Tag Archive for "Polly Samson" tag

Not that it’s gone quite to schedule, this announcement (well, does anything?), but you probably now know that there is video footage from last month’s charity event benefiting the Hoping Foundation and its surprise reunion – care of Roger Waters’ latest Facebook post.

Please don’t all go rushing over to the Hoping Foundation’s website (the link’s been left out on purpose); the video’s not there yet and, frankly, you’re overwhelming the server. It’s not going to be there until Monday at 5pm (UK). Thank you for your understanding.

Meanwhile, please enjoy the two-minute taster provided by Roger, now also available over on the DavidGilmour.com homepage.

We have David’s wife, Polly, to thank for the video, by the way. She gave it to Hoping for exclusive use on their website with the wish that you lot would perhaps consider making a modest donation in return for viewing it. A donation is not required, but would be much appreciated – as were the donations many of you have made since hearing of David’s involvement with the charity (which stands for ‘Hope and Optimism for Palestinians in the Next Generation’).

There’s no longer any need to check back on Sunday, but I look forward to hearing what you thought of the performance when you see the video proper on Monday.

A little quiz to end the week with.

Below are some very fine opening lines to songs. Can you identify them all?

Please add any other examples worthy of note – the ones that earn the swiftest of cheers at concerts as mass recognition kicks in, the ones that hook you in from the get-go as they’re indicative of a good story or trigger your emotions – but please hold back the artist and song title so that we can all play the guessing game for at least a short while. (Much needed exercise for a tired brain on a Friday?)

I know that you’ll know these three, all from the same album:

“Did you know it was all going to go so wrong for you?”
“Beyond the horizon of the place we lived when we were young”
“Where were you when I was burned and broken?”

Speaking of that album (The Division Bell, if you need help), time is running out on Royal Mail’s Big Month of Music promotion. Purchase those special Pink Floyd stamps online and your name, as long as you’re a UK resident aged 18 or over, will be entered into the next daily prize draw to win iTunes gift cards totalling £1,000. The last daily draw is on Wednesday 31 March.

If you have some already, do tell: have you used them, or stashed them away for safekeeping?

Well, that’s all for another week. Have a good weekend, don’t forget Earth Hour tomorrow… and remember: no cheating.

01. “There is a house in New Orleans”
02. “Sweet smell of a great sorrow lies over the land”
03. “I look over yonder, hot sun turning over”
04. “Tommy used to work on the docks”
05. “The wind is in from Africa and last night I couldn’t sleep”
06. “I was dreaming when I wrote this”
07. “I met a Frenchman in a field last night, he was out there with an easel”
08. “I’ve got sunshine on a cloudy day”
09. “Psychic spies from China try to steal your mind’s elation”
10. “I’m in the phone booth, it’s the one across the hall”
11. “Libraries gave us power, then work came and made us free”
12. “If not for you, babe, I couldn’t find the door”
13. “All I can say is that my life is pretty plain”
14. “This happened once before when I came to your door”
15. “She was more like a beauty queen from a movie scene”
16. “Everybody’s talking and no-one says a word”
17. “Richard’s on the street with all the lonely people trying to get a job”
18. “You know you could’ve been a wonder”
19. “I just wanna ask the question: Who really cares?”
20. “Childhood living is easy to do”
21. “I like to dream right between the sound machine”
22. “Hello, Darkness, my old friend”
23. “There she stood in the street, smiling from her head to her feet”
24. “When they poured across the border, I was cautioned to surrender”
25. “I am the key to the lock in your house”

It’s B.B. King’s birthday today. He was born in 1925 in Itta Bena, Mississippi.

Here he is back in 1968, performing on Ralph J. Gleason’s Jazz Casual. Enjoy.

Also on this day, in 1977, Marc Bolan from T-Rex was killed in a car crash.

What do you think of these two? Both very different; one the Pixie Prince of Glam Rock, the other King of the Blues. I’d be interested in your song favourites, concert memories and thoughts on everything, from Bolan’s uncanny likeness to Syd Barrett to B.B.’s relentless tour schedule. (They used to call James Brown the Hardest Working Man in Show Business, but has B.B. ever taken time off?)

