Tag Archive for "planet rock" tag

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).

Just as the month is drawing to a close, here’s one for September: our very own Paul Sexton with Guy Pratt.

Thanks for sharing it with us, Paul.

If you missed David talking to Guy on Planet Rock over the weekend, by the way, you can still tune in until the week is through. Simply click LISTEN NOW, followed by Last 7 Days: Guy Pratt and you’ll see details of the GdaÅ„sk special directly underneath.

If you didn’t miss it, have already said all that you wish to say about it, and have nothing much left to say about anything of relevance, the chatroom is open tomorrow – yes, that’s Tuesday – between 15:00 and 17:00 (UK).

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.

Something else for your calendars, in case you’ve not seen ours: an interview on Planet Rock, which you can hear on Friday 26 September.

If you’re in the UK and possess a DAB digital radio, Planet Rock sounds very good on it. Alternatively, tune in through your television: channels 0110 on Sky, 924 on Virgin.

Everyone can listen online and there is a playback feature, should you miss it when it goes out ‘live’.

As it’s not obvious, please note that you need to click LISTEN NOW (at the top) to be able to listen again. The player will then pop up in a new window, where the archives and how you play back old shows (LISTEN AGAIN) becomes apparent.

You can try out that feature right now, in fact. Try Last 7 Days: Nicky Horne and (29/08/08).

Another Indie store for you to consider: LUNA Music, who have two stores in Indianapolis. Their prices are $32.98 for the three-disc and $46.98 for the four-disc. Don’t forget, you also get that exclusive ‘Wot’s…’ CD thrown in, and they’ll ship worldwide.

Here’s August’s, courtesy of Rob, who says it reminds him of ‘Where We Start’.

What do you think? Click for a better look.

Very nice, Rob. Thanks for sharing.

You can hear three songs (no, not ‘Echoes’…) from ‘Live in GdaÅ„sk’ on Planet Rock tonight from 22:00 (UK). Listen online (either live or later, on demand) or, if you’re in the UK, through your television: channels 0110 and 924 on Sky and Virgin respectively.

The Uncut magazine mentioned yesterday is now in the Press archive, so have a read.

And just to follow up on that Indie store promotion: Fingerprints – of Long Beach, California – is one such store that will ship to many parts of the world. If you really, really want that exclusive ‘Wot’s… Uh The Deal’ CD, do consider them. I’ll have their prices and shipping rates next week, so please don’t contact them to ask for them.

That’s all for another week. More on Monday, when it will be September and we’ll all be inching that little bit nearer to the release of ‘Live in GdaÅ„sk’, in all its forms.

Until then, have a lovely weekend.

You may be aware of the situation facing Planet Rock.

In short, the station needs to find a buyer by 28 March, otherwise it will be taken off-air.

To make it a more attractive proposition to prospective buyers, Planet Rock would like to demonstrate its considerable popular support.

That’s where you lot come into it.

As well as being able to tune in – through your DAB radio or TV set (channels 0110 and 924 on Sky and Cable respectively) – in the UK, everyone can listen online.

And many of you have done just that: both Guy Pratt and Phil Manzanera have hosted shows within the last few months, which we’ve talked about here.

It’s a great station, playing great music, and it would be a shame to lose it. So, if you want to help the cause, click here to find out what you can do.

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: COMPETITION WINNER ANNOUNCED (16/11/07)

Frank Par wins a signed copy of ‘The Black Strat’.

Well done, Frank. Please let us know where we should send your prize.

Phil Taylor’s book, ‘The Black Strat: A History Of David Gilmour’s Black Fender Stratocaster’, can now be ordered from TheBlackStrat.com. This is the only way to obtain one at present. You cannot order it anywhere else, although this could well change in the not-too-distant future. I’ll keep you updated on that.

Written to accompany Fender’s long-awaited Gilmour Signature Strat, the book is a must-have for guitarist and non-guitarist alike, owing to its magazine-style mix of photos (there are many never-before-seen shots) and facts. There’s also plenty of technical detail and history.

This Strat will not be available this year. However, when it does become available, should you wish to purchase one, you will also get a copy of Phil’s book, a copy of the ‘Remember That Night’ DVD and a set of GHS strings, all housed in a special case.

Courtesy of Phil, I have a signed copy of ‘The Black Strat’ for you to win.

To be in with a shout, just visit TheBlackStrat.com and take any one word from the homepage, looking carefully at the title. Then post it here, with your daily comment.

