Merchandise

Roger Waters releases The Lockdown Sessions

Posted December 9, 2022 by Floydian Slip

Sony Music today released Roger Waters‘s “The Lockdown Sessions” on all digital music platforms.

The collection of six songs were recorded remotely by Waters and his band during Covid lockdown; with the final track coming from a live show during his North American “This Is Not a Drill” tour:

“Mother” (from The Wall)
“Two Suns in the Sunset” (from The Final Cut)
“Vera” (from The Wall)
“The Gunner’s Dream” (from The Final Cut)
“The Bravery of Being Out of Range” (from Amused to Death)
“Comfortably Numb” (from The Wall)

The tracks were produced by Waters and Gus Seyffert. Appearing on the recordings are Waters – Vocals, Guitar and Piano; Seyffert – Bass, Cellos and Vocals; Joey Waronker – Drums and Percussion; Dave Kilminster – Guitar and Rhythm Guitar; Jonathan Wilson – Guitar and Vocals; Jon Carin – Keyboards and Vocals; Lucius (Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig) – Vocals; Bo Koster – Hammond (on all tracks except “Mother”); and Ian Ritchie – Saxophone (“Two Suns in the Sunset”).

Videos of the first five were originally posted by Waters on social media during ’20 and ’21. The videos were produced and directed by Sean Evans. “Comfortably Numb” was released last month.

“Our ‘Us and Them Tour’ lasted three years. At every gig we did an encore after the main show closed with ‘Comfortably Numb.’ The encore was always ‘Mother.’ I can’t remember why I decided to start doing other songs,” Waters says.

“At some point after the end of the tour, I started thinking, ‘It could make an interesting album, all those encores.’ ‘The Encores.’ Yeah, has a nice ring to it!

“Then I’m in England doing the Ginger Baker tribute gig one Tuesday night at the Hammersmith Odeon with Eric Clapton and the following Saturday marching from The Australian Embassy to Parliament Square to make a speech in support of Julian Assange, when bugger me, Covid. Schlummmm! For me it was Friday, March 13th, 2020. Lockdown! So much for the ‘Encores’ project. Unless,” he adds.

“We’ve tacked ‘Comfortably Numb’ on the end of the collection, as an appropriate exclamation point in closing this circle of love.”

Waters first announced his intention of releasing the collection under the title “The Lockdown Sessions” during a podcast appearance last month. “I’ve given all these things away,” he said. “They’re all out there. Anybody can find them on the internet.”

Posted in Merchandise, Personnel, Recordings, Roger Waters | 2 comments

David Gilmour appears on new Donovan album

Posted November 26, 2022 by Floydian Slip

David Gilmour is featured on two tracks from the new Donovan album,”Gaelia,” which drops Dec. 2.

The first Gilmour recording, “Rock Me,” has been released ahead of the album. The other track is “Lover O’ Lover.”

Donovan explains his connection to Gilmour goes back to the ’60s, when the Pink Floyd guitarist purchased Donovan’s cottage. “He said my album track ‘Three Kingfishers,’ off my ‘Sunshine Superman’ album of 1966, had launched him in a celestial music direction,” according to Donovan. “And so when I was selling my cottage, where so many of my songs were written, he wanted to be in my creative space. Makes sense in a Floyd sort of way.

“David had already learned to fly (he wrote a song about it, too ) and flew himself in to Ireland for the session,” he adds. “David brought his guitar roadie, who set up two amps in the studio, handed David his pink Strat, and his unique signature sound enthralled us all.”

Posted in David Gilmour, Merchandise, Personnel, Recordings | Comments Off on David Gilmour appears on new Donovan album

New book about album sleeve designers Hipgnosis

Posted November 24, 2022 by Floydian Slip

Eight Nine Books will publish “Us And Them: The Authorised Story Of Hipgnosis” by Mark Blake Feb. 2.

Founded by Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey “Po” Powell in the late-’60s, the first album sleeve the agency designed was Pink Floyd‘s “A Saucerful of Secrets” (1968). The firm went on to design many covers for Floyd, as well as iconic artwork for Led Zeppelin, Genesis, Peter Gabriel, 10cc, AC/DC and many others.

Blake, whose work has appeared in Prog and Classic Rock magazines, is the author of “Comfortably Numb: The Inside Story of Pink Floyd” (2007) as well as other titles about bands such as The Who and Queen.