I’m sure you’d like to join me in wishing B.B. a very Happy 84th Birthday.

Last, but by no means least, thank you all for thinking of Richard, his family and friends yesterday. Your fond reminiscences were a pleasure to read and I’m glad that Polly’s charming Venice memento put a smile on your faces once again.

Something else for you to listen to now: ‘Astronomy Domine’, over at MySpace.

The video is also there, but please bear in mind that YouTube is not the best way to enjoy Marc Brickman’s light show; it really does give a rather poor representation of the concert’s visual qualities.

If you haven’t already seen it, you can watch ‘High Hopes’ here or at Best Buy, as mentioned previously.

So, if you can spare six minutes…

Speaking of Best Buy, do note their snap of the five-disc set.

The poster, you might like to know, is double-sided: showing David with the Solidarity Monument (to Fallen Shipyard Workers) on one side, and a view from the stage captured during the show on the other.

As you can see from this shot of Polly’s, the Monument looms large over much more than Solidarity Square. Consisting of three steel crosses upon which anchors are mounted, it’s some 42 metres in height and stands on the spot where the first three victims of the 1970 workers’ strikes lost their lives.

The photographs were taken by Polly and Anna WÅ‚och.

San Francisco’s shows were both at Oakland’s Paramount Theatre: on the 16th and 17th, two years ago.

Were you there?

You can read about these concerts here.

Clicking Polly’s photo will take you to the Galleries, where you can see this stunning shot in all its glory. (It’s one of my favourites, but is it one of yours?)

The chatroom is now open. Closing time is at 13:00 (UK).

On this day in 2006, David and the band made a welcome return to a German stage for the tour’s fifth show, at the breathtaking, majestic Alte Oper.

And what a stage it was!

Of all the theatres visited, I think this one looked the most impressive. I only wish I’d been there. If you had a ticket, how do you feel about the concert two years on? Make me green with envy, why don’t you?

Polly’s photo is from that night’s performance.

If you care to, click here to jump back to the blog post for 18 March 2006, and read what fans had to say about the gig at the time.

I don’t know where the time has gone, but it’s two years to the day since David and the band kicked off the ‘On An Island’ tour in Dortmund, Germany.

Were you there? If so, I’d love to ‘hear’ you reminisce on what was, by all accounts, a beautiful night at the Konzerthaus. I know that I wish I’d been there.

We’ll be flashing back to each of the tour’s 32 shows, with a favourite of Polly’s photos from each gig.

Clicking the photograph will take you to the Galleries, where you can see this shot in all its glory.

Alternatively, should you wish to refresh your memory, click here to return to the corresponding blog post from 2006, and read what was said at the time.

Hamburg tomorrow.

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.

The above photograph, taken by Polly, is from the Ritzy in Brixton. This is where David premiered ‘Remember That Night’ for the benefit of North American cinema audiences (back in September).

And it’s just asking for a caption, really, isn’t it? So, over to you.

The prize is an exclusive four-track ‘Live from Abbey Road’ CD, available only in the US to those who pledge money to PBS. (Basically, pledge more than a certain sum, as will be decided by each local station, for a copy of ‘Remember That Night’ and you get the exclusive CD thrown in free.)

The CD comes in a cardboard case, is shrink-wrapped, and features the following tracks, recorded live at Abbey Road last year: ‘The Blue’, ‘On An Island’, ‘Take A Breath’ and ‘Smile’.

As you’ll expect from the prize, there is a PBS television special coming up. Details to follow very soon.

One caption per person only, please, to be submitted no later than 6PM (UK) on Friday 9 November. Winners will be announced on Monday.

Thank you for your varied comments about the ringtones. I don’t think anyone really needs more, which is why the previous entry is now missing a comment form, but some of us do appreciate your feedback.

‘Remember That Night’ is released in Japan today.

Last, but by no means least, the chatroom will next be open tomorrow between 10AM and 12PM (UK).

