many a career, often by championing music that others would not play. In a 2002 BBC poll to discover the 100 Greatest Britons, he was even voted 43rd, some recognition for his services at BBC Radio 1 and with pirate radio station, Radio London, before that.

For anyone passionate about music, his Top Gear show on Radio 1 every Tuesday and Thursday night made for essential listening. Due to Musicians’ Union rules, he had to include a sizeable portion of non-recorded music in each programme, and, mercifully, live recordings were preferred to the usual chatter.

There exists a vast archive of Peel Sessions, containing 4,000 in all by more than 2,000 artists; including six by Pink Floyd and many from associated acts such as Roxy Music, Roy Harper and Robert Wyatt. Browse by artist or by year.

And so we return to 6 Music…

If you’d like to hear any Peel Session again, Marc Riley invites listeners to share which session they’d most like him to play – and why.

Everyone can listen to 6 Music online, so what better way to help a station in distress?

If you could, I’d like lots of Peel appreciation, as well as Sessions, today.

My favourite has to be Syd Barrett’s. Accompanied by David with Jerry Shirley on drums, recorded in February 1970 and aired the following month, this was later released on Peel’s Strange Fruit label and is an absolute must for any Syd fan.

Thoughts on 6 Music and the BBC in general are also quite welcome; I’m sure I’m not alone in thinking up other imaginative ways in which the corporation could cut back, rather than by scrapping their only radio station with a genuinely ‘alternative’ playlist and where, in true Peel tradition, new acts can be heard on a daily basis.

By the way, if you missed the John Peel tribute single – a version of the Buzzcocks number, ‘Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t've)?’, featuring David on rhythm guitar and benefiting Amnesty International – do look/listen out for it.

Speaking of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as we were back there (I know, it was quite a while ago, apologies for my desertion) with the news of the Hollies’ eventual induction next month, I noticed that the Museum has an exhibition deliciously entitled “500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll”. Get that.

Which got me thinking of answers to two questions:

1) Are there any David Gilmour/Pink Floyd songs in there (and if there aren’t, should there be)?
2) Have any of the songs written and recorded in, say, the last 30 years really influenced the way popular music has evolved?

Take a look at the list of 500, as chosen by a gaggle of curatorial staff at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum with a little help from rock critics and historians, or perhaps don’t just yet, because other than your thoughts on what has been listed, I’d like to know which songs you would select without first being influenced by what the exhibit values most highly.

I’m sure that we could come up with a decent list of 500 between us, so please list as many or as few as you wish, but please do bear in mind that these are songs that have shaped Rock and Roll, influencing and inspiring others to take up instruments, be they of the writing or the musical sort, and to get creative. Therefore, they almost all will have to have been popular, if not hugely commercially-successful (but many of them are most likely to have been worldwide hits, rightly or wrongly). And, of course, you don’t have to like them; you just have to acknowledge their influence, even if it is somewhat grudgingly.

All musicians and all genres. Songs only, not albums, please. If you think of an artist that absolutely deserves inclusion, but cannot decide on a song, do list him or her and perhaps others can chime in with suggestions for most deserving entry.

Looking forward to what you come up with.

Here are a few to get us started, which you may or may not agree with:

- Beach Boys, ‘Good Vibrations’
- Bill Haley & His Comets, ‘Rock Around the Clock’
- Sam Cooke, ‘A Change Is Gonna Come’
- Carl Perkins, ‘Blue Suede Shoes’
- Queen, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’

Now we just need another 495…

I thought this rather interesting when I belatedly stumbled across it today: the shortlist for the BRIT Awards’ ‘Best Album of 30 Years’ accolade, representing the finest of 30 years of previous BRIT Award-winning albums.

They are as follows:

- Coldplay, A Rush of Blood to the Head
- Dido, No Angel
- Dire Straits, Brothers in Arms
- Duffy, Rockferry
- Keane, Hopes & Fears
- Oasis, (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?
- Phil Collins, No Jacket Required
- Sade, Diamond Life
- The Verve, Urban Hymns
- Travis, The Man Who

The thing is, the BRITs being the music industry’s own awards, to be eligible you had to have already won a BRIT Award – in the Best British Album category – and you win this in the first place based on sales figures.

So, I had a look and found the other past winners… and realised that the shortlist probably is as good as it can get, although I would definitely substitute the two Manic Street Preachers albums at the expense of pretty much any of them bar Brothers in Arms and Urban Hymns. I would also like to see Annie Lennox (Union Jack-et negotiable) win a BRIT each year, even though she has seven already.