No more than one word, no need to explain why you chose it, but please make your chosen word very clear.

Those who opt for the word that I have chosen will be entered into a raffle, with one name selected at random on Friday, when the winner will be announced.

One entry per person only, please. Entries must be submitted by 9.30AM (UK), Friday 16 November.

Good luck.

Once you’ve done that, please click here, see the bottom-left of the page, and vote responsibly. Planet Rock hope to determine the Best (Living) Guitarist, and we all remember ‘Comfortably Numb’, ‘Echoes’ and ‘Take A Breath’ from last year’s tour, don’t we?

And, once you’ve done all that, you can enjoy some more of Phil’s answers to your questions.

I heard you removed the Alembic Pre from this rig this tour. I work at Guitar Center and one morning I see that we all are looking for a vintage one because you called… or something along those lines. Why was it removed and is it going back now? (Matt Surdin)

It was not me who called, I have a few already. The modified Alembics are only used in David’s big Pink Floyd rig – which has not been out since 1994 – and another one with the Yamaha RA200 cabinet, last used in David’s barn earlier this year. See Polly’s photos.

I know David uses a big rack of effects, but, when I went to the Ritzy, he only used one amp and got his distinctive sound. What amp was it and were other effects used from the desk? (Anthony Green)

Get some new glasses. He used two amps: a 1958 Fender Tweed Twin and a 1958 Magnatone 280A, with one of his effects valve pedalboards that I had made.

I’m wondering how you made the black Strat so incredibly quiet on stage! What has changed since the last Pink Floyd tour, when David was still using EMG pickups? (Ben)

Nothing has changed on the guitar. The source of this problem is normally generated from the touring lighting and effects systems. This is picked up by the guitar’s single coil pickups and amplified as noise and interference. The improved designs these days mean that there are few problems. David has great control over his equipment and the way he uses it, and is very good at getting through a show with interference and masking it if needed.

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: GETTING TO BRIXTON

For fans making their way to Brixton tomorrow, please note that there are engineering works on the Victoria line this weekend, so there are no trains south-bound between Victoria and Brixton.

North-bound services will be in operation.

There is a replacement bus service. However, please add at least half an hour to your journey time.

Alternatively, the nearest tube station is Stockwell on the Northern line. There are buses from Stockwell to Brixton. If you’d prefer to walk, it takes about 20 minutes.

For further information, please visit www.tfl.gov.uk or telephone 020 7222 1234 (24 hours).

It’s the North American premiere of ‘Remember That Night: David Gilmour Live At The Royal Albert Hall’ next.

Whether you’ll be at Brixton’s Ritzy on Saturday, or watching from one of 166 cinemas across Canada and the United States, I look forward to hearing all about it.

The event will be filmed and will be available, here at DavidGilmour.com, next week.

The event will be hosted by Phil Manzanera.

There are still some tickets available for both Canada and the US, so, if you’d like to attend, details of participating cinemas and online bookings can be found at Cineplex (Canada) and Fathom Events (US).

I hope you all enjoy the event and have a good weekend.

I leave you with a round-up of goodies that are coming up this weekend, as well as others which you may not have seen, heard, or read yet. More to come on Monday.

- Discover ‘Remember That Night’ with (French language) Belgian radio station Classic 21 all day today. You can even win a copy here.

- MOJO Radio are having a Pink Floyd & David Gilmour weekend, starting today. Don’t miss an interview with David on Sunday. As well as being able to listen online, you can also listen through your TV in the UK: Sky channel 0182, Freeview channel 721.

- VH1 Classic in the US will be showcasing 60-minutes of ‘Remember That Night’ on Saturday. That starts at 7PM (EST).

- Guy Pratt interviewed David for Planet Rock in the build-up to Thursday’s Leicester Square premiere. You’ll find the option to listen to old shows by clicking LISTEN LIVE at the top (then you want the third link beneath Nicky Horne’s show). Don’t forget to watch the videos, too.

- There’s an interview with David in the latest edition of Word magazine, which you can find in the Press section. Alternatively, you can order a copy through this link and have it delivered to any part of the world.

- There are brief interviews with David regarding the North American event in the Press section. More are being added just as soon as we get them in (more later today), so please keep an eye on it.

- If you had trouble with the AOL videos, we’ll have ‘The Blue’, ‘Coming Back To Life’, ‘Fat Old Sun’, ‘Shine On You Crazy Diamond’ and ‘Take A Breath’ in the DVD section later today. Don’t miss those.

