Tag Archive for "roger waters" 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.

Jeff Porcaro, much sought-after session musician and co-founder of Toto, whose name came up frequently during our discussion of best drummers, died on this day in 1992. He suffered a heart attack following an allergic reaction to the insecticide he had been using in his garden at the tender age of 38 – ‘Too Young to Die’, as was named the David Crosby track from the Thousand Roads album released the following year, dedicated to his memory. Tragically, an autopsy revealed a previously undiagnosed heart condition.

The third in a line of drummers following his father and grandfather (his father is famous jazz percussionist, Joe Porcaro), he co-founded Toto in 1976 with his brothers Steve (keyboards) and Mike (bass). Four years previously, at the age of 18, he had been invited by Sonny and Cher to join them on their television show, which provided the perfect platform for his talents. Not too surprising, then, that perhaps it is for his extensive catalogue of studio work on the albums of others that many remember him with most fondness.

His playing can be heard on David’s About Face, specifically on the tracks ‘Cruise’, ‘Love On the Air’, ‘Murder’ and ‘You Know I’m Right’. Before that he had played drums on ‘Mother’ from Pink Floyd’s The Wall, later on ‘It’s a Miracle’ from Roger Waters’ Amused to Death.

He served many other acts well; talents as varied as Madonna and Michael Jackson, the Bee Gees and Four Tops, Bonnie Raitt and Barbra Streisand. Some of his most substantial studio contributions were made to Jackson Browne’s The Pretender, Eric Clapton’s Behind the Sun, Elton John’s Jump Up and Bruce Springsteen’s Human Touch – and, of course, Cher (Love Hurts). He worked with Steely Dan, most notably on Katy Lied, and Dire Straits (On Every Street); his playing with the former increasing demand for his services greatly.

Perhaps Toto’s best known song – ‘Africa’ – was a Billboard No.1 in February 1983. Here it is, but the video to Toto’s other big hit, ‘Rosanna’, should also be seen (both are taken from the multi-Grammy Award-winning album, Toto IV):

Take a look at this nice tribute, selecting Discographie from the menu at the top of the page, for a startling array of records on which Jeff Porcaro played.

Your favourite of these songs, please. Here are five of mine, leaving out the most most obvious ones so that you have no excuse not to mention them:

- Peter Frampton, ‘Wasting the Night Away’ (Breaking All the Rules)
- Don Henley, ‘Dirty Laundry’ (I Can’t Stand Still)
- Etta James, ‘Piece of My Heart’ (Deep In the Night)
- Michael Jackson, ‘Beat It’ (Thriller)
- Steely Dan, ‘Black Friday’ (Katy Lied)

If you missed it yesterday, David will perform at one – just one – of Roger Waters’ forthcoming Wall concerts; his part of the deal in getting Roger to join him on stage on Saturday. (Please see the previous post if you’ve been holidaying underneath a large rock for the past week and know nothing about this now sacred day which some speak of.)

Roger has explained how it all came to be over at Facebook, so do be sure to read that if you haven’t already done so.

Although fully aware that it will be buried amidst the ongoing and increasing excitement since Saturday’s surprise reunion, which benefited the Hoping Foundation, and granted that it isn’t anything new (but was considered worth a tweet earlier this afternoon), I’ll wrap up what has been an eventful week by presenting to you the results of a simple poll, should you welcome an innocuous distraction from speculation, hope and intrigue. We haven’t had one of these in some time and it’s not good to get too excited about anything, don’t forget.

Take a look at Gibson.com’s bloody appalling somewhat contentious (sorry, I may be biased, but 41st?!) list promising to herald the Top 50 Guitarists of All Time. Results of a readers’ poll are also included. You may jeer, boo and hiss as you rearrange either of these lists to suit your own liking and add the notable omissions in place of the apparent imposters, which I hope you can share with the rest of us. Any combination of fist-shaking, eye-rolling and name-calling will also be permitted during this exercise.

Oh, Gibson.

Now, someone with far greater knowledge of guitars than I ever will possess ought to point out to the suspicious which of the 50 are principally found to favour a Gibson guitar hanging from their shoulders, because that would be revealing.

Have a very good weekend, everyone, and thanks again for giving your reaction to the temporary reunion – both past and future.

Last night, Saturday 10 July, David performed at a charity event in aid of the Hoping Foundation (‘Hoping’ stands for ‘Hope and Optimism for Palestinians in the Next Generation’)… with one Roger Waters, who some of you might know.

There’s the photographic evidence, if you don’t believe me – from rehearsals.

The event, organised by Bella Freud and Karma Nabulsi, took place at Kiddington Hall country estate in Oxfordshire, England and raised a most welcome £350,000.

They performed four songs before 200 guests, accompanied by Guy Pratt (on bass and acoustic guitar), Harry Waters (on keyboards), Andy Newmark (on drums), Chester Kamen (on guitar) and Jonjo Grisdale (also on keyboards).

Songs were ‘To Know Him Is To Love Him’, which, I’m told, regularly featured in Pink Floyd sound checks way back when, followed by Pink Floyd favourites: ‘Wish You Were Here’, ‘Comfortably Numb’, and the one that got everybody singing along, ‘Another Brick in the Wall (Part Two)’.

Well, well, well… Bet you weren’t expecting that. Hoping, indeed.

After a really good discussion about drummers a few weeks ago (thank you all very much for adding to it), how about the best bass players?

I know, I know. Difficult. Divisive. Just list your favourites, if you want to.

As today is Mark King’s birthday, here he is proving why he should rank highly on such a poll, explaining one of the techniques that puts him there.

A few more talented bass players that, I believe, should occupy positions in a suitably-titled Top Ten (strictly in alphabetical order, I’m not stupid) are:

- Jack Bruce (Cream)
- Larry Graham (Sly & The Family Stone)
- Geddy Lee (Rush)
- Lemmy (Motörhead)
- John Myung (Dream Theater)

Two of the above-mentioned, you may also have noticed (in which case, you might want to take the advice that I’ve just given myself upon such realisation and get a life!), appeared with David on that cherished French & Saunders comedy sketch.

I haven’t overlooked the many fine players with whom David has frequently shared stages, studios and session musician acknowledgements down the years (thinking mainly of Guy Pratt, of course, as well as Cardiff’s finest, Pino Palladino). Examples of what you consider to be their best work would be especially nice to read about.

By the way, if you missed them, there are a few bass-related answers from Guy in response to the questions that you put to him back in 2006 – here.

If mouse-clicking and -dragging is all your cold fingers can manage on this chilly October afternoon, here’s the NME’s latest poll, should you wish to contribute to it. As soon as you vote for one by choosing how many stars he or she deserves, another will follow. Stick with it; I don’t know who many of them are either, but the ones you’re most likely to be thinking of will appear soon enough (although, at the time of writing, there is an embarrassing misspelling of the name you’re probably waiting for with most curiosity).

You might want to do what I did: keep going until boredom sets in, then shamefully realise that you’ve ruined the results because you’ve been giving mediocre ratings to the ones you don’t know just because you don’t know them.

Sorry, NME.

If you do know some of the younger, hairier, more tattooed, pierced and masked bassists featured in the NME poll, and are familiar with their work, please recommend a track or two that best represents them for the rest of us to try.

If you don’t know of Nicky Wire, for example, have a listen to ‘Archives of Pain’ by the Manic Street Preachers; that begins with an eerie and infectious bass line.