Do you favour any of these over the actual nominees? If, as many believe, Britannia ruled the (air)waves in the ’60s and ’70s, are these award-winning albums conclusive proof that things have gone downhill dramatically ever since?

- Adam and the Ants, Kings Of the Wild Frontier
- Blur, Parklife (Pink Floyd’s The Division Bell had been nominated)
- Coldplay, Parachutes and X&Y
- The Darkness, Permission to Land
- Fairground Attraction, First Of a Million Kisses
- Fine Young Cannibals, The Raw and the Cooked
- Annie Lennox, Diva
- Manic Street Preachers, Everything Must Go and This is My Truth, Tell Me Yours
- George Michael, Listen Without Prejudice
- Seal, Seal
- Stereo MCs, Connected
- Sting, Nothing Like the Sun

If, like me, you initially find the idea of the ten albums in contention representing the pinnacle of 30 years of British music as depressing as a bowl of cold porridge on a wet winter’s morn (and the use of ‘Best’ as contentious as, well, the last equivalent survey we discussed), you might find this stirs you from your malaise.

Ten ‘better’ albums, even if they weren’t as commercially-successful – from 1980 onwards, please. From UK artists only, don’t forget. (The Division Bell… Hello?)

Should you care to vote, voting closes at 9pm (UK) tomorrow – Thursday 28 January. The winning album will be the one with the most votes when voting ends.

You have to register to vote and the registration form asks for everything other than your shoe size, which may prove off-putting to some. (Slight exaggeration there, but why should one’s date of birth, not to mention telephone number, be required? Presumably the only advantage to registering is being able to cast a vote and leave a comment, not buy cigarettes, and nobody should expect a ring-back.)

The 2010 BRIT Awards will take place on 16 February. Will you be watching?

Georgie Fame & The Blue Flames were at the top of the singles chart in the UK with ‘Yeh Yeh’ on this day in 1965.

The song was originally recorded by legendary Afro-Cuban jazz percussionist and band leader Ramón “Mongo” Santamaria in 1963, and later that year, at the Newport Jazz Festival, with lyrics by Jon Hendricks of American jazz vocal trio Lambert, Hendricks & Ross (by now Lambert, Hendricks & Bavan).

Georgie Fame & The Blue Flames were one of the most popular, and most jazz-influenced, R&B bands on the London club circuit in the Sixties. They had two other UK chart-topping singles: ‘Get Away’, in June 1966, and ‘The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde’, in December 1967. The latter was also a Top Ten hit stateside.

Singer, pianist and organist Georgie, a founder member of Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings, also enjoyed a successful solo career and became a much sought-after hired-hand; indeed, he can be heard on On an Island, played and acted as musical director on all of Van Morrison’s albums between 1989 and 1997, and has also worked with the likes of Count Basie, Eric Clapton, Gene Vincent and Muddy Waters.

Here’s the song, anyway. Get a load of the front row. And you thought only the youth of today has a tendency to appear empty-headed and expressionless.

Just kidding, kids.

The topic today, then, as I hear you scratching your puzzled brows: recommended, possibly jazz-influenced, tracks from your favourite keyboardists and organists (as opposed to pianists, as we’ve already covered them).

I can’t decide if it would be best to spend an hour or so listening to the glorious music that Richard Wright composed before or after I attempt this exercise. The one thing I can be sure of is that I will not be the only one likely to question whether there has ever been anyone I have enjoyed listening to more.

Wikipedia has a list of Hammond organ players, which of course includes Richard, and has reminded me of a few talented others. For example, Dave “Baby” Cortez, who also recorded ‘Yeh Yeh’ in 1965 and apparently gave us the first pop/rock hit to feature the organ as the lead instrument (‘The Happy Organ’ in 1959, which was also Billboard’s first instrumental Hot 100 No. 1, fact fans).

Top of the charts in the UK on this day was ‘Sugar Sugar’ by The Archies.

Not one of David’s favourites, this, but equally annoying and slightly less grammatically irritating than the US sing-along-a-No.1 of this day 40 years ago, ‘Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye’ (by Steam). Remember that one?

