Tag Archive for "island jam" tag

There’s just one more of Polly’s photos from the Barn rehearsals that gave you ‘Island Jam 2007′ after this one, so it seems like a good time to ask which picture you liked best. (Obviously next time would be an even better time to ask, but I’ve got some news to go with the final shot, and I’m sure that you’ll all have an opinion, so now will just have to do.)

You can see the full set, starting with David on drums, from 25 September. Just follow that link, then click your way through the entries by using the arrows at the top of each post.

Remember, you can click on any image for a better look.

Do let me know if you have a particular favourite – and don’t forget the captions.

Now that the ‘Remember That Night’ DVD is out in most parts of the world (apologies to fans in Australia for the delay), I thought you might like to see some of Polly’s photographs, taken during a few days of random jamming, back in February of this year.

If you’ve seen ‘Island Jam 2007′ amongst the DVD extras, you’ll be familiar with the setting for many a band jam. This is where the new ‘Island Jam’ recording stems from: messing about with musical instruments in the Gilmour family home (or barn, to be more precise).

Starting today, there will be a series of shots from these sessions showing David, Richard, Phil, Stevie and Guy.

Simply click on the image to see a larger version.

Please note that these photos are not even the slightest bit suggestive of a new album or tour. They were taken in February, the result was the version of ‘Island Jam’ that’s found on the DVD, and that’s about it.

Hope you like them, anyway.

So, I’ve finally told you just about all there is to know.

Here’s a summary of ‘Remember That Night’:

- It’s released on Monday 17 September in Europe, Tuesday 18 September in North America.

- There will be two discs (DVD-9 dual layer discs, in fact, which allow a greater playing time).

- There will be high-resolution versions in both Blu-Ray and HD-DVD to follow the standard release. I’ll let you know the release date as soon as I can.

- Disc one is the concert, containing 23 songs from the Royal Albert Hall gigs of May 2006. If you played Blotto, you’ll know them by now. Click here if you don’t.

- Disc two is full of extras.

- For starters, there are five bonus songs from the Royal Albert Hall: ‘Wot’s… Uh The Deal, ‘Dominoes’, ‘Wearing The Inside Out’, ‘Arnold Layne’ and ‘Comfortably Numb’.

- There will be three documentaries. The main one, ‘Breaking Bread, Drinking Wine’, contains behind-the-scenes tour footage from the rehearsals in Bray right through to the final show in GdaÅ„sk.

- There’s also a short film from America’s West Coast. Richard Wright is to blame for shooting some of the backstage footage.

- The third is a documentary on the making of the ‘On an Island’ album. This is an edited version of the Electronic Press Kit (EPK), but with some extra songs from the recording sessions.

- The tracks ‘Castellorizon’, ‘On An Island’, ‘The Blue’, ‘Take A Breath’ and ‘High Hopes’, from London’s Mermaid Theatre (March 2006), will be included.

- ‘Astronomy Domine’, as recorded for the ‘Live From Abbey Road’ television series, is on there…

- As is ‘This Heaven’ from the AOL Sessions. (This has been re-edited, by the way, so is an improvement on the version that can be found on the ‘Live And In Session’ disc.)

- The ‘Dark Globe’ video that we’ve been showing on the website is included.

- The promo videos for ‘On an Island’ and ‘Smile’ are also on there.

- There’s a new version of ‘Island Jam’, featuring David, Richard, Stevie and Guy.

- There is also a fine photo gallery.

How does that sound?

Please hold on to your answer for the time being, because you’ll notice that there’s no comment form. That’s because the blog is closed for the weekend. I do, however, have a new poll for you. You can let us know how you rate this DVD by casting your vote.

Thank you all for your comments about the DVD. I think we’ve all enjoyed reading them.

Now, that’s your lot for this week. Back on Monday.

Have a good weekend… and please find time to play some of Syd Barrett’s songs on this, the first anniversary, of his death.

As if you didn’t already have enough to look forward to from the ‘Remember That Night’ DVD, here’s something else. (Don’t say that David isn’t good to you.)

In January, David recorded a new version of ‘Island Jam’, with Richard, Stevie and Guy.

I’m sure that you’ll love it. So sure, in fact, that it will be on disc two.

‘Remember That Night’ is released worldwide in September. Disc one contains 23 songs from the Royal Albert Hall, London. If you still don’t know which songs are on there, please click here.