‘Remember That Night’ is released today in Austria, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, the Republic of Ireland and Switzerland. If you’ve got your copy, we hope you like it. Let us know.

If your country is not covered above, please see the calendar for worldwide release dates (apologies now to Brazil, Mexico and Japan).

And ‘G’ is for ‘Gilmour’, so don’t miss Phil Manzanera’s radio show this weekend, because he will be talking about our David.

You’re looking for Planet Rock, which can be found online, on your DAB Digital Radio (if you’re in the UK), or on your television (again, if you’re in the UK). That’s channel 0110 on Sky, channel 924 on Virgin.

‘A is for Axe: The A-Z of the World’s Greatest Guitarists’ is an hour-long show, on every Sunday at 8PM (UK), with a repeat broadcast on Fridays at 6PM (UK).

You have exactly one hour left to submit a question for David (only if you reside in Europe, or will be attending one of the cinemas in Europe on Thursday 6 September, that is). The deadline is 5PM (UK), so don’t leave it much later or you’ll miss out.

Please leave your question (singular) here, after you’ve carefully read the terms and conditions at the top of the page.

Thank you to everyone for submitting a question. There are plenty of good ones to choose from – many more than I require – so apologies in advance to the majority of you.

If you don’t see your question listed with all the others, then it wasn’t considered. This was either because you sent in a list of questions, tried sending in multiple questions under different aliases, or asked a question from our ‘Forbidden and Incredibly Dull’ list.

This was all plainly, and repeatedly, set out in the terms – which you should have read before sending a question – so please don’t bother sending a complaint. That, too, will be treated as junk.

I’ll let you know which questions were chosen, as I will for the North American Q&A, next week.

Please remember that, even if your question is chosen, there is no guarantee that it will be used at the Odeon. I will select ten questions and ask ten people to send in their video, audio and photo. However, for reasons of time and technology, there can be no guarantee that all ten will be used on the night.

There’s a new poll today, so you can tell us if you will be going to see ‘Remember That Night’ at the cinema with just a click or two of your mouse.

(According to the results of our last poll, 61% of you said that you’d be sending a question for David’s Q&A. Thank you very much.)

Polls can always be found at the bottom-left corner of the Stuff & Nonsense page.

While you’re there, do have a listen to some interesting snippets from ‘This Heaven’, leave a message for David at his GuestMap and be sure to check out his MySpace page.

That’s all for another week. Back on Wednesday.

Bassist and all-round funny man, Guy Pratt, is guest hosting another show on Planet Rock this weekend – and you really don’t want to miss Saturday’s.

If you’re in the UK and have a digital radio, you can search for ‘Planet Rock’. Alternatively, you can listen through your television set: channel 0110 on Sky, 924 on Virgin TV.

Best of all, you can listen online, regardless of your whereabouts.

The chatroom is open to our ‘Irregular’* friends all weekend, so why not listen with us?

Guy’s show is on between 9PM and midnight (UK), Saturday and Sunday.

There is a scheduled chat today between 3PM and 5PM (UK), where everybody is most welcome.

Thank you for all the questions sent in for David and the North American premiere of ‘Remember That Night’. No further questions will be considered after 5PM (UK) tonight, don’t forget, so please be sure to get your question in, if you haven’t already done so. It will not be eligible after 5PM, no matter what your excuse is.

I want questions for the UK & Europe premiere next week. The floodgates open on Monday morning. So, if you’re in Europe or will be going to one of the European cinemas on Thursday 6 September, I want to hear from you. Just not until Monday.

Don’t forget that, if you’re in the UK, you have another chance to see David’s brilliant ‘Live From Abbey Road’ performance in the early hours of Sunday morning. See the calendar for details.

And while you’re taking mental notes of what you mustn’t forget, do be sure to pay the Stuff & Nonsense page a visit before the weekend is over. There are five variations of ‘Take A Breath’ waiting for you.

The answer to yesterday’s Name That Tune? ‘Fat Old Sun’. Rather fitting, once you see what I’ve got for you over the weekend…

* To be considered an ‘Irregular’, you have to be a regular contributor. Unfortunately, the chatroom cannot stay open to everyone all weekend… for obvious reasons. However, anyone can join the ‘Irregular’ ranks. You just need to make the effort to join in. To be invited to such ‘lock-ins’, all you need to do is show up at a few of the scheduled chats and play nicely with the others. Details of all chats are always plainly listed on our calendar. Everybody is welcome at these sessions. Unfortunately, because of the odd muppet, only those who are invited get into our ‘lock-ins’. Apologies for any disappointment, but I’m sure you can appreciate the situation.