I can’t bring myself to say a bad word about the wonderful Roy Orbison, so I’ll just quietly point out that ‘Penny Arcade’ was No.1 in Australia at the time and leave it to you to decide whether or not that nicely rounds off a hat trick of truly terrible chart-topping songs which paint 1969 a hideous, nauseating shade of ‘Fun’.

There were some classic stand-out tunes, though: ‘Albatross’ by (Peter Green’s) Fleetwood Mac, which obviously is one of David’s favourites, and ‘Suite: Judy Blue Eyes’ by Crosby, Stills and Nash, to name just two of them.

As we’ve been talking about him this week, ‘Give Peace a Chance’ by (John Lennon’s) Plastic Ono Band is another.

Great albums, too. All the best acts did well, I thought, and their record covers were often equally impressive: The Beatles’ Abbey Road (and Yellow Submarine); Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, Neil Young’s first album with Crazy Horse; Frank Zappa’s Hot Rats; Leonard Cohen’s Songs From a Room…

Do note Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band’s Trout Mask Replica sleeve at this point, if you will. Words fail me each time I see it.

There were two records from Pink Floyd, of course: More and Ummagumma. I’d like to know which remain your favourite moments from those two, please.

So, your favourite songs from 1969. Hopefully this list of 100 will help start you off, and this just might jog a few memories.

Here are five of my favourite tracks:

- King Crimson, ‘21st Century Schizoid Man’
- Elvis Presley, ‘Suspicious Minds’
- Rolling Stones, ‘Gimme Shelter’
- Stevie Wonder, ‘For Once In My Life’
- Neil Young, ‘Down By the River’

A special mention for Tommy’s ‘Underture’, which is one of my most favourite instrumentals, but we can talk about that and those another day.

Until then, have a good weekend, everyone.

We’ve looked at 1966 and 1975, now it’s time for something from the Eighties.

The decade’s best year for music, I feel (and you are free to tell me that you disagree just as long as you can back it up with better examples), is 1983.

From Pink Floyd, the vastly under-rated The Final Cut; ZZ Top produced their most successful, Eliminator; Metallica released their first (Kill ‘Em All), The Police their last (Synchronicity) and U2 their most delightfully political, War.

It was, of course, the year of Thriller, even if it was released in late-1982.

It’s also remembered as the year that Karen Carpenter and Beach Boy, Dennis Wilson, died. Both in tragic circumstances, Karen was just 32 and Dennis, 39.

Which are your favourite songs from 1983? Here are five of mine, starting with another respectful tip of the hat to that great evergreen, Ray Davies:

- Eurythmics, ‘Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)’
- The Fixx, ‘One Thing Leads to Another’
- Michael Jackson, ‘Billie Jean’
- Elton John, ‘I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues’
- Bonnie Tyler, ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’

Thinking of it, it’s probably quite possible to compile an A to Z of chart artists from 1983 (-ish) without great effort. If you’re feeling up to it, in need of a pointless distraction from whatever you should be doing right now, see how far you can get with those unforgettable names, such as Kajagoogoo and Prefab Sprout.

You have to admit, the Eighties were and will forever remain… strangely amusing.

I’ll start you off with Adams, Bryan (‘Cuts Like a Knife’)…

A completely random, yet hopefully moderately useful post today; I’m sure it’s one that everyone can make a contribution to one way or another, should they feel so inclined, particularity should they have a propensity to compile subject-specific music playlists, which is so very easy to do nowadays.

Which songs make driving more enjoyable, tolerable or relaxing?

Five that I’d confidently wager are guaranteed a swift mention, so I’ll get them in early so that your lists are more imaginative than mine, are:

- Beatles, ‘Drive My Car’
- Canned Heat, ‘On the Road Again’
- Eagles, ‘Life in the Fast Lane’
- Chris Rea, ‘Road to Hell’
- Steppenwolf, ‘Born to Be Wild’

Whether you favour the Beach Boys’ ‘Little Deuce Coupe’, Wilson Pickett’s ‘Mustang Sally’ or Prince’s ‘Little Red Corvette’, do tell which songs sound at their very best when you’re behind the wheel (or handlebars, even).

If you can’t think of any, just have a look at the many ‘drive-time’ compilations that record labels, possibly with a little help from radio DJs, have put together.

How about Pink Floyd’s La Carrera Panamericana (were it legally available in a format other than VHS, of course)? Have you seen it and do you have a favourite instrumental from those recorded specifically for the film?