By the way, for those who were confused: ‘Shine On You Crazy Diamond’ is plain old ‘Shine On You Crazy Diamond’ on this DVD. End of story.

A summary of what’s on disc two will follow tomorrow.

Today’s scheduled chat has been cancelled, sorry, but the chatroom will be open for business again next week. Please see the calendar for details of future sessions, and accept my apologies for any disappointment caused.

For those who have asked how they go about downloading ‘Smile’ (the edit or the demo) and ‘Island Jam’, here are some alternatives to iTunes (in alphabetical, not preferential, order).

I hope they prove useful. Let me know how you fare, as I haven’t tried them all for myself and others would no doubt appreciate the recommendation.

HMV – Pay for each song or download as much as you want for £14.99 a month.
Napster – Seven-day free trial. Napster Lite tracks cost 79p each.
The Raft – Tracks cost 99p each. PC users only.
Virgin – Each track costs 79p.
Virgin (US) – For fans in the US. Unlimited downloads for $7.99 per month.
WH Smith – In conjunction with Napster, but get a 30-day free trial instead.
Woolworths – Again, each track costs 79p.

‘Smile’ is being played on BBC Radio 2, but not nearly enough as it should be. Don’t let me stop you if you want to e-mail the presenters and tell them that there’s this great song…

Today’s photo is taken from the band rehearsals on 18/19 May. This is where they warmed up for the three London shows, which we have greatly enjoyed you commenting on.

More photos from these sessions coming soon.

David’s new UK single, available now, is ‘Smile’ – and this is the artwork.

You can download it from iTunes (including an exclusive demo version of the song). More download options coming soon.

If a boring old CD is good enough for you, then the two-track single includes the album version of ‘Smile’ as well as ‘Island Jam’. Please don’t pay any more than £2 for the CD single. If it’s selling for more than this, ask why – and buy it somewhere else instead.

There is also a limited edition 7" single on clear vinyl. This is the same as the two-track CD, as it also includes the album version and ‘Island Jam’. One for the collectors, that.

BBC Radio 2 currently has ‘Smile’ on its ‘C’ List, which can be promoted to the ‘B’ List – meaning more airplay – if enough people request it. Let us know if you hear it, let them know that you want to hear it…

David’s XM Radio session is coming up very shortly (9am ET) on XM 76/Fine Tuning. If you don’t yet have your free three-day pass, sign up now and tune in. David and Phil Manzanera performed acoustic renditions of ‘Smile’ and ‘Where We Start’, as well as answering questions, so it’s not to be missed.

You can also hear this session over the weekend. Please see the previous blog entry for details.

A serious blog for today.

Can you imagine what it must be like to be homeless?

As you know from the recent ‘Island Jam’ video, which was made available in return for a voluntary donation of any amount to Crisis, David cares passionately for the homeless. Indeed, in 2003, David became vice president of Crisis, the London-based homelessness charity whose motto is ‘Fighting for hope for homeless people’.

We’re not asking for anything here. Just please think about this for a moment or two.

Apparently, around 25 per cent of Britain’s homeless people are aged 18 to 25. One third have attempted suicide. Two thirds will leave school with no qualifications.

That said, a Crisis survey of 150 homeless people across Britain revealed that 15 per cent have degrees and 13 per cent have professional qualifications, proving that anyone can end up sleeping rough.

Six per cent of Britain’s homeless people are over 60. About one in ten sleeping rough are women.

Compared to the general public, homeless people are 35 times more likely to commit suicide, 13 times more likely to have experienced violence, 40 times more likely to not be registered with a GP and eight times more likely to have mental health problems.

81 per cent are addicted to either, or both, drugs and alcohol. Dependency means they are twice as likely to be banned from homeless services as those who are not.

The average life expectancy of a homeless person is just 42. For the rest of us, the average is 74 for men and 79 for women.

Added to this are the ‘hidden homeless’ – those who are infrequently staying in hostels, squatting, sleeping on a sofa somewhere and of no fixed abode. Apparently there are some 380,000 people who fit this category in Britain.

However, there are no official figures. Crisis is currently urging all concerned people to contact their local MPs to call for a Hidden Homeless Census. If you’re interested in lending your voice to this campaign, then please visit www.crisis.org.uk and click the little red button down in the right-hand corner of your screen. It only takes a moment and your support will be vastly appreciated.