You will have seen our Latest News by now, but, if you haven’t, the gist of it is that you can get a free full-length ‘Remember That Night’ track – both audio and video – for your ‘phone, as well as having the option to purchase a ringtone and/or ringback, too (but only if you’re in America and on the Verizon network).

That’s right: you don’t have to buy anything (but these tracks will expire after nine weeks, at which point, you can buy them).

You can have ‘Comfortably Numb’ (that’s with Richard Wright, not David Bowie), ‘Shine On You Crazy Diamond’ and ‘Wish You Here’.

From Friday 16 November, each song will be available, in turn, for three weeks.

You can, at the same time, purchase matching tones.

‘Shine On You Crazy Diamond’ is up first, available to buy as a ringtone/ringback from the get-go. ‘Wish You Were Here’ will follow in the fourth week, with ‘Comfortably Numb’ available from the seventh.

Once a song becomes available, it stays available until the nine weeks are up. When the nine weeks are up, if you can’t bear to be without them, you can buy the songs. They’ll cost $1.99 each. Videos will not be available after this time, however.

If you want a ringtone to go with it, the cost of each song is $2:99. If you want the ringback, the cost of each song is $1:99. You can have both ringtone and ringback for a bargain $4:49 (per song).

Your thoughts on the above, as always, are very welcome; your queries, less so. That’s all I can tell you for now, sorry… and there are no prizes awarded for the most awkward question.

Thank you all for sharing your thoughts on the recent Barn photos. The above is definitely the last in the set, but I’m very glad that you enjoyed them. Many thanks to Polly for sharing them with us.

The chatroom is open today between 3PM and 5PM (UK time).

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.

As you liked Polly’s photos from band rehearsals so much, here’s one more. Click it for a better look.

Before the rumour mill starts winding everyone up, we thought you should know when the Blu-ray version of ‘Remember That Night’ will – hopefully – be in the shops.

These dates are subject to change, naturally, but we’re presently looking at Tuesday 20 November for North America (Sony) and Monday 26 November for Europe (EMI).

As is always the case, these two dates act as a guideline for the rest of the world to work around. Parts of Europe may have it on Friday 23 November, for example. Please see the calendar for how the DVD release was staggered, and expect something similar as 2007 draws to a close.

There is no update on a proposed HD-DVD release.

After more than one regrettable delay, we are happy – and more than just a little relieved – to finally be able to say that the ‘Remember That Night’ DVD is released in parts of Brazil today.

We’d love to hear from Brazilian fans. Was the DVD worth waiting for, do you think?

That’s all for yet another week. Enjoy the weekend.

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: ANOTHER DATE (27/09/07)

Sorry about this. Sony have decided that ‘Remember That Night’ will now be in shops in Australia on Saturday 29 September, and not today, as they originally said (well, originally it was supposed to be last Saturday, of course).

Apologies for the obvious disappointment and inconvenience that this confusion has caused.

Third time lucky, as they say?

As promised, here’s another of Polly’s barn shots, along with a reminder to fans in Australia that ‘Remember That Night’ is released tomorrow – Thursday 27 September.

Apologies for the delay. We were expecting it to be in the shops on Saturday. We hope you find that it was worth waiting for.

I told you on Monday that ‘Remember That Night’ is already Number One in Italy and the UK. It’s now sitting pretty at the top of the Music DVD charts in Austria and France, as well.

The chatroom is closed today, but will be open tomorrow from 11AM (UK). Everyone’s welcome, but please don’t come bounding in, hollering about where you can find the extra extras. You’ll find yourself swiftly escorted off the premises, with a ban, if you do.

The DVD is still new to many fans, so please respect their wishes to stumble upon any hidden secrets in their own time.

Thank you.

Please see the calendar for details of future chat sessions.

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.

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.

We’re almost at the half-way stage of Phil Manzanera’s Q&A. Thank you again to Phil for taking the time to answer so many questions, and thank you to everyone who sent in a question for consideration.

Special thanks to those of you who sent in the following five.

Just in case you don’t recognise it, this isn’t a screenshot taken from the DVD, but one of Polly’s photographs. It was taken at New York’s Radio City Music Hall last April.