Lastly, as an excuse to let off some steam, which are your pet hates when you’re on the road? The apparent inability of other road users to indicate, particularly at roundabouts, probably grates on my nerves more than anything else.

In memory of Led Zeppelin’s John Bonham, who died on this day in 1980, and who was, and quite possibly remains… the best drummer of all-time?

The greatest as you deem only right and just to declare him (or her), your favourites, the best living, most memorable performances on stage or on tape, your thoughts on this contentious ‘100 Greatest’ list… Whatever, let us know.

Additionally, as fate has decreed that this week be Nick Mason Week, how about casting a vote for his finest moments behind the Floyd kit, particularly during his time in Pompeii? (I know what you’re thinking, but his quibbling about apple pie was at Abbey Road and behind a table, not a drum kit, so doesn’t count.)

I’m rather partial to the often insane and frenzied, but always perfect, playing of Keith Moon, myself. Mike Portnoy of Dream Theater is no slouch and Ringo Starr, no matter what anyone says, will always be my favourite. ‘I Feel Fine’ indeed.

Thank you for making this week’s file-sharing debate such an interesting one.

That’s all for another week, but have a great weekend – and don’t forget the Top 10 Solo Albums, as chosen by Planet Rock listeners and would-be online vote-riggers, which everyone can listen to online, on Saturday at 6pm (UK). If you miss it, it will be repeated at the same time on Thursday.

In the interest of good blog-keeping, comments about that are to be left here, not here, please. And I’ll still eat my New York baseball cap if Imagine isn’t included…

If you’d like to talk about any of the above, the chatroom opens at 2pm (UK).

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Although released in the first week of August, Pink Floyd’s debut album, ‘The Piper at the Gates of Dawn’, entered the UK album charts in this week of 1967. It would spend seven just outside the Top Five.

So, why not turn off whatever you’re listening to and give it a spin? Take some time to remember with a smile the beautiful talents of the late Syd Barrett and Richard Wright (as well as producer Norman ‘Hurricane’ Smith, who passed away last year) and share whatever you feel like sharing about this fine piece of work; be it your favourite track, most whimsical lyric, memories of acquiring the original LP, or thoughts on the 30th and 40th anniversary CDs (both of which were re-mastered by James Guthrie, the latter includes two rare takes of ‘Interstellar Overdrive’, rescued from EMI’s archives, plus a previously unavailable version of ‘Matilda Mother’ – click here if you need to learn more).

I’d also care to know how you like the first three Pink Floyd singles, all released in 1967 (‘Arnold Layne’, ‘See Emily Play’, ‘Apples and Oranges’) and their respective B-sides (‘Candy and a Currant Bun’, ‘The Scarecrow’, ‘Paintbox’).

Add to that a fourth single, 1968’s ‘It Would Be So Nice’, only officially available as part of the 1992 ‘Shine On’ box set and the less well-known budget releases, put out in selected parts of the world in 1970 and 1974 to capitalise on the band’s growing popularity, entitled ‘The Best of The Pink Floyd’ and ‘Masters of Rock’.

The B-side to ‘It Would Be So Nice’ was ‘Julia Dream’, David’s first recorded Pink Floyd vocal.

Interestingly, if not somewhat worryingly, the UK’s most popular albums of 1967 were (in order of sales, no surprise about the biggest-seller):

- The Beatles, Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
- ‘Sound of Music’ soundtrack
- ‘The Best of The Beach Boys’
- ‘The Monkees’
- ‘Doctor Zhivago’ soundtrack
- ‘More of The Monkees’
- ‘Fiddler On the Roof’ (Original London Cast)
- Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, ‘Going Places’
- Seekers, ‘Come the Day’
- Tom Jones, ‘Green, Green Grass of Home’

How many of those will you still admit to having in your collection, then?

Exciting times, July 1969.

Apollo 11 was more than four hours into its mission and orbiting Earth at a distance of 11,753 nautical miles at this time, on this date, 40 years ago.

David shared his memories of the historic occasion with the Guardian last week; the eerie experimental piece featured in the video below is ‘Moonhead’, the jam that complimented the BBC’s live coverage.

Forget the wonders of space exploration, isn’t it amazing to think of television producers letting a band jam so freely on live TV?

Anyway, I’d love to hear your memories. Where were you, what were you doing, and, if you’re too young to have experienced the exciting event for yourself, what do you make of it all with the benefit of hindsight?