Maybe you have experience of this issue or know people who have. Feel free to write whatever you feel.

January is by far the coldest month of the year here in the UK, and it’s uncomfortable knowing that, right now, there are people sleeping rough on our streets when most of us are warm and safe, worrying about such trivial matters as our hair getting wet on the way to the bus stop tomorrow morning.

If you came looking for news or to see another of Polly’s photographs, then we apologise for disappointing you. But please spend the time you would have spent generally looking forward to David’s new album and tour to think about these cold, harsh facts. It puts all the petty stuff in its place. Besides, awareness of the issue is perhaps of equal importance to putting your hand in your pocket and making a contribution.

You have already helped by making that contribution. From everyone involved at Crisis and www.davidgilmour.com, thank you very much.

OK, so hands up who is hung-over or, at least, uncomfortably bloated from scoffing so much yesterday…

Whether you had too much to eat or drink, we hope it was worth it and that you enjoyed your day with your loved ones around you.

It’s hard to believe that a whole year has passed since the Indian Ocean tsunami, which claimed the lives of more than 200,000 people across thirteen countries. Do take a moment to remember them on this the first anniversary of the disaster. Tens of thousands of survivors are still living in tents whilst they await construction of some 80,000 new houses.

Many thanks to everyone who has made a donation to Crisis – at David’s request – in exchange for viewing the ‘Island Jam’ video. The people who will benefit from the money raised are very grateful to you all, as is everyone involved in www.davidgilmour.com. Thank you so much for caring.

Incidentally, you only have until midnight (UK time) tomorrow to see David’s exclusive ‘Island Jam’ – if you haven’t already seen it – so be sure to visit www.davidgilmour.com to catch a rare glimpse of David in the studio and to hear some superb blues guitar-playing. David is jamming with Paul ‘Wix’ Wickens (on keyboards), Guy Pratt (on bass), and Ged Lynch (on drums). Don’t miss that.

Another of Polly’s fine photographs, this time of Phil Manzanera, the well-known and critically-acclaimed musician/producer who played lead guitar for Roxy Music. Prolific as a solo artist, he has – unbelievably – released almost an album each year since 1975’s ‘Diamond Head’. He co-wrote ‘One Slip’ from Pink Floyd’s ‘A Momentary Lapse of Reason’ album, and David contributed to his 2004 album, ‘6PM’, on the tracks ‘Always You’ and ‘Sacred Days’.

Biographies on all of the artists involved in ‘On An island’ coming soon. To find out more about Phil, visit his website at www.manzanera.com.

Enjoy Boxing Day, whatever you plan to get up to.

We hope you liked David’s early Christmas present to his fans, and that it got you positively salivating at the prospect of some new material.

We also hope that, in exchange, you could find it in your heart to make a contribution to Crisis, the homelessness charity for which David is vice president.

As you perhaps already know, David has been a big supporter of the valuable work carried out by Crisis for some time, most notably by supporting their Urban Village project to build affordable housing for key workers, such as nurses and teachers.

So, at this festive time of year, why not make a kind gesture, no matter how small, towards people for whom Christmas is not about family, warmth, laughter or chestnuts roasting by the fireside? If you do, please say that you came from davidgilmour.com.

There have been some terrific comments coming in, so many thanks to everyone who has posted. Please be aware that your messages are checked before being added to the site, so don’t be alarmed if they don’t appear instantly, as this is perfectly normal.

Also, queries about ticket sales will not be posted. The Live Dates page gives clear instructions on how to order tickets. We can‘t help you any more than that, unfortunately.

It’s been very interesting reading what you are hoping for from both album and tour. More will be revealed in time, so have patience and all will be made known.

Today’s exclusive photograph, of bassist Guy Pratt, was taken by Polly recently at a recording session at the legendary Abbey Road studios.

Guy Pratt has been working with David since Pink Floyd’s 1987 album, ‘A Momentary Lapse of Reason’ and has toured the world with Pink Floyd twice. A Grammy award-winning bassist, he has also toured with the likes of Michael Jackson, Gary Moore, Roxy Music and Madonna, as well as working on albums by Tom Jones, Iggy Pop and Elton John. He has written and produced material for a variety of artists, as well as writing and producing TV and theatre scores.

Why not check out his website: www.guypratt.com?

Another exclusive picture tomorrow.

Until then, have a great Christmas Eve… and go easy on the chocolates.