Just relaunched electronically via iTunes and Spotify are eleven of Pete Townshend's solo albums, and special remastered CD editions are in the works for release later this year and into 2016.

Townshend has often taken time out of his work with his colleagues in The Who to hone and release solo material, and the deal with UMC/Universal Music covers the following albums: 1972's Who Came First, 1977's Rough Mix, 1980's Empty Glass, 1982's All The Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes, 1983's Scoop, 1985's White City, 1986's Deep End Live, 1987's Another Scoop, 1989's Iron Man: The Musical, 1993's Psychoderelict and 1994's Scoop 3.

For those wondering on the Pink Floyd connection, look no further than the album White City, which features a guest appearance by David Gilmour. The pair got together after bumping into each other whilst David was recording his second solo album, About Face. The White City album toured the year after release, with the band known as Pete Townshend's Deep End. David was part of that live band, so the Deep End Live album also includes his guitar work. There was also a video released of Deep End Live so we hope this is included within the CD edition. On his website, Townshend said: "The reissue programme is still in the planning stages, so what bonus material will be included and what other formats these will be available in are still to be decided."

The releases tie in with The Who's 50th anniversary celebrations, which were slightly dented when the band were forced to postpone two of their London O2 Arena shows in December after frontman Roger Daltrey was ordered to rest his voice. The rescheduled shows now take place next month, and the band will also be playing at the British Summer Time festival at London's Hyde Park on June 26th.

The IFPI (International Federation of the Phonographic Industry) have today revealed the results of their analysis of sales for 2014, and Pink Floyd have made the number seven spot.

The chart aims to accurately capture the popularity of artists across streaming channels, alongside digital and physical album and singles sales.

Taylor Swift was named as the Global Recording Artist of 2014, receiving the annual award honouring the most popular recording artist across music downloads, streaming and physical format sales worldwide. Swift was followed by One Direction and Ed Sheeran.

The top 10 global recording artists 2014 were:

1. Taylor Swift
2. One Direction
3. Ed Sheeran
4. Coldplay
5. AC/DC
6. Michael Jackson
7. Pink Floyd
8. Sam Smith
9. Katy Perry
10. Beyoncé

The independently verified chart includes sales of albums – across digital, CD and vinyl formats; singles, both downloaded and physical; on-demand audio streams and music videos. The chart includes all the music of each artist featured, not just one track or album. It uses track and album equivalents to combine measurements of downloads, physical sales and streams.

Some news from Switzerland, courtesy of Thomas Griesser, reinforces the return to popularity of vinyl, along with the strength of Pink Floyd's enduring classic, The Dark Side Of The Moon, and their recent release, The Endless River.

Swiss Sunday newspaper NZZ am Sonntag asked Musik Hug, a Swiss retailer which sells musical instruments as well as back catalogue and latest release albums, which were the top five selling vinyl albums in 2014?

Here are the results:

1. Pink Floyd - Dark Side Of The Moon (1973)
2. Pink Floyd - The Endless River (2014)
3. Red Hot Chili Peppers - Californication (1999)
4. Nas - Illmatic (1994)
5. Parov Stelar - The Art Of Sampling (2013)

The strong sales of The Dark Side Of The Moon, some 42 years after release, point to a new generation of fans buying it on vinyl for the first time - along with, of course, those replacing worn out copies!

As the Official Pink Floyd Facebook page noted yesterday, this month marks the 50th anniversary of the proper beginning of The Pink Floyd, with the band using that name for the first time in 1965. Of course, they weren't quite settled on it at the time, and at various points during the year they reverted to The Tea Set, before finally deciding on the name the world came to know the band under.

Unusually for a band that has been around for such a long time, the line-up barely changed over the years. This picture shows the band in 1965, around the time Syd conjured up the name, and shows Rado "Bob" Klose, guitarist, who left them before they signed to EMI and turned professional.

We'd be interested to hear what you think on the band's golden anniversary. What have been your Pink Floyd highlights - either the moments in their career you consider most significant, or the moments you remember best on a personal level? Did you see them live? Any special memories of that, or of hearing any of the albums for the first time? Any amusing stories? And, have you ever met any of the band? If so, please share the experience for those who haven't!

We'd love for you to share your thoughts on the above, as part of our commemoration of the band this year. We'll collate a number of the responses and add them to this story - so, time for you to get thinking and commenting! You can either email us at the normal address ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ), or join the conversation over at the Brain Damage Facebook page or our Twitter page. We're looking forward to seeing your responses!