Don’t forget that it’s your last chance to see David’s excellent ‘Live From Abbey Road’ performance on the Sundance Channel tonight. Fans in the US can tune in from 6PM (E/P).

There’s no chat today, but the chatroom will be open tomorrow from 4PM (UK). Everyone is welcome.

If you haven’t visited the chatroom before, don’t be shy. It’s only takes a moment to register and is very easy to use. You’ll find plenty of friendly people to make you feel welcome and to help you out if you get stuck, so come and introduce yourself.

If you could have any one of David’s guitars, which one would you choose and why? (Kris)

Obviously 001, as it’s iconic. However, the black Strat is pretty damn good.

I am a big Stratocaster fan: so, what pickups are you using in your black Strat and do they come close to the Fender ’54 custom shop pickups? (I use those.) (Ernest Peske)

The Strat I use on stage is one of David’s, as I wanted to get a similar sound when duplicating parts he played on the records. Only Phil Taylor, David’s guitar tech, knows exactly what pick-ups are used.

It’s well documented on the modifications David made to his black Strat. What kind of mods, if any, have you made to your main Strat? (Andrew)

None, because it’s David’s. (Sorry, there’ll have to be a separate Phil Taylor Q&A for guitar geeks.)

Using so many powerful amps on stage, is the sound comfortable to play with, or do you battle against each other? (5 Times)

The stage is so big and the amps quite directional, so monitoring is not a problem – due in large part to the excellence of the stage crew.

The involvement of digital technology in (nearly) every form of sound processing is one of the factors that has changed making music compared with, say, 20 years ago. As a musician, what do you see as major advantages and drawbacks of this development? (Ronny)

The advantages are it speeds up the whole ‘capturing’ process and what you can do with it. The disadvantage is that technology can become an end in itself, and not the music.

Our Blotto winner was… BrookC, who guessed seven of the 23 ‘Remember That Night’ songs in their correct order.

Congratulations! A tour programme, signed by David (along with a unique Blotto-related message), is your prize. Please let us know where we should send it.

Well done also to Gabrielle, Graham and Marko, for totalling an impressive six, and to Chantelle, Chris Parkinson, Piergiorgio, Tim Taylor and Tomasz – who correctly guessed a slightly less impressive, but still honourable, five.

Thank you all for playing along.

Today’s picture is one of Polly’s, this one taken during rehearsals at Bray Studios last May.

Keep reading for the latest of Phil’s Q&A, which I’m glad you’re enjoying.

Lastly, thank you very much for the kind words about the new OAIPod and David’s re-vamped MySpace page. I’m glad that you like them.

You and the band seemed very relaxed during the ‘On an Island’ tour: a lot of laughing during the concerts, a lot of eye contact between you and David. He always watched over to you when you played your solo for the ‘On an Island’ track. Is there one funny moment you remember with pleasure? (Werner)

Yes, when he performed ‘On the Turning Away’, a track that Stevie and I had never rehearsed and that Guy hadn’t played for 14 years. Not exactly a pleasurable moment, but one that certainly I’ll remember!

I’d like to know what do you think of the band, especially of Stevie and Guy? (Emilio)

I love them all.

Do you do any kind of warm up before going on stage? I know you do a sound check, but I mean just before you step out. (Robyn S)

Highly recommended, but don’t. The group hug that Madonna does is not really our style!

What was your favourite destination on the Gilmour tour and why? (Simon J)

Venice. It’s like going back in time and there is something very ‘otherworldly’ about it – and appropriate for the tour, as we were literally ‘On an Island’.

If every band member on the tour was given the opportunity to suggest a venue/city for the tour schedule, where would you have suggested (regardless of the venue capacity)? (Tom B)

The Malekon, Havana – next to the Nacional Hotel.

El Magnifico, Phil Manzanera himself, was kind enough to answer some of your questions recently.

From today, I’ll be publishing them, along with his answers.

Thanks to everyone who submitted the following for consideration, and special thanks to Phil for being so obliging with his time.