Not wishing to take anything away from the achievements of all involved, and knowing that no discussion of the lunar landings would be complete without the obligatory conspiracy theory, it’s only fair to ask: Do you believe that the three Apollo 11 astronauts – Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins – landed on the Moon on the afternoon of 20 July?

This is a fascinating website faithfully recreating the events in real-time. As well as live transmission and mission status updates, you can download or embed your very own mission tracker and follow developments via RSS feed or Twitter – I know that I’ll be spending many of the 98.5 hours before landing time tuned in to the comings and goings from Houston.

The musical highlight of Live8, no doubt, was Pink Floyd reforming momentarily to perform for the first time in 24 years.

In another worrying example of time just flying by, the ten concerts held simultaneously to persuade political leaders to make poverty history took place on this date four years ago.

The leaders of the eight richest nations – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the UK and USA – followed the festivities by pledging, at Gleneagles, to double aid to poor nations by 2010, half of which would go to Africa.

Figures show that, in fact, the G8 have only delivered one third of the additional assistance promised, despite being two thirds of the way towards their deadline.

By the end of this year they will have only delivered about half of what they promised, with Italy and France responsible for 80% of the shortfall.

This is because France cut aid to Africa last year and Italy has delivered only 3% of the aid increase it promised.

But it’s not all doom and gloom. There are some 34 million more children in African schools, an estimated three million people on life-saving AIDS treatment, and death rates from malaria have more than halved in Ethiopia, Rwanda and Zambia.

The next G8 Summit will be held in L’Aquila, Italy, from 8 July.

Despite agreeing with many of the cynical sentiments expressed in articles by Michel Chossudovsky and Ann Talbot, who insist that the events were more a profit-making exercise for its corporate sponsors than a means of averting yet another avoidable humanitarian disaster, I like to believe that Live8 truly did increase awareness and turned apathy into activism in some quarters.

Yes, the 10 concerts cost £25 million to stage (the cost in terms of carbon emissions is something else, of course), performers at the Philadelphia gig received obscenely inappropriate gifts and the CD sales of the performers boomed (David, I think it only fair to point out, was the first to promise that any such profits would be donated to charity and encouraged others to follow his example).

What do you think of Live8 now: Success or failure? PR stunt or genuine political mass movement? Did you wear a white wristband, rumoured to have been made in a Chinese sweatshop? Did you wonder where all the black performers were performing that day? And what of the broken promises of financial assistance?

Your thoughts on any of this, and the rest, please.

As an aside, if you have yet to read David’s recollections of the 1969 moon landings – entitled “My moon-landing jam session”, in today’s Guardian – you can find them here. That’s certainly a topic for later this month, though.

Some band called Pink Floyd, with an album entitled ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’, or something, made it 1,056 weeks on the US album charts this week – back in 1997.

Released in the States on 17 March 1973, it would go on to be the first recording to spend 1,500 weeks on the Billboard charts (a milestone reached in May 2006), occupying 164 different positions in the Top 200.

Incredibly, it remained in the Top 200 for a record 736 consecutive weeks (741 non-consecutive, as it dropped off briefly in July 1988) before falling out in October 1988 (and only then because of changes to chart methodology), which is by far the longest chart run of any album ever.

Billboard’s Top Pop Catalog – where older albums are now listed – credits the album with a cumulative total of 1,660 weeks notched up. That’s nearly 32 years.

So, all in all, it did – and continues to do – rather well.

I won’t bother to ask what you like best about the 43-minute-long progressive epic, although you’re very welcome to share; what I’d love to know is how many copies you’ve got in your collection. (Makes you wonder, doesn’t it?)

In addition, I’m curious to discover your thoughts on album sales and chart positions today. Do you believe that anyone can possibly over-take the tremendous run that ‘Dark Side’ has enjoyed now that album sales are in decline and digital sales are up? And what of the part that variable pricing has played in encouraging full-album downloads as opposed to only paying for single tracks?

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.

Bidding on the one-of-a-kind guitar that the famed cartoonist, Gerald Scarfe, recently hand-painted, and the members of Pink Floyd signed, ended on Friday evening.

It went for £16,000, an amount very much appreciated by the UK charity for the homeless, Crisis.

The successful bidder also won the first edition of a strictly limited box set containing eight 16″ x 20″ signed prints from ‘The Wall’, as well as a signed book.

Congratulations – and sincere thanks – to you.

There are 300 such box sets available, should you want one. All are numbered and have been signed. See Gerald’s website for details.

