With just over a week to go until the cinema screenings start at selected cinemas, last night in London saw a special preview showing of Roger Waters This Is Not A Drill Live In Prague at Dolby's Screening Room in Soho, which Brain Damage was lucky enough to attend.
The concert originally had a live cinema broadcast around the world on May 25th, 2023, and included some footage from the preceding night (May 24th). As those behind it are keen to point out, this upcoming version is nothing like the original stream, and is a completely new entity, featuring a brand new edit from all the footage, captured by multiple 8K cameras.
From beginning to end, it looked really stunning. This is coupled with an absolutely excellent audio mix, which gave Dolby's speakers a great workout. It had an entirely suitable surround mix, giving nice involvement and positioning, and kept extreme surround effects to the appropriate places (Dark Side voices, and suchlike) without overusing them.
Interestingly, a lot of attention is given to Roger and the band, making it more focused on their performance rather than majoring on the screen imagery and messaging. For those who saw the tour, much of the attention in the venues inevitably was on the screen, so this new film gives the opportunity to get up close to the musicians throughout the show. This approach also seems to soften some of the political nature of the show, which might make it more palatable to those who aren't so keen on this aspect of Roger's presentations.
For those seeing it in the cinema (or subsequently at home), don't leave as the end titles are due to start, as they have included some amusing behind-the-scenes footage from the development and rehearsal of the tour, which is worth watching.
With such high quality capturing of the performance, it was an easy guess that it would receive a home release at some point, and that is coming on August 1st, 2025, when it will be available to buy on Blu-ray and DVD, in a special 4LP vinyl package, and on a double CD. It will also be available via the normal digital services too.
As a reminder, you have a chance to enjoy the incredible new version of the Prague performance in cinemas later this month, thanks to Trafalgar Releasing - and it really is worth capturing on the big screen with a great sound system! For information on dates, venues and tickets - which are now on sale - visit RogerWaters.film or participating cinemas.
ORDERING INFORMATION:
For ease, we've listed the various editions below. With Amazon's pre-order price guarantee, you should be automatically charged the lowest amount between the time you ordered the album, and release. All purchases made after using one of our links make a small but vital contribution toward the site running costs, at no extra cost to yourself, and we really appreciate it! This is because we participate in the Amazon Affiliate program. Some items are currently still being added so please keep trying your preferred store.
The current issue of the German magazine MINT – Magazin für Vinyl-Kultur (issue 06/25) features a seven-page article dedicated to Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here. The piece is part of their long-running "Master Class" series and is titled "50 Jahre Wish You Were Here – die Master Class zum Meisterwerk von Pink Floyd" (roughly: "50 Years of Wish You Were Here – The Master Class on Pink Floyd's Masterpiece").
Author Frank Wonneberg dives deep into the various vinyl pressings of the album, comparing editions and sharing detailed insights — it’s the 45th installment of the Master Class series and a real treat for collectors and fans alike. Here's a peak at a few of the pages to give a feel for what the article offers.
Our thanks to Michael Nickel for the information about this. The magazine can be purchased from German stores, or worldwide from MintMag.de.
Our congratulations to David Gilmour, who received the flagship O2 Silver Clef Award, celebrating outstanding contributions to music, at this year's O2 Silver Clef Awards.
The ceremony took place in London on Wednesday evening , with the awards raising funds for music therapy charity Nordoff & Robbins. Here's a video that David's team put together giving a flavour of the event:
Now announced, Pink Floyd 1967, a new book from acclaimed publishers Bee Smart (who have brought us a wide range of superb Floyd books over the past few years) which is sure to be an essential addition to your bookshelves! Written by Ed Paule, an avid Pink Floyd fan, collector and researcher since 1981, it follows the unsanitised story of Pink Floyd’s activities during 1967, the pivotal year that saw them transition from amateur to professional musicians.
The story reveals itself through this collection of virtually every known piece of paper written, photo snapped or recording taped while the year unfolds. Accompanying the text are over 500 images, most of which are not-before-published or have not been republished since their original 1967 debut.
Part chronology and part researcher’s journal, this tome is equally a reference guide and a cover-to-cover read. Hear what contemporaries are saying about Pink Floyd as the year progresses, together with perspectives from the band members themselves as quoted in papers across the globe, foreign-language and English-language papers alike. Also inside are the author’s interviews with witnesses to key events and 11 original essays on topics from Syd’s revelations from the I Ching to discovering Vic Singh’s lost photographs. Ian Barrett of the Syd Barrett Estate opens the book with an extensive foreword.
The result is a whopping 3kg (7 lbs) and 496-page tome measuring 22x28cm (8.5x11inch) that is almost 6cm thick (over 2inch). As you would expect from Bee Smart, the book is printed on 170gms heavyweight silk paper, perfectly finished and clothbound in hardcover. The book will be printed in a one-off edition of 500 and will be published and shipped mid-September.
We've been fortunate enough to have seen a digital copy of the book and it's an incredible book that's going to take us some time to properly go through. You will NOT want to miss this! Orders can now be placed through Floydstuff.com. There was a deluxe version which sold out incredibly quickly, so apologies if you were looking to purchase that one. Please note, Floydstuff is the only outlet for this book.