Roger Waters, David Gilmour and Nick Mason all contribute exclusive commentary to the new book.

Posted in Books, Merchandise | Comments Off on New book about album sleeve designers Hipgnosis

Roger Waters releases new recording of “Comfortably Numb”

Posted November 18, 2022 by Floydian Slip

Sony Music released today “Comfortably Numb 2022,” a new recording of the Pink Floyd classic from Roger Waters‘s recent “This Is Not a Drill” tour.

The new track is available on streaming platforms.

“During lockdown I made a demo of a new version of ‘Comfortably Numb‘ as an opener for our new show,” Waters explains. “I pitched it a whole step down, in A Minor, to make it darker and arranged it with no solos, except over the outro chord sequence, where there is a heartrendingly beautiful female vocal solo from Shanay Johnson, one of our new singers.”

The accompanying video was produced and directed by Sean Evans. Photography by Kate Izor.

The track was produced by Waters and Gus Seyffert. Appearing on the track are Waters, vocals; Gus Seyffert , bass, synth, percussion, vocals; Joey Waronker, drums; Dave Kilminster, vocals; Jonathan Wilson, harmonium, synth, guitar and vocals; Jon Carin, synth, Vocals; Johnson, vocals; Amanda Belair, vocals; Robert Walter, organ/piano; Nigel Godrich, strings, amp and backing vocals from Roger Waters The Wall Sessions.

Waters’s “This Is Not A Drill” will tour Europe in 2023 with 40 shows across 14 European countries, starting in Lisbon on March 17, 2023, at Altice Arena.

Listen to the track now

Watch the video:

Posted in Merchandise, Personnel, Recordings, Roger Waters | 3 comments

Vegetable Man lyric sheet to be auctioned

Posted October 27, 2022 by Floydian Slip

Bonhams will auction Syd Barrett‘s handwritten lyrics to “Vegetable Man” next month.

The song was recorded by Pink Floyd in mid-October 1967 to be included on the band’s second album “A Saucerful of Secrets” (1968). The track was instead shelved for nearly 50 years, when it was finally released as part of the boxset “The Early Years: 1965–1972” (2016).

According to Bonhams, the lyric sheet “was acquired by Pink Floyd’s first manager at the time the song was written and has been in his possession since.”

It consists of each verse and the chorus written across 32 lines over two pages of lined paper in blue ballpoint pen with handwritten musical chords. It’s being sold with a letter concerning its provenance.

Bonhams indicates this will be the first time a complete set of lyrics handwritten by Barrett will be offered at auction. It estimates the item will sell for £30,000 to £40,000, approximately $35,000 to $46,000 in U.S. currency.

The auction takes place Nov. 16 at 1 p.m. GMT in London. Learn more at the Bonhams website.

Posted in Merchandise, Other, Personnel, Syd Barrett | Comments Off on Vegetable Man lyric sheet to be auctioned

“Animals” album recharts

Posted September 28, 2022 by Floydian Slip

The Sept. 16 re-issue of Pink Floyd‘s 1977 “Animals” album has propelled it back onto the charts.

According to Luminate, “Animals” re-entered Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart at #3 the week ending Sept. 22, with 20,000 copies sold in the U.S. That’s a 40x increase in sales from the previous week’s 500 copies sold.

The album also tops the Catalog Albums chart at #1, and appears at #21 on the Billboard Top 200. It also makes Top 5 appearances on Top Rock & Alternative Albums, Top Rock Albums, Tastemaker Albums and Vinyl Albums.

Posted in Merchandise, Recordings | Comments Off on “Animals” album recharts

Hipgnosis documentary completed

Posted August 26, 2022 by Floydian Slip

Deadline reports director Anton Corbijn has completed “Squaring the Circle (The Story of Hipgnosis),” a feature-length documentary about the venerable album sleeve design shop.

Founded by Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey “Po” Powell in the ’60s, the collaborative produced many sleeves for Pink Floyd and its members, as well as many other bands.

“Growing up in the late ’60s and ’70s, I was obsessed with music and everything connected to it – especially the album covers,” Corbijn tells Deadline. “The record sleeves were a huge part of my education and I really enjoyed making this film as it allowed me to revisit the things I loved from that time. I clearly recall the moment I first saw the sleeve for ‘Atom Heart Mother’ by Pink Floyd, and the Peter Gabriel sleeves.”