There’s no update on the cinemas involved in the world premiere of ‘Remember That Night: David Gilmour Live at The Royal Albert Hall’, so please don’t ask. As soon as I have anything new, the information will be here.

I don’t expect to have the complete list for the United States until the middle of the week at least.

How did the ‘On an Island’ creative process work? Did you and David jam together a lot, or did you work individually, layering on each other’s material? (GianLuca)

No jamming. A period of layering on material, then trying out tracks with different configurations of musicians.

You were able to develop your “conceptual thinking and with the making of little soundscapes” once the title for the album was decided. How did David (and Polly) arrive at the title for the album? (Ken F)

Not sure, but it worked brilliantly and the title track is one of my favourites, especially the amazing harmonies of Crosby and Nash with David.

I would be interested to know how you managed to whittle down the “150 pieces, enough for three albums” that David supplied you with, to a produce a manageable amount of tracks to conceive ‘On an Island’? (Ronny)

How long have you got? It’s the subject of a dissertation at Oxford… mine! Just joking. A lot of listening, patience, development and green pea soup.

Could you give us one or two examples of which direction an ‘On an Island’ track(s) could have gone in were it not for your influence during the album research/demo-ing/recording? (Angelo Ortiz)

Good question, but impossible to answer. We’re all delighted with how it came out.

If you could change anything on the album, what would it be? (Paul Sexton)

I’m one of the producers. NOTHING, of course. You can’t get better than a Number One album and a platinum disc!

Blotto cards at the ready once more, please. You’ll like this one.

The tenth song to be revealed is – wait for it – ‘Breathe (Reprise)’, which will be the – are you sure you’re ready for this? – fourth song on the concert DVD.

That’s ‘Breathe (Reprise)’, song four.

Please suitably mark the ’4′ space on your Blotto cards and congratulate yourself heartily if you guessed that ‘Breathe (Reprise)’ would be the fourth song on the concert disc.

As so few of you will be congratulating yourselves right about now, go ahead and grumble about the fact that the setlists here on the blog (including your own offerings) and over on our calendar deliberately confused you as to whether ‘Breathe’, ‘Time’ and ‘Breathe (Reprise)’ would be considered one song, or three.

Why on earth would they be anything other than three songs?!

Oh, you’re too easy.

Remember – as if you could forget – that Blotto’s aim (other than irritating you, of course) is to complete a line, either horizontally or vertically, with correct guesses on your Blotto card. If you complete a line, cry “Blotto!” and you will be entered into a prize draw.

There are 23 songs on the concert DVD of David’s forthcoming double-disc set, ‘Remember That Night’, all of which were recorded at London’s historic Royal Albert Hall in May of last year.

This fine DVD will be in the shops in September – and we’ll be telling you more about it as the month draws to a close.

Thanks for playing along with our wicked little game and the best of luck to all. You need it.

The above photograph was taken by Polly at Thursday’s concert for Syd at the Barbican in London. It’s a cracking picture, so please click it for a better look.

We’re asking whether or not you were surprised that David turned up at the ‘Madcap’s Last Laugh’ concert in our latest poll. If you haven’t voted yet, please do. Apparently, 75% of you were not surprised…

There’s no chat today, but the chatroom will be open tomorrow from 3PM (UK). Do feel free to drop by.

As reported on the Latest News page, David surprised everyone by taking to the stage with Richard Wright and Nick Mason last night to celebrate the life and music of the late, great, Syd Barrett.

The concert, at London’s Barbican Hall, was organised by Pink Floyd’s first producer, Joe Boyd, and David’s good friend, Nick Laird-Clowes (of Dream Academy fame).

They performed ‘Arnold Layne’, accompanied by Jon Carin on keyboards and Oasis’ Andy Bell on bass, as well as returning to the stage for an all-star finale of ‘Bike’.

The above photo, taken by Polly, is of the only rehearsal. Note the time on the clock: a little after half past eight.

You can see the picture in all its glory in the Galleries.

The evening was a fitting tribute to Syd, who passed away in July.

The chatroom will open between 3PM and 5PM (UK) today.

That’s all for another week. Have a good weekend, everyone.