The chatroom is open late tomorrow: between 17:00 and 19:00 (UK). If you’d like to drop in, whether it be your first visit or the latest of many, you’re most welcome.

After thinking of all those striking, thought-provoking and inspiring album covers, I couldn’t resist setting aside some space for the very worst ones. Thanks for twisting my arm, Jeremy.

But before you send in lists of your most loathed cover art (no more than ten true shockers, please), here’s Sander’s beautiful dog, Einstein.

Glad to see that he likes your backstage pass from Gdańsk, Sander. It looks really good on him.

More photos of your pets to follow this week, so, if you have one to share, please do get it online and let us know where we can find it.

Bidding on the (Mexican) Fender Stratocaster – hand-painted by Gerald Scarfe and signed by David, Nick Mason, Roger Waters and Richard Wright – currently stands at £16,000.

The auction closes on Friday at the new time of 17:00 (UK). Proceeds will benefit the UK charity for the homeless, Crisis.

Some extra ‘randomness’ (just in case the word ‘nonsense’ offends anyone, perish the thought) to get us started this week.

With the impressive artwork which graced record sleeves, particularly in the Seventies, hopefully relatively fresh in the memory from the last-but-one poll, I’d like to know which you think are the most iconic album covers (from any artist, from any decade – but no more than ten, please).

I’d also like to know which is your favourite from David’s three studio releases: ‘David Gilmour’, ‘About Face’ and ‘On an Island’.

And, because they deserve a list of their own, which are your favourites from Pink Floyd?

Remember, it’s just the cover art, not the music.

…du Rock’.

Better known as ‘The Seven Ages of Rock’, the second programme in this BBC series is about to be broadcast once more in Belgium and Switzerland – and wherever else channels TSR2 and La Une can be received by cable or satellite.

The programme – entitled ‘White Light, White Heat: Art Rock, 1966-1980′ – includes a considerable portion reserved for discussion of, and footage from, Pink Floyd. David was interviewed for the programme, so that might be ‘new’ footage for you, as well as snippets of one or two early rarities. Click here for more on that.

That’s tonight, Sunday 13 July – on TSR2 – at 21:25 (CET), then Monday 14 July – on La Une – at 22:00 (CET).

As we’ve been talking about Syd all week, I’d be interested to hear how well you felt the programme explained his gradual retirement from the music industry and, indeed, the public eye. As one viewer noted on the BBC site: “Awful overview of the Syd Barrett story. Subjective twaddle, giving people the hyped-up myth they want to hear.”

Do you agree with this statement?

As Byron pointed out earlier this week, the current (that’s August) edition of The Word magazine has a two-page spread on last month’s Cadogan Hall show, which included a special performance of the ‘Atom Heart Mother’ suite.

You can now read this article in full by clicking the image to your right.

Thanks again to Byron for bringing it to my attention.

If you ever spot anything Gilmour-related in the media, be it press, television or radio, please do continue to let me know so that I can, hopefully, let others know.

Well, that’s another week been and gone. The Blog will be taking a short break next week, so Sunday’s post will have to be enough to tide you over until the end of the week. I’m sure you’ll survive without me.

Perhaps a more worrying prospect for some, there will be no chat sessions for a while, either. News of when the chatroom will next be swinging open its doors can be found, as always, here.

We’re not quite there yet, but we’re close enough, so…

Have a good weekend, everyone.

News of another upcoming guitar auction for you, this one courtesy of the lovely ladies at Buy Once Give Twice.

And this time it will benefit Crisis, the homelessness charity that’s close to David’s heart.

Again, it’s a Fender Stratocaster, but this Fender Stratocaster – get ready for this, folks – has been individually painted by the legendary Gerald Scarfe, best known among Floyd fans for his artwork for ‘The Wall’ album, film and live shows.

It’s also been signed by David and Pink Floyd members past and present.

More details than those given here will follow in due course, but the winning bidder will also become the proud owner of the first edition of a limited edition box set containing eight ‘Wall’ prints, each of which has been signed by Gerald, as well as a signed book.

You have to register your interest in bidding, which you can do by sending an e-mail here. Serious bidders only, please. The closing date has yet to be decided, so do sign up to be kept up-to-date on developments. Of course, I’ll keep any casual observers updated here.

If the cream Strat auctioned in New York last month went for $60,000, what would you expect the winning bidder to pay for this truly unique instrument?