The film includes new interviews with Roger Waters, David Gilmour and Nick Mason.

It’s produced by Raindog Films’ Ged Doherty, Trish D. Chetty and Colin Firth.

No release date has yet been announced.

Posted in Aubrey Powell, Films, Merchandise, Personnel, Storm Thorgerson | 1 comment

Win: Mojo Pink Floyd Essentials

Posted July 18, 2022 by Floydian Slip

Enter to win a copy of Mojo magazine’s “Pink Floyd Essentials” special edition.

With 130 pages of Floyd content and no advertising, this new collection earns its title “The Definitive Companion.”

Enter to win now. Deadline to register: End of Sunday, July 31.

Posted in Contests, Magazines, Merchandise | Comments Off on Win: Mojo Pink Floyd Essentials

Animals remix coming in September

Posted June 30, 2022 by Floydian Slip

The long-awaited remix of Pink Floyd’s 1977 “Animals” album is coming to LP, CD, Blu-Ray and SACD this fall.

Dubbed the “Animals 2018 Remix,” this new version has been in the works for four years; and delayed, in part, by disagreements among the band members, especially Roger Waters and David Gilmour. (See “Roger Waters posts contentious liner notes; announces memoirs” [June 1, 2021])

The deluxe four-disc version, dropping Oct. 7, will consist of one (1) LP on 180-gram black heavyweight vinyl, one (1) CD, one (1) DVD, one (1) Blu-ray and a 32-page booklet all housed in a hardcover book-style cover.

The Blu-ray, SACD and DVD discs will contain a 5.1 Surround Sound remix by James Guthrie and Joel Plante, the same pair who remixed the new stereo version. Each individual disc will be available as a stand-alone release Sept. 16.

The booklet will feature rarely-seen behind the scenes photographs of the album sleeve shoot, along with live images and memorabilia.

The album artwork has been reimagined for this new release as well. The original, conceived by Waters and designed by Storm Thorgerson, featured a huge inflatable pig floating among the chimneys of the Battersea Power Station. It’s become one of the most recognizable images of all the band’s iconography.

Thorgerson’s one-time partner in Hipgnosis, Aubrey “Po” Powell, took new photographs of Battersea as it appeared during recent renovations. (Listen to our 2015 interview with Powell, who recounts the original “Animals” cover shoot.)

“With the original 1977 album cover being such an iconic piece of stand-alone art, I had the chance to update it, which was a rather daunting task, but Hipgnosis took the opportunity to re-photograph the image to reflect a changing world,” Powell says, “and by using modern digital coloring techniques I kept Pink Floyd’s rather bleak message of moral decay using the Orwellian themes of animals, the pig ‘Algie,’ faithful to the message of the album.”

It’s unclear whether Powell’s team actually floated a dirigible porcine above the plant for this reshoot or opted for digital techniques.

Animals was the tenth studio album by Floyd, originally released in January 1977. It was recorded at the band’s Britannia Row Studios in London during 1976 and early-’77, and was produced by the band. The original release peaked at #2 in the U.K. and #3 in the U.S.

Warner Music will release the album in Europe, while Sony Music will handle the international release.

Pre-order Animals here

Posted in Merchandise, Recordings | 1 comment

“Hey Hey Rise Up” coming to vinyl, CD

Posted June 23, 2022 by Floydian Slip

Pink Floyd will release a 7-inch vinyl edition and CD single of “Hey Hey Rise Up” on July 15 in Europe.

Initially released digitally in April in support of the people of Ukraine, the track reached #1 in 27 countries.

Both formats will also feature a newly-reworked, previously-unreleased version of “A Great Day for Freedom” taken from the band’s 1994 album, “The Division Bell.”

The lead track sees David Gilmour and Nick Mason joined by long time Pink Floyd bass player Guy Pratt and Nitin Sawhney on keyboards; and features vocals by Andriy Khlyvnyuk of Ukrainian band Boombox.

When the track was first recorded at the end of March, Khlyvnyuk, who left his band’s U.S. tour to return home and fight for his country, was in a hospital bed in Kyiv recovering from a shrapnel injury. Proceeds for the physical release and the ongoing digital proceeds will go to Ukraine humanitarian relief.

Japan will see the release Aug. 3; and the U.S., Canada, Australia and Mexico will see it Oct. 21.

Posted in Merchandise, Recordings | 1 comment

< Older entries

Newer entries >