There were some good suggestions as to Wireman’s next animated escapade, and some of them may be considered in the future, but the winning suggestion – which matched my own – was Ben’s.

Therefore, Wireman will be playing the glass harmonica next; as did the band at Munich, and as did Igor Sklyarov (shown above, photographed by Polly during rehearsals) at Venice.

Igor regularly performs with his own trio and was spotted busking by David on the streets of Venice. David asked him if he would perform and the rest, as they say, is history.

I’d like to have Wireman honour Igor’s contribution to the ‘On an Island’ tour.

I leave you with a few more of Phil Manzanera’s answers to the questions you sent in.

Don’t forget, if you missed the first instalment of Phil’s 12-part series, ‘A is for Axe: The A-Z of the World’s Greatest Guitarists’, it is repeated tonight at 6PM (UK).

You want Planet Rock, which can be found online, on your DAB Digital Radio (if you’re in the UK), or on your television (again, if you’re in the UK). That’s channel 0110 on Sky, channel 924 on Virgin.

The hour-long show is on every Sunday at 8PM (UK), with a repeat on Fridays at 6PM (UK).

What is your proudest professional moment? (Tim C)

Rehearsing and playing with Bob Dylan at the Guitar Legends Festival in Seville, of which I was the musical director.

Have you achieved everything you wanted to achieve with music? Any regrets? (Hysteron Proteron)

The wonderful thing about music is that it’s an enjoyable journey of discovery that lasts a lifetime, with no particular destination.

I particularly appreciated your solo works reissued on CD. Will you be touring again soon? (GianLuca)

Am working on an instrumental album called ‘Firebird VII’. See www.manzanera.com for more details.

How did your hands make it into an episode of Red Dwarf? (So cool!) Are you a fan? (Nickster)

Always a fan of Red Dwarf, and a friend of mine’s company used to make the programme.  They needed a pair of guitarist’s hands, so I went down to the set and literally stood off camera behind Craig, stuck my arms through and played the guitar, much to the amusement of the studio audience. Another career high!

Do you have any unusual requirements/rituals? (Dr Phang)

Bollinger and egg sandwiches… All shared with the band, of course.

You all know Wireman, who has been reading beneath a palm tree for quite a while now on the homepage.

Based on an original wire model by David Macilwaine, Wireman has become symbolic of David’s solo career – and we’re very happy to have him on the site.

So happy, in fact, that we’ve got him doing a few other things for our amusement.

Just for fun, I’d like to know what you’d like to see him doing.

Just one suggestion each, please.

I’ll let you know the winning suggestion on Friday.

I shouldn’t have to say, but will: please keep your suggestion clean and decent. There are some things that Wireman cannot do, and other things that he really would not want to, even if he could.

The chatroom will be open tomorrow between 2PM and 4PM (UK). Everyone is welcome to drop in.

Before you start to ponder on future escapades for Wireman, here’s the latest from Phil, who can be heard on Planet Rock tonight, as he begins his 12-part series, ‘A is for Axe: The A-Z of the World’s Greatest Guitarists’.

Everyone can listen through a computer. If you’re in the UK, you can listen through a DAB Digital Radio, or even through your television set: channel 0110 on Sky and channel 924 on Virgin.

The hour-long show is on Sundays at 8PM (UK) and is repeated on Fridays at 6PM (UK).

Which did you prefer producing: ’50 Minutes Later’ or ‘On an Island’? (Simon J)

Two very different, but enjoyable, challenges – one of which was my own album. Go figure.

Your last two studio albums were great, but your performance of ’6pm’ at the Strat Pack concert in Wembley made the track shine in a way the studio couldn’t. Any chance we’ll get a live CD from you anytime soon? (Ed)

Hopefully next year. On ‘A Million Reasons Why’ is my live playing from Guitar Legends, Seville – album from www.manzanera.com.

As your neighbour, does David offer thoughts about your solo work, as you have done for him? (Gus)

Sometimes.

Looking back at Roxy Music and the great music they made, which album of theirs would be a Desert Island Disc for you? (Peter)

‘For Your Pleasure’.

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: US CINEMA TICKETS NOW ON SALE

Tickets to the 111 104 US cinemas go on sale today.

Click here for the full list and contact the cinema’s Box Office directly, or you can order your tickets online.

Do let us know how you fare.

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: DELAYED ON-SALE DATE (30/07/07)

Seven US cinemas have a delayed on-sale date, due to ticket system changes. Therefore, you cannot purchase tickets from the following cinemas just yet:

Tinseltown, Colorado Springs, CO
Cinemark @ Seven Bridges, Woodridge, IL
Tinseltown, Louisville, KY
Cinemark Tulsa, Tulsa, OK
Cinemark Pittsburgh Mills, Pittsburg, PA
Cinemark 24 Jordan Crossing, West Jordan, UT
Tinseltown USA, Kenosha, WI

Apologies for the inconvenience. I’ll update you as soon as I can.

Guy Pratt, bass player on David’s ‘On an Island’ album/tour, as well as undisputed Comedic Genius of Pink Floyd, is guest hosting a show on Planet Rock this weekend (and another over the weekend of 18/19 August).

If you’ve seen Guy’s stand-up show, ‘My Bass and Other Animals’, or read his recently-published book of the same name, you’ll know that it’s going to be worth tuning in.

Fans in the UK with digital radios can search for ‘Planet Rock’. Alternatively, you can listen through your television set: channel 0110 on Sky, 924 on Virgin TV.

Best of all, you can listen online. As the chatroom will be open to blog and chat ‘Irregulars’* for both weekends, you could listen with us.

I’ll remind you that the August weekender is coming up a little closer to the time.

Guy’s show is on between 9PM and midnight (UK), Saturday and Sunday.

That’s all for yet another week. I’ll have more cinemas (hopefully), more from Phil Manzanera, more Name That Tune, more DVD screenshots, more sporadic chats and more of the usual assorted nonsense from Monday. Bet you can’t wait.

Have a good weekend… not least those fans who are meeting in Florida tomorrow.

* ‘Irregulars’ are those who contribute regularly to both blog and chatroom. The chatroom will not be open to everyone. Sorry to disappoint, but anyone can become an Irregular if they make the effort to join in. Details of chatroom opening times are clearly set out on the calendar. To be invited to lock-ins, such as this weekend’s, all you need to do is show up at a few of the scheduled chats and show that you can behave. Everyone is very welcome. Unfortunately, some people show up and prove that they cannot behave. This is why the chatroom, sadly, cannot be left open to everyone all weekend.

As you may have already seen over on the Latest News page, or from the posts of several fans who wrote in the previous entry to share the good news, David’s classic ‘Comfortably Numb’ solo has been voted the best guitar solo of all-time by listeners of UK radio station, Planet Rock.

It was up against some impressive competition, beating solos by the likes of Slash, Eddie Van Halen and Jimmy Page.

Congratulations to David on achieving yet another Number One.

Let us know whether or not you agree with the decision over on our latest poll. As always, feel free to share your thoughts here.

There was another great response to last week’s poll: Which is your favourite track from 1984′s ‘About Face’?

‘Murder’ polled 30% of the vote. Runners up were ‘Near The End’ (17%) and ‘Out Of The Blue’ (10%) with ‘Let’s Get Metaphysical’ and ‘Love On The Air’ each polling 8%.

I’d also love to hear from the lucky few who were at Abbey Road yesterday. I hope you had a great time.

So, how do you all like the ‘P.U.L.S.E’ DVD? Was it worth the wait?

If you’re in Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand or the US, then you have to wait one more day, unfortunately. But do let us know what you think of it if you got your copy today – approximately four hours after you’ve bought it, I would imagine.

Fans in Austria, Germany, Holland, Ireland, Italy and Switzerland have had all weekend to play it. What did you make of it?

Belgian radio station, Classic 21, is having a ‘P.U.L.S.E’ Day and you’re all welcome to listen online. (Merci, Michèle!) Just click on the banner to enter the site, then click either 24k or 128k to listen live. There’s a competition to win a copy of the DVD, too. Scroll down the homepage for the banner. You can’t miss those eyeballs.

The same applies to UK station, Planet Rock, where some DVDs will also be given away. Listen to Nicky Horne’s show from 8PM. He’ll also be talking to Pink Floyd, recorded at last week’s ‘P.U.L.S.E’ screening. (Thanks to CJD for letting us know about this.)

Details of the GdaÅ„sk concert are expected later today. If we get the relevant information, it will be on the Latest News page for those of you who’d like to attend what promises to be an incredible concert.